1902] COASTING SOUTH 115 



south before we could find a ' lead ' towards the land. It was 

 a gloriously bright Sunday morning — so clear that at midday 

 we sighted Mount Erebus at a distance of 120 miles, and in 

 the afternoon could even see the vapour rising from the 

 summit of that lofty volcano. The day was so perfectly clear 

 that at one time we could see Melbourne, Monteagle, and even 

 Coulman Island to the north, and Erebus to the south; that is 

 an included range of vision of 240 geographical miles. 



It is here that I find a note in my diary to the effect that 

 the ice-cap of the interior appeared to rise beyond the coastal 

 mountains, and that patches of rock could be seen farther 

 inland, but that it was impossible, owing to the mirage, to 

 define the height or distance of such patches. This note is of 

 great importance in connection with our subsequent exploration 

 of the interior ice. At 6 p.m. we were able to turn towards 

 the land, and later in the night made out a very conspicuous 

 bluff cliff in marked contrast to the white snow slopes behind. 



We were now in a latitude where it was most desirable that 

 we should make a diligent search for safe winter quarters for 

 the ship. Wood Bay had been thought by many in England 

 to be the most southerly spot in which we were likely to find 

 security, but we had seen enough of the coastline to the south 

 of that place to realise the impossibility of travelling along it in 

 sledges, and to assure us that if we wished to make any advance 

 to the south we must find a harbour in some higher latitude. 

 The sight of this bluff cliff seemed to give promise of finding 

 an inlet in its neighbourhood, and I decided to make an effort 

 to explore the coast. But to approach the land was not such 

 easy work, as we had constantly to force our way through 

 streams of pack-ice, and the floes were more solid than any we 

 had yet met. If one charged them with any speed the shock 

 of meeting was tremendous; the ship would stop dead with 

 masts and yards quivering, anyone below might have imagined 

 an earthquake, and to be in the swaying, trembling crow's-nest 

 on such an occasion was anything but a pleasant sensation. 

 The only comfortable way was to push quietly through, and so 

 it was not until 4 p.m. on the 20th that we could convince our- 



