NARRATIVE OF THE CIIULSK. 3?3 



the west ; and the areas of the others would doubtless afford useful information as to the 

 relative prevalence of other winds. 



The sandy plain stretches back from the bay as a dreary waste to a small curved 

 beach at the head of another inlet of the sea. Behind this inlet is an irregular rocky 

 mountain mass forming the end of the island, on which are two large glaciers very 

 steeply inclined, one of them terminating in a sheer ice-fall. At its back this mountain 

 mass is bounded by precipices with their bases washed by the sea. 



The plain is traversed by several streams of glacier water coming from the southern 

 glaciers. These streams are constantly changing their course, as the beach and plain are 

 partly washed about by the surf in heavy weather. At the time of the visit the main 

 stream stretched across the entire width of the plain and entered the sea at the extreme 



Fig. 136, from a sketch by Mr. Buchanan, represents a rock embedded in the black sand. The side towards the west, 

 with the high light on the woodcut, is being rapidly worn down by the sharp sand blown against it, which has cut an 

 irregularly fluted pattern in it. 



western verge of the beach ; it was about 20 yards across, knee-deep, and had therefore 

 to be forded. The water was intensely cold, brown, opaque, and muddy, charged with the 

 grindings of the glaciers. Running into the sea it formed a conspicuous brown tract, 

 sharply defined from the blue-green sea water, and extending almost to the mouth of the 

 bay. 



The sandy plain seemed entirely of glacial origin, and was in places covered with 

 yielding glacial mud, very heavy to walk upon. It was strewn with bones of the 

 Elephant Seal and the Sea Leopard (Stenorhynchus leptonyxf), those of the former being 

 most abundant. There were remains of thousands of skeletons, and a good many tusks 

 of old males were gathered. The bones lay in curves looking like tide lines on either side 

 of the plain above the beaches, marking the rookeries of old times and the tracks of 

 slaughter of the sealers. 



On the opposite side of the plain from that bounded by the glacier is a stretch of low 

 bare rock with a peculiar smooth and rounded but irregular surface. This rock surface 

 appears from a distance as if glaciated, but on closer examination it is seen to show very 



