a96.. Miscellanies. ‘ 
within two hours afterwards the ship was again reduced to her storm 
sails, with a heavy gale from the southward, with snow, sleet, and a 
heavy sea, continuing thirty-six hours, and if possible more dangerous 
than that of the 28th and 29th, owing to the large number of ice islands 
around us; after which I received reports from the medical officers, rep- 
resenting the exhausted state of the crew and condition of the ship, of 
which the following are extracts: ' 
The medical officer on duty, reported, under date of the 81st J anuary, 
that “the number on the sick list this morning is fifteen; most of these 
cases are consequent upon the extreme hardship and exposure they have 
undergone during the last gales of wind, when the ship has been sur- 
rounded with ice. The number is not large, but it is necessary to state 
that the general health of the crew is, in our opinion, decidedly affected, 
and that under ordinary circumstances the list would be very much in- 
creased, while the men, under the present exigencies, actuated by a laud- 
able desire to do their duty to the last, refrain from presenting themselves 
as applicants_for the list. 
- “Under these circumstances we feel ourselves obliged to report, in our 
opinion, a few days more of such exposure as they have already under- 
gone, would reduce the number of the crew, by sickness, to such an ex 
tent as to hazard the safety of the ship and the lives of all on board.” 
After which, the surgeon, being restored to duty, reported to me as 
follows : 
“T respectfully report that, in my opinion, the health of the crew is 
materially affected by the severe fatigue, want of sleep, and exposure to 
the weather, to which they have lately been subjected ; that a continu- 
ance of these hardships, even for a very short period, will entirely dis 
qualify a great number of men for their duty, and that the necessary ate 
tention to the health of the crew and their future efficiency and useful- 
ness, demands the immediate return of the ship to a milder climate.” 
_ Deeming it my duty, however, to persevere, I decided to continue, 
steered again for the land, which we had named the Antarctic Continent. 
We reached it on the 2nd of February, about sixty miles to the west 
ward of the point first visited, where we found the coast lined with solid, 
perpendicular ié@ cliffs, preventing the possibility of landing, and the 
same mountains trending to the westward. From thence we proc ed 
to the westward along the ice barrier, which appeared to make from the 
land, until the third, when we again encountered a severe ga 
‘southeast, with thick weather and snow until the 7th of Febru 
it ¢leared up sufficiently to allow us to see our way clear, and we again 
approached the perpendicalar barrier of ice, similar to that which we had 
previously seen as attached to the land; the same land being in sight ata 
great distance. We stood along the barrier, about seventy miles to the 
westward, when it suddenly trended to the southward, and our further pro 
and 
ary, when 
wr, 
