

30 Voyage of Capt. Sir James C. Ross to the Antarctic. 



hang down like the boughs of a willow. In many places the plant 

 is so abundant as to form a submersed forest, presenting, when 

 seen from a boat, through the clear water, a mass of green foliage. 



It is the residence of a vast exuberance of animal life, — worms, 

 sponges, corals, crabs and other Crustacea, flustrae, eggs of fishes 

 and mollusca, serpulse, &c. Some of the large sea weeds of the 

 Fuegian shores are rich in manna and iodine, as ascertained by 

 Dr. R. D. Thomson. 



Cape Horn always disappoints the voyager, in his first sight 

 of it. It is only part of a small island and being only 500 to 600 

 feet high it has no grandeur ; yet it becomes invested with terror 



when it is lashed by the stormy billows of an Antarctic winter. 



Third Voyage to the Antarctic regions. — This voyage was 

 less remarkable than either of the two former, and without follow- 

 ing it in much detail, we present only a few of the more interest- 

 ing results. 



Dec. 17, 1842. — The expedition left Port Louis intending to 

 penetrate by the meridian of 55° W., or in case of insuperable 

 obstructions by that in which Weddell reached the latitude of 

 74° 15' S., three degrees farther south than any preceding navi- 

 gator. On December 24th, they saw the first iceberg in lat. 



61° S. 



Dec. 25. — Although surrounded by a multitude of icebergs, 

 they kept a merry Christmas with roast beef from the oxen of the 

 Falklands, presented by Governor Moody for the occasion. 



Dec. 27 — Frequent loud reports were heard from the crashing 

 icebergs as they broke up and rolled over, making it dangerous to 

 approach them. On the 28th, land was seen, supposed to be 

 the " Point des Frangais" of Admiral D'Urville. An enormous 

 glacier several miles in breadth descended from an elevation 

 of 1200 feet into the ocean, presenting a vertical cliff 100 feet 



high. 



They bore away to the south, along a coast line of icy cliffs 



in a sea thickly studded with grounded bergs. The 29th, they 



saw a great number of the largest sized black whales, so tame 



that they would hardly move to get out of the way of the ships ; 



any quantity of oil might have been obtained in a short time. 



A few days after they saw them lying upon the surface of the 



water in all directions, and were astonished by their enormous 



breadth. 



Dec. 30.— Lat. 63° 36' S., long. 54° 33' W. Land to the S. 

 and S.W. entirely covered with snow, except in a few places 

 where vertical cliffs broke through the mountain glacier; eleva- 

 tion of the highest peak 3700 feet. 



Jan. 1, 1843.— In lat. 64° 14' S., long. 55° 54' W. A new moun- 

 tain 7050 feet high was named Haddington. At evening being be- 



