Voyage of Capt. Sir James C. Boss to the Antarctic. 31 



leaguered with icebergs they made fast to a floe two or three miles 

 in diameter, and had a berg of four or five miles diameter and 

 150 feet high for a dangerous companion through the whole day. 

 Magnetic observations were made upon the ice; the results- 

 were entirely satisfactory ; the magnetic dip was 63° 17' S., and 

 the variation 20° 53' E. Soundings in 152 fathoms, bottom 

 blue mud, 



Jan. 6. — The two commanders went on shore on an island 

 and took formal possession of it and of the neighboring land ; it 

 was of volcanic formation and here the last vestiges of vegeta- 

 tion are found, not rising on the mountains above 1400 feet of 

 elevation. 



Penguins and cormorants are found in these stormy islands 

 lying immediately south of Cape Horn, and in their precipitous 

 cliffs the petrels build their nests. 

 [ Jan. 24. — Unavailing struggles with packs of ice prevented 



the ships from penetrating farther south at this time than 64° 24' 

 S., in long. 55° tl' W. ; magnetic dip 63° 4'. 



Feb. 4. — They got clear of the pack in lat. 64°, long. 54°. 

 On February 6, seals were numerous and they killed one that 

 measured twelve feet four inches long and weighed 1145 lbs. 

 On the 22d, they crossed the line of no variation in lat. 61° 30' 

 S., long. 22° 30' W., magnetic dip 57° 40'; they concluded that 

 the position of the magnetic pole was on a meridian half way be- 

 tween this and New Zealand and that there is only one pole in 

 the southern hemisphere. 



Feb. 27. — In a snow storm so thick that the ships could not be 

 seen, a diffused auroral light gave considerable assistance. 



March I. — They passed the Antarctic circle three days earlier 

 than in former seasons. On the 2d, a splendid morning of sun- 

 shine after six weeks of cloudy weather, gave opportunity for 

 experiments on the heating power of the sun's rays in these 

 latitudes. 



March 3.— No soundings with 4000 fathoms of line— more 

 than four miles. March 5, lat. 71° 30 / S., long. 14° 51' W., the 

 highest which they attained this cruise ; a cask was thrown over- 

 board containing a paper stating the fact with the attestations of 

 the officers. 



March 10.— They saw the tail of the great comet which was 

 seen a few days sooner at the Cape of Good Hope, St. Helena 

 and Barbadoes. In the morning they recrossed the Antarctic 

 circle in long. 13° 30' W. On the 20th at noon they crossed the 

 meridian of Greenwich in lat. 54° 7' S., and still icebergs were 

 visible causing false outcries of land. 



Circle of mean temperature of the sea.— In their various wan- 

 derings they crossed this circle on seven different occasions 

 in the extreme latitudes 52° and 57° 52' S., and in five inter- 



