Miscellanies. 395 



On the morning of the 19th of January, we saw land to the south and 

 east, with many indications of being in its vicinity, such as penguin, seal, 

 and the discoloration of the water, but the impenetrable barrier of ice 

 prevented our nearer approach to it, and the same day we again saw the 

 Peacock to the south and west. We were in long. 104° 27' E., and lat. 

 66° 20' S, 



On the 22d we fell in with large clusters and bodies of ice, and innu- 

 merable ice islands, and until the 25th were in a large bay formed by ice, 

 examining the different points in hopes of effecting an entrance to the 

 south, but were disappointed. We here reached the lat. 67° 4', in long. 

 147° 30' E., being the farthest south we penetrated. Appearances of 

 distant land were seen in the eastward and westward, but all points ex- 

 cept the one we entered, presented an impenetrable barrier. We here 

 filled up our water tanks with ice taken from an iceberg alongside the 

 ship. 



We made our magnetic observations on the ice. The dipping needles 

 gave 87° 30' for the dip, and our azimuth compass was so sluggish on 

 the ice, that on being agitated, and bearing taken again, it gave nearly 

 three points difference; the variation being 12° 35' E. A few days 

 aftervvards, about one hundred miles further to the west, we had no varia- 

 tion, and thence it rapidly increased in westerly variation, from which I 

 am of opinion that when in the ice bay we could not have been very far 

 from the south magnetic pole. This bay I named Disappointment Bay, 

 as it seemed to put an end to all our hopes of further progress south. 



On the 27th we fell in with the Porpoise, in long. 142° 20' E., and lat. 

 65° 54' S., and parted company shortly afterwards. 



On tlie 28th, at noon, after thirteen repulses, we reached long. 140° 

 30' E., and lat. 66° 33' S., where we again discovered land bearing south, 

 having run over forty miles, thickly studded with icebergs. The same 

 evening we had a heavy gale from the southeast, with snow, hail, and 

 thick weather, which rendered our situation very dangerous, and com- 

 pelled us to retrace our steps by the route which we had entered. During 

 this gale we were unable to see the distance of a fourth of a mile, con- 

 stantly passing near icebergs which surrounded us, and rendering it 

 necessary to keep all hands on deck. On the morning of the 30th the 

 gale abated, and we returned by the same route to reach the land, when 

 the dangers we encountered among the ice the preceding night, and our 

 providential escape, were evident to all. 



We ran towards the land about fifty miles, when we reached a small 

 bay pointed by high ice cliffs and black volcano rocks, with about sixty 

 miles of coast in sight, extending to a great distance towards the south- 

 ward, in high mountainous land. 



The breeze freshened to a strong gale, which prevented our landing, 

 and compelled us to run out after sounding in thirty fathoms water ; and 



