145 



the east and west of our position fully sixty miles ; and now 

 when all were convinced of its existence, I gave the land the 

 name of the Antarctic Continent. Some of the officers 

 pointed out the appearance of smoke, as if from a volcano, 

 but I was of the opinion that this was nothing but the snow 

 drifts caused by the heavy squalls." 



They followed along the barrier ice as far as long. lOOdeg. 

 E., having land in view all the way ; but finding themselves 

 unable to set foot on anything but ice, and being unable to 

 get any further south, they rerurned to Sydney. 



The English Expedition sailed in August, 1839, consisting 

 of the Erebus, under Captain Ross, and the Terror, under 

 Commander Crozier, both well-trained and experienced ice 

 navigators. Ross gained his laurels under Parry, whose 

 highest north was not eclipsed until Nares' Expedition in the 

 Alert and Discovery. He was also remarkable in Arctic 

 exploration as the discoverer of the North Magnetic Pole. 

 After some unimportant explorations, Ross brought his ships 

 to Hobart, where he established an Observatory, and left an 

 officer to make systematic observations. Before leavino- Eng- 

 land Ross had given the Americans the benefit of his counsels 

 In equipping their expedition, and had openly announced 

 to the world where his own ships would operate, ho was, 

 therefore, not a little piqued on his arrival in Hobart to learn 

 that D'TTrville and Wilkes had both selected the same ground. 

 Disdaining to follow anyone's tracks, Ross selected the meri- 

 dian of 170°, intending to work to the eastward of that line, 

 and on that meridian he crossed the Antarctic Circle on New 

 Year's Day, 1841. As the Erebus and Terror had both been 

 specially strengthened to encounter ice, their commanders 

 sailed them right into the pack ice, battling their way for 200 

 miles through its broken fragments, until they emerged upon 

 the open sea in lat. 69deg. 15min. S., and long. 176deg. 

 15min„ W. On the 11th January land was discovered, and 

 on the night of that date a landing was effected upon an 

 island, where they planted the British flag, and drank the 

 healths of the Queen and the Prince Consort This place 

 they called Possession Island ; it and Franklin Island are 

 the only two places in that part of the Antarctic where a 

 landing has been effected. 'Wilkes, as we have seen, never 

 landed at all, and D'TTrville only succeeded iu setting foot 

 upon a small rock. Having the mainland in sight they fol- 

 lowed the coast line for lOdeg. of latitude, naming the 

 country S. Victoria Land. On reaching 78dog. S. they dis- 

 covered a volcano upwards of 12,000 feet high in active 

 eruption , this they named Mt. Erebus, a quiescent peak 

 close by being named Mt. Terror. They saw Mt. Erebus 

 belching out fire and smoke, and the lava running down its 



