HISTORY OF DISCOVERY. 85 



already made by Balleny, and was consequently justified, 

 like D'Urville, in regarding himself as the discoverer of 

 these regions. The four vessels started from Sydney on 

 the 27th of December, 1839 — the Sea Gul/ had been 

 wrecked in the summer of 1839 — touched Macquarie 

 Island, and looked for Emerald Isle, which they could 

 not find as indicated in latitude 57° 15' S., longitude 162° 

 30' E. The Flying Fish, commanded by Lieutenant 

 Pinkney, was separated from the other three soon after 

 they set out ; while these, the Vincennes under Wilkes 

 himself, the Peacock under Captain Hudson, and the 

 Porpoise under Lieutenant Ringgold, met after a short 

 separation at the edge of the pack-ice. Wilkes had met 

 the first iceberg on the 15th of January, 1840, in latitude 

 6i° 8' S. and longitude 162° 32' E., and on the evening 

 of the following day, after a favourable run, had come 

 upon the edge of the pack-ice in latitude 64° 11' S. and 

 longitude 164° 30 E., and found it heavy and thickly 

 studded with icebergs. Wilkes steered to the west 

 along- the edge of the ice in the Vincennes, and on the 

 1 6th of January fell in with the Peacock and the Porpoise. 

 It was here, in longitude 157° 56' E. and latitude 66° S. 

 that, according to Wilkes' account, land was decidedly 

 seen by all three ships. Driving snow and fog shut in 

 the view towards the south during the next few days, 

 during which an unbroken course to the west was held. 

 On the 19th of January, the weather being good, land 

 was most certainly seen lying S.S.E. and S.W. from the 

 Vincennes in latitude 66° 20' S. and longitude 1 54° 30' E. 

 On the same day land was seen to the south-west by the 

 Peacock, also appearing, when first observed, high above 

 an iceberg which lay on the line of sight. Wilkes gave 

 the name of Peacock Bay to the bay apparently sweeping 

 inland. 



As the vessels sailed on to the west, vast masses of 

 icebergs gradually took the place of field-ice almost 



