HISTORY OF DISCOVERY. 113 



and southern side of Snowhill Island was enclosed by a 

 low belt of ice, and in the neighbourhood of the land, 

 evidently stranded, were clustered gigantic icebergs, 

 some from four to five nautical miles in diameter, and 

 200 feet high. From these enormous dimensions Ross 

 concluded that they must have come away further south 

 from some loftier barrier than any he had yet seen in 

 this reigon of Antarctic country. A further advance along 

 the south coast of Snowhill and Louis-Philippe Land was 

 found to be quite impossible, for fixed land-ice extended 

 along the coast, and to the west, south and south-east, 

 as far as eye could see. A struggle to penetrate the 

 pack to the east led to the ships being beset by the close 

 pack from the 9th of January till the 4th of February. 

 Moreover, in its northward drift, the pressure of the main 

 pack against the land was very great, and the formation 

 of young ice in the water previously open was very rapid, 

 rendering it quite unnavigable. The ships were fre- 

 quently exposed to very severe ice pressure, and it was 

 not till the 4th of February that they emerged into open 

 water in latitude 64° S. and longitude 54° W. 



The attempt to penetrate southwards close to the 

 land, and in this way to make new discoveries, had, 

 therefore, to be finally relinquished, and Ross was thrown 

 back on the alternative plan he had made for this third 

 Antarctic voyage, that of following Weddell's course. He 

 therefore beat to the eastward along the pack edge, 

 which lay on the whole between 64° and 65° of S. 

 latitude; on the 12th of February land was apparently 

 seen in latitude 65° io' S. and longitude 48° 2, ' W., but 

 it seems to have been very doubtful, since Ross does 

 not mention it in the account of his voyages, and has 

 only entered it on his chart. On the 14th of February, 

 in latitude 65° 13' S. and longitude 40° 50' W., Weddell's 

 return track was crossed, but the ships were unable to 

 penetrate the dense, heavy pack ; they therefore con- 



