﻿PuRNELL, 
  — 
  On 
  Antarctic 
  EjcjAoration, 
  83 
  

  

  authority 
  is 
  not 
  of 
  the 
  best, 
  since 
  he 
  seems 
  to 
  have 
  seen 
  a 
  great 
  deal 
  

   more 
  than 
  sailors 
  of 
  other 
  nationalities 
  could 
  do. 
  Indeed, 
  Boss 
  actually 
  

   sailed 
  over 
  one 
  spot 
  where 
  Wilkes 
  affirmed 
  that 
  he 
  had 
  discovered 
  a 
  chain 
  

   of 
  mountains. 
  Without, 
  however, 
  placing 
  too 
  much 
  reliance 
  upon 
  Wilkes's 
  

   alleged 
  discoveries 
  to 
  the 
  westward, 
  we 
  have 
  the 
  concurrent 
  testimony 
  of 
  

   himself, 
  Balleny, 
  and 
  D'Urville, 
  that 
  an 
  extensive 
  tract 
  of 
  land 
  does 
  exist 
  

   in 
  this 
  direction 
  ; 
  Balleny 
  Isles, 
  lying 
  considerably 
  to 
  the 
  eastward 
  (lat. 
  

   66° 
  44' 
  S., 
  and 
  long. 
  163° 
  11' 
  E.), 
  and 
  so 
  forming 
  a 
  connecting 
  link 
  between 
  

   these 
  aud 
  Boss's 
  discoveries. 
  It 
  is 
  noticeable 
  that 
  Cook, 
  on 
  his 
  second 
  

   voyage, 
  was 
  unable 
  to 
  get 
  so 
  far 
  south 
  as 
  this 
  body 
  of 
  land 
  by 
  four 
  or 
  

   five 
  degrees, 
  being 
  stopped 
  by 
  the 
  ice, 
  although 
  he 
  was 
  on 
  the 
  right 
  track 
  

   for 
  its 
  discovery. 
  

  

  Still 
  proceedmg 
  westward, 
  we 
  next 
  meet 
  with 
  Kemp 
  Land 
  on 
  the 
  60th, 
  

   and 
  then 
  with 
  Enderby 
  Land 
  on 
  the 
  50th 
  meridian. 
  These 
  were 
  discovered 
  

   by 
  our 
  countryman 
  Biscoe, 
  in 
  1831-3, 
  Whether 
  Kemp 
  and 
  Enderby 
  Lands 
  

   are 
  islands, 
  or 
  the 
  outlying 
  parts 
  of 
  a 
  large 
  mass 
  of 
  land, 
  we 
  do 
  not 
  know 
  ; 
  

   but 
  it 
  is 
  noticeable 
  with 
  respect 
  both 
  to 
  them 
  aud 
  the 
  discoveries 
  just 
  men- 
  

   tioned 
  that 
  they 
  all 
  lie 
  adjacent 
  to 
  the 
  antarctic 
  circle. 
  

  

  I 
  have 
  now 
  summarised 
  all 
  that 
  is 
  actually 
  known 
  of 
  the 
  so-called 
  

   " 
  antarctic 
  continent," 
  from 
  which 
  you 
  will 
  see 
  that, 
  while 
  there 
  are 
  indica- 
  

   tions 
  which 
  might 
  lead 
  us 
  to 
  infer 
  a 
  connection 
  between 
  the 
  principal 
  dis- 
  

   coveries 
  that 
  have 
  been 
  made, 
  it 
  may 
  well 
  be 
  that 
  the 
  most 
  extensive 
  of 
  

   these 
  lands 
  are 
  only 
  the 
  chief 
  members 
  of 
  an 
  archipelago. 
  Each 
  hemi- 
  

   sphere 
  offers 
  its 
  special 
  attractions 
  to 
  the 
  explorer. 
  In 
  the 
  western, 
  the 
  vast 
  

   space 
  between 
  Boss's 
  discoveries 
  and 
  Alexander 
  Land, 
  extending 
  over 
  about 
  

   60° 
  of 
  longitude, 
  remains 
  to 
  be 
  examined. 
  Cook 
  tried 
  to 
  penetrate 
  its 
  re- 
  

   cesses, 
  but 
  could 
  get 
  no 
  farther 
  than 
  71° 
  10' 
  S., 
  which 
  he 
  did 
  on 
  the 
  107th 
  

   meridian, 
  when 
  he 
  was 
  beaten 
  back 
  by 
  the 
  ice. 
  Boss 
  made 
  a 
  similar 
  

   attempt 
  on 
  his 
  second 
  voyage, 
  and 
  actually 
  crossed 
  the 
  antarctic 
  circle 
  in 
  

   longitude 
  156° 
  28' 
  W., 
  or 
  fourteen 
  hundi'ed 
  miles 
  to 
  the 
  eastward 
  of 
  the 
  

   place 
  where 
  he 
  crossed 
  it 
  on 
  his 
  first 
  voyage 
  ;■ 
  but 
  he 
  was 
  afterwards 
  driven 
  

   to 
  the 
  west 
  by 
  the 
  pack, 
  and 
  reached 
  his 
  lowest 
  latitude 
  in 
  161° 
  27' 
  W. 
  

   There 
  is 
  next 
  the 
  gap 
  between 
  Louis 
  Philippe 
  Land 
  and 
  Enderby 
  Land. 
  

   This 
  has 
  been 
  tried 
  by 
  various 
  navigators. 
  The 
  most 
  successful 
  was 
  

   Weddell, 
  who, 
  in 
  1823, 
  got 
  as 
  low 
  down 
  as 
  74° 
  15' 
  S. 
  on 
  the 
  36th 
  

   meridian 
  (W.), 
  and 
  found 
  there 
  a 
  sea 
  clear 
  of 
  ice. 
  Weddell 
  accom- 
  

   plished 
  this 
  great 
  feat 
  in 
  a 
  brig 
  of 
  160 
  tons 
  burthen, 
  accompanied 
  by 
  a 
  

   cutter 
  of 
  65 
  tons. 
  He 
  would 
  have 
  sailed 
  still 
  further 
  south 
  but 
  for 
  

   the 
  lateness 
  of 
  the 
  season, 
  which 
  rendered 
  it 
  prudent 
  to 
  turn 
  back. 
  

   D'Urvillo, 
  however, 
  following 
  on 
  his 
  track, 
  could 
  not 
  attain 
  to 
  even 
  

  

  

  

  