316 ANTARCTIC CRUISE. 



On the morning of the 30th the sun rose in great brilliancy, and the 

 scene could hardly be realized as the same as that we had passed 

 through only twenty-four hours before. All was now quiet ; a brisk 

 breeze blew from the eastward, all sail was set, and there was every 

 prospect that we might accomplish our object; for the land was in 

 sight, and the icebergs seemed floating in quiet. We wound our way 

 through them in a sea so smooth that a yawl might have passed over 

 it in safety. No straight line could have been drawn from us in any 

 direction, that would not have cut a dozen icebergs in the same number 

 of miles, and the wondering exclamations of the officers and crew were 

 oft repeated, — " How could we have passed through them unharmed ft 

 and, " What a lucky ship !" At eight o'clock, we had reached the icy 

 barrier, and hove-to close to it. It was tantalizing, with the land in 

 sight, to be again and again blocked out. Open water was seen near 

 the land to the southwest of us, and a tortuous channel through the 

 broken ice to leeward, apparently leading to it. All sail was immedi- 

 ately crowded; we passed rapidly through, and found ourselves again in 

 clear water, which reached to the shores : the barrier extending in a 

 line with our course, about two miles to windward, and a clear channel 

 to the northwest, about two miles wide, as far as the eye could reach. 

 Seeing this, I remarked to one of the officers that it would have been 

 a good place to drift in during the last gale, — little thinking that in a 

 few short hours it would serve us for that purpose, in still greater need. 

 A brisk gale ensued, and the ship ran at the rate of nine or ten miles 

 an hour ; one reef was taken in the topsails, and we stood directly in 

 for the most southerly part of the bay. 



This bay was formed partly by rocks and partly by ice-islands. 

 The latter were aground, and on the western side of the bay extended 

 about five miles to the northward of our position. 



While we stood on in this direction the gale increased, and our 

 room became so circumscribed that we had not time on any one tack 

 to reduce our canvass, before it became necessary to go about. In 

 this way we approached within half a mile of the dark, volcanic 

 rocks, which appeared on both sides of us, and saw the land gradually 

 rising beyond the ice to the height of three thousand feet, and entirely 

 covered with snow. It could be distinctly seen extending to the east 

 and west of our position fully sixty miles. I make this bay in longi- 

 tude 140° 02' 30" E., latitude 66° 45' S. ;. and, now that all were con- 

 vinced 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 opinion that this was nothing but 

 the snow-drift, . caused by the heavy squalls. There was too much 



