ANTARCTIC CRUISE. 335 



the year only, while at others it is quite clear, because strong currents 

 prevail there, which sweep the ice off to the northeast. Along the 

 Antarctic Continent for the whole distance explored, which is upwards 

 of fifteen hundred miles, no open strait is found. The coast, where the 

 ice permitted approach, was found enveloped with a perpendicular 

 barrier, in some cases unbroken for fifty miles. If there was only a 

 chain of islands, the outline of the ice would undoubtedly be of another 

 form ; and it is scarcely to be conceived that so long a chain could 

 extend so nearly in the same parallel of latitude. The land has none 

 of the abruptness of termination that the islands of high southern lati- 

 tudes exhibit ; and I am satisfied that it exists in one uninterrupted line 

 of coast, from Ringgold's Knoll, in the east, to Enderby's Land, in the 

 west ; that the coast (at longitude 95° E.) trends to the north, and this 

 will account for the icy barrier existing, with little alteration, where it 

 was seen by Cook in 1773. The vast number of ice-islands conclu- 

 sively points out that there is some extensive nucleus which retains 

 them in their position ; for I can see no reason why the ice should not 

 be disengaged from islands, if they were such, as happens in all other 

 cases in like latitudes. The formation of the coast is different from 

 what would probably be found near islands, soundings being obtained 

 in comparatively shoal water ; and the colour of the water also indi- 

 cates that it is not like other southern lands, abrupt and precipitous. 

 This cause is sufficient to retain the huge masses of ice, by their being 

 attached by their lower surfaces instead of their sides only. 



Much inquiry and a strong desire has been evinced by geologists, to 

 ascertain the extent to which these ice-islands travel, the boulders and 

 masses of earth they transport, and the direction they take. 



From my own observations, and the information I have collected, 

 there appears a great difference in the movements of these vast masses ; 

 in some years, great numbers of them have floated north from the 

 Antarctic Circle, and even at times obstructed the navigation about 

 the capes. The year 1832 was remarkable in this respect ; many 

 vessels bound round Cape Horn from the Pacific, were obliged to put 

 back to Chili, in consequence of the dangers arising from ice ; while, 

 during the preceding and following years, little or none was seen: this 

 would lead to the belief, that great changes must take place in the 

 higher latitudes, or the prevalence of some cause to detach the ice- 

 islands from the barrier in such great quantities as to cover almost the 

 entire section of the ocean, south of the latitude 50° S. Taking the 

 early part of the (southern) spring, as the time of separation, we are 

 enabled to make some estimate of the velocity with which they move : 



