ALONG THE BARRIER 



On the 21st, the weather grew clear, the temperature 

 was somewhat higher, and the wind light. We observed 

 small flights of snow petrels and Antarctic petrels, and 

 saw a single giant petrel for the first time. There were 

 also several whales spouting in the distance. The same 

 sort of weather continued throughout the day, and similar 

 weather, though somewhat clearer, was experienced on the 

 22nd. On the morning of the 23rd we saw some very 

 large icebergs, and towards evening these increased in 

 number. They were evidently great masses broken off 

 the Barrier; early in the morning we passed a large tilted 

 berg, yellow with diatoms. On our port side appeared 

 a very heavy pack, in which a number of large bergs were 

 embedded. Our course for these three days was about due 

 south, and we were making good headway under steam. 



We were now keeping a sharp look-out for the Barrier, 

 which we expected to see at any moment. A light south- 

 easterly wind blew cold, warning us that we could not 

 be very far away from the ice-sheet. The thermometer 

 registered some twelve degrees of frost, but we hardly 

 felt the cold, for the wind was so dry. At 9.30 a.m. on the 

 23rd a long, low straight line appeared ahead of the ship. 

 It was the Barrier. After half an hour it disappeared 

 from view, having evidently been only raised into sight as 

 an eff ect of mirage, but by eleven o'clock the straight line 

 stretching out east and west was in full view, and we 

 rapidly approached it. I had hoped to make the Bar- 

 rier about the position of what we call the Western Bight, 

 and at noon we could see a point on our starboard, from 

 which the Barrier dropped back. This was evidently 

 the eastern limit of the Western Bight. Shortly after 

 noon we were within a quarter of a mile of the ice-face, 

 and exclamations of wonder and astonishment at the 

 stupendous bulk of the Barrier were drawn from the men 

 who had not seen it before. 



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