FROM EDINBURGH TO THE ANTARCTIC 251 
So at least I am told. One necessary precaution for seal- 
ing or whaling is to have a pair of spare mits sewed to the 
inside of one's jacket, and tobacco and matches you put 
into the pockets overnight. 
We have been close enough to the land to enable us to 
distinguish the colouring and form of the rocks. The low, 
reddish-coloured islands seem to be crossed by fissures 
running into each other obliquely, with a little snow in the 
crevices ; but there is not the least sign of lichen or moss. 
It is a marvel that no scientific expedition has been 
sent down here since the days of Ross. If one is sent in 
future it ought to bring some good Alpine men who would 
climb Mount Haddington and take bird's-eye views of 
the lie of the land and ice to the south. The ascent 
would not be difficult as far as the steepness goes. We 
cannot be sure whether there are crevasses or not. 
It is almost unbearable to see the land so close and yet 
have no means to land on it. We feel tempted to jump 
overboard and swim. All our boats hang idle on the 
davits, yet we are not allowed one to land with. Snowy 
petrels and penguins of all kinds evidently breed there. 
Captain Larsen of the Jason has landed, and he tells us he 
found beds of fossils on the beach, shells, and tree trunks. 
Some of the fossil shells he showed us resembled very 
large cockles. 
jb Wednesday, 2%th.- — -A cold, dreary day. The N.E. 
wind is driving the pack about, causing us some uneasi- 
ness. It threatens to hem us into the gulf. Whalers, 
however, make little of such things. They say that 
