1 68 SIEGE OF THE SOUTH POLE 
the Antarctic circle in longitude 178° E., on the 29th. 
Field-ice bounded the southern horizon, and numerous 
bergs were in sight. On February 1st the Eliza Scott 
and Sabrina were stopped in latitude 69° S., longitude 
172 0 E., by a large body of packed ice. They did not 
attempt to penetrate the pack, but worked to the north- 
west along its edge against a strong westerly wind, which 
they had not expected to find so far south. No previous 
voyagers had ever got so far south in these longitudes. 
For several days the weather was thick and foggy, 
with light winds. The sea was discoloured ; there were 
feathers floating about and many seals and penguins 
were seen, while whales were also plentiful. Little 
progress was made and except the ice surrounding the 
ships, nothing could be seen. 
On February 9th, 1839, 8 a. m., the sky cleared 
and an observation for longitude was obtained which 
gave the position as 164° 30' E. At 11 o’clock, a dark 
appearance was noticed to the southwest and the sun 
continuing to shine brightly, allowed an observation 
for latitude to be made at noon, giving the position as 
66° 37' S., while the appearance noted an hour previously 
was seen to be land. A course was immediately set 
for the land, and at 8 p. m. it was within five miles 
of the vessels, showing up as three large and very high 
islands, with a number of smaller ones. Next day the 
Eliza Scott succeeded in getting to within a mile of 
the middle island, but it was found to be closely invested 
with ice and no landing possible. Fog soon came on and 
continued for two days, with occasional clear blinks. A 
glimpse of the land obtained in one of these showed a 
mountain of tremendous height, estimated by Balleny at 
12,000 feet. On February 12th both captains made an 
