THE EREBUS AND TERROR 319 
alongside it, and Ross records : “ I named it Darwin 
Islet, after Charles Darwin, Esquire, the talented com- 
panion of Captain Fitzroy during his interesting voy- 
age.” 
Here again, as off Victoria Land, the number and 
tameness of the whales struck the explorers, and Ross 
was never weary of expatiating on the great cargoes of 
oil which might be obtained. In the present instance 
he appears to have believed the opportunities for whaling 
to be of enormous importance, and to have attached to 
the little chain of islets a value that one can hardly un- 
derstand, for he says: 
“ Thus within ten days rfter leaving the Falkland 
Islands, we have discovered not only new land, but a 
valuable whale-fishery well worthy the attention of our 
enterprising merchants, less than six hundred miles from 
one of our own possessions.” 
The enterprising merchants, however, took exactly 
half a century before they made up their minds to send 
a ship to investigate the whale fisheries of Weddell Sea. 
On December 30th the bold outline of JTinville Land, 
discovered by D’Urville, was clearly een and the moun- 
tains behind it, to a number of which Ross gave the 
names of naval officers who had assisted the expedition 
when at the Falkland Islands. A remarkable tower- 
shaped rock on the south side of Joinville Land he after- 
wards named D’Urville’s Monument, in honour of the 
versatile French Admiral who had discovered the land. 
On New Year’s Day, 1843, the ships were becalmed 
off the land in 64° 14' S., and the usual distribution of 
warm clothing was made to the men, although they had 
not the satisfaction of crossing the Antarctic circle as on 
the two previous New Year’s Days. A fine mountain 
