THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 41 1 
obtained. The people of New Zealand were much inter- 
ested and very enthusiastic, and when the Discovery 
finally sailed from Port Chalmers on December 24th, 
1901, she was laden with welcome gifts in the form of 
fresh mutton and vegetables. 
The main objects of the expedition were officially stated 
to be to determine as far as possible the nature and extent 
of that portion of the South Polar lands which the ship 
would be able to reach, and to conduct a magnetic survey. 
The question of wintering was left to the discretion of 
the commander, but a relief ship was arranged for 
to communicate with the expedition in the following 
summer. 
The Discovery met the pack on January 1, 1902, almost 
on the Antarctic circle, and worked her way through in 
exactly a week, finding open sea in 70° 25' S., 173 0 44' E. 
A landing was made at Cape Adare on the 9th, and next 
day the ship commenced her southward progress along 
the coast, though troubled occasionally by drifting ice. 
Several landings were made and records set up on shore 
to guide the relief ship in the following year. On Janu- 
ary 22nd, a party landed at the base of Mount Terror near 
Cape Crozier. The ship then coasted the great barrier 
eastward, finding soundings of about 300 fathoms, until 
the 29th, when in 165° E. the water shoaled to 100 
fathoms, and for two days' journey farther east it varied 
between 100 and 70 fathoms, a sure indication of the im- 
mediate proximity of land. Land was discovered stretch- 
ing north-eastward from 155 0 to 150° W. where a heavy 
pack made it necessary to turn back. The bare rocks 
were seen projecting from the snow-covered hills, and in 
King Edward VII. Land Scott had the good fortune to 
prove the truth of those signs which Ross had recognised 
