42 
On the newly discovered 
and delightful to men who, for some time previous, had 
been working their doubtful way through heavy packs 
of ice for upwards of tw'o hundred miles, impressed with 
deep anxiety for the success of a voyage which absorbed 
all other cares of life. This state of feeling was natur¬ 
ally increased by the failure of two well-appointed expe¬ 
ditions, which, as is known to the world, had immediately 
preceded us in exploring the far south. 
The approach to the land was at the rate of four or five 
miles an hour. Each hour heightened our admiration of 
the noble prospect, as ridge after ridge, and mountain 
after mountain, rose to view, till 11 P.M., when this 
immense pile of land, from its base to its summit, stood 
full in front, presenting a view of great and peculiar in¬ 
terest. Our distance from it was then about ten miles. 
The base of the land showed precipitous dark cliffs of 
many miles in extent, rising, from an ice-fringed shore, 
to the height of 1000 or 1200 feet. 
Behind these rose the magnificent Mount Sabine, 
to the altitude of 10,000 feet, presenting an extended, 
bold, roof-like summit. To the east of this, another re¬ 
markable peaked mountain ascended abruptly, with a 
northern escarpment, to 8000 or 9000 feet. 
The average height of the land now seen was about 
7000 feet, and its general outline consisted of numerous 
sharp rugged peaks, with an apparent regular rise; and 
all the valleys, gorges, and clefts were choked up by 
frozen snow or glaciers, which imparted to the whole an 
apparently smooth expanse of surface. The scene was 
on a scale of magnitude which surprised those amongst 
us who were accustomed to Arctic scenery. 
On the morning of the 12th, a signal from the Erebus 
announced Captain Boss’s intention to land. Captain 
Crozier and a few of his officers were also soon on their 
way to the shore, the boat from the Erebus preceding. 
