46 
On the newly discovered 
The weather having suddenly put on a gloomy ap¬ 
pearance, it was deemed prudent to depart immediately ; 
for it was evident that the two ships, though carrying a 
press of sail, had much to do to keep their offing, owing 
to the rush of the current. 
The men having got into their respective boats, we 
immediately pulled off, well loaded with birds and stones, 
—regretting, however, that nothing of more scientific 
interest had attended our visit; for the land being com¬ 
pletely encumbered with snow and ice, and our stay 
necessarily so short, a satisfactory geological examination 
of the coast was unattainable. 
The highest part of the island is about 250 or 300 feet 
above the level of the sea, and without any apparent dip 
or cleavage, except on the eastern end, where vertical 
masses of columnar basalt, with large and well-defined 
prisms, rise from the sea to a height of 70 or 80 feet, 
at which elevation they become capped by a more 
regular description of rock. The rock which charac¬ 
terises Penguin Island appears to be composed of frag¬ 
ments of various substances, cemented together into an 
irregular mass of no considerable specific gravity, but 
extremely tough and difficult to fracture by strokes of 
the hammer. It yields to the knife, and becomes red 
before the blowpipe, at the same time giving out a light 
bluish flame ; whilst the heated parts form opaque intu¬ 
mescences, which, when cooled, show a black vitreous 
lustre, with increased frangibility. It is also slightly 
coherent to the tongue. 
Several rounded portions of pumice, and a dark blue 
basalt, were found amongst the water-worn rocks of the 
beach, and these, together with a light greyish arenaceous 
rock, were the only geological samples procured. The 
latter is thickly intermixed with fine grains of quartz, 
and is very compact. 
