410 
Antarctic Discoveries . 
Majesty's ship under my command, and the Terror , under my 
orders, this afternoon at this port. 
I have further to report to you, for the information of my 
Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, that, in accordance 
with the intentions expressed in my despatch to you, dated from 
Hobart Town on the 11th of November last, I proceeded to 
Auckland Islands, and satisfactorily accomplished a complete 
series of magnetometric observations on the important term-day 
of November last. 
Under all the circumstances, it appeared to me, that it would 
conduce more to the advancement of that branch of science for 
which the expedition has been more expressly sent forth, as well 
as for the extension of our geographical knowledge of the Antarc¬ 
tic regions, to endeavour to penetrate to the southward, about 
the 170th degree of east longitude, by which the isodynamic 
oval, and the point exactly between the two foci of greater 
magnetic intensity, might be passed over and determined, and 
directly between the tracks of the Russian navigator, Belling- 
hausen, and our own Captain J ames Cook; and after entering 
the Antarctic circle to steer S.W. towards the Pole, rather than 
attempt to approach it directly from the north, on the unsuc¬ 
cessful footsteps of my predecessors. 
Accordingly, on leaving Auckland Islands on the 12th of 
December, we proceeded to the southward, touching for a few 
days at Campbell Island for magnetic purposes; and, after 
passing among many icebergs to the southward of 63° latitude, 
we made the Pack Edge, and entered theAntarctic circle on the 
1st day of January, 1841. 
This pack presented none of those formidable characters 
which I had been led to expect from the accounts of the Ame¬ 
ricans and French; but the circumstances were sufficiently un¬ 
favourable to deter me from entering it at this time, and a gale 
from the northward interrupted our operations for three or tour 
days. On the 5th January we again made the pack, about 100 
miles to the eastward, in latitude G6° 45' south, and longitude 174° 
16' east, and^ although the wind was blowing directly on it, with 
a high sea running, we succeeded in entering it without either 
of the ships sustaining any injury, and, after penetrating a few 
miles, we were enabled to make our way to the southward with 
comparative ease and safety. 
On the following three or four days our progress was ren¬ 
dered more difficult and tedious by thick fogs, light winds, a 
heavy swell, and almost constant snow showers ; but a strong 
water-sky to the S. E. which was seen at every interval of clear 
weather encouraged us to persevere in that direction, and on the 
morning of the 9th, after sailing more than 200 miles through 
this pack, we gained a perfectly clear sea, and bore away S.W. 
towards the magnetic Pole. 
On the morning of the 11th January, when in latitude 70° 
