412 
Antarctic Discoveries. 
magnificent volcano received the name of Mount Erebus. It 
is in latitude 77° 32' S., and longitude 167° E.; an extinct crater 
to the eastward of Mount Erebus, of a somewhat less elevation, 
was called Mount Terror. The mainland preserved its southerly 
trending, and we continued to follow it until, in the afternoon^ 
when close in with the land, our further progress in that direc¬ 
tion was prevented by a barrier of ice stretching away from a 
projecting cape of the coast directly to the E.S. E. 
This extraordinary barrier presented a perpendicular face of 
at least 150 feet, rising, of course, far above the mast-heads of 
our ships, and completely concealing from our view every thing 
beyond it, except only the tops of a range of very lofty moun¬ 
tains in a S.S.E. direction, and in latitude 79 J S. 
Pursuing the examination of this splendid barrier to the 
eastward, we reached the latitude of 78° 4' south, the highest 
we were at any time able to attain, on the 2nd hebruary, and 
on the 9tli, having traced its continuity to the longitude of 
191° 23' in latitude 78° S., a distance of more than 300 miles, 
our further progress was prevented by a heavy pack, pressed 
closely against the barrier; and the narrow lane of water by 
means of which we had penetrated thus far, became so com¬ 
pletely covered by rapidly forming ice, that nothing but the 
strong breeze with which we were favoured enabled us to retrace 
our steps. 
When at a distance of less than half a mile from its lofty 
ice-cliffs, we had soundings with 318 fathoms, on a bed of soft 
blue mud. 
With a temperature of 20° below the freezing point, we found 
the ice to form so rapidly on the surface, that any further 
examination of the barrier in so extremely severe a period of 
the season being impracticable, we stood away to the westward, 
for the purpose of making another attempt to approach the 
magnetic pole, and again reached its latitude (/6 S.) on the 
15th of February; and although we found that much of the 
heavy ice had drifted away since our former attempt, and its 
place in a great measure supplied by recently formed ice, yet 
we made some way through it, and got a few miles nearer the 
Pole than we had before been able to accomplish, when the 
heavy pack again frustrated all our efforts, completely filling the 
space of 15 "or 16 miles between us and the shore. We were 
this time in latitude 76° 12' S-, and longitude 164°, the dip 
being 88*40, and variation 109*24 E. We were, of course, only 
160 miles from the Pole. 
Had it been possible to approach any part of this coast, and 
have found any place of security for the ships, we might have 
travelled this short distance over the land; but this proved to 
be utterly impracticable; and although our hopes of complete 
attainment have not been realized, it is some satisfaction to fee 
assured that we have approached the Pole more nearly, y 
