Page:A Voyage of Discovery and Research in the Southern and Antarctic Regions Vol 1.djvu/284

196 attention of some of the officers to it, one of them remarked that a large berg which had been an object of observation before, had disappeared, or rather had turned over unperceived by us, and presented a new surface, covered with earth and stones, so exactly like an island that nothing but landing on it could have convinced us to the contrary had not its appearance been so satisfactorily explained; and moreover, on more careful observation a slight rolling motion was still perceptible.

I was very desirous to find a harbour in which to secure the ships and obtain magnetometric observations on the 20th of this month, being one of the term days agreed upon for simultaneous observations; well knowing the great interest and importance that would attach to a complete series of such experiments, within 500 miles of the south magnetic pole; and for this purpose I had closely examined every indentation of the coast that presented itself. These were, however, all filled with drifted snow from the mountains, and formed a mass of ice several hundred feet thick; and thus we found it impossible to enter any of the valleys or breaks in the coasts where harbours in other lands usually occur. Still we hoped to meet with lower land, or amongst some of the islands to find a place of shelter for our ships and suitable for our purpose; therefore we kept as close to the shore as circumstances would admit throughout the day, and in the evening stood out to sea, as we then found the tide near the land had turned, and was carrying us fast to leeward.