The expedition sailed from Hobart Town on the 12th of November 1840,
and proceeded to the Auckland Islands, where a series of magnetic
observations was made on the Term-day, November 28th; and, having
surveyed the island, they continued their course to Campbell Island.
From thence Captain Ross proposed to steer due south; and leaving the
island on the 17th of December, the first icebergs were seen on the
27th in lat. 60° 20' S. Differing from those of the Arctic Seas,
they were of unform shape, large and solid, with tabular summits and
perpendicular cliffs, against which the waves dashed with great
violence; and a heavy swell prevailing during the night amongst the
loose pieces of ice with which they were interspersed, rendered the
situation of the ships one of great anxiety.
On the 31st a strong ice-blink in the sky indicated the proximity of
the pack, the edge of which they reached, crossing the Antarctic
circle on New-year's Day, 1841.
This pack, which they met with in a lower latitude than they
expected, was a belt of loose ice and bergs 200 miles in width,
hitherto considered impenetrable, and which certainly presented a
most formidable obstacle to any further progress in that direction.
A strong breeze and high sea prevented the attempt being made till
the 5th, when, selecting the most favourable point, the 'Erebus'
forced her way through the dense edge of the pack, closely followed
by the 'Terror,' into some small holes of water connected by narrow
lanes. The masses of ice amongst which they now pursued their course
were of a less formidable character than they had been led to expect,
and they continued to advance slowly, sustaining violent shocks,
which would have proved destructive to ships less prepared to
withstand them, and at times forced to heave-to till the ice should
open before them. Thick fogs and constant snow-showers frequently
impeded their course, though whenever the weather cleared, they were
encouraged by seeing a strong water-sky to the south-east, and,
favoured by a strong northerly breeze, they found themselves again in
clear water, having accomplished the passage through the pack without
any injury. They now steered as due south as the wind admitted for
the magnetic pole, supposed to be situated about 76° south latitude.
As the ships advanced, however, a strong "land blink" was perceived
on the horizon; and at daybreak on the 11th, lat. 70° 47' S., and
long. 172° 36' E., land was seen directly ahead, apparently of great
height, and must have been a hundred miles distant when first seen.
It rose in lofty peaks, covered with snow, mountainous ranges
extending to the right and left as far as the eye could reach. The
highest of these peaks was named Mount Sabine, and measured nearly
10,000 feet, and was supposed to be 30 miles from the coast. Towards
evening they neared the coast, which was lined with a heavy pack; but
a strong wind on the shore, and a high sea beating heavily on the
pack-edge, rendered landing impracticable. Standing, therefore, to
the south-east, so as to get to leeward of a projecting point,
several small islands were discovered, under shelter of which it was
hoped to effect a landing. It was a beautifully clear evening, and
they here had a good view of two magnificent ranges of mountains,
whose lofty peaks, rising to the height of 7,000 or 8,000 feet above
the sea, were perfectly covered with eternal snow. The glaciers from
the intervening valleys projected several miles into the sea,
terminating in lofty perpendicular cliffs, and the dark rocks, which
in some places broke through the icy covering, indicated the volcanic
origin of the land. The range of mountains extending to the
north-west was called by Captain Ross Admiralty Range, the most
conspicuous points being distinguished by the names of the various
Lords Commissioners. The weather calming the next morning, they
succeeded in approaching the islands, when Captain Ross and Captain
Crozier, with some of their officers, landed on one, though with
difficulty, on account of the projecting ice and heavy surf, and took
possession of the newly-discovered land in the name of Queen
Victoria, naming it Possession Island. This land, the most southern
yet discovered, though nearly reached by the Russian Bellinghausen,
20 years before, presented an insuperable obstacle to their attaining
the magnetic pole in that direction: it was, therefore, determined to
follow the south-coast line, and thence take a more westerly course.
They made but little progress, owing to the baffling winds, thick
fogs, and snow-storms; and on the 15th were in sight of the
magnificent chain of mountains stretching away to the south, whose
sharply-pointed snowy summits, varying from 12,000 to 14,000 feet in
height, were named after the most eminent members of the Royal
Society and British Association. This day Captain Ross suddenly
perceived an island, which had not been in view a short time before,
above 100 feet high, the whole of one side perfectly free from snow.
Calling the attention of some of his officers to it, one of them
remarked that a large berg, before observed, had disappeared, or
rather turned over unperceived by them, and thus presented a new
surface, covered with earth and stones, exactly resembling an island.
On the 19th, a favourable breeze springing up, all sail was crowded
on the ships, and they made some way to the south, passing between
the mainland and an island, which was named Coulman Island. Though
again baffled by head-winds, adverse currents, and masses of ice, on
the 27th they reached an island in lat. 76° 8' S., long. 168° 12' E.,
on which Captain Ross and some officers landed, though with such
danger that he forbade any more attempting to leave the boat, and
taking formal possession of it, named it Franklin Island, in
compliment to Sir J. Franklin. This island, like the former, is
composed of igneous rocks, with ice-cliffs to the south and west.
Standing to the south, the ships came in sight of some high land,
which proved to be a volcano, 12,400 feet high, in full activity,
which received the name of Mount Erebus; an extinct volcano to the
east being named Mount Terror. They were now in lat. 76° 6' S.,
long. 168° 11' E., without any appearance of being able to approach
the magnetic pole on account of the land ice. On nearing the land, a
low white line was perceived, extending from its eastern point as far
as the eye could discern to the eastward, which proved to be a
perpendicular cliff, 150 to 200 feet above the level of the sea, with
an even face to the sea perfectly flat and level at the top, beyond
which the summits of a range of mountains only could be discerned,
extending to 79° S. lat. Any further advance in that direction being
checked by this barrier, Captain Ross altered his course to the east,
hoping it might lead further southward. The whole coast from the
extreme western point presented a similar vertical cliff, 200 or 300
feet high: not the smallest fissure could be discovered, and the
intensely-bright sky beyond indicated the great extent it reached to
the south. Having explored this barrier for 300 miles, though heavy
snow-storms frequently hid it from their sight, on the 9th they
reached lat. 78°. A heavy pack of ice now prevented their further
progress, and the narrow lane of comparatively clear water through
which they had hitherto found their way was now completely covered
with rapidly-forming ice, indicating the approach of winter, and
threatening to hem them in between the pack and the barrier.
Retracing their course, by means of a strong breeze, the ships forced
their way through the young ice, though much impeded by thick fogs,
which often rendered it difficult for them to keep together. The
cold was much more severe than in the North Seas: though the middle
of the antarctic summer, the thermometer did not rise above 14° at
noon. In the afternoon of the 11th of February, while running before
a favourable breeze, they found themselves surrounded by the main
pack on all sides, except to windward, having during the thick
weather run down into a deep bight of it. The ships were instantly
hauled to the wind, and with the greatest difficulty extricated from
their dangerous situation before the wind increased to a violent
gale; and under a close-reefed main-top-sail, and storm stay-sails
they, before midnight, barely weathered a great number of very large
bergs clustered together under their lee, and probably aground, one
nearly four miles long, though not more than 150 feet high. For some
hours all on board were in a state of great anxiety, not knowing how
far west this chain of bergs might extend, the thick-falling snow
preventing their seeing to any distance ahead; the waves, as they
broke over the ships, froze as they fell on the decks and rigging,
and covered their clothes with a thick coating of ice. In the
afternoon of the 13th the storm began to abate, and they found
themselves in a more open sea.
Captain Ross now being convinced of the necessity of relinquishing
any attempt to penetrate to the eastward that season, they bore away
to the west and north, passing Franklin Island on the 15th, and Mount
Erebus on the 16th, and approached the coast in the hope of finding a
refuge for the winter, so as to visit the volcano and penetrate to
the Magnetic Pole in the following spring. A low point of land, with
a small islet off it, seemed to promise a shelter; but on
endeavouring to struggle through the ice towards this spot, it was
found utterly impossible to reach it, the whole space of 15 or 16
miles between it and the ships being now a solid mass of ice.
Captain Ross and Commander Crozier came therefore to the
determination of relinquishing the attempt, and naming the land they
had discovered and traced from the 70th to the 76th degree of
latitude after Her Most Gracious Majesty, they commenced retracing
their way to the eastward; a most laborious work, as the ice had
become so thick as to prevent the ships sailing through it, and yet
was not strong enough to bear the weight of a party of men to cut a
passage with saws. The boats being hauled out on each bow, the ice
was broken up by rolling them; and in this manner it took sometimes
an hour to advance a few yards, and it was not till the following
morning that they regained the clear water and bore away to the
northward.
Another attempt was made to land further to the north, which proved
equally unsuccessful, and they steered away to the north, towards a
chain of islands discovered by Balleny, and soon came to the main
pack, along the edge of which they continued their course, meeting
with alternate gales and calms, with snow storms, and frequently
beset by the ice. On March 2nd and the following days land was in
sight, supposed to be that seen by Balleny; and on the 4th they
recrossed the Antarctic Circle. On the 7th, during a strong breeze,
the ships became involved in an immense chain of bergs, so closely
packed as to show no opening through which to pass, the waves
breaking violently against them, and dashing huge masses of ice
against the precipitous faces of the bergs, from which they were
thrown in a multitude of fragments. For eight hours they had been
drifting towards what appeared inevitable destruction, the high waves
and deep rolling of the ships rendering towing with the boats
impossible, and no human effort could be made to avoid the doom which
seemed to await them. When within half a mile of the range of bergs,
where they could hear the roar of the surf and the crashing of the
ice, most providentially a gentle favouring breeze came on, which
before dark removed them from all danger. During their progress to
the north-west, they frequently saw the Aurora Australis, which was
sometimes brilliant enough to light them in the absence of the moon.
They now steered for Van Diemen's Land, where they arrived on the 6th
of April, after an absence of five months, and were warmly welcomed
by Sir John Franklin. Though they had not succeeded in reaching the
Magnetic Pole, it was very satisfactory to have approached it some
hundred miles nearer than any preceding navigators; and it was a
source of great thankfulness that every individual had been permitted
to return from this hazardous expedition in health and safety.