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188
LAND ON POSSESSION ISLAND.
[Chap. VII.
1841
mountains being in our way restored to England the honour of the discovery of the southernmost known land, which had been nobly won by the intrepid Bellinghausen, and for more than twenty years retained by Russia.
Favoured by very fine weather during the night, we succeeded in approaching within two or three miles of the small islands lying a short distance from the main land by nine o'clock the next morning, at which time, accompanied by several of my officers, I left the ship in charge of Lieutenant Bird, and pulled towards the shore, followed by Commander Crozier and some of the Terror's officers.
We found the shores of the mainland completely covered with ice projecting into the sea, and the heavy surf along its edge forbade any attempt to land upon it; a strong tide carried us rapidly along between this ice-bound coast and the islands amongst heavy masses of ice, so that our situation was for some time most critical; for all the exertions our people could use were insufficient to stem the tide. But taking advantage of a narrow opening that appeared in the ice, the boats were pushed through it, and we got into an eddy under the lee of the largest of the islands, and landed on a beach of large loose stones and stranded masses of ice. The weather by this time had put on a most threatening appearance, the breeze was freshening fast, and the anxious circumstances under which we were placed, together with the recal flag flying at the ship's mast-