1841.
Dec. 15.A dense fog prevailed throughout the whole of the following day; we were now nearly a hundred miles to the southward of where Cook and Biscoe met with icebergs, still we proceeded on our course with confidence, the temperature of the sea being 36°. In the afternoon a boat was lowered down to try the current, which we found setting S. E., at the rate of fifteen and a half miles daily. The barometer rose steadily, notwithstanding which the fog was so thick, that although we could hear the voices of those on board the Terror, and every order that was given, we could not see the vessel. Towards midnight the temperature of the sea fell rather suddenly, to below 34°, Dec. 16.and at 5h 30m a.m. two icebergs were seen, and at 6h a third berg, right ahead of us. The fog had cleared away for a short time, which enabled us to see the bergs: and, in passing within half a mile of the largest, the temperature of the sea was rather below 33°.
The height of this berg was one hundred and thirty feet, and its circumference three quarters of a mile. It was one of the table-topped, or barrier kind, and deep caverns had been worn into its vertical sides by the action of the sea: a long line of loose pieces extended several miles to leeward of it, and many large masses appeared ready to fall from it, to continue the line of fragments, as the others drifted away before the wind.
At noon we were in latitude 58° 36′ S., longitude 146° 43′ W. The magnetic dip had increased to