15' S., We Could Proceed No
Farther; The Ice Being Entirely Closed To The South, In The Whole Extent
From E. To W.S.W., Without The Least Appearance Of Any Opening.
This
immense field was composed of different kinds of ice; such as high hills,
loose or broken pieces packed close together, and what, I think,
Greenlandmen call field-ice.
A float of this kind of ice lay to the S.E. of
us, of such extent, that I could see no end to it from the mast-head. It
was sixteen or eighteen feet high at least; and appeared of a pretty equal
height and surface. Here we saw many whales playing about the ice, and for
two days before had seen several flocks of the brown and white pintadoes,
which we named Antarctic peterels, because they seem to be natives of that
region. They are, undoubtedly, of the peterel tribe; are in every respect
shaped like the pintadoes, differing only from them in colour. The head and
fore-part of the body of these are brown; and the hind-part of the body,
tail, and the ends of the wings, are white. The white peterel also appeared
in greater numbers than before; some few dark-grey albatrosses, and our
constant companion the blue peterel. But the common pintadoes had quite
disappeared, as well as many other sorts, which are common in lower
latitudes.
[1] "In the midst of this heavy gale, I tried Dr Lind's wind-gage, and
the water in it was depressed by the force of the wind 45/100 of an
inch." W. According to the same authority, it was equally depressed on
the 30th, and on the 1st December, it sunk 4/10 of an inch in the
squalls.
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