were seen ahead, and soon the loose floes were all about the ship,
and she was pushing her way amongst them and receiving her baptism
of ice.

[Page 35]
This was Scott's first experience of pack-ice, and he has recorded
how deeply he was impressed by the novelty of his surroundings.
'The wind had died away; what light remained was reflected in a
ghostly glimmer from the white surface of the pack; now and again
a white snow petrel flitted through the gloom, the grinding of the
floes against the ship's side was mingled with the more subdued
hush of their rise and fall on the long swell, and for the first
time we felt something of the solemnity of these great Southern
solitudes.'

The _Discovery_ was now within 200 miles of Adélie Land, and with
steam could easily have pushed on towards it. But delays had already
been excessive, and they could not be added to if New Zealand was
to be reached betimes. Reluctantly the ship's head was again turned
towards the North, and soon passed into looser ice.

One great feature of the tempestuous seas of these southern oceans
is the quantity and variety of their bird life. Not only are these
roaming, tireless birds to be seen in the distance, but in the
majority of cases they are attracted by a ship and for hours gather
close about her. The greater number are of the petrel tribe, and
vary in size from the greater albatrosses, with their huge spread
of wing and unwavering flight, to the small Wilson stormy petrel,
which flits under the foaming crests of the waves. For centuries
these birds have been the friends of sailors, and as Wilson was