with a small pocket magnifying glass--a performance which testified
not only to Wilson's resource, but also to the power of the sun
in these latitudes.

On the 17th the ship had to stand out farther and farther from
the land to clear the pack, and when on the 18th she arrived in
the entrance to Wood Bay it was also found to be heavily packed. A
way to the N. and N.W. the sharp peaks of Monteagle and Murchison,
among bewildering clusters of lesser summits, could be seen; across
the bay rose the magnificent bare cliff of Cape Sibbald, while
to the S.W. the eye lingered pleasantly upon the uniform outline
of Mount Melbourne. This fine mountain rears an almost perfect
volcanic cone to a height of 9,000 feet, and with no competing
height to take from its grandeur, it constitutes the most magnificent
landmark on the coast. Cape Washington, a bold, sharp headland,
projects from the foot of the mountain on its eastern side, and
finding such heavy pack in Wood Bay, Scott decided to turn to the
south to pass around this cape.

From this point the voyage promised to be increasingly interesting,
since the coast to the south of Cape Washington was practically
unknown. Pack-ice was
[Page 50]
still a formidable obstacle, but on the 20th the _Discovery_ pushed
her way into an inlet where she met ice which had been formed inside
and but recently broken up. The ice was perfectly smooth, and as
it showed absolutely no sign of pressure there was no doubting
that this inlet would make a secure wintering harbor. Already a
latitude had been reached in which it was most desirable to find
safe winter quarters for the ship. In England many people had thought