t sun and wind.

This point required investigation.

The second berg was distinguished by innumerable vertical cracks. These
seemed to run criss-cross and to weaken the structure, so that the
various seracs formed by them had bent to different angles and shapes,
giving a very irregular surface to the berg, and a face scarred with
immense vertical fissures.

One imagines that such a berg has come from a region of ice disturbance
such as King Edward's Land.

We have seen a good many whales to-day, rorquals with high black
spouts--_Balaenoptera Sibbaldi_.

The birds with us: Antarctic and snow petrel--a fulmar--and this
morning Cape pigeon.

We have pack ice farther north than expected, and it's impossible to
interpret the fact. One hopes that we shall not have anything heavy,
but I'm afraid there's not much to build upon. 10 P.M.--We have made
good progress throughout the day, but the ice streams thicken as we
advance, and on either side of us the pack now appears in considerable
fields. We still pass quantities of bergs, perhaps nearly one-half
the number tabular, but the rest worn and fantastic.

The sky has been wonderful, with every form of cloud in every condition
of light and shade; the sun has continually appeared through breaks
in the cloudy heavens from time to time, brilliantly illuminating some
field of pack, some steep-walled berg, or some patch of bluest sea. So
sunlight and shadow have chased each other across our scene. To-night
there is little or no swell--the ship is on an even keel, steady,
save for the occasional shocks on striking ice.

It is difficult to express the sense of relief this steadiness gives
after our storm-tossed passage. One can only imagine the relief and
comfort afforded to the ponies, but the dogs are visibly cheered and
the human element is full of gaiety. The voyage seems full of promise
in spite of the imminence of delay.

If the pack becomes thick I shall certainly put the fires out and wait
for it to open. I do not think it ought to remain close for long in
this meridian. To-night we must be beyond the 66th parallel.

_Saturday, December_ 10.--Dead Reckoning 66 deg. 38'. Long. 178 deg.
47'. Made good S. 17 W. 94. C. Crozier 688'. Stayed on deck till
midnight. The sun just dipped below the southern horizon. The scene
was incomparable. The northern sky was gloriously rosy and reflected
in the calm sea between the ice, which varied from burnished copper to
salmon pink;