This island rose to
the height of twenty feet. It was perfectly flat, with steep,
perpendicular sides, which made it inaccessible to man. From the
masthead, however, it was possible to observe its surface, which we saw
to be covered by a vast number of penguins, so we knew a landing must
be available somewhere, for these birds are wingless. This island was
composed entirely of ice, it being, as Hartog reckoned, a glacier which
had broken off from the main continent into the sea. It was drifting
north, and would gradually melt in the warmer atmosphere to which the
current was taking it, but many years must elapse before this would
happen.
That evening we remained in the vicinity of the island. The twilight of
this region in which we now found ourselves continued without fading
into night, and to add to the beauty of the scene an aureola appeared
in the sky. It was a sight, once seen, never to be forgotten. A world
of perpetual day.
With the return of sunlight Hartog determined, if possible, to effect a
landing, and leaving the "Arms of Amsterdam" in charge of Janstins, the
cutter was manned, in which the captain and I set out for the shore.
Pages:
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87