'Desolation Island'
Adam More recalls, “It was the 17th of December when we left. From the first adverse winds prevailed, and in order to make any progress we were obliged to keep well to the south. At length, on the 6th of January, we sighted Desolation Island. We found it, indeed, a desolate spot. In its vicinity we saw a multitude of smaller islands, perhaps a thousand in number, which made navigation difficult, and forced us to hurry away as fast as possible. But the aspect of this dreary spot was of itself enough to repel us. There were no trees, and the multitude of islands seemed like moss-covered rocks.” The islands are characteristic of dreary isolation for the nonexistence of trees renders gloomy background. The mass of islands indicates the amalgamated desolation that would be non-receptive to the sailors.
Gun
Adam More explicates, “Each of us (Adam More and Agnew) seized a seal and dragged it after us to the boat. We reached it and flung them in. Just at that moment a gun sounded over the water. It was from the ship—the signal of alarm—the summons from the captain for our return.” In this context, the gun is a gesture of communiqué that would aid More and Agnew to localize the ship straightforwardly. The captain employs the gun sound to provide clues for the course which Adam More and Agnew should trail in their sailing.
Ice
Ice is ubiquitous all over ‘the Antarctic Ocean’: “At that time we were rowing for the ship, and amid the darkness and the blinding snow and the dashing waves we heard from time to time the report of signal-guns fired from the ship to guide us back. These were our only guide, for the darkness and the snow had drawn the ship from our sight, and we had to be guided by our hearing only.” Evidently, the temperatures in ‘the Antarctic sea’ are terrifically low to warranty the development of ice. The snow typifies life-threatening hazard for it hampers the ship’s suave course-plotting.
