the presence of land behind the barrier. The outlines of this land soon became faintly visible, and Bruce named it Coats Land after his chief sponsors. This was the first positive indicator of the eastern limits of the Weddell Sea at high latitude, and suggested that the sea might be considerably smaller than had been previously supposed. A projected visit to Coats Land by a sledging party was abandoned by Bruce because of the state of the sea ice. On 9 March 1904, Scotia reached its most southerly latitude of 74°01'S. At this point, the ship was held fast in the pack ice, and the prospect loomed of becoming trapped for the winter. It was during this period of inactivity that bagpiper Gilbert Kerr was photographed serenading a penguin. On 13 March the ship broke free and began to move slowly north-eastward under steam. Throughout this part of the voyage a regular programme of depth soundings, trawls, and sea-bottom samples provided a comprehensive record of the oceanography and marine life of the Weddell Sea.Scotia headed for Cape Town by a route that took it to Gough Island, an isolated mid-Atlantic volcanic projection that had never been visited by a scientific party. On 21 April, Bruce and five others spent a day ashore, collecting specimens. The ship arrived in Cape Town on 6 May. After carrying out further research work in the Saldanha Bay area, Scotia sailed for home on 21 May. On the voyage home the party called at Saint Helena and visited Napoleon's exile home which they found neglected and in disrepair. On 7 June the ship reached Ascension Island where they were impressed by the sight of giant turtles, some of them across. The final port of call was at Horta in the Azores, where they stopped briefly on 5 July before heading for home. Homecoming and after The expedition was warmly received on its return to the Clyde on 21 July 1904. A formal reception for 400 people was held at the Marine Biological Station, Millport, at which John Murray read a telegram of congratulation from King Edward VII. Bruce was presented with the Royal Scottish Geographical Society's gold medal, and Captain Robertson with the silver medal. Following the expedition, more than 1,100 species of animal life, 212 of them previously unknown to science, were catalogued; there was no official acknowledgement from London, where under the influence