  The ground state of the two dimensional electron gas near $\nu$=1 is
investigated by inelastic light scattering measurements carried down to very
low temperatures. Away from $\nu$=1, the ferromagnetic spin wave collapses and
a new low-energy spin wave emerges below the Zeeman gap. The emergent spin wave
shows soft behavior as its energy increases with temperature and reaches the
Zeeman energy for temperatures above 2 K. The observed softening indicates an
instability of the two dimensional electron gas towards a magnetic order that
breaks spin rotational symmetry. We discuss our findings in light of the
possible existence of a Skyrme crystal.
