156 FROM MADEIRA TO THE BARRIER 



the Fram, with her limited sail area and her heavily- 

 laden hull. 



On the afternoon of November 28 we sighted land. 

 It was only a barren rocky knoll, and according to our 

 determination of the position it would be the island 

 called Bligh's Cap, which lies a few miles north of Ker- 

 guelen Island ; but as the weather was not very clear, and 

 we were unacquainted with the channels, we preferred 

 to lie-to for the night before approaching any nearer. 

 Early next morning the weather cleared, and we got 

 accurate bearings. A course was laid for Royal Sound, 

 where we supposed the whaling-station to be situated. 

 We were going well in the fresh morning breeze, and 

 were just about to round the last headland, when all at 

 once a gale sprang up again, the bare and uninviting 

 coast was hidden in heavy rain, and we had the choice 

 of waiting for an indefinite time or continuing our 

 voyage. Without much hesitation we chose the latter 

 alternative. It might be tempting enough to come in 

 contact with other men, especially as they were fellow- 

 countrymen, but it was even more tempting to have 

 done with the remaining 4,000 miles that lay between 

 us and the Barrier as quickly as possible. It turned 

 out that we had chosen rightly. December brought us 

 a fair wind, even fresher than that of November, and by 

 the middle of the month we had already covered half 

 the distance between Kerguelen Island and our goal. 

 We fortified the dogs from time to time with a liberal 



