204< cook's SECOND VOYAGE JAN. 



CHAP. VI. 



PROCEEDINGS AFTER LEAVING THE ISLE OF GEORGIA, AND 

 AN ACCOUNT OF THE DISCOVERY OF SANDWICH LAND ; 

 WITH SOME REASONS FOR THERE BEING LAND ABOUT 

 THE SOUTH POLE. 



On the 25th we steered E. S. E., with a fresh gale at 

 N.N.E., attended with foggy weather, till towards 

 the evening, when the sky becoming clear, we found 

 the variation to be 9° 26' E., being at this time in the 

 latitude of 56° 16' $., longitude 32° 9' W. 



Having continued to steer E. S. E., with a fine 

 gale at N.N.W., till daylight next morning, on 

 seeing no land to the E., I gave orders to steer 

 S., being at this time in the latitude of 56° 33' S., lon- 

 gitude 31° 10' W. The weather continued clear, 

 and gave us an opportunity to observe several dis- 

 tances of the sun and moon for the correcting our 

 longitude, which at noon was 31° 4' W., the latitude 

 observed 57° 38' S. We continued to steer to the S. 

 till the 27th at noon, at which time we were in the 

 latitude of 59° 46' S., and had so thick a fog that 

 we could not see a ship's length. It being no longer 

 safe to sail before the wind, as we were to expect 

 soon to fall in with ice, I therefore hauled to the E., 

 having a gentle breeze at N.N.E. Soon after, the 

 fog clearing away, we resumed our course to the S. 

 till four o'clock, when it returned again as thick as 

 ever, and made it necessary for us to haul upon a wind. 



I now reckoned we were in latitude 60° S., and 

 farther I did not intend to go, unless I observed 

 some certain signs of soon meeting with land ; for 

 it would not have been prudent in me to have spent 

 my time in penetrating to the south, when it was at 

 least as probable that a large tract of land might be 



