ADDRESS. 91 



north-west and south-east, from six to eight inches in thickness, 

 and appearing to have been formed in bays or rivers. This ice 

 was in large flat pieces, and, in some instances, packed so closely, 

 that the vessels, with difficulty, passed through it. Here were 

 seen great numbers of penguins, which, with other coinciding cir- 

 cumstances, induced the supposition of land being in the vicinity. 

 This opinion was afterwards shown to be erroneous, the ice prov- 

 ing to be unattached to any shore. In latitude 61 12', the voy- 

 agers met with considerable ice-islands, many of which were 

 passed unseen, by reason of the thick haze. Three degrees fur- 

 ther south, in longitude 38 14' E., they had mild weather, with 

 gentle gales, for five days ; thermometer thirty-six, and prevalent 

 winds east and east by south. In January, 1773, they crossed the 

 Antarctic circle in latitude 66 36' 30" ; and, on reaching latitude 

 67 15', found the ice closed the whole extent, from east to west- 

 south-west, and no indication of an opening. This immense area 

 was filled with ice of different kinds, high hills, broken masses 

 compactly pressed together, and field ice. A float of the latter, to 

 the south-east, appeared sixteen or eighteen feet above the water, 

 and its extremities could not be seen from the mast head. As the 

 summer of that region was nearly half spent, and it would have 

 taken some time, even if practicable at all, to get round the ice, 

 Captain Cook determined to retrograde. He accordingly sailed 

 to the northward, and afterwards proceeded in search of other 

 discoveries. In this attempt, Cook did not know all, that is now 

 known, of this portion of the southern hemisphere. If he had he 

 would have selected another meridian for the purpose of going 

 south. The ice he met with, came from some large islands situ- 

 ated east from Palmer's Land. 



On the 26th of November, 1773, Captain Cook left New Zea 

 land, on his second search for southern lands. In latitude 59 4(X 

 he met with a southerly current. In December, being in latitude 

 67 31', longitude 142 54' W., the cold was intense, with a hard 



