6 THE VOYAGE OF THE 'DISCOVERY' 



a continent further to the south, and finally Cook undertook to 

 set the matter definitely at rest by a second voyage. This 

 voyage is the most important incident in the history of 

 Antarctic research, and may therefore be given in outline. 



Cook sailed from Deptford in 1772 with two ships, the 

 ' Resolution,' 462 tons, and the ' Adventure,' 336 tons. From 

 the Cape he steered due south, and in spite of icebergs, fogs, 

 and stormy weather, boldly pushed on to the 58th parallel, 

 where he turned to the S.E. On January 17, 1773, he suc- 

 ceeded in crossing the Antarctic Circle for the first time, in longi- 

 tude 38 E. Finding his progress blocked by ice, he turned 

 again to the N.E., but not without giving us the impression 

 that he must have been the first to see that icy barrier which 

 appears to fringe the greater part of the Antarctic lands. 



Passing to the south of Kerguelen, he showed the very 

 limited dimensions of that island, and reached the 62nd 

 parallel in longitude 95 E. Thence he continued more or less 

 in the same high latitude to the 148th meridian, where he 

 turned towards New Zealand. In November of the same year 

 he again steered to the south, and reached the 60th parallel in 

 174 W. ; constantly repulsed by the ice, he fought his way on 

 east and south ; in longitude 142 W. he crossed the Antarctic 

 Circle a second time, but so arduous had been the labour of 

 working the ship continuously among the ice that he was 

 obliged to retreat to the north to give his crew some rest. It 

 was not for long, however, for towards the end of January he 

 was again on the Antarctic Circle in longitude 109 W. This 

 time he was able to push on still further to the south, and it 

 was not until he had reached latitude 71.10 S. in longitude 

 107 W. that he was forced to turn. What Cook actually saw 

 in this advanced position is a matter of great interest; he 

 describes a belt of pack with an unbroken sheet of ice beyond, 

 which appeared to him to rise in level and in which he counted 

 ninety-seven ice-hills. He does not definitely state that he saw 

 ice-covered land, but many authorities have believed that his 

 description could mean nothing else; with some experience 

 of the deceptive appearances of ice masses, however, I am 



