18 THE VOYAGE OF THE 'DISCOVERY' 



is more urgently needed than in the extension of this bold 

 effort of Larsen's. 



Whilst Larsen pursued his investigations on the east coast 

 of Graham Land, his compatriot Evenson, in the ' Hertha,' 

 descended on the west side, and reached the high latitude of 

 69.10 S. in longitude 76 W. He sighted Alexander Land, but 

 unfortunately does not appear to have extended its coasts, 

 though there can be little doubt that it is connected with 

 Graham Land. 



A similar object, the hope of discovering a whale fishery, 

 induced the veteran shipowner, Svend Foyn, of Tonsberg, to 

 send one of his ships, the ' Antarctic,' to the Ross Sea area. 

 This resulted in the first landing on Victoria Land, which was 

 made by her captain, Christiansen, at Cape Adare in 1894. 

 Three years later Sir George Newnes sent an expedition to this 

 spot, under Mr. Borchgrevink ; the party landed safely, and 

 spent a winter in a hut which will be introduced to the reader 

 in the course of my narrative. Unfortunately this party did 

 not travel far from its base, and so was unable to throw any 

 light on the geographical conditions of the interior; but its 

 scientific observations were of importance, and its geological 

 collection especially interesting. Before leaving the south 

 Mr. Borchgrevink landed from his vessel, the 'Southern Cross,' 

 towards the eastern end of Ross's Great Ice Barrier, and thus 

 reached a higher latitude, by a few miles, than that achieved 

 by the great explorer. 



Whilst Sir George Newnes's expedition was wintering at 

 Cape Adare, another band of explorers was living beyond the 

 Antarctic Circle in a widely different region. The energies of 

 M. de Gerlache had succeeded in equipping a small vessel, the 

 1 Belgica,' for a Polar voyage, and this ship, passing down the 

 west coast of Graham Land through an unexplored channel, 

 had become beset in the ice to the south-west of Alexander 

 Land. Here, the first vessel to spend a winter beyond the 

 Antarctic Circle, she drifted to and fro throughout a long im- 

 prisonment. Reaching at one time a latitude of 7 1.30, she was 

 gradually carried to the westward, and at length freed near the 



