144 CAPTAIN COOK 



any moment against one of these bergs, did not 

 deter them from devoting themselves to their 

 favourite amusement. As long as there w^as any 

 rum left, they kept Christmas like good Chris- 

 tians. Their long familiarity with the sea made 

 them despise danger; fatigue and the inclemency 

 of the sky hardened their muscles and nerves and 

 stultified their minds. It was easy to realise that 

 men who did not concern themselves with their 

 own safety would be as careless of that of others. 

 In general, the life they lead deprives them of 

 domestic consolations, and their gross needs stifle 

 the more delicate affections. Although members 

 of a civilised community, they can to some ex- 

 tent be regarded as a band of men, barbarous, 

 passionate and vindictive; but for all that brave, 

 sincere and true to one another." 



While steering northward, in a region which 

 he had not before traversed. Cook considered 

 the possibility of meeting with land. He cov- 

 ered a vast stretch of sea without finding any. 

 He had little more hope of finding a southern 

 continent In these waters. He and his officers 

 were of the opinion that the barrier of Ice which 

 spread over the south reached to the pole, or that 

 behind it lay a continent hidden since the birth 

 of time. If there were land there It could not be 

 inhabited by animals or even birds. It would 

 therefore have been foolhardy on the part of 



