THROUGH THE SOUTH SEAS 145 



Cook to risk the lives of his men for a fruitless 

 discovery. Sailing in these desolate regions was 

 fearfully hard. The awful monotony of the 

 southern horizon, the melancholy fogs, the tor- 

 turing cold, the perpetual menace of icebergs, 

 the horrible salt food which produced nausea, 

 the spoilt biscuits, decayed and evil-smelling, the 

 infinite sadness of everything — all these formed 

 the ransom of the unknown seas. Nevertheless, 

 his officers and men did not complain. They 

 trusted their leader, and this faith was their 

 armour against suffering, danger and homesick- 

 ness. 



With such companions, Cook, who had ful- 

 filled his mission, considered that he might ex- 

 plore the Pacific in regions where the climate 

 would be less rigorous and navigation safer. 

 Enough space still remained for him to explore, 

 for him to be able to discover new islands, or at 

 least chart islands already discovered but Insuf- 

 ficiently surveyed by previous navigators, from 

 the point of view of hydrographic, geographical 

 and astronomical data. He did not wish to leave 

 the great ocean without seeing all there was to 

 see. 



He decided therefore to go In search of the 

 land discovered in the preceding century by 

 Juan Fernandez, and, if he could not find it, to 

 steer for Easter Island or Davis Island, of which 



