EXPLORING ANTARCTIC SEAS 



this Circle (owing to the tilt of the earth's axis) the 

 sun shines for twenty-four continuous hours on De- 

 cember 22nd, so that sunset and sunrise occur due 

 south at the same instant. 



Cook now sailed to the northeast to survey the land 

 of Kerguelen of w'hich he had received a report, but 

 he was again unlucky and missed this second French 

 discovery. He then returned to southern latitudes and 

 for four weeks sailed along latitude 60° S. (see A, 

 Figure 3). On March i6th he left the Antarctic area 

 and proceeded to the rendezvous with his other ship 

 in New Zealand. In June he proceeded to examine 

 the region east of New Zealand and sailed through an 

 empty sea right across Dalrymple's conjectured conti- 

 nent (see B, Figure 3). He returned by a northern 

 route to New Zealand. On the approach of summer 

 Cook sailed south once more for his most remarkable 

 cruise (see C, Figure 3). For six weeks his ships 

 were buffeted by the storms of the ''Shrieking Sixties" 

 and on two occasions he crossed the Antarctic Circle. 

 The first was on longitude 140° W. where, however, 

 the Antarctic coast is still quite unknown. After the 

 second crossing (near 106° W. ) he penetrated to lati- 

 tude 70°, and on January 30th, 1774, he was blocked 

 by mountainous ice in a position w^hich has not yet 

 been surpassed in this region, though the "Pourquoi 

 Pas" approached it in 1910. Thereafter he made for 

 warmer waters and returned northwest to New 

 Zealand. 



On his last southern cruise (see D, Figure 3), he 

 left on November loth, 1774, and sailed along lati- 



17 



