88 THE ANTARCTIC. 



crossed in longitude 38 14' E., the first time this had 

 ever been accomplished. During this memorable time 

 only one iceberg was in sight, but after a few hours of 

 their farther progress south the ice increased to such 

 an extent that it became impossible to continue their 

 course : the whole surface of the waters as far as the 

 eye could reach was covered from east to west by dense 

 masses of ice, enclosing great icebergs. To the south- 

 east of the ships rose a mass of ice that Cook estimated 

 at sixteen or eighteen feet high, at least, perfectly flat, 

 equally high everywhere, and of such extent that the 

 end could not be seen from the top of the mast. This 

 gigantic mass of ice, seen in latitude 6j° 17' S. and 

 longitude 39° 35' E., is particularly interesting, since it 

 may have been a first sight of one of the great ice barriers 

 from which glaciers and inland ice in the Antarctic regions 

 break off in all directions into the sea. It is evident that 

 Cook did not understand the meaning of this enormous 

 mass of ice, though he seems to have conjectured that 

 it was of considerable importance. He determined to 

 give up the attempt to penetrate farther south for the 

 time, as the summer was already half over, and it would 

 have taken too much time to sail round the ice, "provided 

 always that this course had been possible, which is very 

 doubtful ". He therefore again turned his course to the 

 north-east, with the object of seeking the land discovered 

 by Kerguelen, but in vain ; for he explored in latitude 

 50 S., in longitude 58 to 65° E., but without seeing 

 land at all. This is not to be wondered at, as the Island 

 of Kerguelen is certainly not situated in latitude 49° S., 

 but farther east, in longitude 69° to 71° E. Cook was, 

 moreover, harassed by fog and stormy weather, during 

 which the vessels were separated from each other on 

 the 8th of March. 



In order to turn to advantage the remainder of the 

 southern summer season, Cook alone made another 



