HISTORY OF DISCOVERY. 127 



the southern course along the coast, or, more correctly, 

 along the ice barrier. The land, however, still extended 

 beyond the horizon to the south, rising gradually from 

 the coast to a good elevation in the interior, and entirely 

 covered with snow. 



As the course southwards was stopped by ice, and 

 the open water along the coast through which the Jason 

 had made her way was considerably encroached upon by 

 the pack-ice towards the east also, Larsen began his 

 return along the edge of the pack, again approached 

 Cape Framnces, and now explored the region between 

 King Oscar Land and Louis- Philippe Land. Wetter 

 Island had been previously seen on the return voyage in 

 a bay south of Jason Mountain and Foyn Land to the 

 west of it. Both had been concealed by fog on the 

 voyage south. To the north of King Oscar Land a 

 chain of islands, the Seal Islands, extending from 

 south-east to north-west, was seen, the easternmost, 

 Robertson Island, being the largest. Two outlying 

 islands to the north proved, to Larsen's surprise, to be 

 active volcanoes, which had partly covered the neigh- 

 bouring ice with their erupted matter. Larsen landed on 

 'the eastern one, Christensen Volcano, without, however, 

 reaching the interior, which was free from snow, and 

 -was well able to look down upon the western one, the 

 Lindenberg Cone. Beyond this group of islands the 

 sea, always excepting its surface of ice, seemed open 

 and without any more islands, so that Palmer Land and 

 Trinity Land would thus be reduced to an archipelago 

 -of comparatively small extent. On the 12th of December 

 he steered farther north, past Snow Land, and on the 

 14th he met the Castor and the Hertha. All three 

 vessels now took their course by the South Shetland 

 Islands to Tierra del Fuego and thence to the Falkland 

 Isles, where they landed the proceeds of their expedition, 

 .and took in fresh coal in order to go south again and 



