46 THE OCEAN WORLD. 
under the soil covered by the polar ice. Strange would it be if human 
industry should dream of establishing itself in these countries, and 
drawing from the earth the combustible material so needed to make 
it habitable, thus furnishing the means of overcoming the rigorous 
climatic conditions of these inhospitable regions ! 
Tue ANTARCTIC REGIONS. 
The Antarctic Pole is probably surrounded by an icy canopy not 
less than 2,500 miles in diameter; and numerous circumstances seem 
to lead to the conclusion that the vast mass has somewhat diminished 
since 1774, when the region was visited by Captain Cook. The 
Antarctic region can only be approached during its summer season, 
namely, in December, January, and February. 
The first navigator who penetrated the Antarctic circle was the 
Dutch captain, Theodoric de Gheritk, whose vessel formed part of 
the squadron commanded by Simon de Cordes, destined for the East 
Indies. In January, 1600,a tempest having dispersed the squadron, 
Captain Gheritk was driven as far south as the sixty-fourth parallel, 
where he observed a coast which reminded him of Norway. It was 
mountainous, covered with snow, stretching from the coast to the 
Isles of Solomon. The report of Simon de Cordes was received with 
great incredulity, and the doubts raised were only dissipated when the 
New South Shetland Islands were definitely recognised. The idea of 
an Antarctic continent is, however, one of the oldest conceptions of 
speculative geography, and one which mariners and philosophers alike 
have found it most difficult to relinquish. The existence of a southern 
continent seemed to them to be the necessary counterpoise to the 
Arctic land. The ¢erra Australis incognita 1s marked on all the 
maps of Mercator round the South Pole, and when the Dutch officer, 
Kerguelen, discovered, in 1772, the island which bears his name, he 
quoted this idea of Mercator as the motive which suggested the 
voyage. In 1774, Captain Cook ventured up to and beyond 71° 
of latitude under 109° west longitude. He traversed 180 leagues, 
between 50° and 60° of south latitude without finding the land of 
which mariners had spoken ; this led him to conclude that mountains 
of ice, or the great fog-banks of the region, had been mistaken for a 
continent. Nevertheless, Cook himself clung to the idea of the 
existence of a southern continent. ‘‘J firmly believe,” he says, 
“that near the South Pole there is land, where most part of the ice is 
formed which is spread over the vast Southern Ocean. I cannot 
believe that the ice could extend itself so far if it had not land—and 
