82 SIEGE OF THE SOUTH POLE 
pick. The only vegetation we met with was a coarse 
long-bladed grass growing in tufts, wild burnet, and a 
plant like moss, which sprung from the rocks.” 
The shores swarmed with seals, especially at that sea- 
son with females and innumerable cubs. It seemed to 
Cook absurd to call these creatures sea-lions, for he could 
see no resemblance in them to the king of beasts. There 
were great flocks of the largest size of penguins; some 
that were brought on board weighed from 29 to 38 pounds, 
and there were other sea-birds innumerable. When he 
reached the eastern extremity of the land Cook got bear- 
ings of the same features along the south coast that he 
had seen from the western end, and so he was obliged to 
conclude that despite its snows this was no continent 
but a small island. “ I must confess,” he adds, “ the 
disappointment I now met with did not affect me much ; 
for to judge of the bulk by the sample it would not be 
worth the discovery.” Nevertheless, a point on the south 
coast was christened Cape Disappointment. 
Cook was greatly impressed with the discovery of a 
snow-clad island, and at once concluded that Bouvet's 
Cape Circumcision might not have been an iceberg after 
all and that the South Atlantic might have more land in 
store for him than he would have time to explore. The 
weather became foggy and the winds light and variable, 
so that it was the 23rd before the Resolution left the 
neighbourhood of the Isle of Georgia and set out south- 
eastward. The parallel of 6o° S. was crossed on the 
meridian of 30° W., but bergs and pack ice were found 
so closely massed in that position that it was necessary 
to turn again northeastward. On the way Cook discov- 
ered a rocky land which he named Southern Thule, be- 
cause its latitude, 59 0 13' S., was higher than that of any 
