158 SIEGE OF THE SOUTH POLE 
crushed by the boat falling on it. They could not make 
Tasmania but reached Port Philip, and when they landed 
not far from what is now Melbourne they nearly died of 
starvation, and the cutter drifted away. She was found 
ashore after a fortnight, and the party reached the Der- 
went on September 3rd to meet the Tula coming out. 
Biscoe put back and waited until the cutter was refitted 
and her crew restored to health. 
With the southern spring in October, 1831, the Tula 
and Lively were once more at sea ready for a fresh cam- 
paign, Captain Weddell coming on board to say fare- 
well as they sailed. Three months were spent in sealing 
on the coasts of New Zealand and off the Chatham and 
Bounty islands in order to get a cargo, and then the time 
came to commence the homeward voyage by Cape Horn. 
A course was shaped for the position assigned by the 
charts to the Nimrod Islands, 56° S., 158° W. ; but no 
land could be seen, and although there was an appearance 
of shallow water the sounding-line showed no bottom. 
Towards the end of January Biscoe resolved to cross 
Captain Cook s track (he does not seem to have known 
Bellingshausen s route), and steer south-eastward in 
order to look for land to the W. S. W. of the South Shet- 
lands, and Mr. Avery received instructions as to what 
he should do in case the Lively lost sight of her consort. 
On the 28th they were south of the sixtieth parallel in 
131 0 W., and ice-islands appeared in great numbers, with 
some loose drift-ice. An extraordinarily low barometer 
prevailed for several days, the mercury going as low as 
27.3° inches, but the expected gale did not occur. Until 
February 14th, tne course was easterly with a little 
south, bringing the ships gradually to the Antarctic circle 
along which they sailed without making any attempt to 
