378 SIEGE OF THE SOUTH POLE 
ship kept on a course nearly due south, along the edge 
of the flat shelf or barrier of ice that extended outwards 
from the coast, until on the 6th, farther advance was 
barred by heavy ice in 68° io' S. The land appears to 
have been continuous all the way, and to a very moun- 
tainous portion of it rising into four conspicuous peaks 
Larsen gave the name of Foyn’s Land, after the great 
Norwegian whaler, who, had he lived, might have proved 
a second Enderby in promoting Antarctic work. 
On the return voyage an island was discovered lying 
some distance off the coast, in about 66° S., and named 
Robertson Island, from which a chain of smaller islands, 
named collectively the Seal Islands, ran to the northwest. 
Immediately to the north, two active volcanoes came 
in sight in latitude 65° S., the larger on an island 
called Christensen Volcano, and the smaller connected 
to it by sea-ice. Captain Larsen landed on the ice close 
to Christensen Island and travelled over the soft snow 
on ski for some distance. The surface of the ice was 
strewn in places with blocks of volcanic rock evidently 
recently ejected by the volcano. On the snowy margin 
of the island there were swarms of young seals, very fat, 
and friendly to the strangers, and luckily for themselves, 
separated from the sea by so wide a stretch of soft snow 
that they were left in peace. The interior was seen to 
be nearly free from snow, but it was impossible in the 
time to get more than four miles from the edge of the 
sea-ice surrounding the island, and the uncovered land 
was not reached. Many other small islands were seen 
and charted, and after filling his ship with seals, visiting 
the coast of Tierra del Fuego in the unsuccessful search 
for whales, and discharging his cargo at Port Stanley, 
Larsen found time to make another trip to Erebus and 
