THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 421 
Although there were no naval officers or men in the 
party the Gauss was privileged to sail under the Imperial 
ensign. She left Kiel on August nth, 1901, and made 
a slow voyage to Cape Town, carrying out much valuable 
oceanographical work on the way. It was not until 
December 7th that the expedition left the Cape and, call- 
ing at Possession Islands in the Crozets, by the way, 
anchored in Royal Sound, Kerguelen Land, on the 31st. 
Rabbits, descended from ancestors which came over with 
the Challenger, came hopping down to the beach to wel- 
come the strangers of whom they had no fear, and the 
small party of German scientific men which had been 
landed some months previously by a steamer chartered 
in Australia were found completing their observatory. 
The Gauss remained for a month and then, after calling 
at Heard Island, she steered south-eastward to investi- 
gate the region about 90° E., between Knox Land, the 
most westerly reported with any confidence by Wilkes, 
and Kemp Land. The parallel of 6o° S. was crossed on 
February 12th, 1902, in 92 0 E., and icebergs were met 
with in considerable numbers. On the 14th a sounding 
was obtained in 1730 fathoms within 60 miles of the 
position assigned by Wilkes to Termination Land, but a 
close pack made it necessary to change the course to 
southwest, and for two days progress was very slow, 
and no land was seen. On the 19th soundings were 
suddenly struck in only 132 fathoms and the sea was 
clear of ice, except large bergs drifting before a strong 
southeasterly wind. 
Early on the morning of February 21st, 1902, land 
was sighted, entirely covered with ice or snow and situ- 
ated almost on the Antarctic circle. It lay in the direc- 
tion of Wilkes’s Termination Land, but Drygalski 
