been cruel in me, to have continued the fatigues and hardships they were continually exposed to, longer than was absolutely necessary. Their behaviour, throughout the whole voyage, merited. every indulgence which it was in my power to give them. Animated by the conduct of the officers, they shewed themselves capable of surmounting every difficulty and danger that came in their way, and never once looked either upon the one or the other, as being at all heightened, by our separation from our consort the Adventure."
For these reasons, the Captain, instead of renewing his attempt to get to the south of Thule, contented himself with steering towards the S.E., to see if he could fall in with the land in that direction; and having reached 58° 15' S. latitude, without seeing any land, or any token of its being near, he altered his course, and stood to the eastward, to search once more for Cape Circumcision. This search, like that of Capt. Furneaux the year before, proved fruitless; no such land could be found in the place assigned; and besides the disappointment, our mariners, in this part of their voyage, suffered much from intense cold, violent gales, and dreadful showers of snow and sleet; which did considerable damage to the sails and rigging. Sometimes the quantity of snow lodged in the sails was so great, that it was necessary to throw the ship up in the wind, to shake it out of them, otherwise neither they nor the ship could have supported the weight. Tired with such severe and unprofitable service, Capt. Cook gave up the thoughts which he had entertained, of looking for the recent French discoveries; yet, in making for the Cape of Good Hope, he resolved to take the
