•ICE. this land muft be.to-.the South .of our navigation, in 60°, 67°, and
71° South latitude ; aud its direition we. will allow to be ;Eall and
W e l l ; the courfe, therefore, a f the rivers mull be from South to
--North, i. e. from the .interior parts .of the land towards the ocean.
When we came towards the .54° South latitude, .we found .a fmall
ille o f about 80 leagues in circumference; the thermometer continued
at about 30°, 32°, and 340, in its neighbourhood, in them id il
-of fummer ; though hies have in general a milder climate than continents,
we found, however, all this country entirely covered with
immenfe loads o f fnow, the bottoms o f its bays were choaked up
with folid maffes o f ice, o f 60 or 80 feet above water, and we faw
no velliges either o f rivers or o f fprings. I f this be the cafe in 54*
South latitude, how can we then expedt any fprings or rivers in 60”
or 7 1 ° South latitude, or rather Hill higher up to the South, where
the fouroes o f thele imaginary rivers o f the pretended Aultral land,
mull be removed ? It is therefore impoffible to fay, that the rivers
o f the Aullral land carried thofe ice-malfes into the ocean, which
we met with in fuch llupendous quantities.
There is one eircumllance more, which furely moll evidently
proves, that there is no land in thofe latitudes; which are Hill capable
o f vegetation. In all the high Northern feas, there is conllantly
fuch a prodigious quantity o f wood thrown on the Ihores o f all the
lands.
W A T E R AND t b e - O C E A N .
lands, viz, N ovaiZèmla, Spitzbergen, .Greenland, Beering’s-Ifland,
& c . &c . that-though none is^growing there, the unfortunate individuals,
that are obliged itö fpend awinter there, ■ however, are fuf- •
ficiently provided -with this moft 'nêeelïary commodity. In -all' the ■
Southern Teas, there, is- no 'drifting-wood to-be met with. T h e
French!fearched a great extent of the Ihores o f the Falkland lllands,
with great care, but-found not above-one or two- pieces o f wood
thrown up by the fea; nor did we fee any on the-illand o f South-
Gëorgia: all which' fufficiently -evinces the truth o f : the above af-
fertion.
T h e argument, therefore, is now reduced to this; '"That falt~-
r‘ |water does not freeze at ait, or, i f it does,, the ice contains ■briny.
“ particles.” Blit we have already before produced-humbérlefs in-
ftances, that the fea does freeze; nay, C r a n t z * allows, that the-
fiat pieces of ice are fait, becaufe they were congealed from fea-wate'r..
W e -beg leave to add-a few decilive fadls relative to the freezing of
the fea.. B a r e n t z •f-obferves in the year 15 9 6 , September the 1 6th,-
the fea froze two fingers th ick , and next night thé ice was- as thick.“
again. This happened in the middle-of-'September; what cireet
then.mull the intenfe froll o f a night in-January-nét produce?.
W hen
*■ Crantz-. p.-3'i*.
-j- Recueil des Voyages qui ont fervi à l’Etabliffement de la- Compagnie: des Indes ©rienr-
tales.. vol.-1..
ICEv