CHAPTER I.
A VOYAGE TO THE SOUTHERN SEAS.
We left Hobart on the 30th November, 1889, in our loved ship, the Penguin, bound for the Southern Seas, with which, by the way, we were well acquainted, having been successfully whaling for several years in those parts; so that each of us had already accumulated a small fortune. On this occasion it was our intention to penetrate farther to the south than we had formerly done, and, if possible, to make fresh discoveries. We felt quite satisfied that land existed to the far south and in the vicinity of the Pole, for on previous voyages we had seen the tops of great volcanoes at various places along the horizon.
The wind for the most part was favourable, and we continued on our voyage for some weeks in a southerly direction.
The great fields of ice were evidently breaking up, for icebergs were floating about everywhere.
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