In the history of mankind since the Christian era, the annals of Arctic discovery occupy a very glorious place. They run like a bright silver thread through the darker tales of war and crime, for the most part showing the nobler side of the qualities of our race. PART II THE ANTARCTIC REGIONS CHAPTER XLV THE GREAT SOUTHERN CONTINENT The Far South waited much longer for the attention of mankind than the Arctic regions. Antarctica has had no dwellers on the threshold, no demigod clearing its circle on Sleipner or any other fabled horse, no Norsemen daring its icy solitudes, scarcely even a tradition; although the anonymous Franciscan, in the fourteenth century, when he was in Prester John’s country, heard that the four rivers of Paradise flowed from an inaccessible mountain of great height at the south pole[180]. The Antarctic regions were first approached by Europeans by following the coast line of the continent which stretches furthest south. Magellan, with that indomitable perseverance which characterised him, continued, in spite of all difficulties, to force his way south until he discovered the strait which led him into the Pacific Ocean. After that it was the contrary winds, driving ships to the south, which led to further discoveries in an Antarctic direction. The next Spanish fleet which passed through the Strait after Magellan was under the command of Garcia Jofre de Loaysa, with Sebastian del Cano as second in command. Seven vessels sailed from Coruña in 1525, one of the smallest being the _St Lesmes_, with Francisco de Hozes as captain. This little craft of 80 tons was blown out of the strait, and driven down as far south as 55°, sighting land, the eastern end of Staten Island. Adverse gales also drove Sir Francis Drake to new discoveries. In October, 1578, he thus unintentionally fell in with “the uttermost part of lands towards the South Pole.” The latitude was 56° S. and “there was no maine nor iland to be seen to the southwards; the Atlantic Ocean and the South Sea meeting in a most large and free scope.” Drake named this southern cape of the island after the great Queen, Cape Elizabeth, the Cape Horn of the Dutch. Twenty years afterwards another discovery-causing gale produced results. An expedition of four vessels and a small pinnace left Holland in June, 1598, under the command of Jacob Mahu, whose death placed it under Simon de Cordes. The object was to visit the coasts of Chile and Peru for plunder, and then cross the Pacific. After leaving the Strait of Magellan all the ships were scattered. The flag-ship _Hope_ reached Japan in April, 1600, where the pilot, an Englishman named William Adams, was detained until his death, though he was able to send home very interesting letters. The little pinnace of 18 tons named _Blijde Boodschap_ (_Good News_) was driven down to 64° S., where her Captain, Dirk Gerritsz, saw “high land with mountains covered with snow, like the land of Norway[181].” M.