Gilpin observer., 1912-04-11

very badly. so decided to retire to
Hut Point without delay.
A Close Call.
There at a. M, on March 1, the
tired condition of the ponies Obliged
the party to camp at 1890 Bowers
awakened by noise, found the Ice
broken all around the camp, and NOV
ing with the heavy swell. One pony
had disappeared from the picketing
line and was not seen again. Hastily
packing their sledges. the party decid-
ed to try and work southwest over
the packed ice. With infinite diff
Guilty the sledges were dragged, the
ponies jumping from foe to foe to-
ward the barrier. About noon the
party neared the barrier but found
its ice wall unclimbable and the swell
churning and breaking heavy foes
against 1t. In this delemma Cream
was allowed to attempt to obtain
help. He travelled east over the NOV
ing pack to find a break in the ice
wall and eventually hoisted himself
to the barrier surface by wedging his
ski stick in a crack.
More Ponies Lost.
| On March we ascended hills east
OF Castle Rock, and on the fifth the
party with the two remaining ponies
and the dog teams was safely housed
at Hut Point. BY this incident we
lost three Of our strongest ponies.
This was a severe blow to the expe-
dition, but not enough to wreck its
plans II the remaining animals could
be preserved. The heavy swell
which caused this disaster broke
more than ten miles OF sea ice, large
fragments from the barrier, and two
miles of glacier tongue-a feature
which had remained otherwise un-
changed since discovery. in 1902. The
Hut was found almost completely fill
ed with hard snow, the windows
broken and the door unhinged. With
much labor we cleared and repaired
it. 1t then afforded good shelter.
Preparing For the Winter.
On March II Lieutenant Evans led
party to Corner Camp, completing
the depot arrangements for the COM
| ing season. The temperature at the
barrier had already fallen to minus
40 degrees. Throughout the month
ice continually formed over the sea
but the strong winds quickly drove it
out. After March 25 the ice remain
ed fast in the sheltered bays but
continued to drive out of the sound.
Huge land ice falls on the southwest
slopes Of Mount Erebus prevented any
possibility Of returning to Cape Evans
by land, but with the freezing of the
bays | decided to make an attempt
to reach the station, partly by land
and partly by sea ice. With eight
companions I started, on April II, and
although caught by storm on sea
ice. we reached Cape Evans early on
the 18th. We found the station,
which had been left in Simpsons
charge, in excellent order. and ar
rangements for comfort remarkably
perfect.
On April II returned to Hut Point
with fresh sledge party carrying
| supplies and stores. AS 1t was i'm
possible for animals to travel on the
route taken, l left Meares and FIVE
others in charge of those at Hut Point
and again returned to Cape Evans on
| April 30. >Sea ice continued to drive
out of sounds until the first week in
May. 1t was not until May 13, three
weeks after the sun had gone that
the men and animals left Hut Point
and safely returned to the main sta
| tion. The sound froze solid in May
| and later in winter packed ice ex-
tended to an unprecedented distance
northward, despite numerous gales.
After the return from the absentees
we settled down very comfortably
in our winter hut, its arrangements
for lighting. heating, cooking and
ventilation proved eminently satisfac-
tor,
Behind land ridge on the slopes of
Mount Terror, the party spent three
days building stone hut on which
they rooted with canvas from this
camp. The men had great difficulty
in crossing the huge barrier pressure
ridges in the dim noon twilight to
reach the rookery. They were sue
cessful at second attempt. They
found comparatively few birds at the
rookery. but these had begun to lay
even at this early date. Fortunately
some eggs at different stages Of de-
velopment were secured which should
give considerable information con-
corning the embryology of this inter
esting bird. The same night violent
gale commenced and the ridge proved
inadequate shelter from the hurri-
cane gusts which whirled down on
the hut. A tent and other carefully
secured articles were blown away. and
after straining for IA hours the roof
OF the hut few to ribbons. For 80
hours more the travellers were con-
fined In their frozen sleeping beds
half buried beneath snow and rock
debris.
The state Of their equipment now
forced them to turn homeward. on