274 THE EASTERN SLEDGE JOURNEY 



under in the course of two months, and to us this was 

 only a source of satisfaction, as our quarters became all 

 the warmer on this account; but whether a whaling 

 station would find a similar fate equally convenient is 

 rather doubtful. 



Lastly, it must be said that, although in the bay 

 itself huge schools of whales were of frequent occur- 

 rence, we did not receive the impression that there was 

 any very great number of them out in Ross Sea. The 

 species most commonly seen was the Finner; after that 

 the Blue Whale. 



As regards seals, they appeared in great quantities 

 along the edge of the Barrier so long as the sea-ice still 

 lay there; after the break-up of the ice the Bay of 

 Whales was a favourite resort of theirs all through the 

 summer. This was due to its offering them an easy 

 access to the dry surface, where they could abandon 

 themselves to their favourite occupation of basking in 

 the sunshine. 



During our whole stay we must have killed some two 

 hundred and fifty of them, by far the greater number of 

 which were shot in the autumn immediately after our 

 arrival. This little inroad had no appreciable effect. 

 The numerous survivors, who had been eye-witnesses of 

 their companions' sudden death, did not seem to have 

 the slightest idea that the Bay of Whales had become 

 for the time being a somewhat unsafe place of residence. 



As early as September, wliile the ice still stretched 



