144 THE VOYAGE OF THE 'DISCOVERY' [Feb. 



completely shut off from a view of the sea. The ice-wall 

 which surrounded us rarely rose above twenty feet, and in 

 places descended almost to the water level. Selecting a spot 

 on a level with the ship's bulwarks, we placed the ship along- 

 side it and secured her with our ice-anchors so closely that we 

 were able to step from the rail on to the snow surface beyond. 

 The valley of the inlet was continued between rising snow- 

 slopes for several miles to the west, and in its hollow a con- 

 tinuous crack ran through ice standing only a few feet above 

 the water level. Along this crack were numerous seal holes, 

 and quite a hundred of these animals lay asleep on the snow 

 within easy reach of them. 



As it was now late, and the light was poor, and as we 

 appeared to be in a secure position, it was decided that work 

 should be deferred till the morrow, and the more energetic 

 were soon mounted on ski and pursuing a very uncertain 

 course over the rough snow. Armitage had asked permission 

 to take a small sledge party in a southerly direction, and with 

 Bernacchi and four men and a light sledge equipment he was 

 soon marching up the valley ; and later a black dot on the 

 snow showed us that the party had turned to the south and 

 were mounting the rise. 



Skiing did not prove such good sport as was expected. 

 The wind had raised quantities of irregular waves or sastrugi 

 on the snow surface, and in the uncertain light these could not 

 be seen until one actually tumbled over them, and as no one 

 progressed more than a few yards at a time without a fall, it 

 was not long before all, except the sledge party, were on board 

 once more, when we took a sounding, and found that there 

 was a depth of 315 fathoms under the ship. On our arrival in 

 the inlet not a fragment of loose ice could be seen, but as we 

 were trying to take the temperature of the water at different 

 depths we found our work much impeded by small ice-floes, 

 which were being crowded into the inlet by a strong surface 

 current that now ran towards and under the ice at the head of 

 the inlet. Feeling in some security, I had looked forward to a 

 quiet night, after many broken ones, but the sight of this ice 



