1902] FROZEN IN 197 



effort before the winter set in. The ostensible reason was to 

 lay out a depot of provisions to the south in preparation for 

 the following spring, but a more serious purpose was to give 

 myself and others a practical insight into the difficulties of 

 sledge travelling. One saw already that a great deal of our 

 sledging outfit was unsuitable and would have to be rearranged; 

 one saw, too, that in the minor details of clothing and so forth 

 there were points on which there was much difference of 

 opinion, and with regard to which, therefore, it was desirable 

 that every man should fend for himself, providing for things as 

 best suited his own ideas ; above all, it was evident that in a 

 sledging campaign, as in any other, the best work would be 

 done by the trained man. Before us lay the long winter 

 with ample time to organise our parties and to make the most 

 detailed preparations, but one could not hope to do this with- 

 out a full knowledge of the conditions to be met and a ready 

 and intelligent co-operation amongst all who were engaged in 

 the work. My wish, therefore, was to make a final autumnal 

 expedition which should include all those who had not been 

 away already ; but as this included the majority on board, we 

 were forced to await the greater security of the ship, not only 

 for reasons which I have already mentioned, but also because 

 until the deep bay to the south became re-frozen we could 

 only travel in that direction by the most circuitous and 

 difficult route. When the ice became safe, the simplest way 

 lay around the cape; failing this, we could manage without 

 much difficulty to get through the ' Gap ' ; but if the sea-ice 

 opposite that was unsound, we should have been forced to 

 climb to a height of nearly 1,000 feet, and after descending on 

 the other side to traverse a number of high, broken ridges. 



The freezing-in of the ' Discovery ' was a very gradual 

 process. The ship, secured by her stern hawsers, had held in 

 place a small wedge of ice which had formed in the corner of 

 the bay. On March 24 this small patch was strong enough to 

 bear, and, whilst the bow of the ship was in open water, for 

 the first time we were able to walk on shore from the stern ; 

 and this wedge of ice held, and gradually increased in thick- 



