ey] TOWARDS MT. MELBOURNE 77 
first, when we saw the open water, and by 9 the same evening 
we were secured alongside the sea ice about 144 miles from the 
piedmont, north of Evans Coves. It was a lovely evening, and 
with the help of the ship’s people we soon had our outfit on 
the piedmont by a big moraine, where we had arranged to make 
our depot, and be picked up by the ship on February 18. 
Our stores were six weeks’ sledging rations, one 12-ft. sledge 
(Priestley, Dickason, and myself), and one 10-ft. sledge (Le- 
vick, Abbott, and Browning). In addition to this I landed a 
depot consisting of seven boxes of biscuits, one box of cocoa 
(24 tins), one box of chocolate (36 lbs.), one box of sugar 
(56 lbs.), 4 weekly bags of pemmican (14 lbs. each), 2 weekly 
bags of raisins, 2 cheeses, 1 bag of onions, 14 tins of oil, a little 
spare clothing, a spare sleeping-bag, and a spare tent and poles. 
Also my small primus stove, and two spare sledges, one of 
which was fitted with iron runners. By midnight we were 
camped, and saw the last of the ship steaming out of the bay. 
January 9.—Turned out at 6 A.M., but we did not get away 
until 10.30, shaping course N.W. for some foothills between 
us and Mt. Melbourne. Hard rough ice and a strong S.W. 
breeze made our sledges skid and did the runners no good. 
Crossed many thaw pools and channels covered with thin ice, 
through which we broke. After about an hour’s pulling, how- 
ever, we got on to a snow surface, which was better going. We 
camped early to try and repair the sledgemeter. Got a good 
round of angles after hoosh. Night calm but overcast. Length- 
ened the traces as we may expect crevasses. 
January 10.—Overslept ourselves, not turning out until 7. 
It was 9 o'clock before we were under way. Our course lay 
over the piedmont ice, close under the northern foothills which 
lay between us and Mt. Melbourne. Some way ahead it looked 
as if a glacier from Mt. Melbourne came out on the piedmont, 
thereby giving us a road to the north. Soon after starting snow 
began to fall, and that, combined with a slight up-grade, made 
our sledges very heavy. About noon we rounded a point (Cape 
Mossyface), on which we found a quantity of lichen, and came 
on to a smooth glacier, of easy gradient, and snow-covered, 
which I hoped came from Mt. Melbourne; but the weather was 
so thick with snow we could see nothing, so camped for lunch 
in the hope of its clearing, as I had no wish to pull the heavy 
