166 SCOTT'S ‘LAST EXPER DITION [NovEMBER 
‘knobs’ of dried-up moss. I climbed up a few hundred feet 
and got a good view to the south-west, where a beautiful glacier 
came into the harbour at such a low angle it seemed to offer 
a feasible route to the hinterland. Debenham had discovered 
a nice patch of gravel and a suitable site for our stone kitchen, 
so we decided to make our headquarters on this point which we 
christened Cape Geology. The beach, in honour of our country 
and of the mossy verdure, and in memory of our isolation, we 
named Botany Bay! 
We had lunch about 3 P.M. and then we marched off to get 
the wherewithal for our first seal-hoosh. A seal lay only a 
quarter of a mile west of the camp. I poleaxed her with an ice 
axe and we cut her up under Forde’s direction. Forde’s right 
hand was still in bandages from the serious frostbite of Sep- 
tember and, indeed, his third finger had not recovered by the 
end of our expedition. 
It was rather a sanguinary business, especially for tyros. 
Gran fairly paddled in blood, and I fear I was little better. 
We took all the meat we could carry and Debenham had about 
40 lbs. of blubber. 
By this time about a dozen skuas had assembled. We did 
not frighten them, for we wished to attract as many as possible 
and later abstract their eggs. I wrote: ‘ About six pairs are 
breeding along the beach here, so we ought to get a dozen “‘ new 
laid,’ and save them a world of trouble by killing them also.’ 
(I’m afraid we were not very altruistic!) 
Now we set to work at our stone kitchen. All the way from 
Cape Evans we had dragged a blubber stove strongly made in 
sheet iron by Bernard Day. The granite hereabouts weathered 
in long joints and we found a natural hollow about a yard wide 
and 3 yards long. The lower walls of the hut were therefore 
of solid granite about fifteen feet thick—which should ensure 
freedom from draughts. We broke out blocks from the floor 
and Gran smashed off a troublesome projection by repeatedly 
dropping a boulder weighing a hundredweight upon it until it 
decided to cave in. 
At 10 P.M. I made a great discovery. I saw something black 
floating in a little pool, and closer inspection revealed a cluster 
of minute insects. The others had almost dropped to sleep and 
I was much chagrined at the lukewarm reception of my news. 
‘ 
j 
d 
— 
