1913] THE NIMROD ISLANDS 277 
when the ship was rolling, they had the ledges to support them- 
selves against. These platforms were a great comfort to them. 
It was intended to run down the Great Circle track to 56° 
South and then east along that parallel. The ship made a good 
run down to 56° South, but then met easterly winds, fortunately, 
Pei however, being able to pass about fifteen miles north 
arch 23, : : A 
1913, 56° 2" Of where the Nimrod group is chartered (from infor- 
S., 150° 25’ mation received nearly a hundred years ago), and got 
two soundings, both over 2000 fathoms. Captain 
Davis in the Nimrod on her way home in 1909 passed right over 
the charted position, but weather prevented them sounding. 
Either this group is charted a great deal out of position, or, what 
is more likely, does not exist at all. 
North-east winds continuing, the ship was driven a good 
deal farther south than was intended and met with a considerable 
amount of fog and thick weather. 
eS On the 27th she passed three bergs, and another 
sr’ S. 1422 one on the 29th, but the weather all these days was 
29' W. so thick that ice could only be seen at a very short 
distance. On the 29th, however, she was able to alter 
March 29, | to the north-east and soon to leave these rather un- 
1913, 58° comfortable latitudes. 
ay = 134 There was a marked dearth of birds all across 
the Southern Ocean, great grey shear-waters and the 
little black-bellied petrels being the most common, while the 
mollymawks and sooty albatross were only occasional visitors. 
Cape Horn was passed on April 11, in a strong gale; but as 
the ship entered the Straits Le Maire at daybreak the next morn- 
ing the wind dropped and the sun rose over Staten Island, usher- 
ing in a beautiful day; and from here, with very little exception, 
fine weather was experienced all the way to England. 
While crossing the shelf on which the Falkland Islands stand, 
Lillie was able to trawl, and once again after leaving Rio de Ja- 
neiro, for the last time on the commission, the catch in this case 
being almost entirely composed of swimming crabs. 
Trawling probably caused more excitement and interest in 
_the ship than anything else she did, and the instant a catch came 
in-board Lillie was surrounded by an interested group of men, 
very anxious to see if any startling novelty had at last been 
dragged up from the bottom. 
