34 SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION [December 



Wednesday, December 21. — The wind was still strong this 

 morning, but had shifted to the south-west. With an overcast 

 sky it was very cold and raw. The sun is now peeping through, 

 the wind lessening and the weather conditions generally improv- 

 ing. During the night we had been drifting towards two large 

 bergs, and about breakfast time we were becoming uncomfort- 

 ably close to one of them — the big floes were binding down on 

 one another, but there seemed to be open water to the S.E., if 

 we could work out in that direction. 



{Note. — All directions of wind are given ' true ' in this 

 book.) 



Noo7i Position. — 68° 25' S., 179° 11' W. Made good S. 26 

 E. 2.5'. Set of current N., 32 E. 9.4'. Made good 24 hours — 

 N. 40 E. 8'. We got the steam up and about 9 a.m. commenced 

 to push through. Once or twice we have spent nearly twenty 

 minutes pushing through bad places, but it looks as though we 

 are getting to easier water. It's distressing to have the pack 

 so tight, and the bergs make it impossible to lie comfortably 

 still for any length of time. 



Ponting has made some beautiful photographs and Wilson 

 some charming pictures of the pack and bergs; certainly our 

 voyage will be well illustrated. We find quite a lot of sketch- 

 ing talent. Day, Taylor, Debenham, and Wright all contrib- 

 ute to the elaborate record of the bergs and ice features met 

 with. 



5 P.M. — The wind has settled to a moderate gale from S.W. 

 We went 2^ miles this morning, then became jammed again. 

 The effort has taken us well clear of the threatening bergs. 

 Some others to leeward now are a long way off, but they are 

 there and to leeward, robbing our position of its full measure 

 of security. Oh! but it's mighty trying to be delayed and de- 

 layed like this, and coal going all the time — also we are drifting 

 N. and E. — the pack has carried us 9' N. and 6' E. It really 

 is very distressing. I don't like letting fires go out with these 

 bergs about. 



Wilson went over the floe to capture some penguins and lay 

 flat on the surface. We saw the birds run up to him, then turn 

 within a few feet and rush away again. He says that they came 

 towards him when he was singing, and ran away again when 

 he stopped. They were all one year birds, and seemed excep- 



