58 SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION [January 



It makes the position rather alarming when one is feeling 

 one's way into some doubtful corner. When the whaler was 

 hoisted we proceeded round to the penguin rookery; hopes of 

 finding a quiet landing had now almost disappeared.*^ 



There were several small grounded bergs close to the rook- 

 ery; going close to these we got repeated soundings varying 

 from 34 down to 12 fathoms. There is evidently a fairly ex- 

 tensive bank at the foot of the rookery. There is probably 

 good anchorage behind some of the bergs, but none of these 

 afford shelter for landing on the beach, on which the sea is now 

 breaking incessantly; it would have taken weeks to land the 

 ordinary stores and heaven only knows how we could have got 

 the ponies and motor sledges ashore. Reluctantly and sadly 

 we have had to abandon our cherished plan — it is a thousand 

 pities. Every detail of the shore promised well for a wintering 

 party. Comfortable quarters for the hut, ice for water, snow 

 for the animals, good slopes for ski-ing, vast tracks of rock for 

 walks. Proximity to the Barrier and to the rookeries of two 

 types of penguins — easy ascent of Mount Terror — good ground 

 for biological work — good peaks for observation of all sorts — 

 fairly easy approach to the Southern Road, with no chance of 

 being cut off — and so forth. It is a thousand pities to have 

 to abandon such a spot. 



On passing the rookery it seemed to me we had been wrong 

 in assuming that all the guano is blown away. I think there 

 must be a pretty good deposit in places. The penguins could be 

 seen very clearly from the ship. On the large rookery they 

 occupy an immense acreage, and one imagines have extended 

 as far as shelter can be found. But on the small rookery they 

 are patchy and there seems ample room for the further exten- 

 sion of the colonies. Such unused spaces would have been ideal 

 for a wintering station if only some easy way could have been 

 found to land stores. 



I noted many groups of penguins on the snow slopes over- 

 looking the sea far from the rookeries, and one finds it difficult 

 to understand why they meander away to such places. 



A number of killer whales rose close to the ship when we 

 were opposite the rookery. What an excellent time these animals 

 must have with thousands of penguins passing to and fro! 



We saw our old Discovery post-office pole sticking up as 



