CHAPTER VII 

 AT DISCOVERY HUT 



Monday, March 6, A.M. — Roused the hands at 7.30. Wil- 

 son, Bowers, Garrard, and I went out to Castle Rock. We met 

 Evans just short of his camp and found the loads had been 

 dragged up the hill. Oates and Keohane had gone back to lead 

 on the ponies. At the top of the ridge we harnessed men and 

 ponies to the sledges and made rapid progress on a good sur- 

 face towards the hut. The weather grew very thick towards 

 the end of the march, with all signs of a blizzard. We unhar- 

 nessed the ponies at the top of Ski slope — Wilson guided them 

 down from rock patch to rock patch; the remainder of us got 

 down a sledge and necessaries over the slope. It is a ticklish 

 business to get the sledge along the ice foot, which is now all 

 blue ice ending in a drop to the sea. One has to be certain that 

 the party has good foothold. All reached the hut in safety. 

 The ponies have admirably comfortable quarters under the 

 verandah. 



After some cocoa we fetched in the rest of the dogs from 

 the Gap and another sledge from the hill. It had ceased to 

 snow and the wind had gone down slightly. Turned in with 

 much relief to have all hands and the animals safely housed. 



Tuesday, March 7, A.M. — Yesterday went over to Pram 

 Point with Wilson. We found that the corner of sea ice in 

 Pram Point Bay had not gone out — it was crowded with seals. 

 We killed a young one and carried a good deal of the meat 

 and some of the blubber back with us. 



Meanwhile the remainder of the party had made some 

 progress towards making the hut more comfortable. In the 

 afternoon we all set to in earnest and by supper time had wrought 

 wonders. 



We have made a large L-shaped inner apartment with pack- 

 ing-cases, the Intervals stopped with felt. An empty kerosene 



