I902J TRIP TO CAPE CROZIER 5 



deeper behind these walls, and the occupants of the tents were 

 conscious that the snow was gradually accumulating around 

 them and that they were now powerless to prevent it. It soon 

 reduced the light within to a mere glimmer, and then, becoming 

 heavier and heavier on every fold of canvas, it diminished their 

 interior space to such an extent that all were obliged to lie with 

 their knees bent double. In the end they were practically 

 buried in the heart of a snowdrift; but whilst the stout 

 bamboos bent under the load and still further narrowed the 

 space within, they luckily withstood the strain to the end. 



It was now only by observing the extreme summit of their 

 tents that the prisoners had any indication of what was 

 happening without. Though in some respects this was a 

 relief, yet for want of space they were unable to cook any food, 

 they could barely turn from side to side, and they suffered a 

 martyrdom from cramp. Their enclosed position brought 

 them comparative warmth, but what advantage they gained in 

 this way was largely discounted by the sodden dampness of 

 articles which had thawed. 



On the 17th the snow ceased to drift. The occupants of 

 one tent were able to free themselves after some difficulty, but 

 the other tent had literally to be dug out before its imprisoned 

 members could be got into the open ; whilst the sledges and 

 all that had been left without were buried completely out of 

 sight. The tale of five days spent in the manner which I have 

 described is soon told — Mr. Royds dismisses it in half a page 

 of his report — but I, and I believe the reader may, find that no 

 great effort of imagination is needed to grasp the horrible dis- 

 comforts that it involved ; and yet when this party were 

 recounting their adventures on board the ship, one might have 

 imagined that the incident was all extremely amusing. The 

 hardships had been forgotten, and all that the men seemed to 

 remember was how So-and-so had launched out with the cramp 

 and kicked someone else fair in the middle, or how the occu- 

 pants of one tent had declared that they had been awakened 

 by the snoring of some particular member in the other. 



It was not until the i8th that the wind ceased, and they 



