io8 THE VOYAGE OF THE 'DISCOVERY' [1902- 



rock specimens brought back were fragments of quartz-grits. 

 These, with other observations, showed the strong probabihty 

 of the existence of sedimentary deposits which might be 

 reached and examined, and which alone could serve to reveal 

 the geological history of this great Southern continent. 



On the whole, therefore, the western party had done 

 excellent pioneer work ; they had fulfilled their main object, 

 and in doing so had disclosed problems which caused the 

 greater part of our interest to be focussed in this direction 

 throughout the remainder of our stay in the South. 



The extensive preparations for the western journey had 

 almost denuded the ship of sledge equipment, and the travellers 

 who embarked on the shorter journeys in the vicinity of the 

 ship were obliged to do as best they could with the little that 

 remained. It was of course a rule that everything must give 

 way to the extended efforts. However, this did not baulk the 

 energies of other travellers, who were willing to resort to all 

 sorts of shifts and devices rather than forego their share of 

 exploration, and, in consequence, many short journeys were 

 made which added much to our knowledge of the very interest- 

 ing region about the ship. 



A glance at the chart will give some small idea of the con- 

 fused conditions which existed to the south-west of our winter 

 quarters, and it can be imagined that before our sledging 

 commenced this district, on which we gazed at a distance of 

 twenty or thirty miles, seemed to hold many mysteries. We 

 could not tell whether the closer masses of land were connected, 

 or whether, as seemed more probable, they were detached 

 islands. Far away we could see long lines of irregular debris- 

 strewn ice, but we could not say whence they came or what 

 they indicated. 



Taken as a whole, from the point of view of the map-maker, 

 the general outline of the coast of Victoria Land is simple. 

 The land is bold and well marked, and the coast is of a nature 

 that lends itself to rough contouring ; but, in marked distinc- 

 tion, the region of Ross Island has very intricate geographical 

 features. The complication seems to start with that very 



