312 DISCOVERY REPORTS 



tected by a reef across half the entrance, the swell from a south-east gale was so heavy 

 as to carry away our stern mooring. Strangely enough there was no wind whatever in- 

 side, since the high mountains did not allow it to blow home. The swell became in fact 

 so big that we had to shift our camp well above high-water mark. Here everything 

 went very well except the theodolite observations at the north-east main station at 

 Tor point, where the ground was so springy with tussac that only with the 3 J inch 

 theodolite could any good be done. This, of course, is because there is no need to walk 

 round it to take readings. The tussac is always bad for theodolite work, owing to the 

 springiness of the roots and because one has to climb over tufts as much as 2 ft. high, 

 and in so doing can easily displace the theodolite. This applies only in the late 

 summer: at other seasons everything is frozen hard and excellently firm, and the tussac 

 is not nearly so luxuriant. 



A good base was measured here on the shore of an unexpected lagoon. The lagoon is 

 unfortunately no good for ships, as it is merely connected with the sea by a very narrow 

 cut which can only admit a small boat: even the 'Alert' could not negotiate it safely. 



The sounding of this harbour was not concluded at this stage, because I intended 

 leaving it for the winter, to see if it were possible to work then, and also because it was 

 better to carry on with the more important and distant work. 



Godthul (Chart 2) 



On the next fine day, January 21, after calling at Grytviken to complete with stores 

 (a matter of a few hours), we proceeded to Godthul. We had already made a voyage to 

 this place for a preliminary inspection. The harbour forms a good but deep anchorage 

 and was frequented by a Factory Ship, the 'Thor I', Captain Horndtved, during the 

 season. After examining it, it was decided that a small cove, which we named Pleasant 

 Cove (Chart 2), appeared to be a suitable camping ground (Plate XLI, fig. 2). We 

 made our camp there and found that for a small vessel or a camp it is one of the most 

 suitable spots on the island, being well sheltered both from wind and swell from all 

 directions, and very often clear when outside there is thick fog or rain. The sun also 

 shines in from sunrise, but unfortunately it sets behind the high peak to the north-west 

 at a very early hour. These advantages were not realized at the time, and I constantly 

 felt a quite unnecessary anxiety for the safety of the ' Alert '. Almost from the beginning 

 we placed one man on board during the night, in case of emergency, and occasionally 

 two, or even my assistant as well ; but it was felt that the discomfort was so great as not 

 to justify having more than one unless the weather was very threatening. 



Up to this time, although there had been a considerable amount of precipitation, it 

 was all or nearly all snow, though sometimes, it is true, snow in a very wet state, which 

 hardly lay at all during the day. The tents did not become very wet, as their flapping, 

 either by the wind or by deliberate shaking, shook off most of the snow before it had 

 time to melt during the day, and during the night it was seldom warm enough for snow 

 to melt. Consequently we escaped during this time what are probably the greatest 

 discomforts of a camp, wet tents and damp sleeping bags. 



