i9l THE SKUAS NESTING 69 



never draw the loads we expect of them. Still they promise to 

 be a help, and they are lively and attractive features of our 

 present scene as they drone along over the floe. At a little 

 distance, without silencers, they sound exactly like threshing 

 machines. 



The dogs are getting better, but they only take very light 

 loads still and get back from each journey pretty dead beat. 

 In their present state they don't inspire confidence, but the hot 

 weather is much against them. 



The men parties have done splendidly. Campbell and his 

 Eastern Party made eight journeys in the day, a distance over 

 24 miles. Everyone declares that the ski sticks greatly help 

 pulling; it is surprising that we never thought of using them 

 before. 



Atkinson is very bad with snow blindness to-night; also 

 Bruce. Others have a touch of the same disease. It's well for 

 people to get experience of the necessity of safeguarding their 

 eyes. 



The only thing which troubles me at present is the wear 

 on our sledges owing to the hard ice. No great harm has been 

 done so far, thanks to the excellent wood of which the runners 

 are made, but we can't afford to have them worn. Wilson car- 

 ried out a suggestion of his own to-night by covering the runners 

 of a 9-ft. sledge with strips from the skin of a seal which he 

 killed and flensed for the purpose. I shouldn't wonder if this 

 acted well, and if it does we will cover more sledges in a similar 

 manner. We shall also try Day's new under-runners to-morrow. 

 After 48 hours of brilliant sunshine we have a haze over the 

 sky. 



List of sledges : 



Cl _ fn in use 

 12 ft. \ 



\i\ spare 



10 ft. 10 not now used 



9 ft. 10 in use 



To-day I walked over our peninsula to see what the southern 



side was like. Hundreds of skuas were nesting and attacked 



in the usual manner as I passed. They fly round shrieking wildly 



until they have gained some altitude. They then swoop down 



with great impetus directly at one's head, lifting again when 



within a foot of it. The bolder ones actually beat on one's head 



