19"] ROBERTSON BAY 69 



July 10. The days are already a little lighter, and we are 

 making ready our sledging equipment, for on the 28th of this 

 month I propose making an expedition into Robertson Bay for 

 a week to see what sort of surface to expect up the coast, the 

 pressure all round our beach and Cape Adare being very bad. 



We have seen several Antarctic petrels, and it is hard to 

 account for these birds down here in the middle of winter, unless 

 there is open water a little north of us. 



July 29. Priestley, Abbott, and I left the hut for our short 

 expedition into Robertson Bay. 



Taking provisions for a fortnight, we left about 8 A.M., when 

 it was beginning to get light. The surface was appalling, and in 

 spite of our light sledge (400 Ibs.) it took us three days to 

 reach Duke of York Island, a distance of 22 miles by the route 

 we took to avoid the bad pressure. The salt-flecked smooth ice, 

 being very sticky, was much heavier going even than the pres- 

 sure ice. 



We spent a day at Duke of York Island collecting, and 

 started back at daybreak, August 2. During the day the weather 

 looked so threatening I made for the cliffs just south of Warn- 

 ing Glacier to get some shelter in case of a blizzard. We got 

 some heavy squalls and drift in the afternoon, which nearly made 

 us camp, but keeping on we reached land about 5.30, camping 

 between two high pressure ridges under the cliffs. The noise of 

 the wind in the bay was terrific, and we were thankful to have got 

 some shelter. After supper we turned in, and being tired after 

 our hard pull were soon asleep. I was awakened about 9 P.M. 

 by a tremendous din, and found the lee skirting of the tent had 

 blown out from under the heavy ice blocks we had piled on it, 

 and the tent poles were bending under the weight of wind. We 

 just had time to roll out of our bags and hang on to the skirting 

 or the tent would have gone. Taking advantage of a lull we got 

 out and piled more ice on the skirting, but even that was not 

 enough, and we spent a miserable night hanging on to the skirt- 

 ing of the tent. The blizzard dropped by noon the next day, 

 and by one o'clock we were off again, camping at 5.30, when 

 it was too dark to go on. 



Starting again just before daybreak on the 4th, we reached 

 the hut the same evening. The temperatures we experienced 

 were not low, the lowest being - 26-8 F. 



