DANGERS OF SIREN BAY 73 



where we left it, as this sledge is no use in deep snow. We 

 found Levick had just arrived all right, so picking up our ski 

 and a few things we had left there, we returned to camp. The 

 temperature remains 15 F. 



A lovely morning with the temperature 21 F. ; we were 

 on the march by 8.30 over a fairly good surface. 



In the afternoon we got into deep snow again and had to 

 put on ski; we had fitted each ski with a detachable strip of 

 sealskin which made pulling on them much easier. We camped 

 that night 4 miles south of Cape Wood, after picking up our 

 i2-ft. sledge and depot at Birthday Point. Temperature 

 -28 F. 



October 6. The morning was overcast but warmer, the tem- 

 perature being - 3 F. To-day we reached a little bay north of 

 Cape Barrow. 



After supper we heard an extraordinary noise like a ship's 

 siren, which I suppose must have been a seal, but none of us 

 had heard anything like it before. During the night we were 

 awakened by an avalanche falling near us, but we were not near 

 enough to the cliff to be in danger. 



October 7. We made a depot in Siren Bay, leaving one 

 sledge and taking on the 12-ft. sledge and four weeks' provisions. 

 We had an early lunch and started. By keeping some way from 

 the coast we got into fairly good surface, but I noticed round 

 some of the pressure ridges pools of very new ice, while some 

 large areas of flat ice appeared to have been recently flooded, 

 the ice being dark and slushy. 



We camped at 6.30, having done five miles since noon. In 

 clearing away the snow for the tent we found the ice brownish 

 in colour and quite salt. While we were turning in, Priestley, 

 who was in his bag, heard a seal gnawing the ice just under his 

 head and remarked to me that it seemed very close, so I sung 

 out to Abbott to take an ice-axe and test the ice. After a few 

 blows he was through and reported the ice only eight inches thick 

 and very soft and sodden. 



We turned out and tried several places with the same result. 



Then Priestley and I went about a quarter of a mile towards 

 the land and tried again with no better result. Finally we found 

 a small patch where the ice was about 15 inches thick and we 

 shifted camp. 



