A CLOVE-HITCH 141 



Society Range. Thirteen thousand feet above us towered Mount 

 Lister, but we rarely saw the crest, for it was buried in clouds 

 for the greater part of our journey. 



On the 2Oth we left one sledge at the depot and made an- 

 other attempt to penetrate the fastnesses of the Koettlitz Glacier. 



We had to cut tracks along the bottom of the glass-house 

 channels, and Debenham and I pulled while Wright and Evans 

 devoted all their energies to lifting the sledge over the obstruc- 

 tions. The sledge dropped two feet and rolled upside down on 

 one occasion, and later Wright went through the roof and was 

 completely lost to sight in one of the glass-houses. By 6 P.M. 

 we must have progressed almost two miles and this with a light 

 load! A thick snowstorm came up and we camped amid weird 

 surroundings. All round us were ice sculptures of every con- 

 ceivable shape. There were great wedge-shaped blocks, so 

 fretted by the sun that they looked as if formed of wicker work. 

 We called these ' fascines.' Others resembled giant pedestal- 

 tables with fringes o~f icicles. Near the tent, displayed on one of 

 these tables, was a great white monster with an armour-plated 

 back, head, legs, and tail complete. We called this halt ' Arma- 

 dillo Camp ' in recognition of the genius of King Frost. 



During the next four days we struggled up the middle of the 

 Koettlitz Glacier. It was a strenuous time, but I recall a pleasant 

 noon halt when P.O. Evans earned an honest penny. We saw 

 him playing with the rope which lashed his sleeping-bag. Says 

 Evans, * I'll show you how to make a clove-hitch with one hand, 

 and I bet you a is. 3^. dinner (our usual currency) you can't do 

 it after you've seen me do it six tirresl ' Debenham took the 

 bet, and we all watched Evans closely. Then ' Deb.' tried, and 

 to our joy succeeded, for the handy-man was rarely ' done.' But 

 he never turned a hair, and booked the bets that now filled the 

 air. Again Debenham proceeded to try, and failed and Wright 

 and I were equally unsuccessful. Evans made quite a haul, but 

 after saying he had never seen anyone do it by sheer luck before 

 he proceeded to teach us the dodge; and later Debenham be- 

 came quite a knot-master under his willing tuition. 



' A fine sunny morning, the first for many days. Even this 

 scene of desolation looks cheerful.' Thus my sledge diary for 

 the 2 1 st. But the route did not improve. I wrote: 'We got 

 going on awful stuff rounded pools of ice, between tables. It 



