106 WITH SCOTT : THE SILVER LINING 



known technically as " spheroidal weathering." I did not eat 

 the bread. 



The 1907 expedition left in a hurry, I believe, which 

 accounts for the somewhat unkempt appearance of the hut. 

 Boots were scattered on the floor, books over the bunks, socks 

 drying on lines. In one corner a roulette machine, in another 

 a packet of paper used in their printing press. I fear I was 

 most interested in tinned fruits, and searched through a huge 

 store of unused food in one corner of the hut. Tea, pickles, 

 jams, milk, onions, sausages, hams, cocoa, delicatessen, every- 

 thing but canned fruit. Finally we saw that the dark room 

 was built of cases of bottled fruit, and in honour of the first 

 crossing of the Barne Glacier we broached a case and 

 extracted a bottle of gooseberries and another of currants. It 

 was a queer meal. I had brought bacon and ship's biscuit. 

 Wright selected plum-pudding, sardines, and Nestle's milk. 

 I found preserved ginger, raisins, and corned beef. We drank 

 alternately of currant and gooseberry vinegar, and ate through 

 the above menu. Antarctica is immune from dyspepsia, for we 

 felt none the worse. 



We strolled round the headquarters. The penguins were 

 very interesting, for they were busy feeding half-fledged 

 chicks. There are no nests near Cape Evans, but the atmo- 

 sphere is the purer ! I was not prepared for the shape and 

 size of these chicks. They were nearly as tall as their parents, 

 and twice as large round the most important part of their 

 anatomy. Huge balls of dark grey fluff, with feeble little 

 squeaks no louder than a chicken's — in strong contrast to 

 the indignant cries of their parents. 



After a couple of hours at Cape Royds we turned south 

 and experienced no difficulty until we reached the crevasses, 

 for we followed our previous track. The crevasses seemed 

 to have widened a little ; we were somewhat tired, and the 

 farther edge was now higher than the nearer. In some ex- 

 amples — which we did not tackle — the difference in height 

 reached two feet. However, we crossed them safely (though 

 in two instances one foot went through the soft snow) and 

 reached Cape Evans without misadventure. 



Captain Scott had made a journey on a dog-sledge to his 

 old quarters (1902) at Cape Armitage, sixteen miles south of 

 us Unluckily he found his hut filled with ice and practically 



