FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 



On the 24th of January the ponies went over the sea-ice to 

 Glacier Tongue en route for the Barrier Dep6t trip. Captain 

 Scott and the western party sailed in the Terra Nova to the 

 Tongue, which we reached about noon. 



Later we were able to study the Tongue in some detail, 

 but we could see that it consisted of a huge pier of ice about 

 half a mile wide, and projecting some five miles from the low 

 cliffs south of Turk's Head. The surface was undulating, 

 and about a hundred feet above the sea in the centre. Its 

 origin is doubtful. Probably it is old piedmont ice anchored 

 on some hidden ridge, but it is added to by blizzards sweeping 

 over the root of the Castle Rock Promontory and depositing 

 snow on the leeward side of the cape. We saw sections of it 

 stranded fifty miles to the north-west later, which proved its 

 partial origin from snowdrifts. 



On the 25th Debenham, Wright, and myself marched to 

 Hut Point, where the 1902 hut was situated. We took a 

 light sledge and our sleeping-bags. It was very interesting to 

 recognize the places of which we had read in the " Voyage of 

 the Discovery.' 1 Castle Rock was very prominent, a huge dark 

 square " keep " about two hundred feet above the promontory ; 

 " Danger Slope " — an icy slope dropping down to 1 50-feet 

 ice cliffs — on which Vince lost his life early in 1903. The 

 conical hill, seven hundred feet high, just east of Vince's Cross, 

 was Observation Hill ; destined to carry another cross two 

 years later to the memory of the man who had built the hut 

 below. 



Off Hut Point the sea-ice was very rotten and full of 

 huge holes. However, we reached the ice-foot easily enough, 

 and pulled up to the hut. The surroundings were very tidy 

 compared to Shackleton's quarters, which was very natural, 

 for the 1902 expedition practically lived in the ship. It was 



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