FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 157 



worse and worse. We wriggled round ice " mesas " with 

 vertical walls, over huge curved platforms which threw us all 

 together in the centre and then dropped beneath us. We 

 thought it might be better nearer the land, but at last had to 

 lower the sledge down two feet to the lower level, which was 

 silt covered and all the harder to sledge on for that reason. 

 The " mesas " showed three layers. A flat cake of solid ice 

 on top, then a few inches of very much weathered ice, and 

 below a solid pedestal about three feet high. We hoisted 

 the bamboo and flag and spread out to prospect. The ice 

 became worse towards the coast, but Wright reported some- 

 what better going towards the centre of the gulf. However, 

 it was obviously unwise to drag our unnecessary sledge 

 further, so we turned in our tracks and crossing many " glass- 

 houses " (into most of which we fell, though with little 

 damage) we made for the headland where we had lunched. 



It began to snow and looked very threatening around 

 Mount Discovery. There was an ugly luminous patch in 

 the sky to the south-west, and a heavy snow cloud with a 

 very ragged edge. On Erebus alone was a red-gold ray of 

 sunshine. From these portents Evans prophesied a blizzard. 

 We reached land without undue difficulty and crossed the 

 pressure ice, pitching our tent in a dell not unlike our last 

 camp, though it was flatter and more exposed to the east. 

 We carried the smaller sledge well inland, but left the large 

 sledge below on the sea ice, for we should have had to 

 manoeuvre it round an open channel, and we did not need 

 it for laying our depot here. This channel along the coast 

 was about twenty feet across with a five-knot current in it, 

 which was flowing strongly north. Seals swam up it quite 

 frequently, and often used to halt and observe the strange 

 visitors alongside. While the pemmican was cooking I went 

 on to the ice and killed a seal and extracted his liver. 



This camp marked the end of the third week. We 

 celebrated it by eating a pound of mixed chocolates. Wily 

 Evans led us to believe that he was the donor ; but as a 

 matter of fact, each sledge had a box of them packed in for 

 birthdays and feastdays. 



The snow stopped about 8 p.m., but later in the night 

 a strong wind from the south-east blew much sand on to the 

 tent. We had an argument as to whether this was a blizzard 



