RECENT EXPEDITIONS TO THE ANTARCTIC 



latitude yj'^ . During March the ship drifted to the 

 northwest, and this course was maintained during the 

 next three months. The ship's track made curious 

 zigzags first north and then west quite regularly over 

 the shallow continental shelf, which lay about two 

 hundred fathoms below the surface of the sea. After 

 July 1st (latitude 74° S.) the drift was to the north, 

 and the efifects of pressure on the pack ice became more 

 apparent. On August ist the floe surrounding the 

 ship broke up, and the ship listed to starboard. During 

 the last days of September the roar of the pressure- 

 movements grew louder. On October i8th the "En- 

 durance" w^as thrown over on her side, and on Oc- 

 tober 27th, in latitude 69° S., crushed by the driving 

 pack. She sank on November 21st, after a drift of 

 some 1,500 miles, leaving the explorers 346 miles from 

 Paulet Island, the nearest place where food was avail- 

 able (see Figure 7). 



They shifted their stores to a thick old floe forming 

 Ocean Camp. They had great difficulty in getting 

 enough food from the ship and were always rather 

 short of flour and biscuits. In December they at- 

 tempted to march nearer land, but were only able to 

 proceed seven miles for the ice was too broken for 

 travel. They therefore formed Patience Camp on a 

 large floe. By the middle of February even the flesh 

 foods became short, but luckily they caught a few seals 

 and some penguins. On April 2nd all the dogs were 

 shot for food. They had now drifted well north of 

 Graham Land into latitude 62^° S. and indeed had 

 seen Joinville Island on March 23rd, but the ice was 



69 



