372 WORST JOURNEY IN THE WORLD 



the morning we were all falling in continually, but Lashly 

 in my team had the worst drop. He fell to the length of 

 his harness and the trace. I was glad that having noticed 

 his rope rather worn, I had given him a new one a few days 

 before. He jerked Crean and me off our feet backwards, 

 and Crean's harness being jammed under the sledge, which 

 was half across an eight-feet bridge, he could do nothing. 

 I was a little afraid of sledge and all going down, but 

 fortunately the crevasse ran diagonally. We could not 

 see Lashly, for a great overhanging piece of ice was over 

 him. Teddy Evans and I cleared Crean and we all three 

 got Lashly up with the Alpine rope cut into the snow sides 

 which overhung the hole. We then got the sledge into 

 safety. 



To-day is Lashly's birthday ; he is married and has a 

 family ; is 44 years of age, and due for his pension from 

 the service. He is as strong as most and is an undefeated 

 old sportsman. Being a chief stoker, R.N., his original job 

 was charge of one of the ill-fated motor sledges. 

 [The following is Lashly's own account : 

 "Christmas Day and a good one. We have done 15 

 miles over a very changing surface. First of all it was very 

 much crevassed and pretty rotten ; we were often in diffi- 

 culties as to which way we should tackle it. I had the mis- 

 fortune to drop clean through, but was stopped with a jerk 

 when at the end of my harness. It was not of course a very 

 nice sensation, especially on Christmas Day, and being my 

 birthday as well. While spinning round in space like I was 

 it took me a few seconds to gather together my thoughts 

 and see what kind of a place I was in. It certainly was not 

 a fairy's place. When I had collected myself I heard some 

 one calling from above, 'Are you all right, Lashly?' I 

 was all right it is true, but I did not care to be dangling in 

 the air on a piece of rope, especially when I looked round 

 and saw what kind of a place it was. It seemed about 50 

 feet deep and 8 feet wide, and 120 feet long. This infor- 

 mation I had ample time to gain while dangling there. I 

 could measure the width with my ski sticks, as I had them 

 on my wrists. It seemed a long time before I saw the rope 



