43Q WORST JOURNEY IN THE WORLD 



the sea-ice was now extremely slushy and bad for pulling; 

 the ice had begun to extrude its salt. A blizzard started in 

 their faces, and they ran for shelter to the lee of Little 

 Razorback Island. The weather clearing they pushed on 

 to the Glacier Tongue, and camped there for the night 

 somewhat frost-bitten. Some difficulty was experienced the 

 next morning in climbing the ice-cliff on to the Peninsula, 

 but Atkinson, using his knife as a purchase, and the sledge 

 held at arm's-length by four men as a ladder, succeeded 

 eventually in getting a foothold. 



Meanwhile I was left alone at Hut Point, where bliz- 

 zards raged periodically with the usual creakings and 

 groanings of the old hut. Foolishly I accompanied my 

 companions, when they started for Cape Evans, as far as 

 the bottom of Ski Slope. When I left them I found I could 

 not keep my feet on the slippery snow and ice patches, and 

 I had several nasty falls, in one of which I gave my shoulder 

 a twist. It was this shaking combined with the rather 

 desperate conditions which caused a more acute state of 

 illness and sickness than I had experienced for some time. 

 Some of those days I remained alone at Hut Point I was 

 too weak to do more than crawl on my hands and knees 

 about the hut. I had to get blubber from the door to feed 

 the fire, and chop up seal-meat to eat, to cook, and to tend 

 the dogs, some of whom were loose, while most of them 

 were tied in the verandah, or between the hut door and 

 Vince's Cross. The hut was bitterly cold with only one 

 man in it: had there not been some morphia among the 

 stores brought down from Cape Evans I do not know what 

 I should have done. 



The dogs realized that they could take liberties which 

 they would not have dared to do in different circumstances. 

 They whined and growled, and squabbled amongst them- 

 selves all the time, day and night. Seven or eight times one 

 day I crawled across the floor to try and lay my hands upon 

 one dog who was the ringleader. I was sure it was Dyk, 

 but never detected him in the act, and though I thrashed 

 him with difficulty as a speculation, the result was not en- 

 couraging. I would willingly have killed the lot of them 



