INTRODUCTION XXX1X 
rarefied air to make the conditions of sledging extremely 
laborious. The supporting party returned, and the three 
men continued alone, pulling out westwards into an un- 
known waste of snow with no landmarks to vary the rough 
monotony. They turned homewards on December 1, but 
found the pulling very heavy ; and their difficulties were 
increased by their ignorance of their exact position. The 
few glimpses of the land which they obtained as they 
approached it in the thick weather which prevailed only 
left them in horrible uncertainty as to their whereabouts. 
Owing to want of food it was impossible to wait for the 
weather to clear: there was nothing to be done but to con- 
tinue their eastward march. Threading their way amidst 
the ice disturbances which mark the head of the glaciers, 
the party pushed blindly forward in air which was becom- 
ing thick with snow-drift. Suddenly Lashly slipped: in a 
moment the whole party was flying downwards with in- 
creasing speed. They ceased to slide smoothly; they were 
hurled into the air and descended with great force on toa 
eradual snow incline. Rising they looked round them to 
find above them an ice-fall 300 feet high down which they 
had fallen: above it the snow was still drifting, but where 
they stood there was peace and blue sky. They recognized 
now for the first time their own glacier and the well-remem- 
bered landmark, and far away in the distance was the smok- 
ing summit of Mount Erebus. It was a miracle. 
Excellent subsidiary journeys were also made of which 
space allows no mention here: nor do they bear directly 
upon this last expedition. But in view of the Winter Jour- 
ney undertaken by us, if not for the interest of the subject 
itself, some account must be given of those most aristocratic 
inhabitants of the Antarctic, the Emperor penguins, with 
whom Wilson and his companions in the Discovery now 
became familiar. 
There are two kinds of Antarctic penguins—the little 
Adélie with his blue-black coat and his white shirt-front, 
weighing 16 lbs., an object of endless pleasure and amuse- 
ment, and the great dignified Emperor with long curved 
beak, bright orange head-wear and powerful flippers, a 
