142 WORST JOURNEY IN THE WORLD 
a further unpleasantness occurred in the arrival of a host of 
the terrible ‘ killer’ whales. These were reaping a harvest | 
of seal in the broken-up ice, and cruised among the floes 
with theirimmense black fins sticking up, and blowing with _ 
a terrific roar. The Killer is scientifically known as the 
Orca, and, though far smaller than the sperm and other 
large whales, is a much more dangerous animal. He is 
armed with a huge iron jaw and great blunt socket teeth. 
Killers act in concert, too, and, as you may remember, 
nearly got Ponting when we were unloading the ship, by 
pressing up the thin ice from beneath and splitting it in all 
directions. 
‘Tt took us over six hours to get close to the fast ice, 
which proved to be the Barrier, some immense chunks of 
which we actually saw break off and join the pack. Close 
in, the motion was less owing to the jambing up of the ice 
somewhere farther west. We had only just cleared the 
Strait in time though, as all the ice in the centre, released 
beyond Cape Armitage, headed off into the middle of the 
Strait, and thence to the Ross Sea. Our spirits rose as 
we neared the Barrier edge, and I made for a big sloping 
floe which I expected would be touching ; at any rate I 
anticipated no difficulty. We rushed up the slope towards 
safety, and were little prepared for the scene that met our 
eyes at the top. All along the Barrier face a broad lane of 
water from thirty to forty feet wide extended. This was 
filled with smashed-up brash ice, which was heaving up and 
down to the swell like the contents of a cauldron. Killers 
were cruising there with fiendish activity, and the Barrier 
edge was a sheer cliff of ice on the other side fifteen to 
twenty feet high. It was a case of so near and yet so far. 
Suddenly our great sloping floe calved in two, so we beat 
a hasty retreat. I selected a sound-looking floe just clear 
of this turmoil, that was at least ten feet thick, and fairly 
rounded, with a flat surface. Here we collected everything 
and having done all that man could do, we fed the beasts 
and took counsel. 
“Cherry and Crean both volunteered to do anything, 
in the spirit they had shown right through. It appeared 
