THE HEART OF THE ANTARCTIC 



the sooty species. The Cape pigeon and Wilson's petrel 

 were occasionally to be seen, also a small grey-coloured 

 bird, which is generally found near the pack, the name of 

 which I do not know. We called them " ice-birds." 

 Another sign of the nearness of the ice was that the tem- 

 perature of the air and water had dropped to 32° Fahr. 

 Everything pointed to our proximity to the pack, so we 

 signalled the Koonya that we were likely to sight the ice at 

 any moment. I also asked Captain Evans to kill and skin 

 the sheep he was carrying for our supplies, as they would 

 be much more easily transported when the time came to 

 cast off. The weather remained fine with light winds 

 during the night. 



Next morning it was fairly thick with occasional light 

 squalls of snow, and about 9 a.m. we saw the ice looming 

 up through the mist to the southward. It seemed to 

 stretch from south-west to south-east, and was apparently 

 the forerunner of the pack. Now had come the time for 

 the Koonya to drop us, after a tow of 1510 miles — a record 

 in towage for a vessel not built for the purpose. Before 

 the Koonya finally cast off from us, she had achieved 

 another record, by being the first steel vessel to cross the 

 Antarctic Circle. 



About 10 a.m. I decided to send Captain England 

 across to the Koonya with Buckley and the mail. Our 

 letters were all stamped with the special stamp given 

 by the New Zealand Government. The sea was rising 

 again, and the wind increasing, so we lost no time in 

 making the necessary communication by boat between the 

 two ships. During a favourable roll the whale-boat was 

 dropped into the water, and Buckley, with his week- 

 end handbag, jumped into her. We gave him three 

 cheers as the boat pushed off on its boisterous journey 

 to the Koonya. With his usual forethought, to make 

 matters lighter for the boat crew, Captain Evans had 



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