CLEAR OF THE ICEBERGS 



crab-eater, and the other a Weddell seal. A few of the 

 Adelie penguins were observed also, and their quaint walk 

 and insatiable curiosity afforded great amusement to our 

 people, the surprise of the birds on seeing the ship was so 

 thoroughly genuine. Mars ton, our artist, whose sense of 

 the ludicrous is very fully developed, was in ecstasies at 

 their solemn astonishment and profound concern, and 

 at the way they communicated their feelings to one an- 

 other by flapping their makeshift wings, craning their 

 necks forward with ruffled feathers, and uttering short 

 squawks. Marston's imitation of the penguin was per- 

 fect, and he and the rest of us always responded eagerly 

 to the call on deck whenever we were passing a group of 

 these polar inhabitants. 



When we were clear of the icebergs a distinct swell 

 was felt coming from the south, and for once the move- 

 ment of the ocean was welcome to us, for it showed that 

 we might expect open water ahead. I was fairly con- 

 fident that we had managed to elude the pack, and with- 

 out doubt for a ship, well found and capable of fair 

 speed, the passage between the bergs on the meridian 

 down which we steered is preferable to the slower pro- 

 gress through the ordinary pack farther west. I doubt 

 if I would, except under similar circumstances, when 

 time and coal were very precious, risk an old vessel like 

 the Nimrodj, which steams but slowly in this labyrinth of 

 heavy ice, but a better vessel could make the passage 

 with safety. It may be that in future seasons the Antarc- 

 tic Ocean in this particular part will be found to be quite 

 ice-free, and a later expedition may be able to work more 

 to the eastward, and solve the riddle as to the existence of 

 land in that neighbourhood. 



It was fortunate that we cleared the ice that after- 

 noon, for shortly afterwards the wind increased from the 

 north, and the weather became thick with falling snow. 



65 



