THE HEART OF THE ANTARCTIC 



of January 18 we passed a few large bergs, and as morn- 

 ing progressed the wind increased, ranging between south 

 by west and south by east. The ship was pitching to a 

 short sea and as the water coming on board froze on deck 

 and in the stables, we made shift to keep it out by nailing 

 canvas over the gaping holes in the bulwarks. Adams 

 and Mackay were engaged in this very chilly job; Adams, 

 slung in a rope over the side, every now and then got 

 soaked up to the middle when the ship dipped into the 

 sea, and as the temperature of the air was four degrees 

 below freezing-point, his tennis trousers were not of much 

 value for warmth in the circumstances. When he got 

 too cold to continue outside, Mackay took his place, and 

 between them they made a very creditable jury bul- 

 wark, which prevented the bulk of the water rushing 

 into the stable. The wind continued with a force of 

 about forty miles an hour, up till midday of the 19th, 

 when it began to take off a little, and the sky broke blue 

 to the north-east; the decks were thickly coated with 

 soft ice, and the fresh water-pumps had frozen up 

 hard. 



We were now revelling in the indescribable freshness 

 of the Antarctic that seems to permeate one's being, and 

 which must be responsible for that longing to go again 

 which assails each returned explorer from polar regions. 

 Our position at noon on January 19 was latitude 73° 44' 

 South and longitude 177° 19' East. The wind had de- 

 creased somewhat by midnight, and though the air 

 remained thick and the sky overcast during the whole of 

 the 20th, the weather was better. We passed through 

 occasional masses of floating ice and large tabular bergs, 

 and at noon were in latitude 74° 45' South, longitude 

 179° 21' East. 



68 



