THE HEART OF THE ANTARCTIC 



fluence of the wind; in some places it had already met the 

 main pack. As it was most likely that we would be 

 caught in this great mass of ice, and that days, or even 

 weeks might elapse before we could extricate ourselves, I 

 reluctantly gave orders to turn the ship and make full 

 speed out of this dangerous situation. I could see nothing 

 for it except to steer for McMurdo Sound, and there make 

 our winter quarters. For many reasons I would have 

 preferred landing at King Edward VII Land, as that 

 region was absolutely unknown. A fleeting glimpse of 

 bare rocks and high snow slopes was all that we obtained 

 of it on the Discovery expedition, and had we been able 

 to establish our winter quarters there, we could have added 

 greatly to the knowledge of the geography of that region. 

 There would perhaps have been more difficulty in the 

 attempt to reach the South Pole from that base, but I did 

 not expect that the route from there to the Barrier sur- 

 face, from which we could make a fair start for the Pole, 

 would have been impracticable. I did not give up the 

 destined base of our expedition without a strenuous strug- 

 gle, as the track of the ship given in the sketch-map 

 shows; but the forces of these uncontrollable ice-packs are 

 stronger than human resolution, and a change of plan 

 was forced upon us. 



