THE HEART OF THE ANTARCTIC 



with enormous crevasses between them, and they all 

 had the experience of falling through, to be hauled out 

 again by means of the rope, after they had dropped 

 to the length of their harness with a heavy jerk. On 

 one occasion the four centre dogs fell through a snow- 

 lid into a crevasse, and were got out with great difficulty. 

 Day and Joyce, with two leaders, were on one side of the 

 crevasse, and Mackintosh and Marston, with the two 

 rear dogs, were on the other side. Day and Joyce had 

 to unharness and ease the dogs, while the other two men 

 pulled them back to the sledge. The dogs meanwhile 

 were hanging over the abyss, and evidently did not like 

 their position. Joyce had to keep altering his course 

 in order to avoid these crevasses, but after steering in 

 a south-west direction for about six hours he reached 

 a better surface. The crevasses were getting smaller, 

 although the surface of neve caused many falls. An 

 attempt to steer south, straight for the spot at which the 

 depot was to be laid, resulted in the party getting into the 

 badly crevassed area again, and once more Joyce had to 

 steer east-south-east. Finally they got clear of the 

 crevasses, and at midnight on January 25, reached the 

 spot at which it had been decided to place the depot, about 

 fourteen miles off Minna Bluff. 



An early start was made on the 26th, and for seven 

 hours the party laboured erecting a mound of snow 

 ten feet high. On top of the mound thej^ put two 

 eleven-foot bamboos, lashed together and carrying 

 three black flags. The total height of the depot was 

 twenty-two feet, and it could be seen at a distance of 

 eight miles. The bearing of this depot I had arranged 

 with Joyce during the spring depot journey, before 

 my departure for the southern journey. It was on a 

 line drawn through a sharp peak on the Bluff, well- 

 known to Joyce, and the top of Mount Discovery, with 



64 



