THE HEART OF THE ANTARCTIC 



nearly at right angles, coming from the west and formed 

 by the cold land winds blowing off the high plateau at 

 night on to the sea. 



We were surprised to observe that this ice barrier 

 was almost completely isolated from the shore by deep 

 inlets, and for a time we speculated as to whether after 

 all it might not be a gigantic tabular iceberg run aground 

 In view, however, of what we observed later there can 

 be little doubt that it is of the nature of a large pied- 

 mont glacier, afloat at its seaward end and central 

 portions. It is now practically inert, having no for- 

 ward movement from the land towards the sea. It is 

 just the vanishing remnant of what at one time was 

 no doubt a large active glacier, vigorously pushed out 

 seaward, the overflow ice from the vast snow-fields of 

 the inland plateau. The supply, however, of ice near 

 the coast has dwindled so enormously that there is no 

 longer suflicient pressure to move this ice barrier. 



This day, November 12, was an important one in 

 the history of Mawson's triangulation of the coast, 

 for he was able in the morning to sight simultaneously 

 Mount Erebus and Mount Melbourne, as well as Mount 

 Lister. We were fortunate in having a very bright 

 and clear day on this occasion, and the round of angles 

 obtained by Mawson with the theodolite were in every 

 way satisfactory. 



The following day, November 13, we were still on the 

 Nordenskjold Ice Barrier. The temperature in the early 

 morning, about 3 a.m., was minus 13° Fahr. Mawson 

 had provided an excellent dish for breakfast consisting 

 of crumbed seal meat and seal's blood, which proved 

 delicious. We got under way about 2 a.m. It was 

 a beautiful sunshiny day with a gentle cold breeze off 

 the western plateau. When we had sledged for about 

 one thousand yards Mawson suddenly exclaimed that 



120 



