THE HEART OF THE ANTARCTIC 



Mackay and I hung on to the rope in case it should 

 part at the toggle, where it was somewhat worn. Mean- 

 while, Mawson called out from below to pass him down 

 the Alpine rope. Leaving Mackay to keep hold of the 

 toggle end of Mawson's harness rope, I hurried back to 

 the sledge, which was about ten feet behind, and just 

 as I was trying to disengage a coil of rope Mawson 

 called out that he felt he was going. I ran back 

 and helped Mackay to keep a strain on Mawson's har- 

 ness rope. Mawson then said that he was all right. 

 Probably at the time he felt he was going the rope 

 had suddenly cut back through the lid of the crevasse 

 and let him down for a distance of about a couple of 

 feet. Altogether he was about eight feet down below 

 the level of the snow lid. While I now held on to 

 Mawson's harness rope Mackay hurried back to the 

 sledge, and with his Swedish knife cut the lashing 

 around the Alpine rope, and started uncoiling it, making 

 a bowline at the end in which Mawson could put his 

 foot. Meanwhile Mawson secured some ice crystals 

 from the side of the crevasse, and threw them up for 

 examination. The Alpine rope having been lowered, 

 Mawson put his foot into the bowline and got Mackay 

 to haul his leg up as high as his bent knee would allow 

 it to go, then, calling to him to hold tight the rope, 

 Mawson, throwing the whole weight of his body on 

 to it, raised himself about eighteen inches by means 

 of his arms so as to be able to straighten his right leg. 

 Meanwhile, I took in the slack of his harness rope. 

 He then called to me to hold tight the harness rope, 

 as he was going to rest his whole weight on that, so 

 as to take the strain off the Alpine rope. Mackay 

 then was able to pull the Alpine rope up about 

 eighteen inches, which had the effect of bending up 

 Mawson's right leg as before. Mackay then held fast 



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