THE HEART OF THE ANTARCTIC 



tdon of the Balleny Islands. I still hoped that it might 

 be possible to skirt them and find Wilkes Land. It 

 was awkward work, and at times the ship could hardly 

 move at all. 



Finally, about midnight on March 9, I saw that 

 we must go north, and the course was set in that direc- 

 tion. We were almost too late, for the ice was closing 

 in and before long we were held up, the ship being unable 

 to move at all. The situation looked black, but we 

 discovered a lane through which progress could be 

 made, and in the afternoon of the 10th we were in fairly 

 open water, passing through occasional Hues of pack. 

 Our troubles were over, for we had a good voyage up 

 to New Zealand, and on March 22 dropped anchor at 

 the mouth of Lord's River, on the south side of Stewart 

 Island. I did not go to a port because I wished to get 

 the news of the expedition's work through to London 

 before we faced the energetic newspaper men. 



That was a wonderful day to all of us. For over a 

 year we had seen nothing but rocks, ice, snow and sea. 

 There had been no colour and no softness in the scenery 

 of the Antarctic; no green growth had gladdened our 

 eyes, no musical notes of birds had come to our ears. 

 We had had our work, but we had been cut off from 

 most of the lesser things that go to make life worth 

 while. No person who has not spent a period of his 

 life in those " stark and sullen solitudes that sentinel 

 the Pole " will understand fully what trees and flowers, 

 sun-flecked turf and running streams mean to the soul 

 of a man. We landed on the stretch of beach that 

 separated the sea from the luxuriant growth of the 

 forest, and scampered about like children in the sheer 

 joy of being alive. I did not wish to despatch my 

 cablegrams from Half Moon Bay until an hour previously 

 arranged, and in the meantime we revelled in the warm 



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