38 SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION [July 
we had to do here. We saw there was no seal in sight. 
We saw also that there were only about loo Emperor pen- 
guins instead of a couple of thousand as in 1902 and 1903. 
They were all standing in one compact group under the 
ice cliffs of the Barrier a few hundred yards from where 
we had emerged. We decided to get three penguin 
skins with their blubber and a few eggs. We therefore 
left Cherry on the ice foot with the Alpine rope to help 
us up again from the sea ice. Bowers and I jumped 
down and went off to the Emperors, We saw at once 
that some of them were crouching with eggs on their 
feet, as they tried to shuffle away with them without 
losing their hold. As we hustled them, however, a good 
many eggs were dropped and left lying on the ice, or 
were picked up again by the unemployed birds that saw 
and took their opportunity to seize an egg. We collected 
six eggs and killed and skinned three birds, and went 
back to the ice foot where Cherry was waiting to help us 
up with the rope. We passed the eggs and skins up, and 
then by climbing on Bowers' back I also got up ; but no 
amount of combined pulling would lift Bowers, as the 
rope only cut and jammed into the overhanging cliff of 
ice. He, however, hunted round till he found a place 
where he helped himself up by cutting steps while we 
hauled at the same time. It took a little time, but at 
last wc were all up, and at once started back by the way 
we had come in a very failing light. Bowers had 
unfortunately got one leg into a crack in the sea ice, and 
his crampon, finnesko and socks became frozen into a 
solid mass. Had we been able to bring the sledge 
