I9I2] 
BROWNING'S RECOVERY 
177 
pack and Browning with a smaller one, as he had not quite 
recovered. 
The change in Browning's condition owing to the 
biscuit is marvellous. 
A week ago he could just walk by the sledge on a march 
of 8 or 10 miles ; to-night, although tired, he is none the 
worse for his 18-mile walk. We found Priestley and Jiis 
party had already arrived with the rest of the depot when 
we got back, and to my great joy he had been able to fit 
the iron runners on to the T2-ft. sledge. 
November 5. — We turned out at 3.30. A lovely 
morning, with bright sun. After breakfast we started 
away, steering for the Dailey Islands, but we were forced 
to make a detour to the west to avoid rotten ice-leads. 
The mirage was extraordinary. At one place we 
thought we saw three men pulling a sledge ; Priestley 
and I walked towards them ; they apparently stopped ; 
Priestley started semaphoring while I looked through my 
glasses. No result. Suddenly they turned and I saw 
they were Emperor penguins, miraged up in a way that 
made them look like figures. These leads of bad ice 
seemed to run into Blue Glacier, but I thought I could see 
good ice beyond them, so we raced the sledge straight 
across, getting over without a mishap. Once over we 
found old ice behind a pressure ridge, and after crossing 
that struck the Barrier edge, here about 4 feet high, with 
snowdrifts leading on to it. A large number of seals and 
Emperor penguins were on the old ice. Here we lunched. 
The Barrier edge runs out in a tongue, and we had struck 
it on the north-west corner. We were thus able to steer 
VOL. IT. N 
