iqil] 
' BROWNING THE BOOTS ' 
203 
we had done 27,500 of these paces I felt we had earned 
our supper. 
Blue Glacier now confronted us. P.O. Evans and I 
prospected across the snout and were glad to find that 
though it showed crevasses in places, yet it was so free from 
snow that we should have no great difficulty in crossing 
them. They curved round parallel to the coast, and of 
course lay along the line of our march, so that we came 
on to them end-on and fell in several times. But by the 
evening of the 15th we were safely camped in the rugged ice 
south of the crevassed portion. Evans as usual enlivened 
us with navy yarns. He illustrated the kindness of the 
.sailorman by a story of a mate of his who started a poultry- 
farm. To Jack's disgust the ducks in his yard had no 
belief in altruism and with their broad bills gave the 
hens no chance. ' So,' said Taff Evans, ^ evenchooly he 
gets a file and trims their bills like the hens, and then 
everything went all sprowsy ! ' 
If anyone had asked us what we should like sent 
post haste from civilisation there would have been a 
unanimous yell of ' Boots ! ' The rough scrambling over 
the rocks and jagged ice of the past fortnight and the 
alternate soaking and freezing they had experienced had 
ruined mine completely. Deep constrictions formed in 
the leather across the toe and behind the ankle and raised 
great blisters, and even boils in Debenham's case. I had 
no sole on the right foot, but within the next day or so 
the temperature fell considerably and the thin leather 
lining froze as hard as steel and so protected my foot. 
For days a loose boot-nail which had accidentally been 
