I9I2] PERILOUS MARCHING 283 
not very wide. The moral of this is, Don't go for the 
break of a hill facing and near the sea, but stick to hum- 
drum grades if possible ; if not, still don't go for the 
break of- a hill ! ' 
The somewhat frivolous tone of the above note is 
evidence that it was written when we had traversed 
the worst of the piedmont. It was always the case 
* down South.' One never got photographs or ' instan- 
taneous pen-pictures ' of anything really exciting. It was 
always a case of ^ Get a move on, and get out of this good 
and quick,' so that one's diary lost most where it would 
have been most interesting. 
We were now behind Dunlop Island and about 1250 
feet up the piedmont. We were astonished to find that 
the floe had all broken up to south'ard. Long curved 
cracks parallel to the coast marked where pieces were 
continually floating off. We congratulated ourselves on 
our safe position on the piedmont, for we should have 
sledged into this without knowing it, had we continued 
much farther on the sea ice. Small bergs looking just 
like white yachts dotted the open water, which seemed 
to extend south to Castle Rock. There was no sign of the 
Terra Nova, We began to think she had come to grief, 
for Pennell knew we were free to move off on February i. 
After supper Debenham got out his plane table and 
continued his survey. He was at flrst much puzzled by 
the position of his station on the stranded Glacier Tongue 
to the south-east. He realised soon, however, that it 
had twisted round, and was even now preparing to continue 
its journey to the Nirvana of warm northern waters. 
