400 
SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION [January 
lead had to be crossed en rouie^ and Gran's men negotiated 
this by converting their sledge into a ' kayak,' using a 
canvas cover which made quite a good boat out of the 
sledge. On their way home to the ship they had the 
fortune to get on to a loose ice floe with their two sledges. 
Ferrying in this fashion much time was saved, and the 
party returned hungry and tired but successful at 3 a.m. 
on January 23. 
During the absence of this party some surveying work 
was accomplished, and the astronomical observations taken 
by the navigating officers in conjunction linked on the work 
of Griffith Taylor and Debenham to the main survey. Ofl: 
shore soundings were obtained by Rennick with a view to 
throwing light on the neighbouring glacier movements. 
Pennell carried out magnetic observations, Lillie trawled 
with the Agassiz and obtained a fine haul, which included 
enormous sponges. In short, the usual beehive industry 
in the scientific work was maintained. 
At 3.30 A.M. the sledge gear was brought on board 
by Gran's party ; they had secured all Taylor's and 
Debenham's beautiful geological collections, consisting 
largely of fossils and coral. These specimens had been 
left here a whole year ago. 
This accomplished, we hauled in our ice anchors and 
proceeded under steam as requisite for working through 
the pack which barred our way to the Drygalski Barrier. 
At 11.30 A.M. the ice became so heavy that we were 
forced to turn round and return towards Granite Harbour. 
All day we worked to clear out of the pack and made 
only fair progress, the floes being so big that our weight 
