WINTER MONTHS 
were shot this day. They were suffering severely from worms, 
and we could not afford to keep sick dogs under the changed 
conditions. The sun showed through the clouds on the northern 
horizon for an hour on the 4th. There was no open water to 
be seen from aloft in any direction. We saw from the mast- 
head to west-south-west an appearance of barrier, land, or a 
very long iceberg, about 20 odd miles away, but the horizon 
clouded over before we could determine its nature. We tried 
twice to make a sounding that day, but failed on each occasion. 
The Kelvin machine gave no bottom at the full length of the 
line, 370 fathoms. After much labour we made a hole in the 
ice near the stern-post large enough for the Lucas machine 
mth a 32-lb. lead ; but this appeared to be too Ught. The 
machine stopped at 452 fathoms, leaving us in doubt as to 
whether bottom had been reached. Then in heaving up we 
lost the lead, the thin wire cutting its way into the ice and 
snapping. All hands and the carpenter were busy this day 
making and placing kennels on the upper deck, and by nightfall 
all the dogs were comfortably housed, ready for any weather. 
The sun showed through the clouds above the northern horizon 
for nearly an hour. 
The remaining days of August were comparatively unevent- 
ful. The ice around the ship froze firm again and httle move- 
ment occurred in om neighbourhood. The training of the 
dogs, including the puppies, proceeded actively, and provided 
exercise as well as occupation. The drift to the north-west 
continued steadily. We had bad luck with soundings, the 
weather interfering at times and the gear breaking on several 
occasions, but a big increase in the depth showed that we 
had passed over the edge of the Weddell Sea plateau. A 
sounding of about 1700 fathoms on August 10 agreed fairly 
well with Filchner's 1924 fathoms, J30 miles east of our then 
position. An observation at noon of the 8th had given us 
lat. 71° 23' S., long. 49° 13' W. Minus temperatures prevailed 
still, but the dayhght was increasing. We captured a few emperor 
penguins which were making their way to the south-west. Ten 
penguins taken on the 19th were all in poor condition, and 
their stomachs contained nothing but stones and a few cuttle- 
59 
