SOUTH 
within 10 ft. of where Hurley stood turning the handle of his 
camera, but he did not stop the machine, and so secured a 
unique, though sad, picture. 
The issue of clothing was quickly accomplished. Sleeping- 
bags were required also. We had eighteen fur bags, and it 
was necessary, therefore, to issue ten of the Jaeger woollen bags 
in order to provide for the twenty-eight men of the party. 
The woollen bags were Ughter and less warm than the reindeer 
bags, and so each man who received one of them was allowed 
also a reindeer-skin to lie upon. It seemed fair to distribute 
the fur bags by lot, but some of us older hands did not join 
in the lottery. We thought we could do quite as well with 
the Jaegers as with the furs. With quick dispatch the clothing 
was apportioned, and then we turned one of the boats on its 
side and supported it with two broken oars to make a lee for 
the galley. The cook got the blubber-stove going, and a little 
later, when 1 was sitting round the corner of the stove, I heard 
one man say, " Cook, I like my tea strong." Another joined 
in, " Cook, 1 like mine weak." It was pleasant to know that 
their minds were untroubled, but I thought the time opportune 
to mention that the tea would be the same for all hands and 
that we would be fortunate if two months later we had any 
tea at all. It occurred to me at the time that the incident had 
psychological interest. Here were men, their home crushed, 
the camp pitched on the unstable floes, and their chance of 
reaching safety apparently remote, calmly attending to the 
details of existence and giving their attention to such trifles 
as the strength of a brew of tea. 
During the afternoon the work continued. Every now and 
then we heard a noise like heavy guns or distant thunder, 
caused by the floes grinding together. " The^'pressure caused 
by the congestion in this area of the pack is producing a scene 
of absolute chaos. The floes grind stupendously, throw up 
great ridges, and shatter one another mercilessly. The 
ridges, or hedgerows, marking the pressure-lines that border 
the*' fast-diminishing pieces of smooth floe-ice, are enormous. 
The ice moves majestically, irresistibly. Human effort is 
not futile, but man fights against the giant forces of Nature 
80 
