SOUTH 
one's heels, as do the Japanese." Each man took it in turn 
to be the tent " cook " for one day, and one writes : 
" The word ' cook ' is at present rather a misnomer, for 
whilst we have a permanent galley no cooking need be done in 
the tent. 
" Really, all that the tent cook has to do is to take his two 
hoosh-pots over to the galley and convey the hoosh and the 
beverage to the tent, clearing up after each meal and washing 
up the two pots and the mugs. There are no spoons, etc., to 
wash, for we each keep our own spoon and pocket-knife in our 
pockets. We just lick them as clean as possible and replace 
them in our pockets after each meal. 
" Our spoons are one of our indispensable possessions here. 
To lose one's spoon would be almost as serious as it is for an 
edentate person to lose his set of false teeth." 
During all this time the supply of seals and pengums, if not 
inexhaustible, was always sufficient for our needs. 
Seal- and penguin-lnmting was our daily occupation, and 
parties were sent out in difierent directions to search among the 
hummocks and the pressure-ridges for them. When one was 
found a signal was hoisted, usually in the form of a scarf or a 
sock on a pole, and an answering signal was hoisted at the 
camp. 
Then Wild went out with a dog team to shoot and bring 
in the game. To feed ourselves and the dogs at least one 
seal a day was required. The seals were mostly crab-eaters, 
and emperor penguins were the general rule. On November 5, 
however, an adelie was caught, and this was the cause of much 
discussion, as the following extract shows : " The man on watch 
from 3 a.m. to 4 a.m. caught an adelie penguin. This is the first 
of its kind that we have seen since January last, and it may 
mean a lot. It may signify that there is land somewhere near 
us, or else that great leads are opening up, but it is impossible 
to form more than a mere conjecture at present." 
No skuas, Antarctic petrels, or sea-leopards were seen during 
our two months' stay at Ocean Camp. 
In addition to the daily hunt for food, our time was passed 
in reading the few books that we had managed to save from the 
92 
