SOUTH 
she drifted to leeward, the drag of the anchor kept her head 
to windward. Thus our boat took most of the seas more or 
less end on. Even tlien tlie crests of the waves often would 
curl right over us and we shipped a great deal of water, which 
necessitated unceasing baling and pumping. Looking out 
abeam, we would see a hollow like a tunnel formed as the crest 
of a big wave toppled over on to the swelling body of water. 
A thousand times it appeared as though the James Caird must 
be engulfed ; but the boat lived. The south-westerly gale had 
its birthplace above the Antarctic Continent, and its freezing 
breath lowered the temperature far towards zero. The sprays 
froze upon the boat and gave bows, sides, and decking a heavy 
coat of mail. This accumulation of ice reduced the buoyancy 
of the boat, and to that extent was an added peril ; but it 
possessed a notable advantage from one point of view. The 
water ceased to drop and trickle from the canvas, and the 
spray came in solely at the well in the after part of the boat. 
We could not allow the load of ice to grow beyond a certain 
point, and in turns we crawled about the decking forward, 
chipping and piclcing at it with the available tools. 
When daylight came on the morning of the sixth day out 
we saw and felt that the James Caird had lost her resiliency. 
She was not rising to the oncoming seas. The weight of the ice 
that had formed in her and upon her during the night was 
having its effect, and vshe was becoming more like a log than 
a boat. The situation called for immediate action. We first 
broke away the spare oars, which were encased in ice and frozen 
to the sides of the boat, and threw them overboard. We 
retained two oars for use when we got insliore. Two of the 
fur sleeping-bags went over the side ; they were thoroughly 
wet, weighing probably 40 lb. each, and they had frozen stifi 
during the night. Three men constituted the watch below, and 
when a man went down it was better to turn into the wet 
bag just vacated by another man than to thaw out a frozen 
bag with the heat of his unfortunate body. We now had four 
bags, three in use and one for emergency use in case a member 
of the party should break down permanently. The reduction 
of weight relieved the boat to some extent, and vigorous chipping 
170 
