SOUTH 
night and a gusty north-westerly wind was now blowing, with 
misty sh owers. The Jcmies Caird headed to the sea as if anxious 
to face the battle of the waves once more. We passed through 
the narrow mouth of the cove with the ugly rocks and waving 
kelp close on either side, turned to the east, and sailed merrily 
up the bay as the sun broke through the mists and made the 
tossing waters sparkle around us. We were a curious-looking 
party on that bright morning, but we were feeling happy. We 
even broke into song, and, but for our Eobinson Crusoe appear- 
ance, a casual observer might have taken us for a picnic party 
sailing in a Norwegian fiord or one of the beautiful sounds of 
the west coast of New Zealand. The wind blew fresh and 
strong, and a small sea broke on the coast as we advanced. 
The surf was sufficient to have endangered the boat if we had 
attempted to land where the carcass of the sea-elephant was 
lying, so we decided to go on to the head of the bay without 
risking anything, particularly as we were likely to find sea- 
elephants on the upper beaches. The big creatures have a 
habit of seeking peaceful quarters protected from the waves. 
We had hopes, too, of finding penguins. Our expectation as 
far as the sea-elephants were concerned was not at fault. We 
heard the roar of the bulls as we neared the head of the bay, 
and soon afterwards saw the great unwieldy forms of the beasts 
lying on a shelving beach towards the bay-head. We rounded 
a high, glacier-worn bluff on the north side, and at 12.30 p.m. 
we ran the boat ashore on a low beach of sand and pebbles, 
with tussock growing above high-water mark. There were 
hundreds of sea-elephants lying about, and our anxieties with 
regard to food disappeared. Meat and blubber enough to feed 
our party for years was in sight. Our landing-place was about 
a mile and a half west of the north-east corner of the bay. eJust 
east of us was a glacier-snout ending on the beach but giving 
a passage towards the head of the bay, except at high water 
or when a very heavj^ surf was running. A cold, drizzling rain 
had begun to fall, and we provided ourselves with shelter as 
quickly as possible. We hauled the James Caird up above high- 
water mark and turned her over just to the lee ot east side of 
the bluff. The spot was separated from the mountain-side by 
190 
