WINTERING IN McMURDO SOUND 
the CTlacier Tongue and other places, but at each of them the 
ship had been in an exposed and dangerous position. When 
this bay was tried the ship withstood several severe blizzards, 
in which the ice remained in on several occasions. When the 
ice did go out the moorings held. The ship was moored 
bows north. She had both anchors down forward and two 
anchors buried astern, to which the stern moorings were 
attached with seven lengths of wire. Taking all this into 
account, it was quite a fair judgment on his part to assume 
that the ship would be secme here. The blizzard that took 
the ship and the ice out of the bay was by no means as severe 
as others she had w^eathered. The accident proves again the 
uncertainty of conditions in these regions. I only pray and 
trust that the ship and those aboard are safe. I am sure they 
will have a thrilling story to tell when we see them," 
The Aurora could have found safe winter quarters farther 
up McMurdo Sound, towards Hut Point, but would have run 
the risk of being frozen in over the following summer, and I 
had given instructions to Mackintosh before he w^ent south 
that this danger must be avoided. 
Meanwhile we are making all preparations here for a 
prolonged stay. The shortage of clothing is our principal hard- 
ship. The members of the party from Hut Point have the 
clothes we wore when we left the ship on January 25. We have 
been without a wash all that time, and I cannot imagine a 
dirtier set of people. We have been attempting to get a wash 
ever since we came back, but owing to the blow dinging the last 
two days no opportunity has offered. All is working smoothly 
here, and every one is taking the situation very philosophically. 
Stevens is in charge of the scientific staff and is now the senior 
of&cer ashore. Joyce is in charge of the equipment and has 
undertaken to improvise clothes out of what canvas can be 
found here. Wild is working with Joyce, He is a cheerful, 
wilHng soul. Nothing ever worries or upsets him, and he is 
ever singing or making some joke or performing some amusing 
prank. Richards has taken over the keeping of the meteoro- 
logical log. He is a young Australian, a hard, conscientious 
worker, and I look forward to good results from his endeavours. 
267 
