SOUTH 
hut as the light improved, including some discarded socks and 
underwear, left by members of the Scott Expedition, and a 
case of candied peel, which was used for cakes. A small fire 
broke out in the hut on August 12. The acetylene-gas lighting 
plant installed in the hut by Captain Scott had been rigged, 
and one day it developed a leak. A member of the party 
searched for the leak with a lighted candle, and the explosion 
that resulted fired some woodwork. Fortimately the outbreak 
was extinguished quickly. The loss of the hut at this stage 
would have been a tragic incident. 
Mackintosh and Stevens paid a visit to Cape Royds on 
August 13. They had decided to attempt the journey over the 
Barne Glacier, and after crossing a crevassed area they got to 
the slopes of Cape Barne and thence down to the sea-ice. They 
found this ice to be newly formed, but sufficiently strong for 
their purpose, and soon reached the Cape Royds hut. " The 
outer door of the hut we found to be off," wrote Mackintosh. 
" A little snow had drifted into the porch, but with a shovel, 
which we found outside, this was soon cleared away. We then 
entered, and in the centre of the hut found a pile of snow and 
ice, which had come through the open ventilator in the roof 
of the hut. We soon closed this. Stevens prepared a meal 
while I cleared the ice and snow away from the middle of the 
hut. After om- meal we commenced taking an inventory of 
the stores inside. Tobacco was our first thought. Of this we 
found one tin of Navy Cut and a box of cigars. Soap, too, 
which now ensures us a wash and clean clothes when we get 
back. We then began to look round for a sleeping-bag. No 
bags were here, however, but on the improvised beds of cases 
we found two mattresses, an old canvas screen, and two blankets. 
We took it in turns to turn in. Stevens started first, while I 
kept the fire going. No coal or blubber was here, so we had 
to use wood, which, while keeping the person alongside it warm, 
did not raise the temperature of the hut over freezing-point. 
Over the stove in a conspicuous place we found a notice left 
by Scott's party that parties using the hut should leave the 
dishes clean." 
Mackintosh and Stevens stayed at the Cape Royds hut 
