SOUTH 
the joints had to be broken and the pipe thawed out. Hooke 
was ' hstening in ' from 8.30 p.m. to 12.30 a.m. for the Macquarie 
Island wireless station (1340 miles away) or the Bluff New 
Zealand) station (1860 miles away), but had no luck." 
The anchors were hove in by dint of much effort on the 13th 
and 14th, ice forming on the cable as it was hoisted through a hole 
cut in the fioe. Both anchors had broken, so the Aurora had 
now one smaU kedge-anchor left aboard. The ship's position on 
May 14 was approximately forty-five miles north, thirty-four 
west of Cape Evans. " In one week we have drifted forty-five 
miles (geographical). Most of this distance was covered during 
the first two days of the drift. We appear to be nearly stationary. 
What movement there is in the ice seems to be to the north- 
west towards the ice-bound coast. Hands who were after 
penguins yesterday reported much noise in the ice about one 
mile from the ship. 1 hope the floe around the ship is large 
enough to take its own pressure. We cannot expect much 
pressure from the south, as McMurdo Sound should soon be 
frozen over and the ice holding. North-east winds would drive 
the pack in from the Eoss Sea. 1 hope for the best. Plans 
for future development are ready, but probably will be check- 
mated again. ... I took the anchors aboard. They are of no 
further use as separate anchors, but they ornament the fore- 
castle head, so we put them in their places. . . . The supply 
of fresh water is a problem. The engineer turned steam from 
the boiler into the main water-tank (starboard) through a pipe 
leading from the main winch-pipe to the tank top. The steam 
condenses before reaching the tank. I hope freezing does not 
burst the tank. A large tabular iceberg, calved from the 
Barrier, is silhouetted against the tmhght glow in the sky 
about ten miles away. The sight of millions of tons of fresh 
ice is most tantalizing. It would be a week's journey to the 
berg and back over pack and pressure, and probably we could 
bring enough ice to last two days." 
The record of the early months of the Aurora's long drift 
in the Ross Sea is not eventful. The galley condenser was 
rigged, but the supply of fresh water remained a problem. The 
men collected fresh-fallen snow when possible and hoped to 
310 ^ 
