iOio] 
BANKED FIRES 
55 
leads. The latter — and the fact is puzzling — still contain 
floes of enormous dimensions ; we have just passed one 
which is at least 2 miles in diameter. In such a scattered 
sea we cannot go direct, but often have to make longish 
detours ; but on the whole in calm water and with a favour- 
ing wind we make good progress. With the sea even as 
open as we find it here it is astonishing to find the floes 
so large, and clearly there cannot be a southerly swell. 
The floes have water pools as described this afternoon, 
and none average more than 2 feet in thickness. We 
have two or three bergs in sight. 
Saturday , December 24, Christmas Eve. — 69 0 i' S., 
178° 29' W. S. 22 E. 29'; C. Crozier 551'. Alas! 
alas ! at 7 a.m. this morning we were brought up with a 
solid sheet of pack extending in all directions, save that 
from which we had come. I must honestly own that I 
turned in at three thinking we had come to the end of 
our troubles ; I had a suspicion of anxiety when I thought 
of the size of the floes, but I didn't for a moment suspect 
we should get into thick pack again behind those great 
sheets of open water. 
All went well till four, when the white wall again 
appeared ahead — at five all leads ended and we entered 
the pack ; at seven we were close up to an immense 
composite floe, about as big as any we've seen. She 
wouldn't skirt the edge of this and she wouldn't go through 
it. There was nothing to do but to stop and bank fires. 
How do we stand ? Any day or hour the floes may 
open up, leaving a road to further open water to the 
south, but there is no guarantee that one would not be 
