226 SIEGE OF THE SOUTH POLE 
would be difficult to find. The larger ships pierced for 
guns with large square ports could hardly be kept dry 
between decks in any breeze. The ports were not tight- 
fitting and in the case of the Peacock the sheer-strake to 
which they were hung and the bulwarks attached was so 
rotten as to cause the greatest anxiety. All possible steps 
were taken to keep the inside of the ships dry. All the 
openings were caulked, and the seams covered with tarred 
canvas over which sheet-lead was nailed. On starting 
the ships' boats were filled with bread as there were not 
bags enough to contain it all nor proper space in which 
to stow it. 
By this time particulars of the equipment of the British 
Antarctic expedition had been received at Sydney and 
the American ships were visited by numbers of the 
citizens anxious to see what Antarctic equipment was like. 
Wilkes describes the circumstance with a touch of the 
grim humour that flickers now and then over the sternest 
facts in his narrative. 
“ All seemed disappointed at not being able to see the 
same complete outfits in our vessels as they had seen de- 
scribed in the published accounts of these of the English 
expedition commanded by Captain James Ross. They 
enquired whether we had compartments in our ships to 
prevent us from sinking ? Plow we intended to keep our- 
selves warm? What kind of antiscorbutic we were to 
use? And where were our great ice-saws? To all of 
these questions I was obliged to answer, to their great 
apparent surprise, that we had none, and to agree with 
them that we were unwise to attempt such service in 
ordinary cruising vessels; but we had been ordered to go, 
and that was enough ! and go we should. This want of 
preparation certainly did not add to the character for 
