Hitherto we have 
o n 1' y imagined 
PENGUINS AT HOME, ONE OF MR. PONTING'S HAPPIEST 
their severity ; 
now we have proof, and a positive light is 
thrown on the local climatology of our Strait.” 
How Dr. Atkinson Got Lost. 
To illustrate the perils of a Southern storm, 
Scott’s story may be briefly repeated of how 
Dr. Atkinson got lost close to the hut on 
July 4th. It was a stormy day, with 
high wind and a temperature of 25 0 or 
more below zero. The wind moderated 
slightly in the afternoon, and a visit was 
paid to the upper thermometer screen. 
Then, in adventurous mood, Atkinson re- 
solved to continue and visit the thermometer 
in the North Bay, out on the floe. This was 
at 5.30. Gran, equally venturesome, started 
likewise for the South Bay thermometer ; 
but after two or three hundred yards pru- 
dently turned back. It took him an hour 
to struggle home in time for dinner at 
6.45. Half an hour later, as various mem- 
bers of the party came out from dinner, they 
were sent a short way to shout and show 
lights, while a big paraffin flare was arranged 
to be lit on Wind Vane Hill. A first search- 
party to the north went out. The wind 
rose again somewhat, but the moon broke 
through the clouds. Yet even with this help 
the wanderer did not return, and at 9.20 the 
search-party came in with no news. Then a 
whole network of search-parties was organized 
to sweep the coast and all the floe as far as 
the outlying islands. There was little prospect 
of Atkinson’s having found shelter anywhere, 
and his clothing was too light for such a storm. 
It seemed impossible that he had escaped 
serious accident. At last, at 11.45? after 
more than six hours of absence, he was 
brought in from the promontory hard by, 
badly frost-bitten on the hand and less 
severely on the face, and much dazed, as 
regularly happens after such exposure. 
133 
is something new; 
that they should 
have persisted in 
this effort in 
spite of every 
adversity for five 
full weeks is 
heroic. It makes 
a tale for our 
generation which 
I hope may not 
be lost in the 
telling. 
“ Moreover, 
the material re- 
sults are by no 
means d e s p i c- 
able. We shall 
know now when 
that extraordi- 
nary bird, the 
E m p e r o r pen- 
guin, lays its 
eggs, and under 
what conditions ; 
but even if our 
information re- 
mains meagre 
concerning i t s 
embryology, our 
party has shown 
the nature of the 
conditions which 
exist on the Great 
Barrier in winter. 
THE STRAND MAGAZINE . 
