ral serious
wounds, and had staggered up to a rookery, dying there from loss of
blood. Almost immediately the frozen carcase was mutilated and torn by
skua gulls.

On October 31 the good news was received that the 'Aurora' would leave
Australia on November 15. There were a great number of things to be
packed, including the lathe, the motor and dynamos, the air-tractor
engine, the wireless "set" and magnetic and meteorological instruments.
Outside the Hut, many cases of kerosene and provisions, which might
be required for the Ship, had been buried to a depth of twelve feet in
places during the southeast hurricane in September. So we set to work in
great spirits to prepare for the future.

McLean was busy collecting biological specimens, managing to secure a
large number of parasites from penguins, skua gulls, giant petrels, snow
petrels, Wilson petrels, seals and an Emperor penguin, which came up on
the harbour-ice. On several beautiful days, with a sea-breeze wafting in
from the north, large purple and brown jelly-fish came floating to the
ice-foot. Many were caught in a hand-net and preserved in formalin. In
his shooting excursions McLean happened on a small rocky ravine to the
east where, hovering among nests of snow and Wilson petrels, a small
bluish-grey bird,* not unlike Prion Banksii, was discovered. Four
specimens were shot, and, later, several old nests were found containing
the unhatched eggs of previous years.

** On arrival in Australia this bird proved to be new to science.

On the highest point of Azimuth Hill, overlooking the sea, a Memorial
Cross was raised to our two lost comrades.

A calm evening in November! At ten o'clock a natural picture in shining
colours is painted on the canvas of sea and sky. The northern dome is a
blush of rose deepening to a warm terra-cotta along the horizon, and the
water reflects it upward to the gaze. Tiny Wilson petrels flit by like
swallows; seals shove their dark forms above the placid surface; the
shore is lined with penguins squatting in grotesque repose. The south is
pallid with light--the circling sun. Adelie Land is at peace!

For some time Madigan, Hodgeman and I had been prepared to set out on
a short sledging journey to visit Mount Murchison and to recover if
possible the instruments cached by the Eastern Coastal and the
Southern Parties. It was not until November 23 that the weather "broke"
definitely, and we started up the old glacier "trail" as