ks and bones were revealed, which had remained buried in
the shingle probably for many years, and heaps of kelp were piled up
where before there had been clean, stony beach. Kelp is a very tough
weed, but after being washed up and exposed to the air for a few days,
begins to decay, giving forth a most disagreeable smell.

At this time we caught numerous small fish amongst the rocks at the
water's edge with a hand line about four feet long. It was simply a
matter of dropping in the line, watching the victim trifle with destiny
and hauling him in at the precise moment.

Wireless business was now being done nightly with Adelie Land, and on
the 7th I received a message from Dr. Mawson saying that the party would
in all probability be down there for another season, and stating the
necessity for keeping Macquarie Island station going till the end of the
year. This message I read out to the men, and gave them a week in which
to view the matter. The alternatives were to return in April or to
remain till the end of the year.

I went through the whole of the stores on the 10th, and found that the
only commodities upon which we would have to draw sparingly were milk,
sugar, kerosene, meats and coal. The flour would last till May, but the
butter allowance would have to be reduced to three pounds per week.

It was on the 12th that we found the lost sheep, but as we had some
wekas, sufficient to last us for several days, I did not kill one till
the 15th. On that day four of us went down towards the ledge where they
were standing, and shot one, which immediately toppled off and rolled
down some distance into the tussock, the other one leaping after it
without hesitation. While Blake and Hamilton skinned the dead sheep,
Sandell and I caught the other and tethered it at the bottom of the hill
amongst a patch of Maori cabbage, as we thought it would probably get
lost if left to roam loose. However, on going to the spot next day, the
sheep was nearly dead, having got tangled up in the rope. So we let it
go free, only to lose the animal a day or two later, for it fell into a
bog and perished.

On March 22 a lunar eclipse occurred, contact lasting a little over
three hours from 9.45 P.M. till within a few minutes of 1 A.M. on the
23rd. The period of total eclipse was quite a lengthy one, and during
the time it lasted the darkness was intense. Cloud interfered for a
while with our observations in the total stage. No coronal effect was
n