lowered a small sledge down to
the floe and brought up a seal and three Adelie penguins. These served
for a while as fresh food for ourselves and the dogs.

Sunday March 3 was the finest day we had up till then experienced, and,
since the work was now sufficiently advanced to make us comparatively
comfortable and safe, I determined to make a proper Sunday of it. All
hands were called at 8.30 A.M. instead of 6 A.M. After breakfast a few
necessary jobs were done and at noon a short service was held. When
lunch was over, the skis were unpacked, and all went for a run to the
east in the direction of Masson Island.

The glacier's surface was excellent for travelling, but I soon found
that it would be dangerous to walk about alone without skis, as there
were a number of crevasses near the hut, some of considerable size; I
opened one twenty-five feet wide. They were all well bridged and would
support a man on skis quite easily.

A heavy gale, with falling snow and blinding drift, came on early the
next day and continued for forty-eight hours; our worst blizzard up to
that time. The temperature, below zero before the storm, rose with the
wind to 30 degrees F. Inside, all were employed preparing for a sledging
trip I intended to make to the mainland before the winter set in.
We were greatly handicapped by the want of a sewing machine.** When
unpacked, the one which had been brought was found to be without
shuttles, spools and needles. Large canvas bags, made to contain
two weeks' provisions for a sledging unit of three men, were in the
equipment, but the smaller bags of calico for the different articles of
food had to be sewn by hand. Several hundred of these were required, and
altogether the time consumed in making them was considerable.

** By accident the small sewing machine belonging to Wild's party
was landed at the Main Base--ED.

Emerging on the morning of the 6th. after the blizzard had blown itself
out, we found that snow-drifts to a depth of twelve feet had collected
around the hut. For entrance and exit, a shaft had to be dug and a
ladder made. The stores, stacked in heaps close by, were completely
covered, and another blizzard swooping down on the 7th made things still
worse. This "blow," persisting till the morning of the 9th, was very
heavy, the wind frequently attaining velocities judged to reach ninety
miles per hour, accompanied by drift so thick that it was impossible to
go outside for anything.