A river, rather a torrent, of air rushes from the hinterland northward

year after year, replenished from a source which never fails. We had

reason to believe that it was local in character, as apparently a

gulf of open water about one hundred miles in width--the D'Urville

Sea--exists to the north of Adelie Land. Thus, far back in the

interior--back to the South Geographical Pole itself--across one

thousand six hundred miles of lofty plateau--is a zone of high

barometric pressure, while to the north lies the D'Urville Sea and

beyond it the Southern Ocean--a zone of low pressure. As if through a

contracted outlet, thereby increasing the velocity of the flow, the wind

sweeps down over Adelie Land to equalize the great air-pressure system.

And so, in winter, the chilling of the plateau leads to the development

of a higher barometric pressure and, as the open water to the north

persists, to higher winds. In summer the suns shines on the Pole for six

months, the uplands of the continent are warmed and the northern zone of

low pressure pushes southward. So, in Adelie Land, short spells of calm

weather may be expected over a period of barely three months around

the summer solstice. This explanation is intentionally popular. The

meteorological problem is one which can only be fully discussed when

all the manifold observations have been gathered together, from other

contemporary Antarctic expeditions, from our two stations on the

Antarctic continent, and from Macquarie Island; all taken in conjunction

with weather conditions around Australia and New Zealand. Then, when all

the evidence is arrayed and compared, some general truths of particular

value to science and, maybe, to commerce, should emerge.

Of one thing we were certain, and that was that Adelie Land was the

windiest place in the world. To state the fact more accurately: such

wind-velocities as prevail at sea-level in Adelie Land are known in

other parts of the world only at great elevations in the atmosphere.

The average wind-velocity for our first year proved to be approximately

fifty miles per hour. The bare figures convey more when they are

compared with the following average annual wind-velocities quoted from a

book of reference: Europe, 10.3 miles per hour; United States, 9.5 miles

per hour; Southern Asia, 6.5 miles per hour; West Indies, 6.2 miles per

hour.

Reference has already been made to the fact that often the high winds

ceased abruptly for a short interval. Many times during 1913 we had

opportunities of judging this phenomenon and, as an example, may be

quoted September 6.

[TEXT ILLUSTRATION]

A diagrammatic sketch illustrating the meteorological conditions at the

main base, noon, September 6, 1913

On that day a south-by-east hurricane fell off and the drift cleared

suddenly from about the Hut at 11.20 A.M. On the hills to the south

there was a dense grey wall of flying snow. Whirlies tracked about at

intervals and overhead a fine cumulus cloud formed, revolving rapidly.

Over the recently frozen sea there was an easterly breeze, while about

the Hut itself there were light northerly airs. Later in the day the

zone of southern wind and drift crept down and once more overwhelmed us.

Evidently the "eye" of a cyclonic storm had passed over.

During September the sea was frozen over for more than two weeks,

and the meteorological conditions varied from their normal phase. It

appeared as if we were situated on the battlefield, so to speak, of

opposing forces. The pacific influence of the "north" would hold sway

for a few hours, a whole day, or even for a few days. Then the vast

energies of the "south" would rise to bursting-point and a "through

blizzard" would be the result.

On September 11, although there was a wind of seventy miles per hour,

the sea-ice which had become very solid during a few days of low

temperature was not dispersed. Next day we found it possible to walk

in safety to the Mackellar Islets. On the way rushes of southerly wind

accompanied by a misty drift followed behind us. Then a calm intervened,

and the sun momentarily appeared and shone warmly. Suddenly from the

north-west came breezy puffs which settled into a light wind as we

went north. On the way home we could not see the mainland for clouds of

drift, and, when approaching the mouth of the boat-harbour, these clouds

were observed to roll down the lower slopes of the glacier and, reaching

the shore, rise into the air in columns. They then sailed away northward

at a higher altitude, almost obscuring the sun with a fine fog. On the

same night the "south" had gained the mastery, and the wind blew with

its accustomed strength.

Again, on September 24, McLean had a unique experience. He was digging

ice in a fifty-mile wind with moderate drift close to the Hut and, on

finishing his work, walked down to the harbour-ice to see if there were

any birds about. He was suddenly surprised to leave the wind and drift

behind and to walk out into an area of calm. The water lapped alongside

the ice-foot, blue in the brilliant sunlight. Away to the west a few

miles distant a fierce wind was blowing snow like fine spume over the

brink of the cliffs. Towards the north-west one could plainly see the

junction between calm water and foam-crested waves. To the south the

drift drove off the hills, passed the Hut, and then gyrated upwards and

thinned away seawards at an altitude of several hundred feet.

The wind average for September was 36.8 miles per hour, as against 53.7

for September of the previous year. There were nine "pleasant" days,

that is, days on which it was possible to walk about outside and enjoy

oneself. On the 27th there was a very severe blizzard. The wind was

from the south-east: the first occasion on which it had blown from any

direction but south-by-east at a high velocity. The drift was extremely

dense, the roof of the Hut being invisible at a distance of six feet.

Enormous ramps of snow formed in the vicinity, burying most of the cases

and the air-tractor sledge completely. The anemograph screen was blown

over and smashed beyond all repair. So said the Meteorological Notes in

the October number of the 'Adelie Blizzard'.

Speaking of temperature in general, it was found that the

mean-temperature for the first year was just above zero; a very low

temperature for a station situated near the Circle. The continual flow

of cold air from the elevated interior of the continent accounts for

this. If Adelie Land were a region of calms or of northerly winds, the

average temperature would be very much higher. On the other hand, the

temperature at sea-level was never depressed below-28 degrees F., though

with a high wind we found that uncomfortable enough, even in burberrys.

During the spring sledging in 1912 the lowest temperature recorded was

-35 degrees F. and it was hard to keep warm in sleeping-bags. The wind

made all the difference to one's resistance.

There was an unusually heavy snowfall during 1913. When the air was

heavily charged with moisture, as in midsummer, the falls would consist

of small (sago) or larger (tapioca) rounded pellets. Occasionally

one would see beautiful complicated patterns in the form of hexagonal

flakes. When low temperatures were the rule, small, plain, hexagonal

stars or spicules fell. Often throughout a single snowfall many types

would be precipitated. Thus, in September, in one instance, the fall

commenced with fluffy balls and then passed to tapioca snow, sago snow,

six-rayed stars and spicules.

Wireless communication was still maintained, though September was

found to be such a "disturbed" month--possibly owing to the brilliant

aurorae--that not a great many messages were exchanged. Jeffryes was not

in the best of health, so that Bickerton took over the operating

work. Though at first signals could only be received slowly, Bickerton

gradually improved with practice and was able to "keep up his end" until

November 20, when daylight became continuous. One great advantage, which

by itself justified the existence of the wireless plant, was the fact

that time-signals were successfully received from Melbourne Observatory

by way of Macquarie Island, and Bage was thus able to improve on his

earlier determinations and to establish a fundamental longitude.

During this same happy month of September, whose first day marked the

event of "One hundred days to the coming of the Ship" there was a great

revival in biological work. Hodgeman made several varieties of bag-traps

which were lowered over the edge of the harbour-ice, and many large

"worms" and crustaceans were caught and preserved.

On September 14 Bickerton started to construct a hand-dredge, which was

ready for use by the next evening. It was a lovely, cloudless day on

the 16th and the sea-ice, after more than two weeks, still spread to the

north in a firm, unbroken sheet. We went out on skis to reconnoitre, and

found that the nearest "lead" was too far away to make dredging a safe

proposition. So we were contented to kill a seal and bring it home

before lunch, continuing to sink the ice-shaft above the moraine for the

rest of the day.

The wind rose to the "seventies" on September 17, and the sea-ice

was scattered to the north. On the 19th--a fine day--there were many

detached pieces of floe which drifted in with a northerly breeze, and

on one of these, floating in an ice-girt cove to the west, a sea-leopard

was observed sunning himself. He was a big, vicious-looking brute, and

we determined to secure him if possible. The first thing was to dispatch

him before he escaped from the floe. This Madigan did in three shots

from a Winchester rifle. A long steel-shod sledge was then dragged from

the Hut and used to bridge the interval between the ice-foot and the

floe. After the specimen had been flayed, the skin and a good supply

of dogs' meat were hauled across and sledged home. On the 30th another

sea-leopard came swimming in near the harbour's entrance, apparently on

the look-out for seals or penguins. Including the one seen during 1912,

only three of these animals were observed during our two years' sojourn

in Adelie Land.

Dredgings in depths up to five fathoms were done inside the boat harbour

and just off its entrance on five separate occasions between September

22 and the end of the month. Many "worms," crustaceans, pteropods,

asteroids, gastropods and hydroids were obtained, and McLean and I had

many interesting hours classifying the specimens. The former preserved

and labelled them, establishing a small laboratory in the loft above

the "dining-room." The only disadvantage of this arrangement was that

various "foreign bodies" would occasionally come tumbling through the

interspaces between the flooring boards of the loft while a meal was in

progress.

Some Antarctic petrels were shot and examined for external and internal

parasites. Fish were caught in two traps made by Hodgeman and myself

in October, but unfortunately the larger of the two was lost during a

blizzard. However, on October 11 a haul of fifty-two fish was made with

hand-lines off the boat harbour, and we had a pleasant change in the

menu for dinner. They were of the type known as Notothenia, to which

reference has already been made.

By October 13, when a stray silver-grey petrel appeared, every one was

on the qui vive for the coming of the penguins. In 1912 they had arrived

on October 12, and as there was much floating ice on the northern

horizon, we wondered if their migration to land had been impeded.

The winds were very high for the ensuing two days, and on the 17th the

horizon was clearer and more "water sky" was visible. Before lunch

on that day there was not a living thing along the steep, overhanging

ice-foot, but by the late afternoon thirteen birds had effected a

landing, and those who were not resting after their long swim were

hopping about making a survey of the nearest rookeries. One always has

a "soft spot" for these game little creatures--there is something

irresistibly human about them--and, situated as we were, the wind seemed

of little account now that the foreshores were to be populated by the

penguins--our harbingers of summer and the good times to be. Three days

later, at the call of the season, a skua gull came flapping over the

Hut.

It was rather a singular circumstance that on the evening of the 17th,

coincident with the disappearance of the ice on the horizon, wireless

signals suddenly came through very strongly in the twilight at 9.30

P.M., and for many succeeding nights continued at the same intensity. On

the other hand, during September, when the sea was either firmly frozen

or strewn thickly with floe-ice, communication was very fitful and

uncertain. The fact is therefore suggested that wireless waves are for

some reason more readily transmitted across a surface of water than

across ice.

The weather during the rest of October and for the first weeks

of November took on a phase of heavy snowfalls which we knew were

inevitable before summer could be really established. The winds were

very often in the "eighties" and every four or five days a calm might be

expected.

The penguins had a tempestuous time building their nests, and resuming

once more the quaint routine of their rookery life. In the hurricanes

they usually ceased work and crouched behind rocks until the worst was

over. A great number of birds were observed to have small wounds on

the body which had bled and discoloured their feathers. In one case a

penguin had escaped, presumably from a sea-leopard, with several 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" assisted by a good

team of dogs.

Aladdin's Cave was much the same as we had left it in the previous

February, except that a fine crop of delicate ice-crystals had formed on

its walls. We carried with us a small home-made wireless receiving set,

and arrangements were made with Bickerton and Bage to call at certain

hours. As an "aerial" a couple of lengths of copper wire were run out

on the surface of the ice. At the first "call" Madigan heard the signals

strongly and distinctly, but beyond five and a half miles nothing more

was received.

Resuming the journey on the following day, we made a direct course for

Madigan Nunatak and then steered southeast for Mount Murchison, pitching

camp at its summit on the night of November 28.

On the 29th Madigan and Hodgeman made a descent into the valley, on

whose southern side rose Aurora Peak. The former slid away on skis and

had a fine run to the bottom, while Hodgeman followed on the sledge

drawn by Monkey and D'Urville, braking with an ice-axe driven into

the snow between the cross-bars. Their object was to find the depot of

instruments and rocks which the Eastern Coastal Party were forced to

abandon when fifty-three miles from home. They were unsuccessful in

the search, as an enormous amount of snow had fallen on the old surface

during the interval of almost a year. Indeed, on the knoll crowning

Mount Murchison, where a ten-foot flagpole had been left, snow had

accumulated so that less than a foot of the top of the pole was

showing. Nine feet of hard compressed snow scarcely marked by one's

footsteps--the contribution of one year! To such a high isolated spot

drift-snow would not reach, so that the annual snowfall must greatly

exceed the residuum found by us, for the effect of the prevailing winds

would be to reduce it greatly.

On the third day after leaving Mount Murchison for the Southern

Party's depot, sixty-seven miles south of Winter Quarters, driving snow

commenced, and a blizzard kept us in camp for seven days. When the drift

at last moderated we were forced to make direct for the Hut, as the time

when the Ship was expected to arrive had passed.

Descending the long blue slopes of the glacier just before midnight

on December 12, we became aware of a faint black bar on the seaward

horizon. Soon a black speck had moved to the windward side of the

bar--and it could be nothing but the smoke of the 'Aurora'. The moment

of which we had dreamt for months had assuredly come. The Ship was in

sight!

There were wild cheers down at the Hut when they heard the news. They

could not believe us and immediately rushed up with glasses to the

nearest ridge to get the evidence of their own senses. The masts, the

funnel and the staunch hull rose out of the ocean as we watched on the

hills through the early hours of a superb morning. The sun was streaming

warmly over the plateau and a cool land breeze had sprung up from the

south, as the 'Aurora' rounded the Mackellar Islets and steamed up to

her old anchorage. We picked out familiar figures on the bridge and

poop, and made a bonfire of kerosene, benzine and lubricating oil in a

rocky crevice in their honour.

The indescribable moment was when Davis came ashore in the whale-boat,

manned by two of the Macquarie Islanders (Hamilton and Blake), Hurley

and Hunter. They rushed into the Hut, and we tried to tell the story of

a year in a few minutes.

On the Ship we greeted Gillies, Gray, de la Motte, Ainsworth, Sandell

and Correll. It was splendid to know that the world contained so many

people, and to see these men who had stuck to the Expedition through

"thick and thin." Then came the fusillade of letters, magazines and

"mysterious" parcels and boxes. At dinner we sat down reunited in the

freshly painted ward-room, striving to collect our bewildered thoughts

at the sight of a white tablecloth, Australian mutton, fresh vegetables,

fruit and cigars.

The two long years were over--for the moment they were to be effaced

in the glorious present. We were to live in a land where drift and wind

were unknown, where rain fell in mild, refreshing showers, where the sky

was blue for long weeks, and where the memories of the past were to fade

into a dream--a nightmare?

CHAPTER XXV LIFE ON MACQUARIE ISLAND

By G. F. Ainsworth

Left on an island in mid-ocean!

It suggests the romances of youthful days--Crusoe, Sindbad and all their

glorious company. Still, when this narrative is completed, imagination

will be seen to have played a small part. In fact, it is a plain tale of

our experiences, descriptive of a place where we spent nearly two years

and of the work accomplished during our stay.

The island was discovered in 1810 by Captain Hasselborough of the ship

'Perseverance', which had been dispatched by Campbell and Sons, of

Sydney, under his command to look for islands inhabited by fur seals.

Macquarie Islands, named by Hasselborough after the Governor of New

South Wales, were found to be swarming with these valuable animals, and

for two years after their discovery was made known, many vessels visited

the place, landing gangs of men to procure skins and returning at

frequent intervals to carry the proceeds of their labours to the markets

of the world.

The slaughter of the seals was so great that the animals were almost

exterminated within a few years. One ship is known to have left

Macquarie Island with a cargo of 35,000 skins during the first year of

operations. High prices were obtained for them in London and China, and

many American, British and Sydney firms were engaged in the enterprise.

The value of a skin is determined by the condition of the fur, which is

often damaged by the animals fighting amongst themselves. Furthermore,

at a certain season of the year, the seals moult, and if taken within

a certain time of this natural process, the skin is almost valueless.

These facts were ignored by the sealers, who killed without

discrimination.

Again, both male and female, old and young were ruthlessly slaughtered,

with the obvious result--the extermination of the species. If

supervision had been exercised and restrictions imposed, there is no

doubt that the island would still have been used by the fur seal as a

breeding-ground. During our stay none were seen, but Mr. Bauer, who acts

as sealing herdsman and who had visited the island in that capacity each

summer for eleven years, stated that he had seen odd ones at infrequent

intervals.

Associated as the island has been since the year 1812 with sealing and

oil ventures, it follows that a history has been gradually developed;

somewhat traditional, though many occurrences to which we shall refer

are well authenticated.

It might be supposed from the foregoing, that a good deal is known about

the place, but such is not the case, except in a general sense. Several

scientific men from New Zealand, recognizing the importance of the

island as a link between Australasia and Antarctica, visited it at

different times within the past twenty years, only remaining long enough

to make a cursory examination of the eastern side. They had to depend

on the courtesy of the sealing ships' captains for a passage, and the

stormy conditions which are ever prevalent made their stay too brief for

any exhaustive work.

A Russian Antarctic expedition, under Bellingshausen's command, called

there in 1821 and stayed for two days, collecting a few bird and animal

specimens. They referred to the island as being "half-cooled down," in

a short but interesting account of their visit, and remarked upon the

large number of sea-elephants lying on the shores.

In 1840 the ship 'Peacock', one of the exploring vessels of the American

Expedition under Wilkes, landed several men after much difficulty on the

south-west of the island, but they remained only a few hours, returning

to their ship after securing some specimens of birds. Expressing

astonishment at the "myriad of birds", they remarked, "Macquarie Islands

offer no inducement for a visit, and as far as our examination showed,

have no suitable place for landing with a boat."

The next call of an Antarctic expedition was made by Captain Scott in

the 'Discovery' in November 1901. He, with several naturalists, landed

on the eastern side to collect specimens, but remained only a few hours.

He refers to the penguins, kelp-weed and tussock grass; certainly three

characteristic features.

Captain Davis, during his search for charted sub-antarctic islands, when

connected with Sir Ernest Shackleton's expedition, called there in

the 'Nimrod' in 1909. He landed a party of men who secured several

sea-elephants and some penguins.

It will thus be seen that very little had been done which was

scientifically important or generally interesting. Sealers came and went

as a matter of business, and probably the arduous nature of their work

and the rugged topography of the island combined to prevent the more

curious from exploring far afield.

Captain Scott was desirous of establishing a base on Macquarie Island

in 1910, but circumstances compelled him to abandon the idea. And so it

came that we five men of Dr. Mawson's Expedition were landed on December

22, 1911, with a programme of work outlined by our leader. H. Hamilton

was biologist, L. R. Blake surveyor and geologist, C. A. Sandell and A.

J. Sawyer were wireless operators, the former being also a mechanic, and

I was appointed meteorologist and leader of the party.

We stood on the beach in the dusk, watching the boat's party struggle

back to the 'Aurora', which lay at anchor one and a half miles from

the north-west shore. Having received a soaking landing in the surf and

being tired out with the exertions of the day, we started back to our

temporary shelter. We had not gone very far when a mysterious sound,

followed by a shaking of the earth, made us glance at each other and

exclaim, "An earthquake!" The occurrence gave rise to a discussion which

carried us to bed.

Seeing that we were to spend a long time on the island, the question of

building a hut was the first consideration. Through the kindness of Mr.

Bauer, who had just left the island in the s.s. 'Toroa', we were able to

live for the time being in the sealers' hut.

It was urgent to get the wireless station into working order as soon as

possible. The masts and operating-hut had been erected during the stay

of the 'Aurora', but there yet remained the building of the engine-hut

and the installation of the machinery and instruments, as well as the

construction and erection of the aerial. Accordingly we proceeded with

the living-hut and the job on Wireless Hill at the same time, working on

the hill most of the day and at the hut in the evening.

Wireless Hill rose to three hundred and fifty feet in height, and formed

part of a peninsula running in a northeasterly direction from the

main island. It had been chosen by Mr. Hannam of the Adelie Land party

because of its open northerly aspect, and because "wireless" waves

would probably have a good "set-off," southward to the Main Base in

Antarctica.

Just a few yards from the base of the hill on its southwestern side was

a huge rock, upon the easterly side of which we decided to build our

dwelling. The timbers for the hut had been cut and fitted in Hobart, so

all that remained for us was to put them together.

After working at high pressure until December 30, we were able to

establish ourselves in a home. The doorway faced to the east, and the

rock protected the small place from the strong westerly weather which

is invariable in these latitudes. The dimensions were twenty feet by

thirteen feet, the front wall being nine feet six inches high, sloping

to seven feet six inches at the back. All the timbers were of oregon and

deal, and particular attention was paid to bracing and strengthening

the building, which rested on piles just clear of the sandy surface.

The inside was lined and ceiled, and the roof of galvanized iron was set

flush with the front wall, fascia boards along the front and sides being

designed to keep the fine snow from blowing under the corrugations and

lodging on the ceiling. "George V Villa" was fixed upon as the name, but

the hut was never at any time referred to as the villa, and in future

will always be known as the Shack.

[TEXT ILLUSTRATION]

Plan of Hut--Macquarie Island

Twelve live sheep had been landed, and these had been driven on to

Wireless Hill so as to be accessible. We decided to kill one for

Christmas, so on December 24 Sandell and I, leaving the others at work

on the Shack, started out.

The hillsides are deeply ravined and the slopes covered with a dense

growth of tussock, which renders progress uncertain and laborious. Our

experience was a foretaste of many to come. We found the sheep huddled

together in a deep gully on the eastern side, and drove them round to

the front of the hill, where one was caught, killed and dressed.

Christmas Day dawned fine and sunny, and we decided to make some attempt

at a dinner. Blake produced a plum pudding, and this, together with

roast mutton and several kinds of vegetables, washed down with a little

claret, constituted our first Christmas dinner.

The sealing schooner, Clyde, had been wrecked without loss of life on

November 14, 1911, on the east coast, and was now lying on the beach

nearly half a mile away. A two-hundred-gallon tank had been saved

from the wreck and we managed on Christmas morning, after two hours of

carrying and trundling, to place it at the end of the Shack. This was a

valuable find, ensuring in the future a constant, convenient supply

of rain water. Further, we made use of the timber of the wreck for

building, and the broken pieces strewn about were stored up as firewood.

On the 26th we all went to the wireless station, and, as Sandell had the

aerial made, we pulled it into position. In the afternoon I unpacked

all my instruments and started them off so as to make sure that all

were working correctly. I did not intend to record any observations till

January 1, 1912, and therefore did not erect the meteorological screen

until the 28th.

On moving into our abode domestic arrangements were made. With regard

to cooking, each man took duty for a week, during which he was able to

write up his work and to wash and mend clothes. To Hamilton and Sandell,

who had had previous experience, frequent appeals were made as to

methods of cooking various dishes, but by degrees each one asserted his

independence. There were several cookery books for reference and each

week saw the appearance of some new pudding, in each instance prefaced

by the boast: "This is going to be the best pudding ever turned out on

the island!" The promise was not always made good.

We had a good deal of difficulty at first in making bread and several

batches were very "heavy" failures. This difficulty, however, was soon

overcome and, after the first few months, the cooking standard was high

and well maintained. Our stove was very small and only two loaves of

bread could be cooked at once. It frequently happened, therefore, that

the others, which would go on rising in the tins, overflowed; a matter

which could only be set right by experience.

On New Year's Day, 1912, we carried timber in relays from the wreck to

the top of Wireless Hill, so that the building of the engine-hut could

be started. The next few days were occupied in getting food-stuffs,

medicines, stationery, clothing and other necessaries over to the Shack

from the landing-place on the beach. Blake and Hamilton unpacked

their instruments and appliances, fitting up a small laboratory and

photographic dark-room in one corner of the hut.

Some kind Hobart friend had sent four fowls to me on the day of sailing,

requesting me to take them to Macquarie island. They were housed in one

of the meteorological screens, but on the third day from Hobart a heavy

sea broke on board, upset the temporary fowl-house and crushed the

rooster's head. The three hens were landed safely and appeared to be

thoroughly reconciled to their strange surroundings, though the presence

of so many large birds soaring about overhead had a terrifying effect on

them for several days. They did not appear to pick up much food amongst

the grass, but scratched away industriously all the same. I must say

that they were very friendly and gave the place quite a homely aspect.

One of them was christened "Ma" on account of her maternal and somewhat

fussy disposition.

On the first Sunday in the new year all except myself went along

the coast towards West Point. The party reported immense numbers of

sea-elephants, especially young ones. They also saw many wekas and three

ducks, shooting nine of the former for the kitchen.

The wekas or Maori hens are small, flightless birds, averaging when

full grown about two and three-quarter pounds. They were introduced

twenty-five years ago by Mr. Elder, of New Zealand, a former lessee of

the island, and multiplied so fast that they are now very numerous. They

live among the tussocks, and subsist for the most part upon the larvae

of the kelp-fly, small fish and other marine life which they catch under

the stones along the rocky shores at low tide. They are exceedingly

inquisitive and pugnacious and may easily be caught by hand.

Usually, when disturbed, they will pop under a rock, and on being seized

immediately commence to squeak. This is sufficient to bring every weka

within a quarter of a mile hurrying to the spot, and, in a few minutes,

heads may be seen poking out of the grass in every direction. The man

holding the bird then crouches down, preferably just on the border of

the tussock, holding the protesting bird in one hand. Soon there will be

a rustle, then a rush, and another furious weka will attack the decoy.

The newcomer is grabbed and, if the birds are plentiful, five or six of

them may be taken in one spot.

Their call is peculiarly plaintive and wild and may be heard night and

day. Though we saw and caught innumerable young ones of all sizes, we

were never able to find the nests of these Maori hens.

A depot of stores had been laid by the 'Aurora' at Caroline Cove, twenty

miles from the Shack at the south end of the island, and it was deemed

advisable to lay several more intermediate food-depots along the east

coast.

The sealers had a motor-launch which they kindly placed at our disposal,

and a supply of stores was put on board for transport. At 8 A.M.,

January 9, Sandell, Blake, Sawyer and Hamilton started out accompanied

by two sealers who offered to point out the positions of several old

huts along the coast. These huts had been built by sealing gangs many

years ago and were in a sad state of disrepair.

The first call was made at Sandy Bay, about five miles from the Shack.

Stores were landed and placed in the hut, and the party proceeded to

Lusitania Bay, eleven miles farther on, where they stayed for the night.

At this place (named after an old sealing craft, the 'Lusitania') there

were two huts, one being a work-hut and the other a living-hut. They had

not been used for sixteen years and, as a result, were found to be much

dilapidated. In the locality is a large King penguin rookery, the only

one on the island, and two dozen eggs were obtained on this visit, some

fresh and some otherwise.

As the next morning was squally, it was decided that the stores should

be deposited in the hut at the south end; a distance of five miles

across country. Through bog and tussock it took the party four hours to

accomplish this journey. The hut was found in the same condition as the

others and a rather miserable night was spent. A short distance from

this spot is situated the largest penguin rookery on the island. On

returning to the launch, the six men had a quick run of three hours back

to the north end.

During the absence of the party I had been busy erecting a stand for the

anemo-biagraph. Ordinarily, such an instrument is kept in a house, the

upper section only being exposed through the roof. The Shack was in

a position too sheltered for my purpose, so I built a place for the

anemo-biagraph behind a low rock well out on the isthmus.

Sandell and Sawyer reported on the 16th that the wireless station was

ready for testing. Therefore, on the following day, the three of us

erected a small set on the farthest point of the peninsula--North Head.

The set had been made in order to test the large station. Sawyer then

returned to the operating-hut and received signals sent from North Head

by Sandell, who in return received Sawyer's signals, thus showing that

so far everything was satisfactory. It was thought, after the tests,

that the "earth" was not by any means good and Sawyer erected a

counterpoise, which, however, failed to give anything like the "earth"

results. More "earths" (connexions by wire with the ground) were now

put in from day to day, and on the 27th Sawyer noted an improvement.

Successful tests were again made on the 30th. The wireless men now

expected communication with Australia.

Blake and Hamilton were soon making inroads, each on his own particular

sphere of work. On the 17th a baseline was laid down on the plateau, and

Blake was able to commence his survey of the island. He had already made

some geological investigations in the vicinity of North Head and West

Point, as well as for a short distance along the east coast. Hamilton

had visited nearly all the penguin rookeries in the vicinity, and

already had several fine specimens. Marine collecting occupied part of

his time and plant life promised to provide an interesting field.

[TEXT ILLUSTRATION]

The north end of Macquarie Island

From the intermediate position that Macquarie Island occupies relative

to Australasia and the Antarctic continent, it was highly important that

its biology should be fully determined. Investigation of the marine and

terrestrial fauna and flora shows several facts indicating the part this

island has played in the supposed connexion of the great land masses of

the southern hemispheres. It is an established fact that the flora of

New Zealand has strong sub-antarctic and South American affinities and

the problem is to account for this distribution. Many forms of plant and

animal life are circumaustral, being found in all suitable sub-antarctic

situations. To account for this fact two theories have been advanced,

namely, the Relict theory (Dahl, Schenck and others) and the Antarctic

theory.

The first theory supposes that the inhabitants of the sub-antarctic

islands are the remnants of groups of animals developed in some northern

land-mass, and driven south by more highly developed forms. Again, that

these sub-antarctic islands have always been separated from continents,

and that the distribution of life on the former must have proceeded over

wide stretches of sea.

The Antarctic theory accounts for the distribution and similarity of

sub-antarctic fauna and flora by establishing a connexion between the

sub-antarctic islands and the Antarctic continent. At the same period,

the Antarctic continent was assumed to be connected by land with South

America, South Africa and Australia, and the similar life forms now

found in these continents were driven northward by a subsequent colder

period. This theory is strengthened by several facts, chief of

which are, (1) the existence of an Antarctic continent, and (2) the

comparatively shallow waters between it, South Africa, Australia and

South America.

Whichever theory is adopted, it is evident that our scientific

opportunities were unique.

On the 28th, Sandell, Sawyer and I decided to climb on to the main ridge

or plateau of the island. We had already discovered that the easiest

way to get on to the hills was to follow up one of the many ravines or

gullies which run down to the sea. This necessitates walking in water

most of the way, but one soon gets accustomed to wet feet on Macquarie

Island.

The slopes rise in a series of terraces which are generally soggy and

covered with tussock (pleurophyllum) and with scattered cushions of

Azorella. The summit of the ridge is a barren waste, over which loose

rocks are scattered in every direction, while a wavy effect due to the

action of wind is plainly visible over the surface of the ground. The

steep, descending sides are very soft and sodden, supporting a scanty

growth of vegetation, including the small burr known as the "biddy-bid."

Hundreds of tarns and lakes are visible along the plateau-like ridge

which extends throughout the length of the island. Several of the lakes

are half a mile long and very deep. The tarns are, for the most part,

shallow with hard stony bottoms. The water is beautifully fresh and

apparently contains no life.

Skua gulls were plentiful and washed themselves, with a great flapping

of wings, in the shallow waters at the edge of the lakes. They paid

particular attention to our dog "Mac," swooping down and attempting to

strike her with their wings. A yelp at intervals came from Mac if they

were successful, though the former, if she were quick enough, would

spring at the bird and retaliate by getting a mouthful of feathers.

We eventually came out on to a point about seven hundred feet high,

overlooking the west coast, and it could be seen that the space between

the base of the hills and the ocean was occupied by a plain which sloped

very gradually to the beach. Here and there across its surface were huge

mounds of earth and rock and, occasionally, a small lakelet fringed with

a dense growth of tussock and Maori cabbage.

A descent was made to explore the place. A fairly large volume of water

flowed rapidly downward by several deep gullies and, coming to the

terrace, cut narrow, sinuous channels which were soon lost to view in

the tussocks. Examination of the watercourses revealed that this tract

was simply a raised beach covered with sodden peat and carrying a rather

coarse vegetation. The ground was decidedly springy and shook to

our tread; moreover, one sank down over the ankles at each step.

Occasionally a more insecure area was encountered, where one of us would

go down to the thighs in the boggy ground.

As the shore approached we came to thick tussock and Maori cabbage, and

the travelling became much rougher. A group of earthy mounds and rock

was sighted some distance away and we decided to reach them and have

our lunch. A nearer view showed us a large opening in one of these

prominences and we scrambled up to examine it.

Inside there was a small cave, high in front but sloping sharply towards

the back for a distance of thirty-five feet. The roof and walls were

blackened by smoke, and spikes and nails driven into crevices were

evidences that the place had once been occupied. Eagle Cave it is called

and its story was afterwards related to us.

Between thirty and forty years ago the schooner 'Eagle', in attempting

to make the island, had been caught in a gale and wrecked on the

rock-bound western coast. As far as can be learned, there were nine men

and a woman on board, all of whom were saved. They lived in this cave

for almost two years, subsisting upon what they could catch. Decayed

tussock grass, a foot in depth, now covers the floor, showing that some

attempt had been made to improve the comfort of the place, while bones

lying strewn about in all directions indicate that gulls, penguins and

cormorants must have supplied a good deal of their food. It is presumed

that some of them made a journey to North Head periodically to look out

for relief, as a well-defined track to that point is still visible in

places.

The tale, however, has its tragic side, for the woman died on the very

day when the rescuing ship called at the island. She was buried on the

isthmus, not far from our Shack. One would think that death was rather

a relief from such an existence as this unfortunate woman must have

endured, but, at the same time, it seems hard that she did not live to

participate in the joy of deliverance.

We ate our lunch and had a smoke, after which we decided to walk

homewards along "Feather Bed" terrace. A few minutes after leaving the

cave, Sawyer and Sandell caught three young ducks, which they carried

back, intending to rear them, but they died several days later. A weary

tramp brought us, thoroughly tired, to the Shack, where Hamilton had an

excellent meal awaiting us.

The weather during January was rather trying. Precipitation in the

form of either rain, hail, sleet or snow occurred on twenty-six days,

sometimes all forms being experienced on the same day. As a result, the

supply of water was well maintained; in fact, the amount caught exceeded

the consumption and we finished the month with the tank almost full.

Gales were experienced on eight days, the maximum wind-force being

forty-two miles an hour. The sky was mostly heavily clouded or

absolutely overcast and on many days the sun was not seen. Fog hung

about the hills almost continuously, and driving mist accompanied the

northerly winds.

January 24 was a glorious day, calm and sunny, with a maximum

temperature of 51.3 degrees F. The habit of former days induced Sandell

and myself to have a dip in the surf, but as the temperature of the

water was about 42 degrees F., we stayed in as many seconds. The mean

temperature for the month was 44.9 degrees F.; the minimum being 35.5

degrees F.

My first view of the island when the 'Aurora' arrived in December 1911

left rather an agreeable impression. The day of our approach was marked

by fine calm weather and the dark-green tussock-clad hillsides were

rather attractive. On the other hand, one was immediately struck with

the entire absence of trees, the steep precipices, cliffs and the

exceedingly rugged nature of the coastline.

Closer scrutiny shows that the tussock grass radiates closely from a

semi-decayed mass of leaf-sheaths, with the blades of grass shooting

upwards and outwards as high as three or four feet. Scattered through it

are patches of Stilbocarpa polaris, locally known as Maori cabbage. It

is of a more vivid green than the tussock and is edible, though somewhat

stringy and insipid. Our sheep ate it readily, even nibbling the roots

after the plant had been cropped down.

There were several Victoria penguin colonies round about the rocky faces

of the hills in the vicinity of the Shack, and their hubbub and cackling

uproar were something to remember. The rearing of the young appeared to

be rather a busy process. The young ones look like bundles of down and

seem to grow at a remarkable rate, while the attempt of the parent to

shelter the usual two chicks is a very ludicrous thing to watch.

The material for the nest made by these birds seems to depend almost

entirely on its immediate surroundings. The rookery is established on a

broken rocky face close to the water's edge and the nests are made under

rocks, in niches and passages, as well as amongst the tussock growing on

the rocks. Those under the rocks are constructed of small stones and

a few blades of grass, while those in the passages and fissures are

usually depressions in soft mud. Amongst the tussock a hole is first

made in the soft earth and then neatly lined with blades of grass.

The birds lay two or three eggs of a white or greenish-white colour, but

I have never seen three chicks hatched. The eggs are edible, and we used

many dozens of them during our stay.

The period of incubation is about five weeks, and male and female take

turns at sitting. A young one is fed by placing its beak within that

of the parent bird where the food--mainly crustaceans--is taken as it

regurgitates from the stomach of the latter.

Although the smallest species on the island, the Victoria penguins are

the most spiteful, and a scramble through the rookery invites many pecks

and much disturbance. They have a black head and back, white breast and

yellow crest, the feathers of which spread out laterally. During the

moulting season they sit in the rookery or perched on surrounding rocks,

living apparently on their fat, which is found to have disappeared

when at last they take to the sea. They come and go with remarkable

regularity, being first seen about the middle of October, and leaving

during the first week of May. The same rookeries are occupied year after

year, and the departure of the birds adds to the general desolation

during the winter months.

Their destination on leaving the land is still a mystery. Although they

are never seen, it is conjectured that they spend the winter at

sea. Their natural enemy in the waters round Macquarie Island is the

sea-leopard, and the stomachs of all specimens of this animal taken by

us during the penguin season contained feathers.

The presence of numerous bones just at the rear of the Shack pointed to

the fact that here must have been at one time the site of a King penguin

rookery. As many of our potatoes and onions were sprouting in the

bags, I determined to dig a portion of this area and plant the most

"progressive" of these vegetables. The sandy soil did not appear to

contain much nutriment, but I thought that something might be gained by

giving it a trial.

On the night of February 2, Sawyer reported that he had heard the

Wellington wireless operator calling Suva station, but, as no further

signals were heard from anywhere, he was inclined to the idea that it

was the experience of a "freak night." In explanation of this term, I

may say that it is used in reference to nights on which the atmospheric

conditions are abnormally favourable for wireless work.

The news was particularly encouraging, and for the next few days we were

on the tip-toe of expectation.

In the early morning of the 5th a howling gale sprang up and, increasing

in force as the day wore on, rendered work impossible. A tremendous sea

worked up, and the ocean for a distance of a mile from shore was simply

a seething boil of foam. Huge waves dashed on shore, running yards

beyond the usual marks, and threatening to sweep across the isthmus.

Masses of tangled kelp, torn from the outlying rocks, washed backwards

and forwards in the surf or were carried high up among the tussocks. The

configuration of the shingly beach changed while one looked at it. The

tops of the waves could be seen flying over Anchor Rock, seventy feet

high, and spray was blowing right across the isthmus.

On the advice of the sealers we had shifted our stores farther back from

the beach and it was just as well we did so, as the waves reached to

within a few feet of the nearest box. Meanwhile I began to wonder how

our benzine and lubricating oil were faring. Both had been stacked in

cases among the tussock and rocks, well back from the waters of Aerial

Cove on the western side of Wireless Hill.

Accordingly, Hamilton, Sandell and I went round in that direction the

following morning, while Sawyer made his way up to the wireless station

to see if there were any damages there. We worked along round the

cliff-front through a cave rejoicing in the name of "Catch Me," from the

fact that the waves rushed into it, frequently catching and thoroughly

wetting any unfortunate taken off his guard. A massive rock, evidently

broken from the roof, lay right across its centre, while on either side

of the obstruction were masses of greasy decaying kelp. We were "caught"

and floundered about in the kelp while the water surged around us.

Arriving at the Cove, we found that several cases were missing. One

was discovered buried in kelp, and a little later we came upon a tin

battered almost out of recognition. The loss was not serious, but the

precaution was taken to shift the oil still farther back.

While we were engaged on this task, Sawyer appeared on the front of the

hill above and signalled to us that the aerial had been blown down.

The three-inch rope keeping the aerial taut had broken off close to the

bridle and torn the halyard with it. It meant that some one would have

to climb the mast to pass a rope through the block, and the wind was at

this time too strong for anything to be done.

On February 7, Blake and Hamilton, who had been making preparations for

several days past, set out for Sandy Bay, intending to do some work in

that locality. Their blankets, sleeping-bag, instruments and other gear

made rather heavy swags, but they shouldered them in true Murrumbidgee

style and tramped away.

Sandell, Sawyer and I went up Wireless Hill to fix the aerial. Sandell,

the lightest of the three, was being hoisted up the first section of the

mast with some one-and-a-half-inch rope when the hauling-line gave way.

Fortunately, he had a strap securing him to the mast, otherwise his fall

would have been from twenty feet. This was the only rope we had, so

we had to think of some other means of reaching the top. After a short

discussion, I suggested that decking-spikes should be secured from the

wreck of the Clyde and driven into the mast at intervals. The idea was

followed with great success, and Sandell was able to run the halyard

through the block at the top (ninety feet). The aerial was then hauled

into position, the stay-wires were tightened, an extra "dead man" was

put in and the station was once more ready for work.

Hamilton returned from Sandy Bay on the 11th laden with botanical

trophies and four specimens of a small land bird which we had never

before seen. He and Blake, who remained behind, had fixed up the hut

there so that it afforded decent shelter.

On the night of the 13th what we had long expected happened. Wireless

communication was established for the first time, with a ship--s.s.

'Ulimaroa'. Sandell and Sawyer were complimented on their success.

On the following night communication was held with Sydney, s.s.

'Westralia', s.s. 'Ulimaroa' and H.M.S. 'Drake'; the latter very

courteously sending us time-signals. We heard that a wireless station

had just been established in Melbourne, and that the Hobart station

would be working in about one month. It was with the latter station that

we expected to do most of our business. There was great joy in the camp

now that this stage of practical efficiency was reached and because we

were no longer isolated from the world.

Blake came back from Sandy Bay on the 16th with news that he had almost

finished the survey of that section. Foggy or misty weather gave him

a good deal of trouble in getting sights with the theodolite, and it

became part of his future programme to devote the "impossible" days

to plotting data, writing up field-notes, and making geological

collections.

The afternoon of the 17th was fine, and I went along the beach

towards West Point and found it very rough travelling. Hundreds of sea

elephants, mostly of the season's young, lay about in the tussock or

amongst the rocks. The young, silver-grey in colour, looked very sleek

and fat. The adults consorted in groups of from eight to ten, packed

closely and fast asleep. They seemed to fairly luxuriate in a soft,

swampy place and were packed like sardines in some of the wallows.

Large numbers of skua gulls, creating a dreadful din, drew my attention

to a spot amongst the rocks, and, on nearing it, I found them squabbling

around the carcase of a xiphoid whale, about sixteen feet long, which

had been cast up apparently only a few hours before.

The skuas, as they are commonly called, are large brown birds which

resort to the island in great numbers for the purpose of breeding.

They stay longer than any other migrant, being absent only three months

during the depth of winter. Returning early in August, they do not start

nesting until the beginning of October. The nests, nicely made of grass

and plant leaves, are generally built on the terraces and slopes amongst

the hills. The ideal site, however, is a pleurophyllum flat adjoining a

penguin rookery. Two or three eggs of a brown or greenish-brown colour

with darker spots or blotches are laid about the end of October, and,

from this time till the chicks are reared, the parent exhibits much

annoyance at the presence of any person in the vicinity. They utter

shrill cries and swoop down continuously in an attempt to strike the

invader with their wings. Several of our party received black eyes as a

result of attacks by skuas.

The young grow rather quickly, and not much time elapses before they

leave the nest to stagger round and hide amongst the vegetation. The

parents fly down and disgorge food, which is immediately devoured by

the young ones. The skuas are bare-faced robbers and most rapacious,

harassing the penguins in particular. They steal the eggs and young of

the latter and devour a great number of prions--small birds which live

in holes in the ground. The skuas are web-footed, but are very rarely

seen in the water.

Towards the end of the month, Blake spent two days at Sandy Bay and then

returned to work up his results.

Hamilton, in order to get into close touch with another species of

penguin, stayed several days at "The Nuggets," two and a half miles down

the eastern coast. A creek flows into the sea at this point, and many

Royal penguin rookeries are established along its course.

Meanwhile, many improvements had been effected in the interior of the

Shack. Shelves lined the walls wherever it was convenient to have them,

and many perishable foodstuffs had been brought inside. Comfort, after

all, is but a relative matter, and, as far as we were concerned, it was

sufficient.

Our clothing was all that could be desired, with the exception, perhaps,

of the boots. In the equipment were included one pair of sea-boots, one

pair of raw hide kneeboots and two pairs of rawhide hunting boots. The

latter were not heavy enough, and soon showed the effect of travelling

from a water-logged surface to one of rock and vice versa. In fact, our

boots were very rarely dry on Macquarie Island.

An event of some moment occurred on the 28th. The fowls, in order to

justify our confidence in them and as a return for our constant care,

commenced to lay and, strange to say, all began to lay at the same time.

Ma, who was greatly concerned during the turn of affairs, suffered from

prolonged attacks of cackling.

During the opening days of March, Blake and Hamilton were engaged in

field work down the island. They went as far as "The Brothers," a rocky

promontory about two miles south of Sandy Bay. Wekas were so plentiful

that they lived almost entirely on them. Blake, on returning to the

Shack, had a badly blistered heel which kept him indoors for a few days.

Hamilton, who had secured a goodly number of specimens, had to attend

immediately to their preservation.

There were many rats on the island and we frequently heard them

scuttling about on the ceiling of the Shack and slithering down between

the lining and the wall. Hitherto they had contented themselves by doing

this, but on the night of the 7th several of them flopped one after

another into the hut, awakening the inmates. On getting out to

investigate I found a hole through the lining, about seven feet from the

floor, and two or three were rustling about on the shelves. After much

shifting of boxes and searching behind tins, the intruders were killed.

On March 10 our station held communication with Suva at a distance

of two thousand four hundred miles; a remarkable performance for a

one-and-a-half-kilowatt wireless set.

Hamilton and I set out for West Point and Eagle Cave on the 11th with

the object of examining the flora of the locality and, incidentally, to

shoot ducks which frequent the pools on the "Feather Bed" terrace. The

weather was dull and misty and the walk very uncomfortable. We made our

way across this treacherous tract, often sinking kneedeep. As we neared

the first pool a duck rose and immediately paid the penalty. Although

we saw at least two hundred, only one was shot, owing to the fact that

there is no cover about and the ducks are too easily scared.

Close to Eagle Cave Hamilton gathered some plant specimens and, after

lunching, we set off home. Light, steady rain set in about 3 P.M.

and wet us thoroughly. We travelled back along the coast, finding it

fearfully rough but not so tiring as walking on the terrace.

Heavy snow fell during the night of the 11th. Among other things we

learnt by wireless that Amundsen had returned to Hobart with the news

that he had reached the South Pole.

Blake had just recovered from his blistered heel when he had the

misfortune to meet with a slight accident. He and Hamilton were engaged

cutting a track through the tussock from the Shack to the beach, when

the spade wielded by Hamilton struck Blake's foot, cutting through

the boot and inflicting a wound on the great toe. It was treated

antiseptically and bound up; Blake being laid up for a few days.

Cooking was still on the up grade. Everybody, as his turn arrived,

embarked on something new. Blake turned out a magnificent meat pudding

during his week, and Sawyer manufactured a salmon kedgeree. Sandell's

treacle pudding and Hamilton's soda rolls and date pudding were all

equally good, while I fairly surpassed myself with a roly-poly and some

pancakes.

Hitherto, Sawyer and Sandell had been coming down to the Shack each

night after finishing the wireless work, but on account of the bad

weather they determined to sleep up there and, with that end in view,

each built a bunk for himself; Sawyer, in the operating-hut, had

ample room for the improvement, but Sandell had more difficulty in

the engine-hut, finding it necessary to add a small structure to the

original one.

Good wireless work was now being done, and almost every ship trading

to eastern Australian ports gave us a "call up." Much difficulty was

experienced with the mast's stays, which frequently required tightening

on account of the "deadmen" working loose in the yielding peaty soil.

There were seven stays required for each mast, and Sandell spent much

time in attending to them.

Hamilton had found, some weeks previously, several nests of the sooty

albatross along the cliff-front on the eastern side of Wireless Hill,

and on the 21st he visited them for the purpose of photographing the

young in the nest. They were still in the downy stage, and vomited

vigorously on being approached.

These birds build their nests on ledges along the face of a steep cliff

and always betray the whereabouts of their nesting-place by wheeling

and soaring around the vicinity. When sitting, the bird utters piercing

calls for its mate and is thereby easily located. They make a nest of

grass, generally at the root of a tussock growing on the cliff-front,

and when the building is in progress the two birds sit side by side

entwining their necks, rubbing beaks and at intervals uttering their

harsh cries. One can approach and catch them quite easily, either at

this time or when sitting. The female lays one large white egg, which

has a peculiar and rather disagreeable odour. They have beautiful slaty

or bluish-gray plumage with a dark soot-black head, while encircling

the eye is a white ring which stands out conspicuously from the dark

feathers surrounding it. Like most other sea-birds they have the rather

revolting habit of vomiting quantities of partly digested food and fluid

when an attempt is made to get close to them. In this respect old and

young are alike. Their food is procured at sea, and consists of the

small forms of marine life.

Sandell and Hamilton went round to Aerial Cove on the 25th to collect

shells and to search for the missing lubricating oil. When coming home,

after a successful day, they discovered a cave quite close to Catch Me.

A lantern was secured from the Shack and they went back to examine it.

It penetrated for a considerable distance and opened out on the hill

side about eighty feet above sea-level. Many rocks hung down from

overhead, and altogether it appeared a very unsafe place. Blake went

along later and collected specimens from its floor.

We built a kind of annex to the Shack out of the cases of provisions;

each case being numbered and a list being drawn out setting forth the

contents of the case. This list was nailed on to the wall inside, and

besides being convenient for procuring the provisions, gave the cook, in

a coup-d'oeil, exact information and afforded him a glorious scope.

With regard to the coal-supply, our allowance at Macquarie Island had

been reduced by one-half, on account of the large amount of wreckage

lying on the beach. The weekly cook limited himself to three briquettes,

and these he supplemented with sea elephant blubber and wood, which he

gathered and cut up for use.

Each man commenced his cooking week on Saturday morning, and continued

until the following Friday night, when, after having cleared up, washed

the towels and cleaned the stove, he retired. The incoming cook, who for

half an hour had been prowling about keenly observant of "overlooked"

dirty "things" and betraying every sign of impatience to make a start,

proceeded at once to set a batch of bread, sufficient for one week,

which was baked early on Saturday morning. Five loaves had to be baked,

and as only two could be dealt with at a time, the chance of producing

at least one doughy loaf was reasonably high until every one became a

master baker.

For a time we had been rather hard put to it in the matter of having

baths, but the disability had been overcome by means of sawing a cask in

two; an expedient which answered very well. The bath was also used as

a wash-tub, each man taking charge as his cooking week came round. The

clothes were dried inside the Shack along a number of strings arranged

at the back of the stove. Darning and mending took a little time, and

our experiences in this direction were such as to demonstrate the wisdom

of putting in "a stitch in time."

In going over to the meteorological screen one morning I saw a giant

petrel flapping about in the tussock, gorged to such an extent that it

could not rise. I killed the loathsome bird with the rib-bone of a sea

elephant, and Hamilton made a fine specimen of it later on.

These birds, properly called giant petrels, are usually known as

"nellies" or "stinkers"; the latter title being thoroughly justified

on account of the disagreeable smell which comes from them. As may be

inferred from the name, they are the largest of all the petrels, and

measure about seven feet from tip to tip when on the wing. The

colour ranges through various shades from almost pure white to a dark

greyish-brown; some even appearing almost black. Very large and ungainly

when on the ground, they become most graceful when in the air, and soar

about without the slightest effort even on the stormiest days. I have

seen them flying into a forty-mile wind with absolute ease, never

moving a wing, but occasionally adjusting their balance. They are gross

scavengers, and eat apparently for the sake of eating. A carcase on the

rocks or beach attracts them in large numbers, and very soon they can be

seen pulling and tearing at it until thoroughly gorged, when they waddle

away into the water and sit there wholly unable to rise till digestion

takes place. If disturbed, they immediately disgorge and fly off. They

nest on the ground and lay one large white egg. When sitting, they

are reluctant to leave the nest and will squat there, vomiting

evil-smelling, partly digested food and fluid at any intruder. The

young, even in the downy stage, have the same habit.

When mating they go on with a queer kind of performance, which consists

of running around each other on the shore with wings outspread as if

displaying their charms, finally flying off or waddling into the water.

The persistently windy weather during March had an effect on everything

exposed to its force. Sandell discovered on the 29th that the rope

holding the wireless aerial had cut through, leaving only one strand,

which now bore all the strain. It was just a matter of days before it

would part, and, with a view to preventing a repetition of February's

happening, we went up to lower the aerial, but the frayed portion of the

rope would not pass through the block, so we had to leave it as it was

and wait for the inevitable.

Exceptionally low tides at the end of the month gave Hamilton a fine

opportunity of collecting marine specimens, and he secured amongst many

other things some striking anemones. Some difficulty was experienced in

preserving them, as they lost colour and shrivelled up. But a special

line of treatment was attended by fairly successful results. They were

put in shallow dishes into which sea-water was poured. Very soon they

attached themselves to the bottom and began to expand, finally opening

out to the fullest extent. With a view to narcotizing them while in this

condition, menthol was applied to the water but did not seem to have

much effect. Chloral hydrate was found to give the best results.

It killed them all, but, before dying, they elongated and detached

themselves from the bottom of the dish; after which they were taken out

and placed in formalin for preservation.

Blake had very little opportunity of doing much survey work during the

month, as he was hampered by a sore foot and the weather was wretched.

He therefore spent most of his time plotting data, making geological

investigations and collecting and naming specimens.

He and Hamilton had so far confined their attention to the northern

half of the island, and had resolved to complete the study of this area

before tackling the southern half.

The weather throughout the month was rather severe, and only two days

were really appreciated. Precipitation occurred on twenty-five days, but

the worst feature was the continuity of strong winds, which however did

not reach gale-force on more than three occasions. Much snow and hail

fell, the former accompanying winds with a southerly component, while

with the north-westers came the depressing mist or misty rain which is

such a characteristic of the place. Temperatures, as might have been

expected, were beginning to go down, and we experienced several very

cold days. The average temperature for March was 41.8 degrees, while the

highest was 46.9 degrees and the lowest 35.3 degrees F. on the 24th.

At 10 P.M. on April 1 the rope supporting the aerial parted. Sawyer and

Sandell were on duty at the time, but of course suspended operations

immediately. As before, the halyard also carried away and Sandell

henceforth resolved to shackle one end of the aerial to the mast, using

a short length of chain instead of the rope. The wreck of the Clyde was

once more our standby, providing a suitable length of chain and four

shackles. After completing this job, they had very little subsequent

trouble with the aerial.

Hamilton and Sawyer caught several three-pound fish on April 2,

and Sandell served them in good style. They were good eating, but,

unfortunately, were very much worm-infested. These parasitical worms

are about an inch and a half long and taper to a point at each end. They

penetrate right through the flesh and are plainly noticeable after the

fish is cooked. One has to dodge the worms as the meal proceeds: either

that or persuade oneself that they do not matter.

The flowing contours of the land in the vicinity of "The Nuggets"

suggested glacial action to Blake, and on the 4th, while making

geological investigations in that locality, he lit upon a well-defined

basal moraine. Needless to say he was very interested in the discovery,

and brought home a number of polished, striated boulders as convincing

evidence of his theory.

It was rather disappointing to find that the vegetables we had planted

were making little progress. They would shoot up at first very strongly,

like the "seed which fell on stony ground," but, as soon as a gale

arose, the tops turned black and shortly afterwards withered away. It

was apparently an effect of the salt spray which, in rough weather,

used to blow across the isthmus. Hamilton planted some willows and other

cuttings, which shared the same fate.

The winter had now arrived in real earnest, and the months which

followed were punctuated by a succession of gales, while we came

to recognize that it was an exceptional day when the hills were not

shrouded in mist. The only thing to do was to brace oneself up for the

ordeal and to put a good foot forward.

CHAPTER XXVI A LAND OF STORM AND MIST

by G. F. Ainsworth

A Heavy north-west gale was experienced on April 12, the wind attaining

a force of over fifty miles an hour.

As usual, a tremendous sea worked up very quickly, and sheets of spray

shredded across the isthmus. About 2 P.M. the wind shifted to west and

later to south-west; these changes being accompanied by fierce hail and

squalls of snow. During the night the wind moderated, heavy snow fell

and, when morning dawned, all the pools were frozen over and the island

was draped in white. It was the heaviest fall we had so far experienced.

On the 15th Hamilton and I shot several gulls for specimens.

The Dominican or black-backed gulls are very numerous and remain on the

island all the year round. They are rather pretty, being snow-white,

except on the upper part of the wings and back. Ordinarily their food

is obtained from the water, but at Macquarie Island they live almost

entirely upon the carcases left by the sealers, and are usually seen

defending their rights against skuas and giant petrels. They build nests

of tussock on rocks close to the water or maybe on the ground. Three

eggs, much like those of the skua in colour, but with a greener tint and

smaller, are laid, but generally only two are hatched. The young leave

the nest early and hide amongst the rocks, whither the old ones come to

feed them.

We now considered it advisable to prepare for the winter, and with that

end in view papered the inside of the Shack in various places. As the

cold winds were particularly searching, all faulty joints in the lining

were pasted over with any kind of paper we could find. A leak down the

outside of the stove-pipe was remedied, after a good deal of trouble,

by soldering a collar round the pipe where it passed through the roof.

Firing was an important consideration, so each man now brought home

several loads of driftwood every day, until we had enough to keep us

going for some months. There was a complete boot-mending outfit which

was put to a good deal of use, for the weathered rocks cut the soles of

our boots and knocked out the hobnails. Our supply of the last-named

did not last long, and several of the party used strips of hoop-iron in

their stead.

Blake found it necessary to make a kind of work-desk in his section, and

accordingly had a thorough rearrangement. He shifted his bunk up to a

height of about five and a half feet, very close to the ceiling; a fact

which necessitated some wriggling and squirming on his part to get into

the sleeping-bag. There was a fine open space left underneath, and he

managed to fix up his table very neatly.

Although they had intended to leave the work on the southern half of the

island until the spring, Hamilton and Blake set out for Lusitania Bay on

April 28 to make a short reconnoitring trip. It was thought advisable to

spend a few days down there, to improve the hut and generally speaking

to have a look-round. Both men had already visited the place and depoted

some provisions there. At 8 A.M. they started off, carrying their

blankets, sleeping-bags and a few other articles. Their proposal was

to go along the coast as far as Sandy Bay and from thence along the

hill-tops for the remaining ten miles.

Hail and snow-squalls succeeded each other at frequent intervals, and

by the time they reached Sandy Bay, all hope of proceeding along the

hill-tops was dissipated. They therefore kept near the coast. The going

was frightfully rough and the weather was very bad, so on making Green

Valley they camped in a small cave for the night. The floor was covered

with tussock, and, by searching amongst the rocks, enough pieces of

wreckage were found to keep the fire going. On the whole they passed a

fairly comfortable night. Mac proved a bit troublesome by persisting in

her attempts to curl up on or between the sleeping-bags, and by finally

eating the jam which had been saved for breakfast. The weather was quite

as bad next morning, but, after a meal of dry biscuit and cocoa, they

pushed on, taking four and a half hours to do the six miles. The next

day was spent making the hut weather-proof and fixing up a couple of

bunks. The provisions which had been cached were in good order and

abundance of firewood lay around, in the shape of old barrel-staves.

Just close to the living-hut was a works-hut containing boilers and

digestors which years ago had been used for procuring penguin oil, while

there was a rookery a few yards away from which the victims had come.

This rookery was the resort of King penguins, the largest of the four

species which are to be found on the island. They are magnificently

coloured birds, being bluish-grey on the back while the head is

greenish-black and on each side of the neck there is a brilliant yellow

band, shading to a greenish-yellow on the upper part of the breast, and

gradually merging into the glossy white of the lower part of the body.

They attain to a height of about three feet and weigh thirty pounds

approximately. The site of their rookery is a stony flat about a hundred

yards from the water, and here are collected between five and six

thousand--all that remain on the island.

They make no nest, the single egg laid being supported on the feet, and

kept in position and incubated in a kind of skin pouch which conceals

it from view. One would never guess the egg was there, for, on being

disturbed, the bird shuffles along, carrying it in the manner described.

The egg is large, tapering very much at one end and resembling a pear in

shape. They lay during December and January, and the young are hatched

in about six weeks. A peculiar feature about the young birds is that

the parents feed them for two seasons. They are covered with a coarse,

greyish-brown furry growth, and a year-old chick looks bigger than the

old bird. This furry growth is lost during the second year and the adult

plumage replaces it. The young utter a peculiar sound, something between

a squeak and a whistle. It is probable that the King penguins were never

so numerous as the Royal or Victoria penguins, but the fact remains that

they have not yet recovered from the wholesale slaughter to which they

must have been subjected over sixteen years ago.

Down on a strip of shingly beach the birds parade, when not in the

rookery or at sea getting food. Their proceedings strike one as being

extraordinarily human, while the dignity and gravity of the participants

are beyond description. On one occasion, a large number marching along

the beach were seen to halt suddenly and talk excitedly. Three birds

then left the main body, consulted together for a short time, and then

separated. The other birds immediately separated into three companies,

and each company stood behind one of the three already mentioned, who

were now some distance apart. The individuals of each party then talked

among themselves for several minutes, after which two parties joined

forces and marched off, leaving the third party staring after them.

I have lost myself for the time being amongst the penguins and shall

now return to Blake and Hamilton, who climbed on to the hill-tops the

following morning to spy out the land. The island is generally speaking

higher, and all the more elevated peaks are on the southern half.

They saw numerous rabbits, of which many were black, and Mac had the day

of her life amongst them. These animals were introduced to the island

about twenty-five years ago, and have gradually withdrawn to the

lonelier southern part, though occasionally odd ones are seen about the

northern end. They are very tame and live in holes amongst the rocks or

make burrows in the gully banks and broken hill sides.

Many lakes, frozen over, were seen, several of which were fairly large.

Altogether, the topography is similar to that of the northern end.

In an endeavour to improve the evening fare, a sweet broth consisting

of biscuit, milk, jam and sugar was tried but it was not a success;

Hamilton remarking that "even Blake had only one helping." On the

following morning they started for the Shack and chose the route on the

hilltops, as the ground was frozen hard; and, though there were frequent

snow-drifts into which they floundered occasionally, the surface for

travelling was much better than along the coast.

Hamilton slipped and hurt his ankle on the trip, and the boots of both

were just about worn out. They apprehended no difficulty in completing

their prospective work. Blake pointed out that the chart of the island

shows Lusitania Bay as being rather a large indentation, whereas in

reality it is almost a straight stretch of coast.

An earthquake shock was felt at 9.15 P.M. on the 27th. I was sitting in

the Shack writing up records at the time, and it seemed as if somebody

had struck the south-west end of the place a severe blow with a bag of

sand. Immediately afterwards a crashing sound, apparently some distance

away on the eastern side, indicated that some rocks on the cliff-front

had been dislodged.

Much rough weather was experienced during the month, and it rained,

hailed and snowed on twenty-five days. The wind attained moderate to

fresh gale-force on six days, and fog and mist were almost invariable.

The lowest temperature recorded was 32.7 degrees F.

The average relative humidity for the four months ending April 30 was 93

per cent., leading to copious condensation on the instruments exposed

to the air. It was necessary, therefore, constantly to attend and

frequently clean the thermographs, hygrometers and the wireless plant.

In the case of the latter, loss of power occurred in the form of "brush

discharge," and Sawyer had to take great care in order to guard against

this accident. He shellacked the condensers and other exposed parts and

found the proceeding rather effective. I noticed that the drifting snow

and misty rain managed to get down the opening leading to the liquid

surface of the anemobiagraph, thus altering the zero of the recording

apparatus. When this happened the instrument had to be dismantled and

set right.

We found it necessary to use sea elephant blubber in the stove in order

to warm the Shack, and a very small piece put on the fire at intervals

always ensured a good heat. Sea elephants had become scarce, so, in

order to lay in a supply of fuel for the next few weeks, we went round

to Aerial Cove on the 3rd and killed the largest animal we could find,

afterwards carrying the blubber round to the Shack. We came through

Catch Me and had the same old experience. Hamilton examined the contents

of the stomach of the sea elephant and found gravel, stones, cuttlefish,

beaks and "worms" in abundance.

A violent north-west gale during the early morning hours of the 4th

reached a maximum velocity of fifty-two miles an hour at 5.20 A.M., but

at 8 A.M. it began to weaken rapidly and an hour later had shifted to

west-south-west, coming from that point as a moderate gale for the rest

of the day. As was usual with winds having any southerly component, snow

and squalls of soft hail were experienced. With the exception of the

wind-vane, which was blown a few yards into the tussock, nothing was

damaged.

In the afternoon Blake and I had a trip down to the moraine which he had

found a few days previously. After a heavy one and a half hours' walk,

the last half-mile of which was along a creek bed, with water ankle-deep

all the way, we reached the spot: the site of one of the large penguin

rookeries up on the hills at the back of "The Nuggets." The sun showed

between squalls, and Blake took some interesting photographs of rocks

showing striae and other glacial characteristics. We battled with

one enormous boulder for some time before getting it into a suitable

position for the camera, and afterwards walked right through the glacial

area. The U-shaped character of the valleys was very pronounced, while

boulder-clay obtruded itself everywhere on our notice.

Hobart wireless station was by this time in working order, a fact which

greatly facilitated wireless business. Sandell took the engine to pieces

early in the month and gave it, as well as the fittings, a thorough

overhaul and cleaning. We received a message on the 7th, saying that the

'Aurora' was leaving Hobart on the 13th for a sub-antarctic cruise and

would call at the island. At the same time I was requested to send a

list of articles required. I found, after going through the stock

and consulting each member, that we needed nothing but strong boots,

cartridges, dungaree trousers, coarse salt, cigarettes and fresh

vegetables.

A persistent area of high pressure affected the weather conditions of

the island to the extent of shrouding us in fog from the 6th to the 10th

inclusive, and we did not catch a glimpse of the sun during that period.

The average daily temperature-range during this time was only 2.3

degrees. Such conditions have a rather depressing effect on the spirits,

but the cheering news we received on the 7th made some amends for the

lack of sunshine.

The sun appeared at last on the 11th and shone strongly, so Blake and

I went up to Wireless Hill to take some "shots" with the theodolite. I

noticed four of our sheep on the front of the hill, and, as there should

have been nine, Sandell and I, after finishing with Blake, walked out

to North Head to see if the others were all right. We found them on the

north-east side of the hill and drove them up to the rest of the flock.

From the hill-top we could see Hamilton engaged in skinning a large

sea leopard on the coast, so we climbed down to render any necessary

assistance. It was a beautifully marked animal, about eleven feet long,

and made a fine specimen.

Sea leopards frequent Macquarie Island in great numbers from the late

winter to the early summer, and may be seen lying about, sleeping close

to the water and apparently always very tired. They do not give birth to

the young there, and from observations I concluded that they were born

at sea. We had taken female specimens on several occasions, apparently

within a few hours of parturition, and as none had been seen with newly

born young, and no islands lay within several hundred miles, it was

presumed that the birth took place in the water. Until the young one is

weaned, its habitat is evidently in the water as we never saw an adult

suckling its offspring.

Sea leopards--long, lithe creatures with a reptilian cast of head--are

remarkably quick in the water. If one is disturbed on shore it opens its

mouth very wide, revealing a wicked-looking row of teeth in each jaw;

the canine teeth or tusks being very long and slightly curved.

Unlike sea elephants and seals they are solitary animals, and should

several of them be found on a small gravelly patch of beach they are

seen to be as far as possible from one another. We have never seen them

attempt to fight on the shore, but the gaping wounds and scars with

which they are frequently covered indicate that they treat each other

very severely in the water. They live on penguins, gulls, shags and

fish.

I saw several shags on one occasion very busy fishing, and between

diving intervals they would sit on the water. Suddenly one disappeared

under the water and the rest flew off; but in a few seconds the one

which had disappeared was thrown into the air and caught by a sea

leopard, who played in this fashion with the maimed bird for several

minutes before devouring it.

A few days previously we had received a request from Mr. D. C. Bates,

the New Zealand Meteorologist, for a daily weather report, and from the

12th onwards a message was sent nightly to Wellington, a distance

of about eleven hundred miles. In acknowledging these reports,

subsequently, the office referred to their immediate value in the issue

of daily forecasts, and expressed indebtedness to the Expedition.

The two species of penguins which leave the island during the winter

months had disappeared, and silence now reigned where formerly were

busy, noisy colonies. The departure of the migrants made the place seem

lonelier and, during the depths of winter when snow covers the ground

and the birds and animals are few in number, a more dreary spot would be

difficult to find.

The weather conditions were now rather severe, and as Sawyer and

Sandell worked from 8 P.M. till 2 or 3 A.M. every night and slept at the

wireless station, they were exempted from the necessity of coming down

to get breakfast during their cooking weeks. They now rested till about

noon, and arrived at the Shack every day in time for lunch. Hamilton,

Blake and I, each outside his own cooking week, took it in turns to

prepare breakfast.

Blake's fieldwork at the north end, more particularly in the vicinity of

West Point and North Head, was just about finished. West Point proved to

be an area of gabbro, a coarse-grained eruptive rock representative of

basic rocks, while North Head was composed of basic agglomerate, and

volcanic bombs were numerous.

Hamilton had got together a good collection of bird specimens, and was

now in quest of skeletons.

On the night of the 13th we witnessed a rather pretty auroral

manifestation. It assumed the appearance of a Noah's ark cloud, that is,

stretching from opposite points on the horizon and appearing to converge

at each one of these points. The light was a pale yellow, no other tint

being visible. In addition, a nebulous glow appeared at intervals in the

south.

We heard on the 16th that the 'Aurora' had sailed on that day from

Hobart and would arrive at Macquarie Island in about three weeks;

oceanographical work being carried out on the trip down. This was indeed

cheerful news, and we began to look forward to her arrival.

A fresh west-south-west gale during the early morning hours of the 17th

was accompanied by soft hail and snow-squalls, and the temperature at

9 A.M. was 31.2 degrees F. The ground was covered with snow and all the

pools were frozen over, but at 9 P.M. there was a rapid shift of the

wind to the north-west and the snow almost disappeared. Soft hail,

generally a little larger than tapioca and of the same shape, frequently

fell. These little pellets are formed of compressed snow and are

commonly supposed to be frozen cloud-particles mixed with raindrops

compacted by a high wind.

On the following night, Blake and I went up to wireless Hill to take

star observations. It was very dark and the hill-front was slippery,

frequent falls being the rule. Just after setting up the instrument, the

wind freshened to such an extent that it was impossible to do anything,

so we descended very wet and muddy to the Shack, having had a rough

passage. The reason for this was that I fell on the lantern and

extinguished the light.

We were supplied with two hurricane lamps which do not by any means

deserve their title as they blow out in even a moderately strong wind.

Sandell made a lantern for his own use, declaring that it was impossible

for any wind to blow it out. I firmly believed him, as it was a little

binnacle lamp placed inside a small oatmeal tin into which a cleaned

photographic plate had been fixed and with holes punched in the bottom

and top of the tin for ventilation. It was thus a lamp with two covers,

and frequent demonstrations of its ability to survive heavy blows were

made by the inventor.

During the next three days a forty-mile wind accompanied by snow, hail

and sleet was experienced and the maximum temperature on the 25th

did not reach freezing-point, the ground being firmly frozen and

snow-covered. During the evening of the last-named date the wind shifted

to north-west, and by noon on the 26th no snow remained, except on the

hills.

In anticipation of the 'Aurora's arrival, Blake and Hamilton collected

some stores together in the hope that Captain Davis would transport them

down to Lusitania Bay, thus obviating the necessity of carrying them

down on foot. As Blake reckoned that he would remain there fully three

months and Hamilton about two months, it was thought that such another

opportunity might not present itself.

Through the courtesy of the naval officials, H.M.S. Drake sent us

time-signals twice a week, and though we had so far heard no sound from

Adelie Land, there was a possibility that they could receive messages

from us. Sawyer therefore sent out time-signals as a matter of routine.

Hamilton made a trip to the west coast on the 28th and returned with

thirteen wekas. Sawyer did not care for these birds, but each of the

others could account for one at a meal. They seem to be better eating if

plucked like a fowl and roasted, but the plucking takes too long and

we generally skinned and boiled them. It is advisable to hang them for

several days before cooking as it certainly makes them tender.

Rough, stormy weather prevailed during the greater part of the month and

the wind reached the force of a gale on nine days. Much snow, soft hail

and sleet fell and some very cold days were experienced. The average

temperature was 40 degrees, the maximum being 44.7 degrees and the

minimum 27.8 degrees F.

A heavy snowfall occurred during the early morning hours of June 3, and

the temperature was below freezing-point all day. In the afternoon we

had rather an enjoyable time tobogganing down a steep talus-slope on the

east coast. A considerable struggle was necessary in order to get the

sledge to the top, but the lightning slide to the bottom more than

compensated for the labour.

We made wireless inquiries concerning the 'Aurora' at night, and were

informed by Hobart that a search for the Royal Company Islands was

included in her programme. It was therefore presumed that she was

engaged in prosecuting this search and would probably not reach us for

some days.

Hamilton killed a very fine sea leopard on the 5th and the skin, apart

from being unscarred, was handsomely marked. It should make a splendid

specimen. The stomach contained more than the usual number of worms and

one specimen of tape-worm, seven inches long and three-eighths of an

inch wide, was preserved.

Everything was going along in the usual placid manner on the 7th, when,

as we were just taking our seats for lunch, some one rushed in with

the information that the 'Aurora' was in sight. There was a scramble to

various points of vantage and she was soon observed coming up the east

coast very slowly. At 2.30 P.M. she dropped anchor in North-East Bay,

but, as it was blowing strongly and a nasty sea was running, no boat

was launched, though one may imagine how anxiously we watched for some

movement in that direction. As soon as it became dark a message was

"Morsed" to us to the effect that a boat would bring mails and goods

ashore in the morning if the weather moderated, and with that we had

to be content. Needless to say, business ashore was for the time being

paralysed, but a message was sent to the Secretary in Hobart advising

him of the Ship's arrival.

True to his intimation of the previous night, Captain Davis brought a

boat ashore at 9.30 A.M. and with him came several visitors who were to

be our guests for some days. They were Mr. E. R. Waite, Curator of

the Canterbury Museum and his taxidermist, and Mr. Primmer, a

cinematographer. Conspicuous in the boat was a well-laden mail bag and

no time was lost in distributing the contents. Letters, papers, and

magazines were received by every member of the party, and all the news

was "good." Some stores were brought along and, after getting these

ashore, we took the visitors across to the Shack and invited them to

make themselves at home.

Captain Davis also came along to the Shack and afterwards looked over

the wireless station. He returned to the ship just after lunch, and

Sandell, Sawyer and Blake took the opportunity of going on board.

Hamilton, in the meantime, piloted the visitors on a short trip round

to Aerial Cove, introducing them to Catch Me, where they were duly

baptized. They afterwards climbed up Wireless Hill and had a look at the

station, returning to the Shack much impressed with the rough nature of

the country.

Blake went off to the ship again, taking the stores which had been got

ready for transport to Lusitania Bay, as the captain had agreed to land

them when he visited there in a few days' time.

Amongst the cases which were landed was one containing the recording

apparatus for the tide-gauge. The other parts of this instrument had

been left on the island in December, but for some reason the clock and

charts had gone astray and were not found till the vessel was being

unloaded in Adelie Land. Some thermometers and a Robinson anemometer

had also been overcarried and, when they came to light, the latter was

immediately placed in commission.

Captain Davis sent a boat ashore on the morning of the 12th with an

invitation to come on board and lunch. I accordingly went out to the

vessel and, after lunching, had a thorough look over her, mentally

contrasting her spick-and-span appearance at the time with what it had

been when I left her in December. I went ashore again in the afternoon

and assisted the visitors to get their loads down to the boat, as they

were returning to the ship, which was leaving next morning on a sounding

trip down the island.

On the 14th we started to carry the stores across to the Shack on our

backs. We soon realized that seventy or eighty pounds was not a light

load over a half-mile stretch of rough, shingly beach, but succeeded in

transporting the onions, apples and potatoes before finishing for

the night. The other articles were brought over during the next two

afternoons.

The tide-gauge pipe, weighing about six hundredweights, and the box for

the housing of the recording gear had been landed in December round in

Aerial Cove, where a site had been chosen for the erection of the gauge.

Experience showed me that the place was unsuitable, so I took Hamilton,

Sandell and Sawyer round to the cove on the 15th and we decided, as we

had no boat, that it was impossible to carry the pipe round to the east

coast.

I had been making some tidal observations on an upright, fixed in a

comparatively quiet spot on the east coast, and it was here that I

contemplated erecting the gauge. Two snow-gauges, eight inches each in

diameter, were amongst the meteorological equipment and it appeared

that if these two were soldered together a suitable pipe could be made.

Further, the pipe was to be protected from the violence of the seas by

planks fixed round it. Sandell agreed with the idea and forthwith set

about soldering the two together and making a suitable float, the one

supplied being too wide. All that now remained was to erect the gauge.

The two following afternoons were devoted to stowing the new stores. We

carried everything across and stacked them at the south-west end of the

Shack. Unfortunately, the boots which we had ordered did not come, but

Captain Davis let us have five pairs of light bluchers out of the ship's

stores, and we reckoned that these with extra soles and a few hobnails

would hold out till August or September, when a sealing vessel was

expected.

The 'Aurora' returned from the south of the island on the 19th and

reported having had a rough experience in the north-east to south gale

which blew on the two previous days. The wind came out of the

north-east very suddenly on the 17th, and some very strong squalls were

experienced. A calm prevailed for several hours in the evening, but a

south-east gale then sprang up and blew all day on the 18th, gradually

working into the south and dying away during the night.

Early on the 20th the 'Aurora' steamed out of the bay, bound north as we

thought, but she returned again in the evening, and we signalled to know

if anything were wrong. They replied, "All well, but weather very bad

outside." She lay at anchor in the bay all next day as it was snowing

and blowing very hard from the south-west, but at 8.45 A.M. on the

22nd she disappeared in the north and we did not see her again for some

months. A few hours after her departure the wind increased in force, and

a continuous gale raged for the next five days.

Sandell and I now made a start at erecting the tide-gauge, and after the

lapse of five days got the instrument into position. We could work on it

only at low tide, for much rock had to be chipped away and numerous wire

stays fixed. The work was therefore of a disagreeable character. Its

appearance when finished did not by any means suggest the amount of

trouble we experienced in setting it up, but the fact that it stood the

heavy seas for the following eighteen months without suffering material

damage was a sufficient guarantee that the work had been well done.

A tremendous sea was running on the 25th as a result of the previous

two days' "blow" and a heavy gale still persisting. Spray was scudding

across the isthmus, and the sea for a mile from the shore was just a

seething cauldron. The wind moderated somewhat on the 26th, but strong

squalls were experienced at intervals throughout the day, and on the

27th a strong wind from the south-west brought rather heavy snow.

On the following day a westerly gale sprang up which shifted suddenly

to south-south-west and south-west in the evening and was accompanied by

fierce hail and snow-squalls throughout the night. Without moderating

to any extent the gale continued to blow on the 29th and passed through

west to west-north-west, finally lasting till the end of the month.

Something in the nature of a "tidal" wave occurred during the night

of the 28th, for, on rising the following morning, I was considerably

astonished to see that the sea-water had been almost across the

isthmus. To effect this, a rise of twenty or twenty-five feet above

mean sea-level must have taken place and such a rise appeared abnormally

high. Our coal heap, which we had hitherto regarded as perfectly safe

from the sea, was submerged, as shown by the kelp and sand lying on top

of it, and the fact that seven or eight briquettes were found fifteen

feet away from the heap.

Nothing at the wireless station was damaged and work went on as usual.

The wind used to make a terrific noise in the aerial wires, but this did

not affect the transmission of messages. The howling of the wind round

the operating-hut interfered with the receiving, at times making

it extremely difficult to hear signals; particularly on nights not

favourable for wireless work.

Hamilton was at this time concentrating his attention on shags or

cormorants. This species of cormorant is peculiar to the island, being

found nowhere else. They are blue-black, with a white breast, and on the

head they have a small black crest. At the top of the beak are golden

lobes, while the skin immediately round the eye is pale blue. They

remain on the shores of the island all the year and nest on the rocks

in or very close to the water. They form rookeries and build nests

of grass, laying three eggs about the end of November. The period

of incubation is six weeks. They live entirely on fish, and, on that

account, neither the birds nor the eggs are palatable. They are very

stupid, staring curiously till one gets almost within reach of them,

when they flap heavily into the water. They are easily caught when

sitting on the nest, but a shag rookery, like most other rookeries, is

by no means a pleasant place in which to linger.

I had the satisfaction of getting the first record from the tide-gauge

on the first day of July, but the clock worked erratically, requiring

some attention.

Hamilton had a lobster-pot set some distance from the shore and anchored

to a float, but unfortunately the pot was lost in the rough seas at the

end of June. He had a couple of fish-traps also, but, in view of this

disaster, he decided to set these in Aerial Cove, where the water was

quieter. Having a couple of sea leopard heads which required macerating,

he baited the trap with them and lowered it into the water, securing it

to the rock with a steel wire.

Taking advantage of a bright sun on the following day, Blake and

Hamilton went to "The Nuggets" and took some geological and biological

photographs, which on being developed turned out well. They had occasion

to enter one of the unoccupied huts down there and found a wild cat a

little more than half grown, which they caught and carried home with

them. He was of the usual tabby colour and by no means fierce, quickly

yielding to the coaxing treatment of his captors. He made himself quite

at home in the Shack, and we looked forward to a display of his prowess

as a rat-catcher.

A bright display of the aurora occurred on the night of July 4, the

ribbons and streamers of light being well defined and occasionally

slightly coloured. We could establish no connexion between this

extraordinary outburst and the fact that it occurred on American

Independence night, but it was certainly the most energetic

manifestation of the phenomenon we had so far witnessed. Many "glows"

had been seen, and also a few displays of the arch-shaped form, but none

had shown much activity or rapid movement.

The operator was requested by the Pennant Hills high-power wireless

station at Sydney to listen for signals tapped out during the daytime,

and Sawyer spent a couple of hours on certain mornings assisting in

these tests, which were attended with some success. We occasionally

received press news from land stations or from ships passing across the

Tasman Sea, but it was only a brief summary of the cable news: enough to

whet one's curiosity, rarely ever satisfying it.

Very cold, rough weather was experienced on the 6th and 7th and a

temperature of 26 degrees F. occurred on the latter date, while the

maximum did not reach freezing-point. Much snow and soft hail fell,

and the ground set hard. The weather interfered to some extent with

the tide-gauge clock, and it became so unsatisfactory that I took it to

pieces on the 9th and gave it a thorough cleaning, after which it had a

new lease of life.

We received a message on the 11th saying that the 'Aurora' had arrived

in Dunedin, "all well," but had experienced a very rough voyage which

greatly interfered with the dredging and sounding programme.

Our tank water gave out for the first time on the 12th. The

precipitation for a fortnight had been in the form of dry powdery snow

and soft hail, the wind blowing it off the roof before it had a chance

to thaw, thus robbing us of our usual water-supply. For a while we had

to use swamp water, which contained a good many insects of various kinds

and had a distinctly peaty flavour. Finding good water running from the

hill-tops down a deep gully on the east coast, three-quarters of a mile

away, we carried drinking water from there, using the other for washing

up.

The 13th was a most delightful day--bright sun, very little wind

and fresh exhilarating air. Blake and Hamilton went out early on a

photographing excursion, and, later on, the latter shot and skinned a

white giant petrel.

During the third week of July a very low tide exposed rocks, ordinarily

submerged, and Hamilton was occupied all the week in collecting marine

organisms, worms and plants and then preserving, bottling and labelling

them.

A most peculiar sight was witnessed on the 17th. Aerial Cove is a

favourite nesting-place for shags, and they may be seen in twos and

threes flying round in that direction almost any time during the day;

but on this particular day a kind of wholesale exodus from the cove

took place, and large flocks of them followed each other for a couple of

hours. They congregated on the rocks along the east coast, or settled in

the water in scores; the latter fact suggesting that the probable reason

for this extraordinary behaviour was the presence of unusual shoals of

fish.

We used to relax and have a game of cards occasionally, while our small

organ became a medium of much enjoyment. All the members except one

played well enough to enjoy themselves and to give pleasure to the

others. There was a distinct predilection in favour of "ragtime" and I

must say I liked to hear that music at frequent intervals. Any one

who plays a musical instrument knows that the mood of the player is

generally reflected in the character of the music, particularly when he

sits down and plays in a casual way.

The pursuit and killing of a sheep had now become something in the

nature of an experience, and when Sandell and I went hunting for one

on the 20th, we realized it before we reached home. The flock was

very timid, and when disturbed on North Head invariably came past the

wireless station close to the engine-hut. Sandell concealed himself

there with a gun, while I went out to startle the animals. They did not

fail to do their part, but Sandell missed and the shot frightened them.

He then rushed out and fired another shot as they were running, managing

to hit one, which immediately dropped behind and ran to the edge of the

cliff. We did not want to shoot the sheep at this moment, as it would

have fallen about two hundred feet, so we cautiously approached to drive

it away. The poor creature simply took a leap out into space and

landed on the talus below, down which it rolled to the water's edge.

We scrambled down and skinned it, having to carry the carcase along the

rocks at the base of the cliffs, and getting many duckings on the way.

On July 26 I went round to Aerial Cove with Hamilton to have a look

at the fish-trap, but it had disappeared, the wire having broken,

apparently through the continual friction against rock. He had

previously caught some fish in it, and it was rather a misfortune to

lose it so soon.

During the last week of the month we all had our hair cut. On arrival

at the island, several of us had it shorn very closely with the clippers

and had not trimmed it since then, growth being very slow. We had a

proper hair-cutting outfit and either Blake, Hamilton or Sandell acted

as barber.

Blake was an expert with the needle and did some really neat mending,

while with the aid of some woollen thread and a mug he darned holes in

his socks most artistically. He was the authority on how, when and

where to place a patch or on the only method of washing clothes. The

appearance of his articles when washed, compared with mine, made me

wonder.

Hamilton was busy, about this time, dredging in swamp pools and securing

specimens of the rockhopper or gentoo penguin.

The small gentoo penguins, like the King penguins, do not migrate and

are few in numbers. They form diminutive colonies, which are always

established on mounds amongst the tussock, or on the hill sides not far

from the water. Their eggs, which are globular in shape, are about the

best of the penguin eggs for eating, and if their nests are robbed the

birds will generally lay again, although I think they could not lay more

than four eggs. They build their nests of grass and plant leaves, and

occasionally have been known to establish a fresh rookery after their

first one has been robbed. They are more timid than any other species

of penguin, and leave the nests in a body when one ventures into the

rookery. The skuas take advantage of this peculiarity to the length of

waiting about till a chance presents itself, when they swoop down, pick

up an egg with their beak and fly off. The penguin makes a great fuss on

returning to find that the eggs are gone, but generally finishes up by

sitting on the empty nest. We have frequently put ten or a dozen eggs

into one nest and watched the proprietress on her return look about

very doubtfully and then squat down and try to tuck the whole lot under

herself with her beak.

Weather conditions were rough enough during July, but occasionally a

fairly quiet day would occur. High winds were experienced on ten days,

the greatest hourly average for any twenty-four hours being thirty-two

miles, but no day averaged less than ten miles. Precipitation occurred

on twenty-one days, mostly in the form of snow and soft hail. The mean

temperature was 37.7 degrees, with extremes of 43.3 degrees and 26

degrees F. The average percentage of cloud was 78; somewhat less than

usual and due to the greater frequency of south-west winds, which almost

always bring a broken sky.

Now that our life was one of smooth routine I devoted a good deal of

time to reducing the meteorological observations. Hourly pressure and

temperature readings as well as descriptive remarks, averages and other

details required to be summarized, and this occupied a considerable

amount of time, so I made a practice of spending a couple of hours

each day on the work, whenever possible, hoping thereby to pick up the

"leeway." I did not take too kindly to inactive writing in the Shack,

but the weather conditions were such that I was glad to stay indoors,

though that meant enduring the inevitable cold feet. The floor of the

Shack was never warm, and of course there were no carpets.

Mac developed a great animosity against the rats and thoroughly enjoyed

rooting them out on all occasions. The only explanation of their

presence on the island is that they had arrived in the ships which were

wrecked along the coasts. They got into the Shack several times, and we

simply brought in Mac and shifted things about till she caught them.

Rough weather occurred during the first week of August, and with

occasional temporary weakenings a gale blew throughout, reaching fifty

miles an hour at different times. Snow, hail and sleet fell every day,

and on the 3rd the temperature was below freezing-point all day. The

Shack, which always shook a little in exceptionally heavy gales, now

vibrated a good deal in a forty-mile wind, no doubt feeling the effects

of the beating it had undergone.

Blake found a cave running through North Head and went round, on the

5th, to examine it. He proved it to be about sixty yards from opening to

opening, and to widen out very much inside; the roof being about fifteen

feet above the floor.

Hamilton and Sandell went along the coast on the 6th and brought home a

dozen Maori hens for the pot. Hamilton secured some spiders, parasites

on birds and many beetles under the moss and stones on the site of a

penguin rookery, besides shooting a few terns.

The tern is a very pretty bird with light grey plumage, a black head and

red beak and feet. We found no nests on the island, though the fact that

the birds remain throughout the year implies that they breed there. They

fly very fast while not appearing to do so, but their movements are by

no means graceful. They flit about over the water close to the shore,

every now and then dipping down picking up morsels and keeping up a

constant, shrill squeaking.

The sea was so high on the 7th that it reached the weight of the

tide-gauge and, lifting it up, unshipped the recording gear, as the

steel wire flew off the wheel before the latter could take up the slack.

I deemed it advisable to use stout cord instead of wire in the future

and made a protective slot for the weight. I had blocked up the seaward

side of the pipe with rocks, but found that these caused a deposit of

silt so I had to get into the water at low tide and shift them all out

again to clean away the accumulation of sand.

Very heavy snow fell during the afternoon, the flakes being the size of

half a crown. A fresh north-north-west wind dropped to a calm at 4 P.M.

and almost immediately it began to snow, the island being quite white by

5.30 P.M.

Bright sunny intervals alternated with light snow-squalls on the 10th,

and the temperature was below freezing-point all day. It was pleasant

to be out of doors, and I walked along to the west coast to see if there

were any signs of activity amongst the sea elephants.

An unmistakable sign of the near approach of the breeding season was the

presence of an enormous old bull, almost too fat to move, lying on the

beach. Very few small ones were seen, as, on the arrival of the adult

males and females for the breeding season, the young ones leave for

a while, presumably in order to get fat for the moulting period, or

because they are afraid of the bulls, who are particularly savage at

this time. The full-grown bulls attain to a length of twenty feet, and

have a fleshy proboscis about eight or ten inches in length hanging over

the mouth, suggesting the trunk of an elephant. It is from this fact

that they derive the name of sea elephant.

There is a considerable disparity in size between the adult male and

female, the latter very rarely exceeding eleven feet, though we have

seen a few twelve and thirteen feet long. The females have no snout

development and some of them facially very much resemble a bull terrier.

The adults are called bulls and cows, while, curiously enough, in the

sealers' phrase, the offspring are referred to as pups. The places where

large numbers of them gather together during the breeding season are

known as rookeries! "Rookery" appears to me to be inapplicable to a

herd of sea elephants, though "pup" supplies a more apt description of

the young.

The pups, born during September or early October, are covered with a

long, black, wavy fur, which they lose when about two months old, and in

its place comes a growth of silver-grey hair, which changes later into

the ordinary brown colour of the full-grown animal.

The old males and females leave the island about the end of January, and

are not seen again (except a few stray ones) till August in the case of

the males, and until September in the case of the females.

The fact that the bulls arrive first leads one to the conclusion that

their feeding-grounds must lie at a considerable distance and, in the

journey therefrom, the males, being the stronger, should arrive before

the females, who are heavy with young and probably make a somewhat

leisurely progress, feeding by the way.

The rookeries vary in size, containing from half a dozen to four or

five hundred cows; in the last case, of course, being an aggregation

of smaller rookeries, each with its proprietor, in the shape of an old

bull, lying in or somewhere near the centre. The normal rookery, as far

as I could judge, seemed to be one that contained about forty cows, but

once the nucleus was formed, it was hard to say how many cows would be

there before the season ended, as females keep arriving for a period of

about three weeks.

The young vary in length from three and a half to four and a half feet,

are born within a few days of arrival and suckled for about a month,

becoming enormously fat. The cow, who has not eaten during the whole of

this time and has become very thin, then leaves the pup, but remains

in the rookery for about two days, after which she escapes to sea,

remaining there till the beginning of January, when she returns to

the island to moult. The pups when weaned get such rough usage in the

rookery that they soon make off into the tussock and sleep for about a

month, living on their fat and acquiring a new coat. The noise in one of

the large rookeries is something to remember--the barking of the pups,

the whimpering and yelping of the mothers and the roaring of the bulls.

Another feature in connexion with the rookery is the presence of what

may be called unattached bulls, which lie around at a little distance

from the cows, and well apart, forming a regular ring through which any

cow wishing to desert her pup or leave the rookery before the proper

time has very little chance of passing, as one of these grips her firmly

with his powerful flipper and stays her progress. The lord of the harem,

in the meantime, hastens to the scene of the disturbance, whereupon the

other bull decamps.

The sea immediately in the vicinity of a large rookery is generally

swarming with unattached bulls, who may be seen with their heads out of

the water eyeing each other and keeping a bright look out for escaping

cows. Now and again one may see a bull in the water gripping a cow with

his flipper, despite her struggles, and roaring at a couple of others

who show up menacingly quite close to him.

It may be remarked that towards the end of the season changes in the

proprietorship of a rookery are rather rapid, as continuous raids are

made by individuals from the outside. The need of continuous vigilance

and the results of many encounters eventually lead to the defeat and

discomfiture of the once proud proprietor.

I have never seen two bulls fight without first indulging in the usual

preliminaries, that is, roaring and advancing a few yards and repeating

the performance till within striking distance. Then both animals rear

high up, supporting themselves on the lower part of the body, and lunge

savagely with their whole weight each at his opponent's head or neck,

tearing the thick skin with their teeth and causing the blood to flow

copiously. Several lunges of this kind generally finish the battle,

whereupon the beaten one drops to his flippers and makes all haste

towards the water, glancing fearfully behind him on the way. We have

seen bulls with their snouts partly torn off and otherwise injured, but

worse injuries must occur in the rare, desperate battles which sometimes

take place between two very much enraged animals.

When a bull in the centre of a rookery has occasion to rush at an

interloper, he does so without regard to anything in his way, going over

cows and pups alike and very often crushing some of the latter to death.

Again, it seems as if all the outlying bulls recognize the noise of the

rookery bull, because each time he roars they all lift up their heads

and take notice, whereas others who have just been roaring have not

the slightest regard paid to them, except perhaps by one immediately

concerned.

The bull, during the breeding season, will on provocation attack a man,

and it is surprising how quickly the former covers the ground. But on

the whole he is an inoffensive animal. It is, of course, impossible to

venture into a rookery, as the cows are very savage when they have the

pups with them, but one can approach within a few yards of its outskirts

without danger. Their food consists of cuttlefish, crabs and fish,

and it is probable that they frequent the ocean where this food is

plentiful, when they are absent from the island.

It has been stated that these animals are nearly extinct, but a visit to

Macquarie Island during the breeding season would be enough to convince

anybody to the contrary. There are thousands of them, and though about

seven hundred are killed during a season, the increase in numbers each

year, on Macquarie Island alone, must be very great.

The skuas were now returning to the island and their numbers and

corresponding clamour were daily increasing. They were the noisiest and

most quarrelsome birds we had, but their advent, we hoped, marked the

return of less rigorous weather.

Blake left for Lusitania Bay on the 17th, intending to spend several

months there in order to survey and geologically examine the southern

end, so we gave him a send-off dinner. He had a very rough trip to the

place, having to spend two nights in a cave about six miles from his

destination, as a result of getting lost in a dense fog.

Hamilton made a wire fish-trap to replace the one which he had lost, and

succeeded in getting a few fish on lowering it for the first time. He

discovered parasitical mites all over them on the outside, and the flesh

contained many worms.

A heavy north-north-west gale was experienced on the 26th, but the

weather during the last three days of August was very quiet, either

calms or light winds prevailing, and we took the opportunity to do some

work on Wireless Hill. All the wire stays were tightened, and various

ropes which appeared to require attention were renewed, while, as a

final improvement, the aerial was hauled as tight as we could make it.

We heard on July 31 that the 'Rachel Cohen', a sealing-vessel, had

sailed for Macquarie Island and was bringing a few articles for us,

so there was something to which we could look forward in the immediate

future.

The most remarkable feature of the month's weather was the wind, as

gales blew on eleven days, and on seven other days the velocity reached

twenty-five miles per hour. Precipitation occurred on twenty-seven

days, and the average percentage of cloud was eighty-four. The mean

temperature was 38.1 degrees with extremes of 45.3 degrees and 26

degrees F. A prolonged display of auroral light occurred on the night

of the 17th, though no colours other than the light lemon-yellow of the

arch and streamers could be seen.

Bull elephants were now arriving in great numbers, and these monsters

could be seen lying everywhere on the isthmus, both up in the tussock,

on the beaches, and among the heaps of kelp. Now and again one would

lazily lift a flipper to scratch itself or heave its great bulk into a

more comfortable position.

The island is the habitat of two kinds of night-birds, one kind--a

species of petrel (Lesson's)--being much larger than the other, both

living in holes in the ground. They fly about in the darkness, their

cries resembling those made by a beaten puppy. The smaller bird

(apparently indigenous and a new species) was occasionally seen flying

over the water during the day, but the larger ones come out almost

exclusively at night. A light attracts them and Hamilton, with the aid

of a lantern and a butterfly-net, tried to catch some. Others swooped

about, well out of range, shrieking the while in an uncanny way. Numbers

of them were secured afterwards by being dug out of their holes, Mac

being just as keen to locate them as Hamilton was to secure them. They

cannot see well during the day, and seem to have almost lost the use of

their feet. They lay two small, white, thin-shelled eggs at the end of

their burrow; and in certain parts of the island, where the burrows are

numerous, the sound made by hundreds of them at once, during the nesting

season, somewhat resembles that made by a high-power Marconi wireless

set at close range.

Before Blake left Lusitania Bay, I promised to see that the hut on Sandy

Bay was re-stocked with provisions by the middle of the month, so, on

the 8th, Hamilton, Sandell and I carried a supply of stores down there,

leaving a note which informed him that we expected the 'Rachel Cohen' to

arrive any day, and asking him to return to the Shack. On the way down

we came upon a vast quantity of wreckage piled up on the beach, midway

between "The Nuggets" and Sandy Bay. This was all that remained of the

sealing schooner, 'Jessie Nichol', which had been wrecked on December

21, 1910. Three men were drowned, their bodies being interred among the

tussock, each marked by a life belt and a small board on which the name

was roughly carved.

On our homeward trip we caught some wekas for the pot and duly arrived

at the Shack, tired, wet and hungry.

Next day, while sitting in the Shack reducing records, I heard a yell

from Hamilton to the effect that the 'Rachel Cohen' was in sight, and

about an hour later she dropped anchor in North-East Bay.

The sea was fairly smooth and no time was lost in bringing a boat ashore

with the mails, of which each man received a share. A gang of sealers

was landed with a view to obtaining sea elephant and penguin oil. I

had wirelessed asking for a dinghy to be sent down, which would enable

Hamilton to do more marine work; and it now came to hand. Further, we

received an additional supply of photographic material and some rubber

tubing for the anemometer, but the much needed boots did not arrive.

On the 18th a strong southerly gale sprang up and compelled the 'Rachel

Cohen' to seek safety in flight; so she slipped her cable and put to

sea. She had not yet landed all the sealers' stores and was forced to

hang about the island till the weather moderated sufficiently for her to

return to an anchorage.