Page:Scott's Last Expedition, Volume 2.djvu/267

October 23.—I was bad in the night and did not wake till 6.30. The day was warmer, but I feel very cold and rather weak and slack. The light was bad, but we made fair progress. Passed inside a number of stranded bergs evidently broken off from the piedmont. About 4 p.m. we saw a seal near a stranded berg and we camped early, in order to kill and cut him up. There were tracks of several more near the berg, so I think we are coming to the land of plenty. A brain and liver hoosh did us all good. We are all feeling slack and stale. Distance 6 miles. We had to reduce to two biscuits per day owing to slow progress.

October 24.—A lovely morning, clear and calm with a few clouds over the mountains. While we were packing the sledges Browning went to the seal hole, but there were none up. The surface was heavy crusted snow with belts of pressure. During the day we passed a large number of stranded bergs and any amount of seals up round them, many of them with young.

Our route lay along a piedmont, evidently aground, judging by the steep slopes and crevasses in places. Soon after 4 p.m. we opened out a wide bay which I made out to be Tripp Bay. After this the surface improved. After camping, Levick and Abbott killed and cut up a seal.

There was a curious line of stranded bergs and pressure running parallel to the coast and about two miles off, which looks as if there might be a shoal there. Our distance to-day about 7 miles.

October 25.—Both Dickason and I had a bad night,