Page:Scott's Last Expedition, Volume 2.djvu/273

biscuits, one bag of pemmican, and ditto of sugar, raisins, tea, and cocoa. The pemmican and raisins were most acceptable, as we had finished ours. Priestley collected some specimens and we started away again at 4.30, across pressure towards Butter Point. At 6 p.m. we camped about 1 mile south of Cape Bernacchi with smooth ice ahead.

We are certainly having the most lovely weather, clear, calm, and cold enough to make marching a pleasure. A large number of seals and young up.

November 2.—5 a.m. A fine morning. Got away early over good snow surface, reaching Butter Point at 2.30. There was a good deal of pressure off the point, so leaving the sledges on the good ice we walked the half-mile to the depôt. We had been seeing a large number of seals and young since Granite Harbour, but just off Butter Point the number was extraordinary.

Getting up to the depôt we found an enormous quantity of stores, also a note from Atkinson saying he had tried to relieve us last April but had found no ice beyond this spot. As there was no further message we were anxious for the safety of this party, as we know how unreliable the autumn ice is. As to what had happened it was hopeless trying to speculate. This had upset all our theories and I had a vague feeling something was wrong.

I therefore decided to leave one tin of biscuits here and get right across the sound as soon as possible. Taking a few luxuries such as chocolate and jam, we went back to the sledges and pulled in a south-east direction until