Page:Scott's Last Expedition, Volume 2.djvu/597

would not move them. The outlook was brighter at midnight, when we were doing 5 knots to the north-eastward, the ice-fields being less compressed. The punching and butting through continued with varying success till 9 p.m. on January 24, when the Commander concluded that it was a waste of coal and unfair to the ship to proceed. We stopped, therefore, and banked fires.

After a delay of seven or eight hours Bruce reported the ice to be opening tremendously, and we accordingly proceeded on January 25, as soon as steam was ready. Very gradually the old ship worked towards Terra Nova Bay. Shortly after noon we won through into a very big open lead and could make five knots on our course. We stopped to sound at 8 a.m. and noon, the soundings showing 437, 625, and 515 fathoms. These soundings show a 'deep' which I believe Professor David rather suspected. They were really taken for his benefit.

By 3 a.m. on January 25 we had worked the ship through the ice near Campbell's winter quarters and secured to the sea ice which extended a quarter of a mile out from the piedmont. This was particularly solid and slippery, being quite free from snow. Although so close to the shore we found the depth 198 fathoms.

We sent a party away under Priestley to pick up the depôt of geological specimens; the remainder of the Expedition visited the igloo where Campbell and his party spent the previous winter.

The visit to the igloo revealed in itself a story of