Page:Scott's Last Expedition, Volume 2.djvu/98

up in his harness out of sight and out of reach from the surface. It was a crevasse I had just put my foot in, but Bowers went in even as I shouted a warning. We were too close to one another in our harness and the sledge followed us and bridged the crevasse. I had hold of Bowers' harness, while Cherry lowered a bowline on the end of the Alpine rope into which Bowers got his foot, and then by alternately hauling on one and the other we got him up again. After this, for the next few days while we were on doubtful ground, I went ahead with 12 or 15 feet of rope on my trace, and so was able to give good warning and to change the course easily if I found we were getting on to bad ground.

[C.-G. gives a fuller account:

Just over the top Birdie went right down a crevasse, which was about wide enough to take him—he went down slowly, his head disappearing quite slowly—and he went down till his head was four feet below the surface, a little of his harness catching up on something. Bill went for his harness, I went for the bow of the sledge. Bill told me to get the Alpine rope and Birdie directed from below what we could do: we could not possibly haul him up as he was, for the sides of the crevasse were soft and he could not help himself. I put a bowline on the Alpine rope, and lying down over him gave him the loop, which he got under his leg. We then pulled him up inch by inch: first by drawing up his leg he could give one some slack, then raising himself on his leg he could give Bill some slack on the harness, and so we gradually got him up. It was a near go for Birdie: the