o
get at it. Another most curious sight was the feet and tails of two
chicks and the flipper of an adult bird projecting from the ice on
the under side of the jammed floe; they had evidently been frozen in
above and were being washed out under the floe.

Finding it impossible to land owing to the swell, we pulled along
the cliffs for a short way. These Crozier cliffs are remarkably
interesting. The rock, mainly volcanic tuff, includes thick strata
of columnar basalt, and one could see beautiful designs of jammed
and twisted columns as well as caves with whole and half pillars
very much like a miniature Giant's Causeway. Bands of bright yellow
occurred in the rich brown of the cliffs, caused, the geologists
think, by the action of salts on the brown rock. In places the cliffs
overhung. In places, the sea had eaten long low caves deep under them,
and continued to break into them over a shelving beach. Icicles hung
pendant everywhere, and from one fringe a continuous trickle of thaw
water had swollen to a miniature waterfall. It was like a big hose
playing over the cliff edge. We noticed a very clear echo as we passed
close to a perpendicular rock face. Later we returned to the ship,
which had been trying to turn in the bay--she is not very satisfactory
in this respect owing to the difficulty of starting the engines either
ahead or astern--several minutes often elapse after the telegraph
has been put over before there is any movement of the engines.

It makes the position rather alarming when one is feeling one's way
into some doubtful corner. When the whaler was hoisted we proceeded
round to the penguin rookery; hopes of finding a quiet landing had
now almost disappeared.8

There were several small grounded bergs close to the rookery; going
close to these we got repeated soundings varying from 34 down to 12
fathoms. There is evidently a fairly extensive bank at the foot of the
rookery. There is probably good anchorage behind some of the bergs,
but none of these afford shelter for landing on the beach, on which the
sea is now breaking incessantly; it would have taken weeks to land the
ordinary stores and heaven only knows how we could have got the ponies
and motor sledges ashore. Reluctantly and sadly we have had to abandon
our cherished plan--it is a thousand pities. Every detail of the shore
promised well for a wintering party. Comfortable quarters for the hut,
ice for water, snow for the animals, good slopes for ski-