water
were everywhere. The floe on which we were had split right under our
picketing line, and cut poor Guts' wall in half. Guts himself had gone,
and a dark streak of water alone showed the place where the ice had
opened under him. The two sledges securing the other end of the line were
on the next floe and had been pulled right to the edge. Our camp was on a
floe not more than 30 yards across. I shouted to Cherry and Crean, and
rushed out in my socks to save the two sledges; the two floes were
touching farther on and I dragged them to this place and got them on to
our floe. At that moment our own floe split in two, but we were all
together on one piece. I then got my finnesko on, remarking that we had
been in a few tight places, but this was about the limit. I have been
told since that I was quixotic not to leave everything and make for
safety. You will understand, however, that I never for one moment
considered the abandonment of anything.

"We packed up camp and harnessed up our ponies in remarkably quick time.
When ready to move I had to decide which way to go. Obviously towards
Cape Armitage was impossible, and to the eastward also, as the wind was
from that direction, and we were already floating west towards the open
sound. Our only hope lay to the south, and thither I went. We found the
ponies would jump the intervals well. At least Punch would and the other
two would follow him. My idea was never to separate, but to get
everything on to one floe at a time; and then wait till it touched or
nearly touched another in the right direction, and then jump the ponies
over and drag the four sledges across ourselves. In this way we made
slow, but sure progress. While one was acting all was well, the waiting
for a lead to close was the worst trial. Sometimes it would take 10
minutes or more, but there was so much motion in the ice that sooner or
later bump you would go against another piece, and then it was up and
over. Sometimes they split, sometimes they bounced back so quickly that
only one horse could get over, and then we had to wait again. We had to
make frequent detours and were moving west all the time with the pack,
still we were getting south, too.

"Very little was said. Crean like most bluejackets behaved as if he had
done this sort of thing often before. Cherry, the practical, after an
hour or two dug out some chocolate and biscuit, during one of our
enforced waits, and distributed it. I felt at that time