achel Cohen' had been received, I wirelessed
asking to be immediately advised of the exact date of the vessel's
departure. A reply came that the ship would definitely reach us within
two months. I answered, saying we could wait two months, but certainly
no longer.

With a view to varying the menu a little, Blake and I took Mac up on the
hills on April 26 to get some rabbits and, after tramping for about six
hours, we returned with seven. In our wanderings we visited the penguin
rookeries at "The Nuggets," and one solitary bird sat in the centre
of the vast area which had so lately been a scene of much noise and
contention.

On May 1 I took an inventory of the stores and found that they would
last for two months if economically used. Of course, I placed confidence
in the statement that the 'Rachel Cohen' would reach the island within
that time.

With the coming of May wintry conditions set in, and at the end of the
first week the migrants had deserted our uninviting island. Life with us
went on much the same as usual, but the weather was rather more severe
than that during the previous year, and we were confined to the Shack a
good deal.

The sealers who were still on the island had shifted back to the Hut
at the north end so that they were very close to us and frequently came
over with their dog in the evenings to have a yarn. The majority of them
were men who had "knocked about" the world and had known many rough,
adventurous years. One of them in particular was rather fluent, and we
were often entertained from his endless repertoire of stories.

On the 23rd, finding that there were seventy-seven and a half pounds
of flour remaining, and ascertaining that the sealers could let us have
twenty-five pounds, if we ran short, I increased the allowance for bread
to twelve and a half pounds per week, and this, when made up, gave each
man two and three-quarter pounds of bread. Our supply of oatmeal was
very low, but in order to make it last we now started using a mixture of
oatmeal and sago for breakfast; of course, without any milk or sugar.

Just about this time Mac gave birth to six pups and could not help us in
obtaining food. She had done valuable service in this connexion, and the
loss in the foraging strength of the party was severely felt for several
weeks. She was particularly deadly in hunting rabbits and wekas, and
though the first-named were very scarce within a few miles of the Shack,
she always managed to