The monotony and disappointment of delay were just becoming acute when the wind fell off, and the afternoon of November 16 turned out gloriously fine.
Several excursions were immediately made in the neighbourhood to seek for the whereabouts of the other parties, but all were unsuccessful. At length it occurred to us that something serious might have happened, so we left our loads and started back at a gallop for Aladdin's Cave with two empty sledges, Mertz careering ahead on skis over the sastrugi field.
Shortly afterwards two black specks were seen away in the north; a glance with the binoculars leaving no doubt as to the identity of the parties. We returned to the loads, and, having picked them up, made a course to the east to intercept the other men.
It was a happy camp that evening!with the three tents pitched together, while we compared our experiences of the previous six days and made plans for the outward journey.
Our sledge-meter had already suffered through bumping over rough ice and sastrugi, and an exchange was made with the stronger one on Stillwell's sledge. A quantity of food was also taken over from him and the loads were finally adjusted.
The details and weights of the equipment on the three sledges belonging to my party are sufficiently interesting to be set out at length below. Most of the items were included in the impedimenta of all our parties, but slight variations were necessary to meet particular stances or to satisfy the whim of an individual.
TOTAL LOAD
The Principal Sledge, 11ft. long, 45 lb.
Fittings for Same: Instrument-box 7 lb. 5 oz.; cooker-box, 7 lb.
6 oz.; kerosene-tray, 3 lb.; mast-attachment, 2 lb. 8 oz.; mast, 1 lb.
16 oz.; spar, 1 lb. 8 oz.; decking (canvas and bamboo), 3 lb. 5 oz.;
rigging, 7.5 oz.; 5 leather straps, 5 lb..... 77 lb. 6.5 oz.
Drill Tent, strengthened and attached to poles, also floor-cloth,
33 lb. Spare drill cover, 11 lb. 8 oz........ 44 lb. 8 oz.
Sleeping-bags, 3 one-man bags............ 30 lb. 0 oz.
Cooking gear: Nansen cooker, 11 lb. 3 oz.; 3 mugs, 1 lb. 8 oz., 2 tins,
10 oz.; scales, 0.5 oz.; 3 spoons, 1.5 oz.; matches, 13.5 oz., and
damp-proof tin to hold same, 3.7 oz.; "Primus" heater, full, 3 lb.
10 oz.; "Primus" prickers, 2.5 oz.; "Primus" repair outfit, 2 oz.;
kerosene tin openers and pourers, 4.5 oz.; spirit for "Primus" in
tin, 5 lb. 14 oz., also a ready bottle, full, 1 lb. 5 oz.
........................... 25 lb. 14.2 oz.
Repair Outfit: Spare copper wire, rivets, needles, thread, etc.,
1 lb. 14.5 oz.; set of 12 tools, 15.5 oz.; requirements for repairing
dog-harness and medically treating the dogs, 3 lb. 8 oz
........................ 6 lb. 6 oz.
Medical Outfit: 6 "Burroughs & Wellcome" first field dressings;
absorbent cotton wool; boric wool; pleated lint; pleated bandages,
roll bandages; adhesive tape; liquid collodion; "tabloid" ophthalmic
drugs for treating snow-blindness; an assortment of "tabloid" drugs
for general treatment; canvas case containing scissors, forceps,
artery-forceps, scalpel, surgical needles and silk, etc.
........................... 2 lb. 12.3 oz. Photographic outfit:
A 1/4-plate, long, extension-camera in a case,
with special stiffening board and 36 cut films, 4 lb. 4.5 oz.;
adaptor to accommodate camera to theodolite legs, 2 oz.; a water-tight
tin with 14 packets, each containing 12 cut films, 3 lb.10 oz.
............................8 lb. 0.5 oz.
Surveying Requirements: A 3" transit theodolite in case, 5 lb. 14 oz.;
legs for the same, 3 lb. 6 oz.; sledge-meter, 8 lb.; Tables from
Nautical Almanack and book of Logarithmic Tables, 1 lb. 3 oz.;
2 note books, 1 lb. 6 oz.; angle-books, 5 oz.; map-tube, 10 oz.;
maps, 6.5 oz.; pencils, 1.5 oz.; dividers and rubber, 1.5 oz.;
protractor and set-square, 0.5 oz.; prismatic compass and clinometer,
8.5 oz.; sun-compass (Bage's), 1.5 oz......... 22 lb. 0 oz.
Other Instruments: Zeiss prismatic binoculars X.12, 1 lb. 13.5 oz.;
hypsometer, 2 lb. 1 oz.; 2 ordinary and 2 small minimum thermometers,
10 oz.; specimen labels, l oz............. 4 lb. 9.5 oz.
Rifle, 22-bore with cover and cleaner, 3 lb. 3.7 oz.; ammunition,
1 lb. 6 oz.; sheath knife, 5.5 oz.; sharpening stone, 1.5 oz.;
fishing line and hooks, 3.5 oz............. 4 lb. 14.7 oz.
Waterproof Clothe-bag, 4 lb. 8 oz., containing 9 pairs of finnesko
stuffed with saennegrass, 21 lb.; extra saennegrass, 3 lb.; 3 private
kit-bags containing spare clothing, etc., 39 lb.; 4 extra rolls of
lampwick for lashings, 1 lb. 3.5 oz.......... 64 lb. 3.5 oz.
Odd gear: Pick, 4 lb. 5 oz.; 2 spades, 8 lb. 4 oz.; ice-axe, 2 lb.
4 oz.; alpine rope (20 metros) 3 lb.; skis (1 pair), 11 lb.;
ski-stick, 1 lb. 1 oz.; ski-boots (2 pairs), 6 lb.; attachable
crampons for the same, 4 lb.; finnesko-crampons (3 pairs), 9 lb.;
3 man-harnesses, 6 lb. 8 oz.; man-hauling tow-rope, 1 lb. 1 oz.;
flags, 9.5 oz.; a water-proof bag to hold oddments, 4 lb. 8 oz.
............................ 61 lb. 8.5 oz.
Beacons: A depot-flag and bamboo pole, 5 lb.; a special metal
depot-beacon, mast, flag and stays, 16 lb.; 2 damp-proof tins for
depositing records at depots, 7.5 oz.......... 21 lb. 7.5 oz.
Other Sledges: A second sledge decked with Venesta boarding and
fitted with straps.................. 55 lb. 0 oz.
A third sledge, 12 ft. long and strong rope lashings (spare spars
mentioned elsewhere acting as decking)........ 60 lb. 0 oz.
Fuel: Kerosene, 6 gallons in one-gallon tins..... 60 lb. 0 oz.
Food: Man Food: 9 weeks' supplies for 3 men on the ration scale;
also 25 lb. weight of special foods—'perks'..... 475 lb. 0 oz.
Dog Food: Dried seal meat, blubber and pemmican; also the weight of
the tin and bag-containers.............. 700 lb. 0 oz.
Total........................ 1723 lb. 11.3 oz.
Madigan's and Stillwell's parties broke trail to the east on the morning of the 17th while we were still attending to the sledges and dogs preparatory to departure. It was decided that Gadget, a rather miserable animal, who had shown herself useless as a puller thus far, should be killed. The following dogs then remained:—Basilisk, Shackleton, Ginger Bitch, Franklin, John Bull, Mary, Haldane, Pavlova, Fusilier, Jappy, Ginger, George, Johnson, Castor, Betli and Blizzard.
We went in pursuit of the other six men over a surface of rough sastrugi. The dogs, who were in fine fettle, rushed the sledges along, making frantic efforts to catch up to the parties ahead, who showed as black specks across the white undulating plain.