The first thing to be done in connection with our attempt to reach the Magnetic Pole was to lay depots, and so on September 25, after delay from bad weather, Priestley, Day and I (David) started in the motor-car, dragging behind us two sledges over the ice.
One sledge with its load weighed 606 lb., the other 250 lb., and as soon as Day put the car on her second gear we sped over the floe-ice at a rate of fourteen miles an hour, much to the admiration of the seals and penguins. Accidents, however, both to the car and to Day, who alone of us could be trusted to drive it, hindered us from making our final start until October 5. On that day Brocklehurst took a photograph of the Northern Party and soon afterwards we boarded the car and the sledges and, cheered by those remaining behind, proceeded on our way.
At first Day, Priestley and Roberts accompanied us, but we had only gone a little over two miles, when the snow had become so thick that I did not think it prudent to take the car farther, and accordingly we had to say good-bye to our companions. Strapping on our harness, we toggled on to the sledge rope, and with a "One, two, three and away," we began our long journey over the sea-ice.
On the following morning we had to start our relay work, and dragged the Christmas Tree sledge on first, as we were specially liable to lose parcels off it, for a distance of nearly half a mile. Then we returned and fetched up what we called the Plum Duff sledge, chiefly laden with our provisions.
After a heavy day's work on the following day, we camped for the night close to a seal-hole which belonged to a fine specimen of Weddell seal, but our slumbers were disturbed by the snorting and whistling of the seals as they came up for their blows.
The seals, however, were nothing to the Emperor penguins, which awakened us by their chatter on the morning of the 10th. Evidently they had marched down on our tent during the night to investigate us, and the sounds they made may be described as something between the cackle of a goose and the chortle of a kookaburra.
I saw four of them standing by the sledges, and when they caught sight of me they were much interested, and the conversation between them became very lively. I have no doubt that they took us for penguins of an inferior type, and the tent for our nest. At any rate, they were kind enough to take careful note of our doings, and to give us a good send-off when we left them.
During that day a blizzard was behind us, and as the strength of it increased we found that we could draw both sledges at the same time, which was, of course, a great saving of labour. Tempted, however, to continue our march under these favourable conditions, we went on longer than was wise, with the result that when we stopped it was extremely difficult to get the tent up.
Slipping the tent over the poles placed close to the ground in the lee of the sledge, two of us raised the poles while the other shovelled snow on to the skirt of the tent, which we pulled out by degrees until it was finally spread to its full dimensions. Glad indeed were we to turn in and escape from the biting blast and drifting snow.
This violent blizzard blew throughout the whole of the next day, and we spent it for the most part in our sleeping-bags; but on the 13th we arrived at Butter Point, which is merely an angle in the low ice-cliff near the junction of the Ferrar Glacier valley with the main shore of Victoria Land, and made a depot there.