The number of dog teams has
been increased to seven, Greenstreet taking charge of the new
additional team, consisting of Snapper and Sallie's four oldest pups.
We have ten working sledges to relay with five teams. Wild's and
Hurley's teams will haul the cutter with the assistance of four men.
The whaler and the other boats will follow, and the men who are hauling
them will be able to help with the cutter at the rough places. We
cannot hope to make rapid progress, but each mile counts. Crean this
afternoon has a bad attack of snow-blindness."
The weather on the morning of October 30 was overcast and misty, with
occasional falls of snow. A moderate north-easterly breeze was
blowing. We were still living on extra food, brought from the ship
when we abandoned her, and the sledging and boating rations were
intact. These rations would provide for twenty-eight men for fifty-six
days on full rations, but we could count on getting enough seal and
penguin meat to at least double this time. We could even, if progress
proved too difficult and too injurious to the boats, which we must
guard as our ultimate means of salvation, camp on the nearest heavy
floe, scour the neighbouring pack for penguins and seals, and await the
outward rift of the pack, to open and navigable water.
"This plan would avoid the grave dangers we are now incurring of
getting entangled in impassable pressure-ridges and possibly
irretrievably damaging the boats, which are bound to suffer in rough
ice; it would also minimize the peril of the ice splitting under us, as
it did twice during the night at our first camp.
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