It brought
quantities of glacier-ice into the cove, and by 2 a.m. (May 12) our
little harbour was filled with ice, which surged to and fro in the
swell and pushed its way on to the beach. We had solid rock beneath
our feet and could watch without anxiety. When daylight came rain was
falling heavily, and the temperature was the highest we had experienced
for many months. The icicles overhanging our cave were melting down in
streams and we had to move smartly when passing in and out lest we
should be struck by falling lumps. A fragment weighing fifteen or
twenty pounds crashed down while we were having breakfast. We found
that a big hole had been burned in the bottom of Worsley's reindeer
sleeping-bag during the night. Worsley had been awakened by a burning
sensation in his feet, and had asked the men near him if his bag was
all right; they looked and could see nothing wrong. We were all
superficially frostbitten about the feet, and this condition caused the
extremities to burn painfully, while at the same time sensation was
lost in the skin. Worsley thought that the uncomfortable heat of his
feet was due to the frost-bites, and he stayed in his bag and presently
went to sleep again. He discovered when he turned out in the morning
that the tussock-grass which we had laid on the floor of the cave had
smouldered outwards from the fire and had actually burned a large hole
in the bag beneath his feet.
Pages:
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319