On May 14 we made our preparations for an early start on the following
day if the weather held fair. We expected to be able to pick up the
remains of the sea-elephant on our way up the sound. All hands were
recovering from the chafing caused by our wet clothes during the boat
journey. The insides of our legs had suffered severely, and for some
time after landing in the cove we found movement extremely
uncomfortable. We paid our last visit to the nests of the albatrosses,
which were situated on a little undulating plateau above the cave amid
tussocks, snow-patches, and little frozen tarns. Each nest consisted
of a mound over a foot high of tussock-grass, roots, and a little
earth. The albatross lays one egg and very rarely two. The chicks,
which are hatched in January, are fed on the nest by the parent birds
for almost seven months before they take to the sea and fend for
themselves. Up to four months of age the chicks are beautiful white
masses of downy fluff, but when we arrived on the scene their plumage
was almost complete. Very often one of the parent birds was on guard
near the nest. We did not enjoy attacking these birds, but our hunger
knew no law. They tasted so very good and assisted our recuperation to
such an extent that each time we killed one of them we felt a little
less remorseful.
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