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CHAPTER
VII WINTER QUARTERS AT CAPE ROYDS OUTSIDE AND INSIDE The bed question: Acetylene Gas-plant After about
four days' hard work at
the Front Door Bay landing-place, the bulk of the stores was recovered,
and I
think we may say that there was not much lost permanently, though, as
time went
on, and one or two cases that were required did not turn up, we used to
wonder
whether they had been left on board the ship, or lay buried under the
ice. We
do know for certain that our only case of beer lies to this day under
the ice,
and it was not until a few days before our final departure that one of
the
scientists of the expedition dug out some volumes of the Challenger
reports,
which had been intended to provide us with useful reading matter during
the
winter nights. A question often debated during the long, dark days was
which of
these stray sheep, the Challenger reports or the case of beer, any
particular
individual would dig for if the time and opportunity were available. In
moving
up the recovered stores, as soon as a load arrived within fifteen yards
of the
hut, where, at this time of the year, the snow ended, and the bare
earth lay
uncovered, the sledges were unpacked, and one party carried the stuff
up to the
south side of the hut, whilst the sledges returned to the landing-place
for
more. We were now utilising the ponies every day, and they proved of
great
assistance in moving things to and fro. The stores on the top of the
hill at
Derrick Point were fortunately quite clear of snow, so we did not
trouble to
transport them, contenting ourselves with getting down things that were
of
immediate importance. Day by day we continued collecting our scattered
goods,
and within ten days after the departure of the ship we had practically
everything handy to the hut, excepting the coal. The labour had been
both heavy
and fertile in minor accidents. Most of us at one time or another had
wounds
and bruises to be attended to by Marshall, who was kept busy part of
every day
dressing the injuries. Adams was severely cut in handling some
iron-bound
cases, and I managed to jamb my fingers in the motor-car. The annoying
feature
about these simple wounds was the length of time it took for them to
heal in
our special circumstances. The irritation seemed to be more pronounced
if any
of the earth got into the wound, so we always took care, after our
first
experiences, to go at once to Marshall for treatment, when the skin was
broken.
The day after the ship left we laid in a supply of fresh meat for the
winter,
killing about a hundred penguins and burying them in a snow-drift close
to the
hut. By February 28 we were practically in a position to feel contented
with
ourselves, and to look further afield and explore the neighbourhood of
our
winter quarters.
DIGGING OUT STORES AFTER THE CASES HAD BEEN BURIED IN DURING A BUZZARD From the door
of our hut, which
faced the north-west, we commanded a splendid view of the sound and the
western
mountains. Right in front of us, at our door, lay a small lake, which
came to
be known as Pony Lake; to the left of that was another sheet of ice
that became
snow-covered in the autumn, and it was here in the dark months that we
exercised the ponies, and also ourselves. Six times up and down the
"Green
Park," as it was generally called, made a mile, and it was here, before
darkness came on, that we played hockey and football. To the left of
Green Park
was a gentle slope leading down between two cliffs to the sea, and
ending in a
little bay known as Dead Horse Bay. On either side of this valley lay
the
penguin rookery, the slopes being covered with guano, and during the
fairly
high temperatures that held sway up to April, the smell from these
deserted
quarters of the penguins was extremely unpleasant. On coming out of the
hut one
had only to go round the corner of the building in order to catch a glimpse of Mount Erebus, which lay directly behind us. Its summit was
about fifteen miles from our winter quarters, but its
slopes and foothills commenced within three-quarters of a 'mile of the
hut. Our
view was cut off in all directions from the east to the south-west by
the ridge
at the head of the valley where the hut stood. On ascending this ridge,
one
looked over the bay to the south-east,. where lay Cape Berne. To the
right was
Flagstaff Point, and to the left lay, at the head of the Bay, the
slopes of
Erebus. There were many localities which became favourite places for
walks, and
these are shown on the Plan. Sandy Beach, about a mile away to the
north-west
of the hut, was generally the goal of any one taking exercise, when the
uncertainty of the weather warned us against venturing further afield,
and
while-the dwindling light still permitted us to go so far. It was here
that we
sometimes exercised the ponies, and they much enjoyed rolling in the
soft sand.
The beach was formed of black volcanic sand, blown from the surrounding
hills,
and later on the pressed-up ice, which had been driven ashore by the
southward
movement of the pack, also became covered with the wind-borne dust and
sand.
The coast-line from Flagstaff Point right round to Horse Shoe Bay, on
the north
side of Cape Royds, was jagged and broken up. At some points
ice-cliffs, in
others. bare rocks, jutted out into the sea, and here and there small
beaches
composed of volcanic sand were interposed. Our local scenery, though
not on a
grand scale, loomed large in the light of the moon as the winter nights
lengthened. Fantastic shadows made the heights appear greater and the
valleys
deeper, casting a spell of unreality around the place, which never
seemed to
touch it by day. The greatest height of any of the numerous
sharp-pointed spurs
of volcanic rock was not more than three hundred feet, but we were
infinitely
better off as regards the interest and the scenery of our winter
quarters than
the expedition which wintered in McMurdo Sound between 1901 and 1904.
Our walks
amongst the hills and across the frozen lakes were a great source of
health and
enjoyment, and as a field of work for geologists and biologists, Cape
Royds far
surpassed Hut Point. The largest lake, which lay about half a mile to
the
north-east, was named Blue Lake, from the intensely vivid blue of the
ice. This
lake was peculiarly interesting to Mawson, who made the study of ice
part of
his work. Beyond Blue Lake, to the northward, lay Clear Lake, the
deepest
inland body of water in our vicinity. To the left as one looked north,
close to
the coast, was a circular basin which we called Coast Lake, where, when
we
first arrived, hundreds of skua gulls were bathing and flying about.
Following
the coast from this point back towards winter quarters was another body
of
water called Green Lake. In all these various lakes something of
interest to
science was discovered, and though they were quite small, they were
very
important to our work and in our eyes, and were a source of continuous
interest
to us during our stay in the vicinity. Beyond Blue Lake, to the east,
rose the
lower slopes of Mount Erebus, covered with ice and snow. After passing
one or
two ridges of volcanic rocks, there stretched a long snow plain, across
which
sledges could travel without having their runners torn by gravel. The
slope
down to Blue Lake was picked out for ski-ing, and it was here, in the
early
days, when work was over, that some of our party used to slide from the
top of
the slope for about two hundred feet, arriving at the bottom in a few
seconds,
and shooting out across the frozen surface of the Lake, until brought
up by the
rising slope on the other side. To the north of Clear Lake the usual
hills of
volcanic rock separated by valleys filled more or less with
snow-drifts,
stretched for a distance of about a mile. Beyond this lay the coast, to
the
right of which, looking north, was Horse Shoe Bay, about four miles
from our
winter quarters; further to the right of the northern end of Cape Royds
the
slopes of Erebus were reached again. From the northern coast a good
view could
be obtained of Cape Bird, and from the height we could see Castle Rock
to the
south, distant about eighteen miles from the winter quarters. The walk
from Hut
Point to Castle Rock was familiar to us on the last expedition. It
seemed much
nearer than it really was, for in the Antarctic the distances are most
deceptive, curiously different effects being produced by the variations
of
light and the distortion of mirage. As time went on
we felt more arid
more satisfied with our location, for there was work of interest for
every one.
The Professor and Priestley saw open before them a new chapter of
geological
history of great interest, for Cape Royds was a happier hunting-ground
for the
geologist than was Hut Point. Hundreds of erratic boulders lay
scattered on the
slopes of the adjacent hills, and from these the geologists hoped to
learn
something of the past conditions of Ross Island. For Murray, the lakes
were a
fruitful field for new research. The gradually deepening bay was full
of marine
animal life, the species varying with the depth, and here also an
inexhaustible
treasure-ground stretched before the biologist. Adams, the
meteorologist, could
not complain, for Mount Erebus was in full view of the meteorological
station,
and this fortunate proximity to Erebus and its smoke-cloud led, in a
large
measure, to important results in this branch. For the physicist the
structure
of the ice, varying on various lakes, the different salts in the earth,
and the
magnetic conditions of the rocks claimed investigation, though, indeed,
the
magnetic nature of the rocks proved a disadvantage in carrying out
magnetic
observations, for the delicate instruments were often affected by the
local
attraction. From every point of view I must say that we were extremely
fortunate in the winter quarters to which we had been led by the state
of the
sea ice, for no other spot could have afforded more scope for work and
exercise. Before we had
been ten days ashore
the hut was practically completed, though it was over a month before it
had
been worked up from the state of an empty shell to attain the fully
furnished
appearance it assumed after every one had settled down and arranged his
belongings. It was not a very spacious dwelling for the accommodation
of
fifteen persons, but our narrow quarters were warmer than if the hut
had been
larger. The coldest part of the house when we first lived in it was
undoubtedly
the floor, which was formed of inch tongue-and-groove boarding, but was
not
double-lined. There was a space of about four feet under the hut at the
north-west end, the other end resting practically on the ground, and it
was
obvious to us that as long as this space remained we would suffer from
the
cold, so we decided to make an airlock of the area under the hut. To
this end
we decided to build a wall round the south-east and southerly sides,
which were
to windward, with the bulk of the provision cases. To make certain that
no air
would penetrate from these sides we built the first two or three tiers
of cases
a little distance out from the walls of the hut, pouring in volcanic
earth
until no gaps could be seen, and the earth was level with the cases;
then the
rest of the stores were piled up to a height of six or seven feet. This
accounted for one side and one end. On either side of the porch two
other
buildings were gradually erected. One, built out of biscuit cases, the
roof
covered with felt and canvas, was a store-room for Wild, who looked
after the
issue of all foodstuffs. The building on the other aide of the porch
was a much
more ambitious affair, and was built by Mawson, to serve as a chemical
and
physical laboratory. It was destined, however, to be used solely as a
store-room, for the temperature within its walls was practically the
same as
that of the outside air, and the warm, moist atmosphere rushing out
from the
hut covered everything inside this store-room with fantastic ice
crystals. The lee side of
the hut ultimately
became the wall of the stables, for we decided to keep the ponies
sheltered
during the winter. During the blizzard we experienced on February 18,
and for
the three following days, the animals suffered somewhat, mainly owing
to the
knocking about they had received whilst on the way south in the ship.
We found
that a shelter, not necessarily warmed to a high temperature, would
keep the
ponies in better condition than if they were allowed to stand in the
open, and
by February 9 the stable building was complete. A double row of cases
of maize,
built at one end to a height of five feet eight inches, made one end,
and then
the longer side of the shelter was composed of bales of fodder. A wide
plank at
the other end was cemented into the ground, and a doorway left. Over
all this
was stretched the canvas tarpauling which we had previously used in the
fodder
hut, and with planks and battens on both sides to make it wind-proof,
the
stable was complete. A wire rope was stretched from one end to the
other on the
side nearest to the hut, and the ponies' head-ropes were made fast to
this. The
first night that they were placed in the stable there was little rest
for any
of us, and during the night some of the animals broke loose and
returned to
their valley. Shortly afterwards Grisi, one of the most high-spirited
of the
lot, pushed his head through a window, so the lower halves of the hut
windows
bad to be boarded up. The first strong breeze we had shook the roof of
the
stable so much that we expected every moment it would blow away, so
after the
gale all the sledges except those which were in use were laid on the
top of the
stable, and a stout rope passed from one end to the other. The next
snowfall
covered the sledges and made a splendid roof, upon which no subsequent
wind had
any effect. Later, another addition was made to the dwellings outside
the hut
in the shape of a series of dog-houses for those animals about to pup,
and as
that was not an uncommon thing down there, the houses were constantly
occupied. On the
south-east side of the hut a
store-room was built, constructed entirely of cases, and roofed with
hammocks
sewn together. Here we kept the tool-chest, shoe-makers' outfit, which
was in
constant requisition, and any general stores that had to be issued at
stated
times. The first heavy blizzard found this place out, and after the
roof had
been blown off, the wall fell down, and we had to organise a party,
when the
weather got fine, to search for anything that might be lost, such as
mufflers,
woollen helmets, and so on. Some things were blown more than a mile
away. I
found a Russian felt boot, weighing five pounds, lying three-quarters
of a mile
from the crate in which it had been stowed, and it must have had a
clear run in
the air for the whole of this distance, for there was not a scratch on
the
leather; if it had been blown along the rocks, which lay in the way,
the
leather would certainly have been scratched all over. The chimney,
which was an
iron pipe, projecting two or three feet above the roof of the hut, and
capped
by a cowl, was let through the rocf at the south-east end, and secured
by
numerous rope stays supporting it at every point from which the wind
could
blow. We were quite
free from the trouble
of down draughts or choking with snow, such as had been of common
occurrence in
the large hut on the Discovery
expedition. Certainly the revolving cowl blew off during the first
blizzard,
and this happened again in the second, so we took the hint and left it
off for
good, without detriment, as it happened, to the efficiency of the
stove. The dog kennels
were placed close to
the porch of the hut, but only three of the dogs were kept. constantly
chained
up. The meteorological station was on the weather side of the hut on
the top of
a small ridge, about, twenty feet above the hut and forty feet above
sea-level,
and a natural path led to it. Adams laid it out, and the regular
readings of
the instruments began on March 22. The foundation of the thermometer
screen consisted
of a heavy wooden case resting on rocks. The case was three-quarters
filled
with rock, and round the outside were piled more blocks of kenyte; the
crevices
between them were filled with volcanic earth on to which water was
poured, the
result being a structure as rigid its the ground itself. On each side
of the
box a heavy upright was secured by the rocks inside the case and by
bolts at
the sides, and to these uprights the actual meteorological screen, one
of the
Stevenson pattern and of standard size, was bolted. As readings of the
instruments were to be taken day and night at intervals of two hours,
and as it
was quite possible that the weather might be so thick that a person
might be
lost in making his way between the screen and the hut, a line was
rigged up on
posts, which were cemented into the ground by ice, so that in the
thickest
weather the observer could be sure of finding his way by following this
very
substantial clue. The inside of
the hut was not long
in being fully furnished, and a, great change it was from the bare
shell of our
first days of occupancy. The first thing done was to peg out a space
for each
individual, and we saw that the best plan would be to have the space
allotted
in sections, allowing two persons to share one cubicle. This space for
two men
amounted to six feet six inches in length and seven feet in depth from
the wall
of the hut towards the centre. There were seven of these cubicles, and
a space
for the leader of the expedition; thus providing for the fifteen who
made up
the shore-party. The accompanying photographs will give an idea of the
hut as
finished. One of the most important parts of the interior construction
was the
dark-room for the photographers. We were very short of wood, so cases
of
bottled fruit, which had to be kept inside the hut to prevent them
freezing,
were utilised for building the walls. The dark-room was constructed in
the
left-hand corner of the hut as one entered, and the fruit-cases were
turned
with their lids facing out, so that the contents could be removed
without
demolishing the walls of the building. These cases, as they were
emptied, were
turned into lockers, where we stowed our spare gear and so obtained
more room
in the little cubicles. The interior of the dark-room was fitted up by
Mawson
and the Professor. The sides and roof were lined with the felt left
over after
the hut was completed. Mawson made the fittings complete in every
detail, with
shelves, tanks, &c., and the result was as good as any one
could desire in
the circumstances. ICE FLOWERS ON NEWLY-FORMED SEA ICE EARLY A long ridge of
rope wire was
stretched from one end of the hut to the other on each side, seven feet
out
from the wall; then at intervals of six feet another wire was brought
out from
the wall of the hut, and made fast to the fore and aft wire. These
lines marked
the boundaries of the cubicles, and sheets of duck sewn together hung
from
them, making a good division. Blankets were served out to hang in the
front of
the cubicle, in case the inhabitants wanted at any time to "sport their
oak." As each of the cubicles had distinctive features in the
furnishing
and general design, especially as regards beds, it is worth while to
describe
them fully. This is not so trivial a matter as it may appear to some
readers,
for during the winter months the inside of the hut was the whole
inhabited
world to us. The wall of Adams and Marshall's cubicle, which was next
to my
room, was fitted with shelves made out of Venesta cases, and there was
so much
neatness and order about this apartment that it was known by the
address,
"No. 1 Park Lane." In front of the shelves hung little gauze
curtains, tied up with blue ribbon, and the literary tastes of the
occupants
could be seen at a glance from the bookshelves. In Adams' quarter the
period of
the French Revolution and the Napoleonic era filled most of his
bookshelves,
though a complete edition of Dickens came in a good second. Marshall's
shelves
were stocked with bottles of medicine, medical works, and some general
literature. The dividing curtain of duck was adorned by Marston with
life-sized
coloured drawings of Napoleon and Joan of Aro. Adams and Marshall did
Sandow
exercises daily, and their example was followed by other men later on,
when the
darkness and bad weather made open-air work difficult. The beds of this
particular cubicle were the most comfortable in the hut, but took a
little
longer to rig up at night than most of the others. This disadvantage
was more
than compensated for by the free space gained during the day, and by
permission
of the owners it was used as consulting-room, dispensary, and operating
theatre. The beds consisted of bamboos lashed together for extra
strength, to
which strips of canvas were attached, so that each bed looked like a
stretcher.
The wall end rested on stout cleats screwed on to the side of the hut,
the
other ends on chairs, and so supported, the occupants slept soundly and
comfortably. The next
cubicle on the same side
was occupied by Marston and Day, and as the former was the artist and
the
latter the general handy man of the expedition, one naturally found an
ambitious scheme of decoration. The shelves were provided with beading,
and the
Venesta boxes were stained brown. This idea was copied from "No. 1 Park
Lane," where they had stained all their walls with Condy's Fluid.
Marston
and Day's cubicle was known as "The Gables," presumably from the
gabled appearance of the shelves. Solid wooden beds, made out of old
packing-cases and upholstered with wood shavings covered witE blankets,
made
very comfortable couches, one of which could be pushed during meal
times out of
the way of the chairs. The artist's curtain was painted to represent a
fireplace and mantelpiece in civilisation; a cheerful fire burned in
the grate,
and a bunch of flowers stood on the mantelpiece. The dividing curtain
between
it and No. 1 Park Lane, on the other side of the cubicle, did not
require to be
decorated, for the colour of Joan of Aro, and also portions of
Napoleon, had
oozed through the canvas. In "The Gables" was set up the lithographic
press, which was used for producing pictures for the book which was
printed at
our winter quarters. The next
cubicle on the same side
belonged to Armytage and Brocklehurst. Here everything in the way of
shelves and
fittings was very primitive. I lived in Brocklehurst's portion of the
cubicle
for two months, as he was laid up in my room, and before I left it I
constructed a bed of empty petrol cases. The smell from these for the
first
couple of nights after rigging them up was decidedly unpleasant, but it
disappeared after a while. Next to Brocklehurst's and Armytage's
quarters came
the pantry. The division between the cubicle and the pantry consisted
of a tier
of cases, making a substantial wall between the food and the heads of
the
sleepers. The pantry, bakery, and store-room, all combined, measured
six feet
by three, not very spacious, certainly, but sufficient
to work in. The far end of the hut
constituted the other wall of the pantry, and was lined with shelves up
to the
slope of the roof. These shelves were continued along the wall behind
the
stove, which stood about four feet out from the end of the house, and
an
erection of wooden battens and burlap or sacking concealed the
biological
laboratory. The space taken up by this important department was four
feet by
four, but lack of ground area was made up for by the shelves, which
oontained
dozens of bottles soon to be filled with Murray's biological captures. Beyond the
stove, facing the pantry,
was Mackay and Roberts' cubicle, the main feature of which was a
ponderous
shelf, on which rested mostly socks and other light articles, the only
thing of
weight being our gramophone and records. The bunks were somewhat feeble
imitations of those belonging to No. 1 Park Lane, and the troubles that
the
owners went through before finally getting them into working order
afforded the
rest of the community a good deal of amusement. I can see before me now
the
triumphant face of Mackay, as he called all hands round to see his
design. The
inhabitants of No. 1 Park Lane pointed out that the bamboo was not a
rigid
piece of wood, and that when Mackay's weight came on it the middle
would bend
and the ends would jump off the supports unless secured. Mackay
undressed
before a critical audience, and he got into his bag and expatiated on
the
comfort and luxury he was experiencing, so different to the hard boards
he had
been lying on for months. Roberts was anxious to try his couch, which
was
constructed on the same principle, and the audience were turning away
disappointed at not witnessing a catastrophe, when suddenly a crash was
heard,
followed by a strong expletive. Mackay's bed was half on the ground,
one end of
it resting at a most uncomfortable angle. Laughter and pointed remarks
as to
his capacity for making a bed were nothing to him; he tried three times
that
night to fix it up, but at last had to give it up for a bad job. In due
time he
arranged fastenings, and after that he slept in comfort. Between this
cubicle and the next
there was no division, neither party troubling about the matter. The
result was
that the four men were constantly at war regarding alleged
encroachments on
their ground. Priestley, who was long-suffering, and who occupied the
cubicle
with Murray, said he did not mind a chair or a volume of the
"Encyclopaedia Britannica" being occasionally deposited on him while
he was asleep, but that he thought it was a little too strong to drop
wet
boots, newly arrived from the stables, on top of his belongings.
Priestley and Murray
had no floor-space at all in their cubicle, as their beds were built of
empty
dog-biscuit boxes. A division of boxes separated the two
sleeping-places, and
the whole cubicle was garnished on Priestley's side with bits of rock,
ice-axes, hammers and chisels, and on Murray's with biological
requisites. Next came one
of the first cubicles
that had been built. Joyce and Wild occupied the "Rogues' Retreat," a
painting of two very tough characters drinking beer out of pint mugs,
with the
inscription The Rogue's Retreat painted underneath, adorning the
entrance to
the den. The couches in this house were the first to be built, and
those of the
opposite dwelling, The Gables, were copied from their design. The first
bed had
been built in Wild's store-room for secrecy's sake; it was to burst
upon the
view of every one, and to create mingled feelings of admiration and
envy,
admiration for the splendid design, envy of the unparalleled luxury
provided by
it. However, in building it, the designer forgot the size of the
doorway he had
to take it through, and it had ignominiously to be sawn in half before
it could
be passed out of the store-room into the hut. The printing press and
type case
for the polar paper occupied one corner of this cubicle. The next and
last compartment was
the dwelling-place of the Professor and Mawson. It would be difficult
to do
justice to the picturesque confusion of this compartment; one hardly
likes to
call it untidy, for the things that covered the bunks by daytime could
be
placed nowhere else conveniently. A miscellaneous assortment *of
cameras,
spectroscopes, thermometers, microscopes, electrometers, and the like
lay in
profusion on the blankets. Mawson's bed consisted of his two boxes, in
which he
had stowed his scientific apparatus on the way down, and the
Professor's bed
was made out of kerosene cases. Everything in the way of tin cans or
plug-topped, with straw wrappers belonging to the fruit bottles, was
collected
by these two scientific men. Mawson, as a rule, put his possessions in
his
store-room outside, but the Professor, not having any retreat like
that, made a
pile of glittering tins and coloured wrappers at one end of his bunk,
and the
heap looked like the nest of the Australian bower bird. The straw and
the tins
were generally cleared away when the Professor and Priestley went in
for a
day's packing of geological specimens; the straw wrappers were utilised
for
wrapping round the rocks and the tins were filled with paper wrapped
round the
more delicate geological specimens. The name given, though not by the
owners,
to this cubicle was "The Pawn Shop," for not only was there always a
heterogeneous mass of things on the bunks, but the wall of the
dark-room and
the wall of the hut at this spot could not be seen for the multitude of
eases
ranged as shelves and filled with a varied assortment of note-books and
instruments. In order to
give as much free space
as possible in the centre of the hut we had the table so arranged that
it could
be hoisted up over our heads after meals were over. This gave ample
room or the
various carpentering and engineering efforts that were constantly going
on.
Murray built the table out of the lids of packing-cases, and though
often
scrubbed, the stencilling on the cases never came out. We had no
table-cloth,
but this was an advantage, for a well-scrubbed table had a cleaner
appearance
than would be obtained with such washing as could be done in an
Antarctic
laundry. The legs of the table were detachable, being after the fashion
of
trestles, and the whole affair, when meals were over, was slung by a
rope at
each end about eight feet from the floor. At first we used to put the
boxes
containing knives, forks, plates, and bowls on top of the table before
hauling
it up, but after these had fallen on the unfortunate head of the person
trying
to get them down, we were content to keep them on the floor. I had been very
anxious as regards
the stove, the most important part of the hut equipment, when I heard
that,
after the blizzard that kept me on board the Nimrod,
the temperature of the hut was below zero, and that socks
put to dry in the baking-ovens came out as damp as ever the following
morning.
My anxiety was dispelled after the stove had been taken to pieces
again, for it
was found that eight important pieces of its structure had not been put
in. As
soon as this omission was rectified the stove acted splendidly, and the
makers
deserve our thanks for the particular apparatus they picked out as
suitable for
us. The stove was put to a severe test, for it was kept going day and
night for
over nine months without once being out for more than ten minutes, when
occasion required it to be cleaned. It supplied us with sufficient heat
to keep
the temperature of the hut sixty to seventy degrees above the outside
air. Enough
bread could be baked to satisfy our whole hungry party of fifteen every
day;
three hot meals a day were also cooked, and water melted from ice at a
temperature of perhaps twenty degrees below zero in sufficient quantity
to
afford as much as we required for ourselves, and to water the ponies
twice a
day, and all this work was done on a consumption not exceeding five
hundredweight of coal per week. After testing the stove by running it
on an
accurately measured amount of coal for a month, we were reassured about
our
coal-supply being sufficient to carry us through the winter right on to
sledging time. MARSTON IN HIS BED Plan ot the Hut at Winter Quarters |