Part 62 (1/2)
We found it necessary to use sea elephant blubber in the stove in order to warm the Shack, and a very small piece put on the fire at intervals always ensured a good heat. Sea elephants had become scarce, so, in order to lay in a supply of fuel for the next few weeks, we went round to Aerial Cove on the 3rd and killed the largest animal we could find, afterwards carrying the blubber round to the Shack. We came through Catch Me and had the same old experience. Hamilton examined the contents of the stomach of the sea elephant and found gravel, stones, cuttlefish, beaks and ”worms” in abundance.
A violent north-west gale during the early morning hours of the 4th reached a maximum velocity of fifty-two miles an hour at 5.20 A.M., but at 8 A.M. it began to weaken rapidly and an hour later had s.h.i.+fted to west-south-west, coming from that point as a moderate gale for the rest of the day. As was usual with winds having any southerly component, snow and squalls of soft hail were experienced. With the exception of the wind-vane, which was blown a few yards into the tussock, nothing was damaged.
In the afternoon Blake and I had a trip down to the moraine which he had found a few days previously. After a heavy one and a half hours' walk, the last half-mile of which was along a creek bed, with water ankle-deep all the way, we reached the spot: the site of one of the large penguin rookeries up on the hills at the back of ”The Nuggets.” The sun showed between squalls, and Blake took some interesting photographs of rocks showing striae and other glacial characteristics. We battled with one enormous boulder for some time before getting it into a suitable position for the camera, and afterwards walked right through the glacial area. The U-shaped character of the valleys was very p.r.o.nounced, while boulder-clay obtruded itself everywhere on our notice.
Hobart wireless station was by this time in working order, a fact which greatly facilitated wireless business. Sandell took the engine to pieces early in the month and gave it, as well as the fittings, a thorough overhaul and cleaning. We received a message on the 7th, saying that the 'Aurora' was leaving Hobart on the 13th for a sub-antarctic cruise and would call at the island. At the same time I was requested to send a list of articles required. I found, after going through the stock and consulting each member, that we needed nothing but strong boots, cartridges, dungaree trousers, coa.r.s.e salt, cigarettes and fresh vegetables.
A persistent area of high pressure affected the weather conditions of the island to the extent of shrouding us in fog from the 6th to the 10th inclusive, and we did not catch a glimpse of the sun during that period.
The average daily temperature-range during this time was only 2.3 degrees. Such conditions have a rather depressing effect on the spirits, but the cheering news we received on the 7th made some amends for the lack of suns.h.i.+ne.
The sun appeared at last on the 11th and shone strongly, so Blake and I went up to Wireless Hill to take some ”shots” with the theodolite. I noticed four of our sheep on the front of the hill, and, as there should have been nine, Sandell and I, after finis.h.i.+ng with Blake, walked out to North Head to see if the others were all right. We found them on the north-east side of the hill and drove them up to the rest of the flock.
From the hill-top we could see Hamilton engaged in skinning a large sea leopard on the coast, so we climbed down to render any necessary a.s.sistance. It was a beautifully marked animal, about eleven feet long, and made a fine specimen.
Sea leopards frequent Macquarie Island in great numbers from the late winter to the early summer, and may be seen lying about, sleeping close to the water and apparently always very tired. They do not give birth to the young there, and from observations I concluded that they were born at sea. We had taken female specimens on several occasions, apparently within a few hours of parturition, and as none had been seen with newly born young, and no islands lay within several hundred miles, it was presumed that the birth took place in the water. Until the young one is weaned, its habitat is evidently in the water as we never saw an adult suckling its offspring.
Sea leopards--long, lithe creatures with a reptilian cast of head--are remarkably quick in the water. If one is disturbed on sh.o.r.e it opens its mouth very wide, revealing a wicked-looking row of teeth in each jaw; the canine teeth or tusks being very long and slightly curved.
Unlike sea elephants and seals they are solitary animals, and should several of them be found on a small gravelly patch of beach they are seen to be as far as possible from one another. We have never seen them attempt to fight on the sh.o.r.e, but the gaping wounds and scars with which they are frequently covered indicate that they treat each other very severely in the water. They live on penguins, gulls, s.h.a.gs and fish.
I saw several s.h.a.gs on one occasion very busy fis.h.i.+ng, and between diving intervals they would sit on the water. Suddenly one disappeared under the water and the rest flew off; but in a few seconds the one which had disappeared was thrown into the air and caught by a sea leopard, who played in this fas.h.i.+on with the maimed bird for several minutes before devouring it.
A few days previously we had received a request from Mr. D. C. Bates, the New Zealand Meteorologist, for a daily weather report, and from the 12th onwards a message was sent nightly to Wellington, a distance of about eleven hundred miles. In acknowledging these reports, subsequently, the office referred to their immediate value in the issue of daily forecasts, and expressed indebtedness to the Expedition.
The two species of penguins which leave the island during the winter months had disappeared, and silence now reigned where formerly were busy, noisy colonies. The departure of the migrants made the place seem lonelier and, during the depths of winter when snow covers the ground and the birds and animals are few in number, a more dreary spot would be difficult to find.
The weather conditions were now rather severe, and as Sawyer and Sandell worked from 8 P.M. till 2 or 3 A.M. every night and slept at the wireless station, they were exempted from the necessity of coming down to get breakfast during their cooking weeks. They now rested till about noon, and arrived at the Shack every day in time for lunch. Hamilton, Blake and I, each outside his own cooking week, took it in turns to prepare breakfast.
Blake's fieldwork at the north end, more particularly in the vicinity of West Point and North Head, was just about finished. West Point proved to be an area of gabbro, a coa.r.s.e-grained eruptive rock representative of basic rocks, while North Head was composed of basic agglomerate, and volcanic bombs were numerous.
Hamilton had got together a good collection of bird specimens, and was now in quest of skeletons.
On the night of the 13th we witnessed a rather pretty auroral manifestation. It a.s.sumed the appearance of a Noah's ark cloud, that is, stretching from opposite points on the horizon and appearing to converge at each one of these points. The light was a pale yellow, no other tint being visible. In addition, a nebulous glow appeared at intervals in the south.
We heard on the 16th that the 'Aurora' had sailed on that day from Hobart and would arrive at Macquarie Island in about three weeks; oceanographical work being carried out on the trip down. This was indeed cheerful news, and we began to look forward to her arrival.
A fresh west-south-west gale during the early morning hours of the 17th was accompanied by soft hail and snow-squalls, and the temperature at 9 A.M. was 31.2 degrees F. The ground was covered with snow and all the pools were frozen over, but at 9 P.M. there was a rapid s.h.i.+ft of the wind to the north-west and the snow almost disappeared. Soft hail, generally a little larger than tapioca and of the same shape, frequently fell. These little pellets are formed of compressed snow and are commonly supposed to be frozen cloud-particles mixed with raindrops compacted by a high wind.
On the following night, Blake and I went up to wireless Hill to take star observations. It was very dark and the hill-front was slippery, frequent falls being the rule. Just after setting up the instrument, the wind freshened to such an extent that it was impossible to do anything, so we descended very wet and muddy to the Shack, having had a rough pa.s.sage. The reason for this was that I fell on the lantern and extinguished the light.
We were supplied with two hurricane lamps which do not by any means deserve their t.i.tle as they blow out in even a moderately strong wind.
Sandell made a lantern for his own use, declaring that it was impossible for any wind to blow it out. I firmly believed him, as it was a little binnacle lamp placed inside a small oatmeal tin into which a cleaned photographic plate had been fixed and with holes punched in the bottom and top of the tin for ventilation. It was thus a lamp with two covers, and frequent demonstrations of its ability to survive heavy blows were made by the inventor.
During the next three days a forty-mile wind accompanied by snow, hail and sleet was experienced and the maximum temperature on the 25th did not reach freezing-point, the ground being firmly frozen and snow-covered. During the evening of the last-named date the wind s.h.i.+fted to north-west, and by noon on the 26th no snow remained, except on the hills.
In antic.i.p.ation of the 'Aurora's arrival, Blake and Hamilton collected some stores together in the hope that Captain Davis would transport them down to Lusitania Bay, thus obviating the necessity of carrying them down on foot. As Blake reckoned that he would remain there fully three months and Hamilton about two months, it was thought that such another opportunity might not present itself.
Through the courtesy of the naval officials, H.M.S. Drake sent us time-signals twice a week, and though we had so far heard no sound from Adelie Land, there was a possibility that they could receive messages from us. Sawyer therefore sent out time-signals as a matter of routine.
Hamilton made a trip to the west coast on the 28th and returned with thirteen wekas. Sawyer did not care for these birds, but each of the others could account for one at a meal. They seem to be better eating if plucked like a fowl and roasted, but the plucking takes too long and we generally skinned and boiled them. It is advisable to hang them for several days before cooking as it certainly makes them tender.