We pushed through some heavy floes and "at 6
A.M. (on January 4) we came through the last of the Strait pack some
three miles north of Cape Royds. We steered for the Cape, fully expecting
to find the edge of the pack-ice ranging westward from it. To our
astonishment we ran on past the Cape with clear water or thin sludge ice
on all sides of us. Past Cape Royds, past Cape Barne, past the glacier on
its south side, and finally round and past Inaccessible Island, a good
two miles south of Cape Royds. The Cape itself was cut off from the
south. We could have gone farther, but the last sludge ice seemed to be
increasing in thickness, and there was no wintering spot to aim for but
Cape Armitage.[90] I have never seen the ice of the Sound in such a
condition or the land so free from snow. Taking these facts in
conjunction with the exceptional warmth of the air, I came to the
conclusion that it had been an exceptionally warm summer. At this point
it was evident that we had a considerable choice of wintering spots. We
could have gone to either of the small islands, to the mainland, the
Glacier Tongue, or pretty well anywhere except Hut Point. My main wish
was to choose a place that would not be easily cut off from the Barrier,
and my eye fell on a cape which we used to call the Skuary, a little
behind us. It was separated from the old Discovery quarters by two deep
bays on either side of the Glacier Tongue, and I thought that these bays
would remain frozen until late in the season, and that when they froze
over again the ice would soon become firm.
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