Friday 27th October 1911, The Motors Surprise Us And Of Weddell Seal Pups
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A fine day—and we all started off after an early breakfast to see the two motors with their loads on to the Barrier, 6 miles from Hut Point, before we left them again to their own resources for success or failure.
Lashly’s car did the distance with only two stoppages—the surface was good hard snow—but he was then so overheated in his engines that he had to stop, and then Day, who had come with more stoppages for cooling on the way, also came up and passed him and ran easily up the snow slope on to the Barrier on his top gear and we bade him goodbye as he went off.
Lashly, having cooled down, then followed him up and they were soon together again. We left them then and went back to Hut Point. Then we lunched there, packed up our sledges and started off for Cape Evans again.
We camped once for tea on the way at the Great Razorback Island and got home by about 10 p.m. that night having done 27 miles since breakfast 15 with a sledge load.
At the Great Razorback we were in the midst of a nursery of young Weddell Seals, all born within the last 4 or 5 days, and some only a day or so. They are jolly little woolly haired yellowish animals with great big black eyes.
The old mothers took no notice of us, except one which lolloped in a great hurry after our sledge and viciously bit the end of it. I found one baby seal had got frozen into the ice—it was quite alive but lying in a pool of thaw water, so I freed it and put it back with its mother who continued to snooze a yard or two off and showed not the slightest interest.
When I got back to the hut I found I had got a touch of snow glare, as I had marched without goggles, and I spent a lively night in consequence. Got to sleep about 4 a.m. and was all right again at breakfast.
After Tuesday next, when we start for the south, I shall be in goggles for about 4 months on end—this bout has warned me just in time. The loss of these two days just when we wanted them most of all for letter writing and final arrangements has been rather a trial.
A host of things have had to be left to the last moment and now it becomes a rush to get them done in time. However, this diary must supply my news and everyone must forgive me for not writing letters.
