The Home of the Blizzard: Being the Story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914Mawson, Douglas, Sir
History
The Home of the Blizzard: Being the Story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914
Mawson, Douglas, Sir
Antarctica -- Discovery and exploration; Australasian Antarctic Expedition (1911-1914)
Considering the heavy weights handled and the speed at which the work
was done, we were fortunate in suffering only one breakage, and that
might have been more serious than it proved. The mishap in question
occurred to the generator. In order to lighten the load, the rotor had
been taken out. When almost at the summit of the hill, the ascending
weight, causing the carrying-wires to sag unusually low, struck a rock,
unhitched the lashing and fell, striking the steep rubble slope, to
go bounding in great leaps out amongst the grass to the flat below.
Marvellous to relate, it was found to have suffered no damage other than
a double fracture of the end-plate casting, which could be repaired. And
so it was decided to exchange the generators in the two equipments, as
there would be greater facilities for engineering work at the Main Base,
Adelie Land. Fortunately, the other generator was almost at the top of
the ship's hold, and therefore accessible. The three pieces into which
the casting had been broken were found to be sprung, and would not
fit together. However, after our arrival at Adelie Land, Hannam
found, curiously enough, that the pieces fitted into place
perfectly--apparently an effect of contraction due to the cold--and with
the aid of a few plates and belts the generator was made as serviceable
as ever.
In the meantime, Hurley, Harrisson, and the sealer, Hutchinson, had
returned from their trip to Caroline Cove, after a most interesting
though arduous journey. They had camped the first evening at The
Nuggets, a rocky point on the east coast some four miles to the south of
North-East Bay. From The Nuggets, the trail struck inland up the
steep hillsides until the summit of the island was reached; then over
pebble-strewn, undulating ground with occasional small lakes, arriving
at the west coast near its southern extremity. Owing to rain and fog
they overshot the mark and had to spend the night close to a bay at the
south-end. There Hurley obtained some good photographs of sea elephants
and of the penguin rookeries.
The next morning, December 15, they set off again, this time finding
Caroline Cove without further difficulty. Harrisson remained on the brow
of the hill overlooking the cove, and there captured some prions and
their eggs. Hurley and his companion found the lost lens and returned to
Harrisson securing a fine albatross on the way. This solitary bird
was descried sitting on the hill side, several hundreds of feet above
sea-level. Its plumage was in such good condition that they could not
resist the impulse to secure it for our collection, for the moment not
considering the enormous weight to be carried. They had neither firearms
nor an Ancient Mariner's cross-bow, and no stones were to be had in the
vicinity--when the resourceful Hurley suddenly bethought himself of a
small tin of meat in his haversack, and, with a fortunate throw, hit the
bird on the head, killing the majestic creature on the spot.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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