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not wish to
risk contact with a "growler," one of those treacherous fragments of ice
that float with surface awash. The ship was very steady in the quarterly
sea, but certainly did not look as neat and trim as she had done when
leaving the shores of England four months earlier. We had filled up
with coal at Grytviken, and this extra fuel was stored on deck, where it
impeded movement considerably. The carpenter had built a false deck,
extending from the poop-deck to the chart-room. We had also taken
aboard a ton of whale-meat for the dogs. The big chunks of meat were
hung up in the rigging, out of reach but not out of sight of the dogs, and
as the 'Endurance' rolled and pitched, they watched with wolfish eyes
for a windfall.
I was greatly pleased with the dogs, which were tethered about the ship
in the most comfortable positions we could find for them. They were in
excellent condition, and I felt that the Expedition had the right
tractive-power. They were big, sturdy animals, chosen for endurance
and strength, and if they were as keen to pull our sledges as they were
now to fight one another all would be well. The men in charge of the

dogs were doing their work enthusiastically, and the eagerness they
showed to study the natures and habits of their charges gave promise of
efficient handling and good work later on.
During December 6 the 'Endurance' made good progress on a south-
easterly course. The northerly breeze had freshened during the night
and had brought up a high following sea. The weather was hazy, and
we passed two bergs, several growlers, and numerous lumps of ice.
Staff and crew were settling down to the routine. Bird life was plentiful,
and we noticed Cape pigeons, whale-birds, terns, mollymauks, nellies,
sooty, and wandering albatrosses in the neighbourhood of the ship. The
course was laid for the passage between Sanders Island and Candlemas
Volcano. December 7 brought the first check. At six o'clock that
morning the sea, which had been green in colour all the previous day,
changed suddenly to a deep indigo. The ship was behaving well in a
rough sea, and some members of the scientific staff were transferring to
the bunkers the coal we had stowed on deck. Sanders Island and
Candlemas were sighted early in the afternoon, and the 'Endurance'
passed between them at 6 p.m. Worsley's observations indicated that
Sanders Island was, roughly, three miles east and five miles north of
the charted position. Large numbers of bergs, mostly tabular in form,
lay to the west of the islands, and we noticed that many of them were
yellow with diatoms. One berg had large patches of red-brown soil
down its sides. The presence of so many bergs was ominous, and
immediately after passing between the islands we encountered
stream-ice. All sail was taken in and we proceeded slowly under steam.
Two hours later, fifteen miles north-east of Sanders Island, the
'Endurance' was confronted by a belt of heavy pack-ice, half a mile
broad and extending north and south. There was clear water beyond,
but the heavy south- westerly swell made the pack impenetrable in our
neighbourhood. This was disconcerting. The noon latitude had been
57° 26´ S., and I had not expected to find pack-ice nearly so far north,
though the whalers had reported pack-ice right up to South Thule.
The situation became dangerous that night. We pushed into the pack in
the hope of reaching open water beyond, and found ourselves after dark
in a pool which was growing smaller and smaller. The ice was grinding

around the ship in the heavy swell, and I watched with some anxiety for
any indication of a change of wind to the east, since a breeze from that
quarter would have driven us towards the land. Worsley and I were on
deck all night, dodging the pack. At 3 a.m. we ran south, taking
advantage of some openings that had appeared, but met heavy rafted
pack- ice, evidently old; some of it had been subjected to severe
pressure. Then we steamed north-west and saw open water to the
north-east. I put the 'Endurance's' head for the opening, and, steaming
at full speed, we got clear. Then we went east in the hope of getting
better ice, and five hours later, after some dodging, we rounded the
pack and were able to set sail once more. This initial tussle with the
pack had been exciting at times. Pieces of ice and bergs of all sizes
were heaving and jostling against each other in the heavy
south-westerly swell. In spite of all our care the 'Endurance' struck
large lumps stem on, but the engines were stopped in time and no harm
was done. The