Boots had long since given out, and they had to guard against ruining their finneskoe or it would have been good-bye to any sledging round to Cape Evans when the sea did freeze.  Seal blubber was utilised for cooking, and whenever seals were killed the chunks of this greasy stuff had to be carried to the igloo on the men’s backs—­this meant that their clothes soon smelt very badly, which circumstance added to the misery of their living conditions.

On May 6 Campbell’s party sustained a severe disappointment, for they saw what appeared to be four men coming towards them.  Immediately they jumped to the conclusion that the ship had been frozen in and that this was a search party.  The four figures turned out to be Emperor penguins, and although disappointing in one way they served to replenish the larder, and so had their use.

Here are three specimen diary pages extracted from Campbell’s journey: 

April 9.—­Warmer to-day.  We saw a small seal on a floe but were unable to reach him.  The bay remains open still.  On the still days a thin film of ice forms, but blows out as soon as the wind comes up.  In these early days, before we had perfected our cooking and messing arrangements, a great part of our day was taken up with cooking and preparing the food, but later on we got used to the ways of a blubber stove, and things went more smoothly.  We had landed all our spare paraffin from the ship, and this gave us enough oil to use the primus for breakfast, provided we melted the ice over the blubber fire the day before.  The blubber stove was made of an old oil tin cut down.  In this we put some old seal bones taken from the carcasses we found on the beach.

“A piece of blubber skewered on to a marline-spike and held over the flame dripped oil on the bones and fed the fire.  In this way we could cook hoosh nearly as quickly as we could on the primus.  Of course the stove took several weeks of experimenting before it reached this satisfactory state.  With certain winds we were nearly choked with a black, oily smoke that hurt our eyes and brought on much the same symptoms as accompany snow-blindness.

“We take it in turns to be cook and messman, working in pairs:  Abbott and I, Levick and Browning, Priestley and Dickason, and thus each has one day on in three.  The duties of the cooks are to turn out at 7 and cook and serve out the breakfast, the others remaining in their bags for the meal.  Then we all have a siesta till 10.30, when we turn out for the day’s work:  The cook starts the blubber stove and melts blubber for the lamps.  The mess-man takes an ice-axe and chips frozen seal meat in the passage by the light of a blubber lamp.  A cold job this and trying to the temper, as scraps of meat fly in all directions and have to be care-fully collected afterwards.  The remainder carry up the meat and blubber, or look for seals.  By 5 p.m. all except the cooks are in their bags, and we have supper.  After supper the cooks melt ice for the morning, prepare breakfast, and clear up.”