The ridge we were standing on was not broad —­ about two hundred yards, I think —­ and in many places it was swept quite bare by the wind, showing the blue ice itself.  We passed over it and made for the pass of Thermopylae, which extended in a southerly direction from the ridge and after a very slight descent was merged in a great plain, surrounded by elevations on all sides —­ a basin, in fact.  The bare ridge we passed over to descend into the basin was a good deal broken up; but the fissures were narrow, and almost entirely filled up again with drift, so that they were not dangerous.  The basin gave us the impression of being sheltered and cosy, and, above all, it looked safe and secure.  This stretch of ice was —­ with the exception of a few quite small hummocks of the shape of haycocks —­ perfectly flat and free from crevasses.

We crossed it, and went up on the ridge that rose very gently on the south.  From the top of this all was flat and even as far as we could see; but that was not saying much.  For a little while we continued along the ridge in an easterly direction without finding any place that was specially suited for our purpose.  Our thoughts returned to the basin as the best sheltered place we had seen.

From the height we were now on, we could look down into the south-eastern part of the Bay of Whales.  In contrast to that part of the ice-foot to which we had made fast, the inner bay seemed to consist of ice that had been forced up by pressure.  But we had to leave a closer examination of this part till later.  We all liked the basin, and agreed to choose it as our future abode, And so we turned and went back again.  It did not take long to reach the plain in our own tracks.

On making a thorough examination of the surface and discussing the various possibilities, we came to the conclusion that a site for the hut was to be looked for on the little elevation that rose to the east.  It seemed that we should be more snug there than anywhere else, and we were not mistaken.  We soon made up our minds that we had chosen the best place the Barrier had to offer.  On the spot where the hut was to stand we set up another ski-pole, and then went home.

The good news that we had already found a favourable place for the hut naturally caused great satisfaction on all sides.  Everyone had been silently dreading the long and troublesome transport over the Ice Barrier.

There was teeming life on the ice.  Wherever we turned we saw great herds of seals —­ Weddells and crab-eaters.  The great sea-leopard, which we had seen occasionally on the floes, was not to be found here.  During our whole stay in the Bay of Whales we did not see a single specimen of it.  Nor did we ever see the Ross seal.  Penguins had not shown themselves particularly often, only a few here and there; but we appreciated them all the more.  The few we saw were almost all Adelie penguins.  While we were at work making the ship fast, a flock