our moorings on board and went.  When the shore party next morning came down as usual at a swinging pace, they saw to their astonishment that the Fram was gone.  In the course of the day the weather became fine, and we tried to go back about noon; but the bay was so full of drift-ice that we could not come in to the fast ice-foot.  About nine in the evening we saw from the crow’s nest that the ice was loosening; we made the attempt, and by midnight we were again moored.

But the day was not wasted by the shore party, for on the day before Kristensen, L. Hansen and I had been out on ski and had shot forty seals, which were taken up to the station while we were away.

Only once or twice more did we have to leave our berth, until on February 7, when almost all the ice had left the bay, we were able to moor alongside the low, fast Barrier, where we lay in peace until we went for good.

There was a great deal of animal life about us.  A number of whales came close in to the vessel, where they stayed still to look at the uninvited guests.  On the ice seals came right up to the ship, as did large and small flocks of penguins, to have a look at us.  These latter were altogether extraordinarily inquisitive creatures.  Two Emperor penguins often came to our last moorings to watch us laying out an ice-anchor or hauling on a hawser, while they put their heads on one side and jabbered, and they were given the names of “the Harbour-master and his Missis.”

A great number of birds, skua gulls, snowy petrels and Antarctic petrels, flew round the ship and gave us many a good “roast ptarmigan.”

On the morning of February 4, about 1 a.m., the watchman, Beck, came and called me with the news that a vessel was coming in.  I guessed at once, of course, that it was the Terra Nova; but I must confess that I did not feel inclined to turn out and look at her.  We hoisted the colours, however.

As soon as she was moored, Beck told me, some of her party went ashore, presumably to look for the house.  They did not find it, though, and at 3 a.m.  Beck came below again, and said that now they were coming on board.  So then I turned out and received them.  They were Lieutenant Campbell, the leader of Captain Scott’s second shore party, and Lieutenant Pennell, the commander of the Terra Nova.  They naturally asked a number of questions, and evidently had some difficulty in believing that it was actually the Fram that was lying here.  We had at first been taken for a whaler.  They offered to take our mail to New Zealand; but we had no mail ready, and had to decline the offer with thanks.  Later in the day a number of the Terra Nova’s officers went to breakfast at Framheim, and the Chief, Prestrud and I lunched with them.  At about two in the afternoon the Terra Nova sailed again.

On Friday, February 16, a number of the shore party started on the first trip to lay down depots.  We cleared up, filled our water-tanks with snow, and made the ship ready for sea.  We had finished this by the evening of the 14th.