Terror near Crozier the party climbed over great pressure ridges and up a
steep slope to a position between the end of a moraine terrace and the
conspicuous hillock known as The Knoll. In the gap here the last camp was
made in a windswept snow hollow, a stone hut was constructed behind a
land ridge above this hollow, the party using a quantity of loose rocks
and hard snow to build with. Cherry-Garrard did most of the building,
while the others provided the material, for, in his methodical way,
Cherry had built a model hut before leaving Cape Evans. The hut was 800
ft. above sea-level, roofed with canvas, with one of the sledges as a
rafter to support the canvas roof.

On the 19th July the party descended by the snow slopes to the Emperor
penguin rookery. They had great trouble in making this descent, on
account of crevasses in the ice slopes which overhung the level way under
the rock cliffs. As a matter of fact, the attempt on the 19th proved
abortive, although the little band got close to the rookery. They reached
it successfully on the 20th when the light was almost failing, and were
mortified to find only about one hundred Emperor penguins in place of the
two or three thousand birds which the rookery had been found to contain
in the "Discovery" days. Possibly the early date accounted for the
absence of Emperors; however, half a dozen eggs were collected, and three
of these found their way home to England. Wilson picked up rounded pieces
of ice at the rookery which the stupid Emperors had been cherishing,
fondly imagining they were eggs; evidently the maternal instinct of the
Emperor penguin is very strong.

The party killed and skinned three birds and then returned to the shelter
of the stone hut, not without difficulty, it is true. It is worthy of
note that the three birds killed by the party were very thickly
blubbered, and the oil obtained from them burned well.