Page:A Voyage of Discovery and Research in the Southern and Antarctic Regions Vol 1.djvu/161

] stalk, and the spike of flowers, borne on a leafy stem, rises from below the head, and is often two feet high. The root tastes like horse-radish, and the young leaves or hearts resemble in flavor coarse mustard and cress. For one hundred and thirty days our crews required no fresh vegetable but this, which was for nine weeks regularly served out with the salt beef or pork, during which time there was no sickness on board.

"Two species of grass may also be mentioned, as affording a nutritious fodder for goats, sheep, and pigs."

Of land animals we saw none; and the only traces we could discover of there being any on this island were the singular footsteps of a pony or ass, found by the party detached for surveying purposes, under the command of Lieutenant Bird, and described by Dr. Robertson "as being three inches in length and two and a half in breadth, having a small and deeper depression on each side, and shaped like a horse shoe." It is by no means improbable that the animal has been cast on shore from some wrecked vessel. They traced its footsteps for some distance in the recently fallen snow, in hopes of getting sight of it, but lost the tracks on reaching a large space of rocky ground which was free from snow.

There is, however, abundance of food for cattle. The sheep we landed from our ships throve wonderfully on the grass, and soon got into good condition; they also became so very shy that we were