 On 14 December , the party were more than 311 miles ( 501 km ) from the Cape Denison hut . As Mertz skied ahead , singing songs from his student days , Ninnis , the largest sledge and the strongest dog team were lost when they broke through the snow lid of a crevasse . Together with the death of their companion , Mawson and Mertz were now severely compromised ; on the remaining sledge they had just ten days ' worth of food , and no food for the dogs . They immediately turned back west , gradually using the six remaining dogs to supplement their food supply ; they ate all parts of the animals , including their livers . They initially made good progress , but as they cleared the largest glacier Mertz began to feel ill ; he had lost his waterproof <unk> on Ninnis ' sledge , and in the cold his wet clothes were unable to dry . On 30 December , a day Mawson recorded that the companion was " off colour " , Mertz wrote that he was " really tired [ and ] shall write no more . " Mertz 's condition deteriorated over the following days — Mawson recorded he was " generally in a very bad condition . Skin coming off legs , etc " — and his illness severely slowed their progress . On 8 January , the pair about 100 miles ( 160 km ) from the hut , Mawson recorded : 
