1911] HIGH WINDS 21 
explained above, but it completely failed to keep out either snow 
drift or gravel dust when the wind began to blow in earnest 
later on, for both drift and dust poured in through every crack 
between the stones of the weather walls and lee walls without 
shifting any of the more bulky packing at all. 
Monday, July 17, 1911.—We continued with the hut and 
spent the whole of available daylight and moonlight in getting 
on with the walls, which were all but finished for placing the roof 
and door. For this we want a calm if possible. 
We began work to-day in a light air, but it was blowing again 
with force 3 from the S.W. from noon onwards, and the temp. all 
day varied between — 19°5° and — 233°. The sky was overcast. 
[ Birdie was very disappointed that we could not finish the whole 
thing that day, but there was a lot to do yet, and we were tired 
out. We turned out early the next day to try and get the roof 
on, but it was blowing hard. (Tuesday, 18th.) When we got 
to the top we did some digging, &c., but it was quite impossible 
to try and get the roof on, and we had to leave it. We realised 
this day that it blew much harder at the top of the slope than 
where our tent was pitched. It. was bitterly cold up there that 
morning. | 
Over Ross Sea are now two open leads of water like broad 
irregular streets extending from the Cape Crozier clifis away to 
the N.E. and lying more or less parallel to one another. 
Tuesday, July 18, 1911.—No leads or open water were vis- 
ible to-day over Ross Sea. The temp., — 26-5° to — 27-3°, with 
S.S.W. wind of force 4 to 5 all day, made work almost impossible 
at the hut. We got everything ready for placing and fixing the 
roof, but could n’t do it in the wind. We left the work at noon 
and turned in to spend a very cold night, a thing which we gen- 
erally found was the consequence of not having done any hard 
work or marching during the day. [During this time our bags 
were getting worse and worse, but were still very possible, and 
we always looked forward to the days of the ‘Stone Age’ when 
the blubber stove should be going and we were to dry everything. 
When we arrived we had begun our fifth out of six tins of oil, and 
We were economising oil as much as possible, often only having 
two hot meals a day. 
It was curious how the estimate of how much oil was neces- 
sary to our return, diminished as our stock decreased: at first 
