38 SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION [December 



and again in this manner as long as these great floes exist. In 

 a fortnight's time the floes will have crumbled somewhat, and 

 in many places the ship will be able to penetrate them. 



What to do under these circumstances calls for the most 

 diflicult decision. 



If one lets fires out it means a dead loss of over 2 tons, when 

 the boiler has to be heated again. But this 2 tons would only 

 cover a day under banked fires, so that for anything longer than 

 twenty-four hours it is economy to put the fires out. At each 

 stoppage one is called upon to decide whether it is to be for 

 more or less than twenty-four hours. 



Last night we got some five or six hours of good going ahead 

 — but it has to be remembered that this costs 2 tons of coal in 

 addition to that expended in doing the distance. 



If one waits one probably drifts north — in all other respects 

 conditions ought to be improving, except that the southern edge 

 of the pack will be steadly augmenting. 



Rough Summary of Current in Pack 



4 to 6 



The above seems to show that the drift is generally with the 

 wind. We have had a predominance of westerly winds in a 

 region where a predominance of easterly might be expected. 



Now that we have an easterly, what will be the result? 



Sunday, December 25, Christmas Day. — Dead reckoning 

 69° 5' S., 178° 30' E. The night before last I had bright 

 hopes that this Christmas Day would see us in open water. 

 The scene is altogether too Christmassy. Ice surrounds us, low 

 nimbus clouds intermittently discharging light snow flakes ob- 

 scure the sky, here and there small pools of open water throw 

 shafts of black shadow on to the cloud — this black predominates 



