19"] THE HUT 89 



pause to give It a more fitting title only from lack of the appro- 

 priate suggestion. What shall we call it? 



' The word " hut " is misleading. Our residence is really 

 a house of considerable size, in every respect the finest that has 

 ever been erected in the Polar regions; 50 ft. long by 25 wide 

 and 9 ft. to the eaves. 



' If you can picture our house nestling below this small hill 

 on a long stretch of black sand, with many tons of provision cases 

 ranged in neat blocks in front of it and the sea lapping the ice- 

 foot below, you will have some Idea of our immediate vicinity. 

 As for our wider surroundings it would be diiBcult to describe 

 their beauty in sufficiently glowing terms. Cape Evans is one 

 of the many spurs of Erebus and the one that stands closest 

 under the mountain, so that always towering above us we have 

 the grand snowy peak with its smoking summit. North and 

 south of us are deep bays, beyond which great glaciers come 

 rippling over the lower slopes to thrust high blue-walled snouts 

 Into the sea. The sea Is blue before us, dotted with shining 

 bergs or ice floes, whilst far over the Sound, yet so bold and 

 magnificent as to appear near, stand the beautiful Western 

 Mountains with their numerous lofty peaks, their deep glacial 

 valley and clear cut scarps, a vision of mountain scenery that can 

 have few rivals. 



' Ponting Is the most delighted of men; he declares this 

 Is the most beautiful spot he has ever seen and spends all day 

 and most of the night in what he calls " gathering It In " with 

 camera and cinematograph.' 



The wind has been boisterous all day, to advantage after 

 the last snow fall, as It has been drifting the loose snow along 

 and hardening the surfaces. The horses don't like it, naturally, 

 but it wouldn't do to pamper them so soon before our journey. I 

 think the hardening process must be good for animals though not 

 for men; nature replies to it in the former by growing a thick 

 coat with wonderful promptitude. It seems to me that the 

 shaggy coats of our ponies are already Improving. The dogs 

 seem to feel the cold little so far, but they are not so exposed. 



A milder situation might be found for the ponies if only 

 we could picket them of¥ the snow. 



Bowers has completed his southern storeroom and brought 

 the wing across the porch on the windward side, connecting the 



