24 THE VOYAGE OF THE * DISCOVERY' [Nov. 



able to see something more of the bold black headland for 

 which we are making.' 



^November 24. — . . . To-day we started a new routine, 

 which eases us and gives a chance for odd jobs to be done. 

 After pushing on the first half-load one of us stops with it, gets 

 up the tent, and prepares for lunch or supper, as the case may 

 be, whilst the other two bring up the second half-load. 



' The land which appeared to be rising so quickly yesterday 

 was evidently thrown up by mirage ; I fear it is farther off than 

 we thought.' 



^November 25. — Before starting to-day I took a meridian 

 altitude, and to my delight found the latitude to be 80° 1'. All 

 our charts of the Antarctic Regions show a plain white circle 

 beyond the eightieth parallel; the most imaginative carto- 

 grapher has not dared to cross this Umit, and even the 

 meridional lines end at the circle. It has always been our 

 ambition to get inside that white space, and now we are there 

 the space can no longer be a blank ; this compensates for a lot 

 of trouble.' 



^ Nove7nber 26. — Last night we had almost decided to give 

 our poor team a day's rest, and to-day there is a blizzard which 

 has made it necessary. We had warning in the heavy stratus 

 clouds that came over fast from the south yesterday, and still 

 more in Wilson's rheumatism ; this comes on with the greatest 

 regularity before every snowstorm, and he suffers considerably. 

 Up to the present it has been in his knee, but last night it 

 appeared in his foot, and though he ought to have known its 

 significance, he attributed it to the heavy walking. To-day it 

 has passed away with the breaking of the storm, and there can 

 be no longer a doubt that it is due to change of weather, and 

 that he, poor chap, serves as a very effective though unwilling 

 barometer.' 



'November 27. — To-day it is beautifully bright, clear, and 

 warm, the temperature up to + 20° ; but, alas ! this morning 

 we found that the dogs seemed to have derived no benefit 

 from their rest. They were all snugly curled up beneath the 

 snow when we went out, but in spite of their long rest we had 



