146 THE VOYAGE OF THE 'DISCOVERY' [Sept 



been very distinct this year, and there is much that cannot be 

 explained and therefore gives rise to hot argument. Between 

 nine and ten in the morning a dark shaded Hne, incHned to 

 the right at an acute angle to the horizon, appears to the west- 

 ward of the Black Island; this line gradually rises to the 

 vertical to the east of Black Island, and then sinks to the left 

 with a diminishing angle. Just before noon its extremity rests 

 on the Bluff, when it is inclined well to the east, but sometimes 

 at about this time two other shadows spring up, one vertical 

 and the other inclined to the west; the whole phenomenon 

 then has the appearance of an inverted broad arrow. 



' It is very curious and interesting, and we have failed to 

 produce any sound explanation for it. It must in some way 

 be connected with Erebus, as it is on the opposite side of it to 

 the sun ; but what particular parts of the mountain mass trace 

 these confused shadowy lines we cannot guess. Some of us 

 have tried to drag in the western mountains as reflecting 

 agents, but I think this theory has little to support it. Mean- 

 while we have all been busy with candles and sheets of paper 

 trying to reproduce the various effects, but so far without much 

 success. 



' Beyond the region of our bay the snow which has fallen 

 during the winter is heaped into patches which are clearly 

 distinguishable from the old surface, on which can still be seen 

 in large numbers the pellets of the cartridges used in the skua 

 battues of last autumn. We have started our hockey matches 

 again, and had some excellent games, but the ground is in very 

 poor condition, with patches of soft snow where the ball gets 

 half buried.' 



' September 3. — After the return of the sun there are some 

 very pleasing signs of summer, for which we watch eagerly. 

 Amongst these are the first records of our solar instruments, 

 one of which, the radiation thermometer, gave its first indica- 

 tion on the 28th, when there was an extremely slight difference 

 between the black and silvered bulb thermometers. This 

 instrument faces the sun on Hut Point, and to-day it showed 

 a very marked difference between the two readings ; and at the 



