9u] CURIOUS FEATURES OF BLIZZARD 313 



collection of cloud about Cape Crozier and Mount Terror, and 

 a black line of stratus low on the western slopes of Erebus. 

 With us the sun was shining and it was particularly warm and 

 pleasant. Shortly after we started mist formed about us, waxing 

 and waning in density; a slight southerly breeze sprang up, 

 cumulo-stratus cloud formed overhead with a rather windy 

 appearance (radial E. and W.). 



At the first halt (5 miles S.) Atkinson called my attention 

 to a curious phenomenon. Across the face of the low sun the 

 strata of mist could be seen rising rapidly, lines of shadow ap- 

 pearing to be travelling upwards against the light. Presumably 

 this was sun-warmed air. The accumulation of this gradually 

 overspread the sky with a layer of stratus, which, however, never 

 seemed to be very dense; the position of the sun could always 

 be seen. Two or three hours later the wind steadily increased 

 in force, with the usual gusty characteristic. A noticeable fact 

 was that the sky was clear and blue above the southern horizon, 

 and the clouds seemed to be closing down on this from time to 

 time. At intervals since, it has lifted, showing quite an expanse 

 of clear sky. The general appearance is that the disturbance 

 is created by conditions about us, and is rather spreading from 

 north to south than coming up with the wind, and this seems 

 rather typical. On the other hand, this is not a bad snow bliz- 

 zard; although the wind holds, the land, obscured last night, is 

 now quite clear and the Bluff has no mantle. 



[Added in another hand, probably dictated : 



Before we felt any air moving, during our a.m. march and 

 the greater part of the previous march, there was dark cloud 

 over Ross Sea off the Barrier, which continued over the Eastern 

 Barrier to the S.E. as a heavy stratus, with here and there an 

 appearance of wind. At the same time, due south of us, dark 

 lines of stratus were appearing, miraged on the horizon, and 

 while we were camping after our A.M. march, these were ob- 

 scured by banks of white fog (or drift?), and the wind in- 

 creasing the whole time. My general impression was that the 

 storm came up from the south, but swept round over the eastern 

 part of the Barrier before it became general and included the 

 western part where we were.] 



Tuesday, November 7. Camp 4. The blizzard has con- 

 tinued throughout last night and up to this time of writing, late 



