19"] WINTER TEMPERATURE 321 



seems to be thinning as the sun gains power. There is a very 

 thin light fall of snow crystals, but the surface deposit seems to 

 be abating the evaporation for the moment, outpacing the light 

 snowfall. The crystals barely exist a moment when they light 

 on our equipment, so that everything on and about the sledges 

 is drying rapidly. When the sky was clear above the horizon 

 we got a good view of the distant land all around to the west; 

 white patches of mountains to the W.S.W. must be 120 miles 

 distant. During the night we saw Discovery and the Royal 

 Society Range, the first view for many days, but we have not 

 seen Erebus for a week, and in that direction the clouds seem 

 ever to concentrate. It is very interesting to watch the weather 

 phenomena of the Barrier, but one prefers the sunshine to days 

 such as this, when everything is blankly white and a sense of 

 oppression is inevitable. 



The temperature fell to - 15 last night, with a clear sky; 

 it rose to o directly the sky covered and is now just + 16 to 

 -f- 20 . Most of us are using goggles with glass of light green 

 tint. We find this colour very grateful to the eyes, and as a rule 

 it is possible to see everything through them even more clearly 

 than with naked vision. 



The hard sastrugi are now all from the W.S.W. and our 

 cairns are drifted up by winds from that direction; mostly, 

 though, there has evidently been a range of snow-bearing winds 

 round to south. This observation holds from Corner Camp 

 to this camp, showing that apparently all along the coast the 

 wind comes from the land. The minimum thermometer left here 

 shows 73 , rather less than expected; it has been excellently 

 exposed and evidently not at all drifted up with snow at any 

 time. I cannot find the oats I scattered here rather fear the 

 drift has covered them, but other evidences show that the snow 

 deposit has been very small. 



Thursday, November 16. Camp 12. Resting. A stiff little 

 southerly breeze all day, dropping towards evening. The tem- 

 perature 1 5 . Ponies pretty comfortable in rugs and behind 

 good walls. We have reorganised the loads, taking on about 

 580 lbs. with the stronger ponies, 400 odd with the others. 



Friday, November 17. Camp 13. Atkinson started about 

 8.30. We came on about 11, the whole of the remainder. The 

 lunch camp was 7^ miles. Atkinson left as we came in. He 



vol. 1 21 



