i9i2] MISHAP TO WATCH 369 



his share of camp work, and stands the hardship as well as 

 any of us. I would not like to be without him either. So our 

 five people are perhaps as happily selected as it is possible to 

 imagine. 



Tuesday, January 9. Camp 61. Record. Lat. 88 25'. 

 Height 10,270 ft. Bar. risen I think. T. -4 . Still blowing, 

 and drifting when we got to breakfast, but signs of taking off. 

 The wind had gradually shifted from south to E.S.E. After 

 lunch we were able to break camp in a bad light, but on a good 

 surface. We made a very steady afternoon march, covering 

 6 l / 2 miles (geo.). This should place us in Lat. 88 25', beyond 

 the record of Shackleton's walk. All is new ahead. The 

 barometer has risen since the blizzard, and it looks as though 

 we were on a level plateau, not to rise much further. 



Obs.: Long. I59i7'45" E.; Var. 179 55' W.; Min. 

 Temp. - 7-2. 



More curiously the temperature continued to rise after the 

 blow and now, at 4 , it seems quite warm. The sun has only 

 shown very indistinctly all the afternoon, although brighter now. 

 Clouds are still drifting over from the east. The marching is 

 growing terribly monotonous, but one cannot grumble as long 

 as the distance can be kept up. It can, I think, if we leave a 

 depot, but a very annoying thing has happened. Bowers' watch 

 has suddenly dropped 26 minutes; it may have stopped from 

 being frozen outside his pocket, or he may have inadvertently 

 touched the hands. Any way it makes one more chary of leaving 

 stores on this great plain, especially as the blizzard tended to 

 drift up our tracks. We could only just see the back track when 

 we started, but the light was extremely poor. 



Wednesday, January 10. Camp 62. T. n. Last depot 

 88 29' S. ; 1 59 33' E. ; Var. 180 . Terrible hard march in 

 the morning; only covered 5-1 miles (geo.). Decided to leave 

 depot at lunch camp. Built cairn and left one week's food to- 

 gether with sundry articles of clothing. We are down as close 

 as we can go in the latter. We go forward with eighteen days' 

 food. Yesterday I should have said certain to see us through, 

 but now the surface is beyond words, and if it continues we shall 

 have the greatest difficulty to keep our march long enough. The 

 surface is quite covered with sandy snow, and when the sun 

 shines it is terrible. During the early part of the afternoon 



VOL. I 24 



