i 9 ii] HIGH WINDS 21 



explained above, but it completely failed to keep out either snow 

 drift or gravel dust when the wind began to blow in earnest 

 later on, for both drift and dust poured in through every crack 

 between the stones of the weather walls and lee walls without 

 shifting any of the more bulky packing at all. 



Monday, July 17, 1911. We continued with the hut and 

 spent the whole of available daylight and moonlight in getting 

 on with the walls, which were all but finished for placing the roof 

 and door. For this we want a calm if possible. 



We began work to-day in a light air, but it was blowing again 

 with force 3 from the S.W. from noon onwards, and the temp, all 

 day varied between 19-5 and 23-3. The sky was overcast. 

 [Birdie was very disappointed that we could not finish the whole 

 thing that day, but there was a lot to do yet, and we were tired 

 out. We turned out early the next day to try and get the roof 

 on, but it was blowing hard. (Tuesday, iSth.) When we got 

 to the top we did some digging, &c., but it was quite impossible 

 to try and get the roof on, and we had to leave it. We realised 

 this day that it blew much harder at the top of the slope than 

 where our tent was pitched. It was bitterly cold up there that 

 morning.] 



Over Ross Sea are now two open leads of water like broad 

 irregular streets extending from the Cape Crozier cliffs away to 

 the N.E. and lying more or less parallel to one another. 



Tuesday, July 18, 1911. No leads or open water were vis- 

 ible to-day over Ross Sea. The temp., - 26-5 to - 27-3, with 

 S.S.W. wind of force 4 to 5 all day, made work almost impossible 

 at the hut. We got everything ready for placing and fixing the 

 roof, but could n't do it in the wind. We left the work at noon 

 and turned in to spend a very cold night, a thing which we gen- 

 erally found was the consequence of not having done any hard 

 work or marching during the day. [During this time our bags 

 were getting worse and worse, but were still very possible, and 

 we always looked forward to the days of the * Stone Age ' when 

 the blubber stove should be going and we were to dry everything. 

 When we arrived we had begun our fifth out of six tins of oil, and 

 we were economising oil as much as possible, often only having 

 two hot meals a day. 



It was curious how the estimate of how much oil was neces- 

 sary to our return, diminished as our stock decreased: at first 



