42 SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION [JULY 



facing a gentle breeze, which as usual was flowing down the slope. 

 The Bastion Crater was on our right with the Conical Hill sur- 

 mounting it, a landmark visible from Observation Hill. 



We went on and on up this slope until at last we found our- 

 selves in a calm on the divide with a magnificent view of the West- 

 ern Range, Mt. Discovery and the Hut Point Peninsula and all 

 the other familiar landmarks showing very clearly in the dim 

 daylight. [I cannot describe what a relief the light was to us.] 

 We then knew we were over Terror Point and almost out of the 

 blizzard area. The surface all up this slope was good going, 

 hard but smooth, hardened however by variable winds of no 

 great force, with but few areas of the softer sandy drifts which 

 are the heavy ones to drag over. 



Across the divide we went downhill with the air-stream on 

 our backs, and very soon we were once more on the old softer 

 crusty surface of the Barrier itself, with trifling sastrugi and 

 heavier pulling, a surface into which the sledge runners and the 

 feet sank a couple of inches. Subsidences again began and soon 

 became frequent. Bright fine weather, and Terror peak visible 

 all day, as well as Erebus from the time when we first caught 

 sight of it over Terror slope. One of the features of Erebus 

 during the whole of this march was the outstanding old Northern 

 Crater, which stood out boldly against the skyline part of the 

 way down the slope. We lost it, however, at the end of to-day's 

 march. 



Bowers turned his bag again to-day from fur outside to fur 

 inside, and so it remained till we reached Cape Evans. 



The temperature ranged from 47-2 in the morning to 

 38 in the evening. At our lunch camp it was 40-3. We 

 made 6% miles in the day. 



We were now travelling with a view to getting in all the day- 

 light we could and at the same time with a view to reducing our 

 nights to the shortest possible, for we got but little sleep and 

 were often uncomfortably cold all night. We therefore turned 

 out generally at 5.30 A.M., lunched at 2.30 P.M., and camped at 

 6 P.M., to turn in between 9 P.M. and 10 P.M. 



[Though our sledge, which we called the Pantechnicon, was 

 a mountain, and of a considerable weight, we started to do good 

 marches. We dare not roll up our bags since the blizzard in case 

 they should break. For two nights I got a fair sleep in the new 



