i9n] BACK AT CAPE EVANS 47 



indications there were of wind came from the land and showed 

 north-easterly winds off shore. Their direction, however, very 

 gradually altered till we were crossing them exactly at right 

 angles, indicating due easterly winds from the ridge. Later 

 still and farther on towards the Glacier Tongue and Cape Evans 

 the indications gradually turned to show south-easterly winds. 

 These are the winds which seem chiefly to affect the surface of 

 the strait ice during the winter, and as we got on towards the 

 Glacier Tongue the snow-covering became increasingly greater, 

 as well as the evidence of stronger easterly winds. Extensive 

 flatly rounded, hard-surfaced drifts became more abundant and 

 afforded excellent going, so that when we were about 6 miles 

 from Hut Point we were doing about 2 miles an hour. After 

 this, and especially during the 8th mile from Hut Point, we met 

 with a lot of hummocky cracks where the ice had been pressed 

 up into long ridges, and subsequently had been drifted up, form- 

 ing very difficult sastrugi and providing much trouble for a 

 sledge. We still had sufficient daylight, and after lunch, moon- 

 light, to negotiate these, though it was easy to see how much 

 trouble they might give one in the dark, as they did on our way 

 out. 



All the day we were watching the changes in some iridescent 

 clouds which hung low on the northern horizon. The edges were 

 brilliant with pale yellow sunlight, while inside this was a broad 

 band of orange yellow, and inside this again a narrow band of 

 grey surrounding a large and vivid patch of emerald green. 

 There was no trace of the violet and rose pink which charac- 

 terises the opalescent cirrus clouds one sees later on when the 

 sun is higher in the sky. 



On the actual horizon was a band of rich red with purple 

 streaks of cloud on it, giving it a very unusual magenta colour. 



After lunch we had good moonlight and a good windswept, 

 snow-covered surface and though there were more of these 

 pressure ridges abreast of Tent Island we had plenty of light 

 to negotiate them. 



We had had no wind to-day. The temp, had ranged from 

 27-3 at Hut Point to 31 off Glacier Tongue. 



Off Inaccessible Island at 9.30 P.M. we were met by a north- 

 erly breeze of force 3, which continued until our arrival at Cape 

 Evans. [I well remember when we got into the hut here, and 



