i 9 i i] LIGHTING UP 51 



the primus into our bags to thaw them out, but it was not very 

 successful. Cooking coming back was a much longer process, 

 since we had to hold the cooker up, having lost its proper stand 

 and the top of the outer cooker though Birdie's substitute was 

 very good. 



After breakfast we would be pretty warm, and having loaded 

 the sledge the next job was to get a bearing on to some star or 

 the moon if anything was visible. This meant lighting matches, 

 always a big business. To light the candle in the tent we used 

 sometimes to have to try three or even four boxes before one 

 would light. Steering was very haphazard generally. 



Then into our harness and then four hours' march or 

 relaying, if possible. The possibility depended on whether our 

 feet got too cold, but the difficulty was to know when they were 

 frostbitten. 



Relaying was at first by naked candle later by hurricane 

 lamp following back our tracks in the snow for the second 

 sledge. We never could decide which was the heavier. We 

 camped for lunch if possible before we got too cold, since this 

 was always a cold job. 



We cooked alternately day by day. The worst part was 

 lighting up. The weekly bag was very cold to handle. Gener- 

 ally (often) we had to take off our finnesko or one of them to 

 examine our feet and nurse them back if they were gone. 



Then four hours' march more if possible. 



Footgear on as soon as possible on camping. Our night 

 footgear was very good. 



It is also difficult already, after two nights' rest, with a 

 dozen men all round anticipating your every wish, and with the 

 new comfortable life of the hut all round you, to realise com- 

 pletely how bad the last few weeks have been, how at times one 

 hardly cared whether we got through or not, so long as (I speak 

 for myself) if I was to go under it would not take very long. 

 Although our weights are not very different, I am only i Ib. and 

 Bill and Birdie 3^2 Ibs. lighter than when we started. We were 

 very done when we got in, falling asleep on the march, and un- 

 able to get into our finnesko or eat our meals without falling 

 asleep. Although we were doing good marches up to the end, 

 we were pulling slow and weak, and the cold was getting at us 

 in a way in which it had never touched us before. Our fingers 



