J 9 4 SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION 



continued much farther on the sea ice. Small bergs looking just 

 like white yachts dotted the open water, which seemed to extend 

 south to Castle Rock. There was no sign of the Terra Nova. 

 We began to think she had come to grief, for Pennell knew we 

 were free to move off on February i. 



After supper Debenham got out his plane table and contin- 

 ued his survey. He was at first much puzzled by the position 

 of his station on the stranded Glacier Tongue to the south-east. 

 He realised soon, however, that it had twisted round, and was 

 even now preparing to continue its journey to the Nirvana of 

 warm northern waters. 



We had been blessed with sunshine the last few days. I do 

 not believe we should have managed to dodge the crevasses other- 

 wise, for in dull weather you cannot tell any difference between 

 a ten-foot hollow or a ten-foot hummock when it is only a yard 

 or two away. However, as a result of the sunshine, Forde had 

 a bad touch of snow-blindness. Debenham got out the medical 

 chest. He ground up some ZnSO 4 , picked it up on a paint-brush, 

 and dropped it in the corner of Forde's eye. Later in the night 

 I gave Forde another dose, for the pain is pretty considerable. 



The next day my right eye was sore and watering in spite 

 of the amber glasses, and I feared I was to become a patient also. 

 We plugged along over an absolutely level snow plain, where 

 Debenham, without warning, dropped into a crevasse over which 

 I had crossed without puncturing the lid. 



In the afternoon my eyes gave out, and I put bandages on 

 the right eye, and gave up the lead to' Debenham. It was an as- 

 tonishing relief to cease from staring at the glaring surface, and 

 either pull along with shut eyes or keep one eye on the gratefully 

 dirty back of Debenham's white woolen jacket! 



Debenham led us safely past three huge crevasses, and we 

 halted for a spell among a cluster of smaller ones. That even- 

 ing we climbed up the snow hill behind Gneiss Point about 1350 

 feet above the sea, and as we had now passed the third valley 

 glacier, I felt we had finished with the crevasses for the time 

 being. We camped on hard snow, and Debenham treated me 

 for snow-blindness. The zinc sulphate may truthfully be de- 

 scribed as an ' eye-opener,' but later the cocaine in the mixture 

 calms things down ! You are advised ' to keep your face cool,' 

 but unfortunately I had to keep my head in the bag to get warm. 



