i9l HARDSHIPS ON THE RETURN 209 



fog. The year was closing in and the time of the travelling day 

 was much decreased. Demetri thought that he saw the flag of 

 Corner Camp to the west and steered for it. Luckily the foot 

 hills cleared and they were able to avoid the ice pressure and 

 crevasses of White Island, for which they had been steering. 

 The total run for the day was about 1 1 miles. 



On March 14 they had a clear day and realised that they 

 were a good deal out of their reckoning. Getting under way 

 they thought they saw what was a cairn; making for it, they 

 found it was a great open crevasse or chasm with pressure on 

 the farther side miraged. They then made out south-east and 

 crossed several big crevasses. Soon- after this they saw the 

 motor one mile to the east, and. Corner Camp 2 miles beyond 

 that. They ran on past Corner Camp and eventually reached 

 the Biscuit Depot 15 miles from Hut Point. On this day Demetri 

 nearly fainted and declared that he was- completely done. Their 

 main anxiety now was whether the sea ice between the edge of 

 the Barrier and Hut Point still remained in. 



On March 15 they were held up all day at the Biscuit Depot 

 by a blizzard, Demetri's condition causing Cherry-Garrard great 

 alarm. 



On March 16, after a night of blizzard, they started at 8 A.M. 

 They reached Hut Point late in the afternoon, meeting there 

 Petty Officer Keohane and myself. Both, men were in- exceedingly 

 poor condition, Cherry-Garrard's state causing me serious alarm. 

 The dogs were frostbitten, and miserably thin, while in many 

 cases their harnesses were iced up. an-d frozen to them. They 

 were quite unfit for any further work that season. 



Cherry-Garrard under the circumstances and according to 

 his instructions was in my judgment quite right in everything 

 that he did. I am absolutely certain no other officer of the Expe- 

 dition could have done better. 



VOL. II 14 



