236 SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION [NOVEMBER 



of from two to four miles apart. The day, which was cloudy, 

 cleared towards morning, and was much colder. During this 

 time we were marching in temperature which ranged from minus 

 20 to the lowest of minus 29. In the day-time, when the sun had 

 reached its full height, the temperature would rise almost to 

 zero. 



On the night of the yth and morning of the 8th of Novem- 

 ber we made the old Bluff Depot in 79 South and re-built it, 

 placing a new flag of black bunting on the pole. Here we left 

 two boxes of dog biscuit for the dogs returning on their journey 

 back from the south. The surface again continued good, and 

 never in any previous experience had it been so hard and good 

 as far south as this. 



On the night of the 8th and 9th we continued over this same 

 good surface, before a slight north-easterly wind and a cold day. 

 The dogs had now again begun to fail. They seemed to lack en- 

 thusiasm and spirit; I believe that in their case they had had too 

 much work upon the Barrier and were spiritless and easily de- 

 pressed by the lack of anything to see. In the previous year we 

 had had certain ' cuts ' of land for the Bluff Depot and Corner 

 Camp. It was quite easy to see from these that both camps had 

 changed their positions owing to the gradual movement of the 

 Barrier, year by year. Approximately, and judging very roughly, 

 the movement in either case had been about half a mile for the 

 year. 



On the night of the 9th and loth we came again to a curious 

 phenomenon of the Barrier surface. As the mules proceeded 

 ahead of us loud crackling roars could be heard from time to 

 time. These were caused by a subsidence of the surface over a 

 large area, as an animal or man trod upon it. The depth of the 

 subsidence was only a fraction of an inch, but the resulting report 

 was exceedingly loud and startling, if unexpected. The mules 

 soon settled down to the roars and became accustomed to them, 

 but it was always a source of great interest to the dogs. As soon 

 as one of these subsidences with its roar came to them they 

 started off at full gallop, expecting at any moment some animal 

 to appear. They had been accustomed in Siberia to dig out 

 animals lying up snowed in. These subsidences were a great 

 help and kept the dogs interested, and they ran very well. 



On the night of the loth and morning of the nth we made 



