1876 BOAT ABANDONED. 363 



floes and through hummocks that appear interminable. 

 Snow very deep ; prospect anything but cheering, as 

 nothing but hummocks can be seen. At 8 p.m. the 

 weather clearing slightly we succeeded in extricating 

 ourselves from the hummocks, and crossing a large 

 heavy floe got on to a stream of young ice that afforded 

 us good travelling for a short distance. The more we 

 recede from the land, the more young ice do we appear 

 to meet, yet not to such an extent as to be able to 

 derive much advantage from its presence. Distance 

 marched eight miles ; made good one and-a-half . 

 Temperature minus 14°. 



' 21 st. — A thick cloudy day, with a cold, piercing 

 breeze from the northward. During the early part of 

 the day our road lay over young ice, on which were 

 some deep snow-drifts, and occasionally ridges of small 

 hummocks ; but after marching for about a mile our 

 good ice terminated, and again our troubles com- 

 menced, or rather continued. Compelled to deviate 

 to the eastward of our course in order to avoid a mass 

 of heavy hummocks, through which it would take days 

 to cut. Eoad-makers busily employed. After lunch 

 we were forced to put Shirley on the sledge again in 

 order to prevent him getting frost-bitten, as he was 

 unable to move fast enough to keep himself warm. 

 Although the temperature is only 17° below zero, the 

 wind is so keen and cutting that the cold feels more 

 intense to-day than on any day since we left the ship. 

 It almost cuts one in two. In consequence we halted 

 an hour earlier than we otherwise would have done. 

 Numerous superficial frost-bites among the party. 



