IN WINTER QUARTERS WITH CAPTAIN SCOTT 217 



There was a fine moon, so that it was quite light at 

 8.15 a.m. We crossed several cracks, and 1 tested the ice 

 with an axe. A moderate wind was blowing from the north — 

 always a safe direction, for the blizzards invariably came from 

 the south. The surface had improved greatly in the last few 

 days, and the ponies had no difficulty in pulling along at 

 about four miles an hour. 



Erebus was clouded, but occasionally we could see a red 

 glow when the mists dispersed. Rarely was there so much 

 sign of heat visible, though the steam banner often spread out 

 a hundred miles. 



Opposite Turk's Head (six miles south) the wind changed 



/; '.l/nacc « ss/A/e 

 V /x/ e 



:\~ 7 &n/' /s/e 



Changes in wind direction, March 17, 191 1. 



to a west breeze and then lulled, but a little further, near 

 Glacier Tongue, there was quite a strong southerly, and 

 we could see the drift sweeping over the promontory above 

 Hutton Cliffs. 



Here Scott sent the ponies back in our charge. The 

 others marched on, and had a cold, rough time reaching the 

 Discovery Hut. Their difficulties in climbing the ice rampart 

 at Hutton Cliffs in the teeth of a smart blizzard is well shown 

 in one of Dr. Bill's sketches in the South Polar Times. 



A small villa had been erected in our absence, to carry the 

 magnetometers. This was built of asbestos or similar material, 



