IN WINTER QUARTERS WITH CAPTAIN SCOTT 295 



I have finished making the slides for my next lecture ; I have 

 read M. Beaucaire, had two slices of toast, gone on the roof 

 and cleaned out the blizzometer tubes, and washed my feet. 

 The sooner 3.30 arrives (and Nelson with it) the better ! 



" In two months we shall be away on the veldt again. I 

 have lots of prints to make, and must continue my German 

 and physiography ; but I have done about as much as I 

 intended, and found the winter a very pleasant and busy 

 time. It is wonderful how exhilarating a fine day is, though 

 the last few days have been the limit." 



Next day it was still blizzing, with the temperature up to 

 + 1 1° ! The drift was lower, and Nelson managed to get out 

 to his igloo on the sea ice. 



Captain Scott asked Debenham and myself to map Cape 

 Evans in considerable detail ; while Lieutenant Evans carried 

 out the coast survey and Wright obtained heights and ice- 

 cliff data. As a result Debenham and I were out with our 

 plane tables fairly continuously in the next few weeks and got 

 to know almost every rock upon our little promontory. 



Wright and I climbed the Ramp in our anxiety to see if 

 the sun was still alive ! but without avail. The clouds on 

 Erebus were worthy of note. During the day huge billows 

 collected to the south below the summit, and at 7 p.m. these 

 disappeared, and the steam cloud (which had hardly showed 

 before) shot up several thousand feet and then spread out as a 

 banner to the north. This latter direction was unusual, as the 

 upper air currents usually went due south. 



On our return we found that Simpson had seen the rim 

 of the sun about 3 p.m. from Wind Vane Hill (at noon it 

 was hidden by the Barne Glacier), so that the meteorologist was 

 the first to welcome His Majesty's return. 



On the 24th I gave a lantern lecture on Polar and Tem- 

 perate Glaciation. As usual Ponting kindly made most of the 

 lantern slides and operated the lantern. Afterwards he showed 

 us some of his magnificent Swiss slides. 



On the 26th I managed to improvise a satisfactory plane 

 table from a telescope tripod and my drawing board. We had 

 a spare sight-ruler, and with this primitive instrument I 

 successfully mapped my section of Cape Evans. 



We could always orient on far distant peaks, such as the 

 Matterhorn, fifty miles north-west ; or Castle Rock, twelve 



