340 WITH SCOTT : THE SILVER LINING 



a hundred minutes of very hard labour, which with a light 

 load we could cover in twenty-five minutes. 



Well, we had some weeks of it, and by the time five miles 

 comes to be accounted a good day's journey, progress does not 

 seem so slow as it did at first. We used to leave Debenham 

 ahead with the first sledge at our evening stage, and when we 

 three brought up the biscuit sledge we would find that he 

 had nearly got the " hoosh " ready. There was no mention 

 of " too much pemmican " nowadays ! 



We were now crossing New Harbour. It was interesting 

 to see so clearly the old landmarks of Dry Valley, and amusing 

 to think of our bet with Taff Evans as to the identity of the 

 valley we were now passing. He was convinced that we 

 could not see Dry Valley from Butter Point, and we had had 

 a hot discussion in the previous February on the point. 



From this point we saw a most wonderful array of cwm 

 valleys. On the flanks of Mount Lister they were clustered 

 thickly like thumbmarks in a piece of putty. On the slopes 

 of the Kukri Hills we could see steep gullies, as it were, 

 growing into " chimneys," and these into deeper valleys, and 

 so into veritable cwms or cirques. They illustrate an interest- 

 ing scientific principle. It is naturally impossible to see the 

 stages of valley erosion evolving before one's eyes — as impos- 

 sible as to see a barrier reef changing into a coral atoll — and 

 yet one cannot doubt that this evolution occurs when we have 

 all the intermediate stages confronting us. 



We intended to carry out a very complete survey on this 

 journey. We had two separate instruments, a theodolite and 

 a plane-table. With the former I was able to fix far-distant 

 peaks with considerable accuracy, and also by observations on 

 the sun to determine the latitude and longitude of the main 

 stations of our survey. With the plane-table Debenham 

 carried out a unique detailed survey of the coast-line, not 

 only showing the outlines of the land but also all the physio- 

 graphic features. By means of the theodolite we were also 

 able to plot the elevations fairly accurately, and when these 

 were added to the plane-table charts I think we brought back 

 from our sledging trip an Antarctic survey unique for its 

 completeness in the field. 



The surface for the next few miles was very bad. I wished 

 Wright were with us, not only to lend us his sturdy muscles, 



