i 9 02] DOGS WEAKENING 33 



hurry. The barometer has been falling for two days, and 

 Wilson has had twinges of rheumatism ; the former we took 

 for a sign that we were rising in altitude, but we ought to have 

 been warned by a further drop of two-tenths of an inch whilst 

 we were in camp. The blizzard was ushered in with light flaky 

 snow and an increasing wind, and a quarter of an hour later 

 there was a heavy drift with strong wind. We have been 

 completing our calculations of what is to be left at the depot 

 and what carried on to the south.' 



' December 8. — . . . Our poor team are going steadily 

 downhill j six or seven scarcely pull at all, perhaps five or six 

 do some steady work, and the remainder make spasmodic 

 efforts. The lightening of the load is more than counter- 

 balanced by the weakening of the animals, and I can see no 

 time in which we can hope to get the sledges along without 

 pulling ourselves. Of late we have altered our marching 

 arrangements ; we now take the first half-load on for four 

 miles, then return for the other half, eating our cold luncheon 

 on the way back. To-day it took us three and a half hours to 

 get the advance load on, and I who remained with it had to 

 wait another five and a half before the others came back — nine 

 hours' work to gain four miles. 



' Before supper we all had a wash and brush-up. We each 

 carry a tooth-brush and a pocket-comb, and there is one cake of 

 soap and one pocket looking-glass amongst the party; we use 

 our tooth-brushes fairly frequently, with snow, but the soap 

 and comb are not often in request, and the looking-glass is 

 principally used to dress our mangled lips. Snow and soap 

 are rather a cold compound, but there is freshness in the 

 glowing reaction, and we should probably use them oftener if 

 the marches were not so tiring. To-night the tent smells of 

 soap and hazeline cream.' 



' December 10. — Yesterday we only covered two miles, and 

 to get on the second load at all we had to resort to the igno- 

 minious device of carrying food ahead of the dogs. 



' " Snatcher " died yesterday ; others are getting feeble — it 

 is terrible to see them. The coast cannot be more than ten or 

 VOL, 11, d 



