80 THE VOYAGE OF THE 'DISCOVERY 5 [j A *, 



not until several minutes after it was placed firmly on the snow 

 that the card ceased to swing and indicated a definite direction ; 

 the compass was therefore of little use to us on the march. 



Knowing that this would be so, and expecting to travel 

 out of sight of land, I had prepared a device for steering by 

 the sun, and as this was constantly in use, and can be highly 

 recommended to future expeditions, it deserves a short de- 

 scription. It consisted of a small wooden dial in the centre 

 of which was a shadow-pin. The edge was marked with two 

 circles, one showing the points of the compass and the other 

 a twenty-four hour clock-face subdivided to half-hours ; the 

 relation of these circles involved a consideration of mean 

 latitude and equation of time, details which are somewhat 

 technical, but will be understood by the navigator. 



The use of the instrument was extremely simple. It was 

 held in the hand in such a position that the shadow of the pin 

 fell on the hour, and when so held the outer circle showed the 

 true north and south, or the true bearing of any object. Thus 

 one could march straight on in any required direction by 

 occasionally consulting one's watch and more frequently the 

 dial. Whenever the sun was out, therefore, with this instru- 

 ment we had no difficulty at all in keeping a straight course ; 

 and it served yet another practically useful purpose, for when 

 it was put down correctly at night, it gave the time to anyone 

 leaving the tent later on. 



But when the sun disappeared this instrument was useless. 

 Then it was that our troubles began, and we were reduced to 

 all sorts of shifts and devices to steer a course. When possible 

 we would take the bearing of a cloud and march on this for 

 some time until we were conscious that its direction was 

 altered and a fresh mark must be sought. Occasionally the 

 low, rocky patches on the distant coastline formed a guide, 

 but on the majority of overcast days the land was not visible, 

 and the cloud-forms had no definite shape. At such times 

 one looked on a monotonous, uniform sheet of grey which 

 extended from under foot to the zenith. The leader could see 

 nothing, but others might catch an idea of the direction of the 



