182 THE VOYAGE OF THE 'DISCOVERY' [Nov. 



smooth ice, but soon came to a broad field of snow where a 

 large tributary entered the main ice-stream. It was heavy 

 pulling across this snow with our ragged runners, and to add 

 to our discomfort, the wind swept down the side valley with 

 the keenest edge. Beyond this valley lay the " Depot Nunatak," 

 a huge mass of columnar basalt, and at length we were able to 

 get our breath beneath its shelter. Here Evans told me that 

 one of his feet was " gone." He was foolishly wearing a single 

 pair of socks in remembrance of the warm march of yesterday. 

 As soon as we had got his unruly member back to life we 

 proceeded. 



{ Ahead of us there showed up an immense and rugged 

 ice-fall, one of those by which the glacier signifies its entrance 

 into the valley ; at this I knew the bare blue ice would come 

 to an end, and with it our difficulties with the sledge-runners, 

 so I determined to push on to the foot of this fall before 

 camping. The way led up a steep crevassed slope of rough, 

 blue ice, and before we had even reached this slope the weather 

 assumed a most threatening aspect. The sun was obscured 

 by stratus cloud, which drifted rapidly overhead, and the wind 

 momentarily increased. We went on at our best speed, but 

 when we were half-way up the bare icy slope, which proved 

 much longer than I had expected, the full force of the gale 

 burst upon us, and the air became thick with driving snow. 



1 We pushed on almost at a run to reach the summit of the 

 slope, and then started to search in every direction for a camping 

 spot. By this time things were growing serious, everyone was 

 badly frost-bitten in the face, and it was evident that the effects 

 might be very ugly if we did not find shelter soon. I shall not 

 forget the next hour in a hurry ; we went from side to side 

 searching vainly for a patch of snow, but everywhere finding 

 nothing but the bare blue ice. The runners of our sledges 

 had split again, so badly that we could barely pull them over 

 the rough surface ; we dared not leave them in the thick drift, 

 and every minute our frost-bites were increasing. At last we 

 saw a white patch, and made a rush for it ; it proved to be 

 snow indeed, but so ancient and wind-swept that it was almost 



