1903] OUR LAST OUTWARD MARCH 195 



pace so much, but it shakes us up dreadfully ; falls are 

 constant, and the harness frequently brings up with a heavy 

 jerk, which is exasperating to a tired man. At last we got 

 through, and found on looking back that we must have 

 descended into a hollow, as the horizon was above us on all 

 sides. Ahead the slope was quite smooth, and, in spite of all 

 the dreary monotony of the plain we have crossed, I felt 

 distinctly excited to know what we should see when we got 

 to the top. I knew it was the end of our effort, and my 

 imagination suggested all sorts of rewards for our long labours. 

 Perhaps there would be a gradual slope downward, perhaps 

 more mountains to indicate a western coast for Victoria Land. 

 1 Greenland, I remembered, would have been crossed in 

 many places by such a track as we have made. I thought, too, 

 what a splendid thing it would be to find a coast in this way. 

 All very vain imaginings, of course, for after 200 miles of 

 changeless conditions there was a poor chance indeed of find- 

 ing a difference in the last one. But so it was. I journeyed 

 up this slope with lively hopes, and had a distinct sense of 

 disappointment when, on reaching the summit, we saw nothing 

 beyond but a further expanse of our terrible plateau. 



' Here, then, to-night we have reached the end of our 

 tether, and all we have done is to show the immensity of this 

 vast plain. The scene about us is the same as we have seen 

 for many a day, and shall see for many a day to come — a 

 scene so wildly and awfully desolate that it cannot fail to 

 impress one with gloomy thoughts. I am not an imaginative 

 person, but of late all sorts of stupid fancies have come 

 into my mind. The sastrugi now got on my nerves; they 

 are shaped like the barbs of a hook with their sharp points 

 turned to the east, from which direction many look high and 

 threatening, and each one now seems to suggest that, however 

 easy we may have found it to come here, we shall have a very 

 different task in returning. 



' But, after all, it is not what we see that inspires awe, but 

 the knowledge of what lies beyond our view. We see only a 

 few miles of ruffled snow bounded by a vague wavy horizon, 



