202 FARTHEST NORTH 



weather thickened, and the wind increased till, at about 

 3 o'clock, a regular snow-storm was raging. No way 

 was to be seen, only whiteness everywhere, except in 

 places where the pointed blue ice from the ridges stuck 

 up through the snow-drifts. After a while the ice grew 

 worse, and I went headlong on to ridges and irregularities 

 without even seeing them. I hoped this was only rough 

 ice which we should pass through, but matters did not 

 improve, and we thought there was no sense in going on. 

 Luckily we had just then dropped on a good sheltered 

 camping-ground ; otherwise it would have been difficult 

 enouo-h to find one in such weather, where nothinQ^ could 

 be discerned. Meanwhile we are getting southward, and 

 are more and more surprised at not seeing signs of land. 

 We reckon now to have left the eighty-fourth parallel be- 

 hind us. 



"Friday, May loth. +16.2° Fahr. (-8.8° C). Our 

 life has many difficulties to combat. Yesterday promised 

 to be a good day, but thick weather hindered our ad- 

 vance. When we crept out of the tent yesterday fore- 

 noon it was fine, the sun was shining, the going was 

 unusually good, and the ice appeared to be unusually 

 even. We had managed in the snow-storm of the pre- 

 vious evening to get into a belt of foul ice, which was 

 merely local. Before we started we thought of taking 

 the removable wooden runners off the sledges, but on 

 trying mine beforehand found that it ran well as it was. 

 I decided, therefore, to wait a little longer, as I was afraid 



