THE POLAR JOURNEY 337 



up to the neck with it, but I said very little as everybody 

 was so disgusted with the weather and things in general 

 that I saw that I was not the only one in tribulation. 

 Victor turned up trumps after that. He stepped out and 

 led the line in his old place, and at a good swinging pace 

 considering the surface, my temper and spirits improving 

 at every step. In the afternoon he went splendidly again, 

 and finished up by rolling in the snow when I had taken 

 his harness off, a thing he has not done for ten or twelve 

 days. It certainly does not look like exhaustion !" 



Indeed these days we were fighting for our marches, 

 and Chinaman who was killed this night seemed well out 

 of it. He reached a point less than 90 miles from the 

 glacier, though this was small comfort to him. 



Stumbling and groping our way along as we had been 

 during the last blizzard we were totally unprepared for the 

 sight which met us during our next march on November 

 29. The great ramp of mountains which ran to the west 

 of us, and would soon bar our way to the South, partly 

 cleared : and right on top of us it seemed were the triple 

 peaks of Mount Markham. After some 300 miles of 

 bleak, monotonous Barrier it was a wonderful sight indeed. 

 We camped at night in latitude 8 2° 21' S., four miles 

 beyond Scott's previous Farthest South in 1902. Then 

 they had the best of luck in clear fine weather, which 

 Shackleton has also recorded at this stage of his southern 

 journey. 



It is curious to see how depressed all our diaries become 

 when this bad weather obtained, and how quickly we must 

 have cheered up whenever the sun came out. There is no 

 doubt that a similar effect was produced upon the ponies. 

 Truth to tell, the mental strain upon those responsible was 

 very great in these early days, and there is little of outside 

 interest to relieve the mind. The crystal surface which was 

 an invisible carpet yesterday becomes a shining glorious 

 sheet of many colours to-day : the irregularities which 

 caused you so many falls are now quite clear and you step 

 on or over them without a thought : and when there is 

 added some of the most wonderful scenery in the world it 



