THE LAST WINTER 447 



crater, and probably, so Debenham asserts, it was not a 

 flame which appeared, but the reflection from a big bubble 

 breaking in the crater. Afterwards the smoke cloud 

 stretched away southwards, and we could not see the end 

 of it." 1 



Blizzard followed blizzard, and at the beginning of July 

 we had four days which were the thickest I have ever seen. 

 Generally when you go out into a blizzard the drift is blown 

 from your face and clothes, and though you cannot see your 

 stretched-out hand, especially on a dark winter day, the wind 

 prevents you being smothered. The wind also prevents the 

 land, tents, hut and cases from being covered. But during 

 this blizzard the drift drove at you in such blankets of 

 snow, that your person was immediately blotted out, your 

 face covered and your eyes plugged up. Gran lost himself 

 for some time on the hill when taking the 8 a.m. observa- 

 tions, and Wright had difficulty in getting back from the 

 magnetic cave. Men had narrow escapes of losing them- 

 selves, though they were but a few feet from the hut. 



When this blizzard cleared the camp was buried, and 

 even on unobstructed surfaces the snowdrifts averaged 

 four feet of additional depth. Two enormous drifts ran 

 down to the sea from either end of the hut. I do not think 

 we ever found some of our stores again, but the larger 

 part we carried up to the higher ground behind us where 

 they remained fairly clear. About this time I began to 

 notice large sheets of anchor ice off the end of Cape Evans, 

 that is to say, ice forming and remaining on the bottom of 

 the open sea. Now also the open water was extending 

 round the cape into the South Bay behind us : but it was 

 too dark to get any reliable idea of the distribution of ice in 

 the Sound. We were afraid that we were cut off from Hut 

 Point, but I do not believe that this was the case; though 

 the open water must have stretched many miles to the south 

 in the middle of the Sound. The days when it was clear 

 enough even to potter about outside the hut were excep- 

 tional. God was very angry. 



"Sunday, July 14. A blizzard during the night, and 



1 My own diary. 



