THE SEARCH JOURNEY 477 



regular thing for the sky to cloud over as the sun gets low 

 towards nightfall — and directly the sun begins to rise again 

 the clouds disappear in a most wonderful way. 



November 8 . Early morning. Last night's twelve miles 

 was quite cold for the time of year, being - 23 at lunch 

 and now - 18 . But it is calm, with bright sun, and this 

 temperature feels warm. However, there are some frost- 

 bites as a result, both Nelson and Hooper having swollen 

 faces. The same powder and crystals have been on the sur- 

 face, but we have carried the good Bluffsurface so far, being 

 now four miles beyond Bluff Depot. This is fortunate, and 

 to the best of my recollection we were already getting on 

 to a soft surface at this point last summer. If so there must 

 have been more wind here this year than last, which, accord- 

 ing to the winter we have had, seems probable. 



We made up the Bluff" Depot after lunch, putting up a 

 new flag and building up the cairn, leaving two cases of 

 dog-biscuit for the returning dog-teams. It is curious that 

 the drift to leeward of the cairn, that is N.N.E., was quite 

 soft, the snow all round and the drifts on either side being 

 hard — exceptionally hard in fact. Why this drift should 

 remain soft when a drift in the same place is usually hard is 

 difficult to explain. All is happy in the mule camp. They 

 have given Lai a drink of water and he has started to eat, 

 which is good news. Some of the mules seem snow-blind, 

 and they are now all wearing their blinkers. I have just 

 heard that Gran swung the thermometer at four this morn- 

 ing and found it - 29 . Nelson's face is a sight — his nose 

 a mere swollen lump, frost-bitten cheeks, and his goggles 

 have frosted him where the rims touched his face. Poor 

 Marie ! 



November 9. Early morning. Twelve more miles to the 

 good, and we must consider ourselves fortunate in still 

 carrying on the same good surface, which is almost if not 

 quite as good as that of yesterday. This is the only time I 

 have ever seen a hard surface here, not more than fifteen 

 miles from One Ton, and it looks as if there had been much 

 higher winds. The sastrugi, which have been facing S.W., 

 are now beginning to run a little more westerly. I believe 



