THE SEARCH JOURNEY 489 



It cleared a bit for our second march, and we have done 

 our 13 miles, but it was very slow travelling. Now it is 

 drifting as much as ever. Yank, that redoubtable puller, 

 has just eaten himself loose for the third time since hoosh. 

 This time I had to go down to the pony walls to get him. 



We have had onions for the first time to-night in our 

 hoosh — they are most excellent. Also we have been having 

 some Nestle's condensed milk from One Ton Depot — 

 which I do not want to see again, the depot I mean. Peary 

 must know what he is about, taking milk as a ration : the 

 sweetness is a great thing, but it would be heavy: we have 

 been having it with temperature down to - 14 , when it 

 was quite manageable, but I don't know what it would be 

 like in colder temperatures. 



November 19. Early morning. We have done our 13 

 miles to-day and have got on to a much better surface. By 

 what we and others have seen before, it seems that last 

 winter must have generally been an exceptional one. There 

 have been many parties out here: we have never before 

 seen this wind-swept surface, on which it is often too slip- 

 pery to walk comfortably. I do not know what tempera- 

 tures the Discovery had in April, but it was much colder 

 last April than it was the year before. And then nothing 

 had been experienced down here to compare with the winds 

 last winter. 



There was a high wind and a lot of drift yesterday 

 during the day, and now it is blowing and drifting as usual. 

 During the last nine days there has only been one, the day 

 we found the tent, when it has not been drifting during all 

 or part of the day. It is all right for travelling north, but we 

 should be having very uncomfortable marches if we were 

 marching the other way. 



November 20. Early morning. To-day we have seemed 

 to be walking in circles through space. Wright, by dint of 

 having a man behind to give him a fixed point to steer 

 upon, has steered us quite straight, and we have picked up 

 every cairn. The pony party camped for lunch by two 

 cairns, but they never knew the two cairns were there until 

 a piece of paper blew away and had to be fetched : and it 



