THE POLAR JOURNEY 529 



ward on January 10 : reached his Bluff Depot on February 

 23, and Hut Point on February 28. 



Wilson's diary continues : 



"February 18. We had only five hours' sleep. We had 

 butter and biscuit and tea when we woke at 2 p.m., then 

 came over the Gap entrance to the pony-slaughter camp, 

 visiting a rock moraine of Mt. Hope on the way." 



"February 19. Late in getting away after making up 

 new 10-foot sledge and digging out pony meat. We made 

 5! m. on a very heavy surface indeed." 1 



This bad surface is the feature of their first homeward 

 marches on the Barrier. From now onwards they complain 

 always of the terrible surfaces, but a certain amount of the 

 heavy pulling must be ascribed to their own weakness. In 

 the low temperatures which occurred later bad surfaces 

 were to be expected : but now the temperatures were not 

 really low, about zero to - 1 7° : fine clear days for the 

 most part and, a thing to be noticed, little wind. They 

 wanted wind, which would probably be behind them from 

 the south. "Oh! for a little wind," Scott writes. "E. 

 Evans evidently had plenty." He was already very anxious. 

 " If this goes on we shall have a bad time, but I sincerely 

 trust it is only the result of this windless area close to the 

 coast and that, as we are making steadily outwards, we 

 shall shortly escape it. It is perhaps premature [Feb. 19] 

 to be anxious about covering distance. In all other respects 

 things are improving. We have our sleeping-bags spread 

 on the sledge and they are drying, but, above all, we have 

 our full measure of food again. To-night we had a sort of 

 stew fry of pemmican and horseflesh, and voted it the best 

 hoosh we had ever had on a sledge journey. The absence 

 of poor Evans is a help to the commissariat, but if he had 

 been here in a fit state we might have got along faster. I 

 wonder what is in store for us, with some little alarm at the 

 lateness of the season." And on February 20, when they 

 made 7 miles, " At present our sledge and ski leave deeply 

 ploughed tracks which can be seen winding for miles be- 

 hind. It is distressing, but as usual trials are forgotten 



1 Wilson. 



2 M 



