GOOD WORK BY PONIES 



appears at this distance to be a strait between Long- 

 staff and Markham, and a low drift is flying along. 

 Wild is better to-night, but he was tired after the long- 

 march. We made him a cup of our emergenc}^ Oxo 

 for lunch, and that bucked him up for the afternoon. 

 He has not eaten much lately, but says that he feels 

 decidedly better to-night. Marshall has just succeeded 

 in pulling out Adams' tooth, so now the latter will 

 be able to enjoy horse-meat. This evening we had it 

 fried, and so saved all our other food except biscuits and 

 cocoa. It is my week as cook now, and Wild is my tent 

 companion. 



November 24. — Started this morning at 7.55, and 

 made a good march of 10 miles 600 yards (statute) up 

 to 1 p.m., when we camped for lunch. We marched 

 from 2.30 to 6 p.m., and camped then for the night. 

 When we started there was a searching breeze in our 

 faces, which gradually increased during the day with 

 low drift, and it was blowing a summer blizzard when 

 we camped this evening, the temperature up to plus 

 17° Fahr., and the drift melting in the tent and on all 

 our gear. The ponies did splendidly again, in spite 

 of soft surface, our day's run being 17 miles 680 yards 

 statute. The Barrier surface is still as level as a billiard 

 table, with no sign of any undulation or rise; but if 

 the Barrier shows no sign of change it is otherwise with 

 the mountains. Each mile shows us new land, and 

 most of it consists of lofty mountains, whose heights 

 at present we cannot estimate. They are well over 

 10,000 ft. The great advantage of being out from the 

 coast is now obvious, for we can see a long range 

 of sharp-peaked mountains running to the westward 

 from Mounts Markham, and forming the south side of 

 Shackleton Inlet on the east side of Mounts Markham, 

 and other peaks and one table-topped mountain stand- 



289 



