THE HEART OF THE ARTARCTIC 



no correction, and it is not due to weather. We must 

 be at about sea-level. The undulations run about 

 east by south, and west by west, and are at the moment 

 a puzzle to us. I cannot think that the feeding of the 

 glaciers from the adjacent mountains has anything 

 to do with their existence. There are several glaciers, 

 but their size is inconsiderable compared to the vast 

 extent of Barrier affected. The glaciers are greatly 

 crevassed. There are enormous granite cliffs at the 

 foot of the range we are passing, and they stand vertically 

 about 4000 to 6000 ft. without a vestige of snow upon 

 them. The main bare rocks appear to be like the 

 schists of the western mountains opposite our winter 

 quarters, but we are too far away, of course, to be able 

 to tell with any certainty. Down to the south are 

 mountains entirely clear of snow, for their sides are 

 vertical, and they must be not less than 8000 or 9000 ft. 

 in height. Altogether it is a weird and wonderful 

 country. The only familiar thing is the broad expanse 

 of Barrier to the east, where as yet no land appears. 

 We did 14 miles 900 yards (statute) to-day, and are tired. 

 The snow came well above our ankles, and each step 

 became a labour. Still we are making our way south, 

 and each mile gained reduces the unknown. We have 

 now done 300 miles due south in less than a month. 



November 30. — We started at 8 a.m. this morning. 

 Quan very shaky and seemingly on his last legs, poor 

 beast. Both he and Socks are snow-blind, so we have 

 improvised shades for their eyes, which we trust will 

 help them a little. We took turns of an hour each 

 hauling at Quan's sledge, one at each side, to help him. 

 Socks, being faster, always gets ahead and then has 

 a short spell, which eases him considerably. We 

 advanced very slowly to-day, for the surface was as 

 bad as ever till the afternoon, and the total distance 



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