THREE MILES IN A DAY 



work for difficulty in travelling. Our sledges are suffer- 

 ing greatly, and it is a constant strain on us both to save 

 the sledges from breaking or going down crevasses, and 

 to save ourselves as well. We are a mass of bruises where 

 we have fallen on the sharp ice, but, thank God, no one 

 has even a sprain. It has been relay work to-day, for 

 we could only take on one sledge at a time, two of us 

 taking turns at pulling the sledge whilst the others steadied 

 and held the sledge to keep it straight. Thus we would 

 advance one mile, and then return over the crevasses and 

 haul up the other sledge. By repeating this to-day for 

 3 miles we marched 9 miles over a surface where many 

 times a slip meant death. Still we have advanced 3 miles 

 to the south, and to-night we are camped on a patch of 

 neve. By using our ice-axes we made a place for the 

 tent. The weather is still splendidly fine, though low 

 clouds obscure our horizon to the south. We are anxiously 

 hoping to cross the main pressure to-morrow, and trust 

 that we will then have better travelling. Given good 

 travelling, we will not be long in reaching our goal. 

 Marshall is putting in the bearings and angles of the new 

 mountains. They still keep appearing to the west and east. 

 Distance 3 miles 500 yards, with relays 9 miles 1500 yards. 



December 13. — We made a start at 8 a.m. and once 

 again went up hill and down dale, over crevasses and 

 blue, ribbed ice, relaying the sledges. We had covered 

 about a mile when we came to a place where it seemed 

 almost impossible to proceed. However, to our right, 

 bearing about south-west by south, there seemed to be 

 better surface and we decided to make a detour in that 

 direction in order, if possible, to get round the pressure. 

 While returning for one of the sledges I fell on the ice 

 and hurt my left knee, which was a serious matter, or 

 rather might have been. I have had a bandage on all 

 the afternoon while pulling, and the knee feels better 



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