CHRISTMAS DAY 



It is hard to understand this soft snow with such a 

 persistent wind, and I can only suppose that we have 

 not yet reached the actual plateau level, and that the 

 snow we are travelling over just now is on the slopes, 

 blown down by the south and south-east wind. We 

 had a splendid dinner. First came hoosh, consisting 

 of pony ration boiled up with pemmican and some of 

 our emergency Oxo and biscuit. Then in the cocoa 

 water I boiled our little plum pudding, which a friend 

 of Wild's had given him. This, with a drop of medical 

 brandy, was a luxury which Lucullus himself might 

 have envied; then came cocoa, and lastly cigars and 

 a spoonful of creme de menthe sent us by a friend in 

 Scotland. We are full to-night, and this is the last 

 time we will be for many a long day. After dinner 

 we discussed the situation, and we have decided to still 

 further reduce our food. We have now nearly 500 miles, 

 geographical, to do if we are to get to the Pole and 

 back to the spot where we are at the present moment. 

 We have one month's food, but only three weeks' bis- 

 cuit, so we are going to make each week's food last ten 

 days. We will have one biscuit in the morning, three at 

 mid-day, and two at night. It is the only thing to do. 

 To-morrow we will throw away everything except the 

 most absolute necessities. Already we are, as regards 

 clothes, down to the limit, but we must trust to the old 

 sledge-runners and dump the spare ones. One must 

 risk this. We are very far away from all the world, 

 and home thoughts have been much with us to-day, 

 thoughts interrupted by pitching forward into a hidden 

 crevasse more than once. Ah, well, we shall see all our 

 own people when the work here is done. Marshall 

 took our temperatures to-night. We are all two degrees 

 subnormal, but as fit as can be. It is a fine open-air life 

 and we are getting south. 



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