THE HEART OF THE ANTARCTIC 



wet bag, our Burberries become like a coat of mail at 

 once, and our heads and beards get iced-up with the 

 moisture when breathing on the march. There is half 

 a gale blowing dead in our teeth all the time. We hope 

 to reach within 100 geographical miles of the Pole; 

 under the circumstances we can expect to do very little 

 more. I am confident that the Pole lies on the great 

 plateau we have discovered, miles and miles from any 

 outstanding land. The temperature to-night is minus 

 24° Fahr. 



January 5. — To-day head wind and drift again, 

 with 50° of frost, and a terrible surface. We have been 

 marching through 8 in. of snow, covering sharp sastrugi, 

 which plays hell with our feet, but we have done 13 1-3 

 geographical miles, for we increased our food, seeing that 

 it was absolutely necessary to do this to enable us to 

 accomplish anything. I realise that the food we have 

 been having has not been sufficient to keep up our 

 strength, let alone supply the wastage caused by exertion, 

 and now we must try to keep warmth in us, though our 

 strength is being used up. Our temperatures at 5 a.m. 

 were 94° Fahr. We got away at 7 a.m. sharp and 

 marched till noon, then from 1 p.m. sharp till 6 p.m. All 

 being in one tent makes our camp-work slower, for 

 we are so cramped for room, and we get up at 

 4.40 a.m. so as to get away by 7 a.m. Two of us 

 have to stand outside the tent at night until things 

 are squared up inside, and we find it cold work. Hunger 

 grips up hard, and the food-supply is very small. My 

 head still gives me great trouble. I began by wishing 

 that my worst enemy had it instead of myself, but now 

 I don't wish even my worst enemy to have such a head- 

 ache; still, it is no use talking about it. Self is a subject 

 that most of us are fluent on. We find the utmost diffi- 

 culty in carrying through the day, and we can only go 



340 



