I9II] LOWEST TEMPERATURE RECORDED 
17 
be the result of variable winds of no great force, and it is 
also covered to a very great extent by deep sheets of soft 
snow, on which the sledges hang up exactly as though 
they were going over sand. There is no surface marking 
on this snow except marks resembling horses' hoofs, with 
edges that have a peculiar planed-off appearance. 
Whether harder or softer, the whole surface is crusted 
and lets one's feet in for a couple of inches, spoiling one's 
pull on the sticky-runnered sledges. 
Thursday^ July 6, 191 1. — Again a calm day and clear, 
though a heavy bank of fog lies over the pressure ridges 
ahead of us, and over the seaward area to the east. 
We had relay work again on a very heavy surface, 
which, however, improved slightly in the afternoon. But 
the result of 7^ hours' hauling was a forward move of 
miles only. 
The min. temp, for the night had been -75 '3^. At 
starting in the morning it was - 70-2'^ and at noon - 76-8'^. 
At 5.15 P.M., when we camped for lunch, it was -77° 
exactly, and at midnight it had risen again to -69°, 
when there was some low-lying white fog and mist to the 
N. and N.N.W. The butter, when stabbed with a knife, 
' flew ' like very brittle toffee. Our paraffin at these 
temperatures was perfectly easy to pour, though there 
was just a trace of opalescent milkiness in its appearance. 
Friday, July 7, i9ii._We got away late, at noon, in 
a thick white fog, in which it was impossible to see where 
we were going. We still had to relay, though the surface 
had distinctly improved. There was no sign of wind 
sastrugi yet. 
VOL, II. 
