i 9 ii] THE DOGS IN A CREVASSE 179 
show that his ponies must have been going strong. I 
hope to find them safe and sound the day after to-morrow. 
We had the most wonderfully beautiful sky effects on 
the march with the sun circling low on the southern horizon. 
Bright pink clouds hovered overhead on a deep grey-blue 
background. Gleams of bright sunlit mountains appeared 
through the stratus. 
Here it is most difficult to predict what is going to 
happen. Sometimes the southern sky looks dark and 
ominous, but within half an hour all has changed — the 
land comes and goes as the veil of stratus lifts and 
falls. It seems as though weather is made here rather 
than dependent on conditions elsewhere. It is all very 
interesting. 
Tuesday, February 21. — New Camp about 12 miles from 
Safety Camp. 1 5! miles. We made a start as usual about 
10 p.m. The light was good at first, but rapidly grew 
worse till we could see little of the surface. The dogs 
showed signs of wearying. About an hour and a half after 
starting we came on mistily outlined pressure ridges. We 
were running by the sledges. Suddenly Wilson shouted 
' Hold on to the sledge/ and I saw him slip a leg into a 
crevasse. I jumped to the sledge, but saw nothing. Five 
minutes after, as the teams were trotting side by side, the 
middle dogs of our team disappeared. In a moment the 
whole team were sinking — two by two we lost sight of 
them, each pair struggling for foothold. Osman the 
leader exerted all his great strength and kept a foothold — 
it was wonderful to see him. The sledge stopped and we 
leapt aside. The situation was clear in another moment. 
N 2 
