134 
THE STRAND MAGAZINE. 
of the island on the opposite side from Cape 
Evans, and separated from it by all the bulk 
of Mounts Erebus and Terror. The way there 
led south as far as Hut Point, then east over 
the wind-swept Barrier. The three men 
returned to Cape Evans on Augus.t ist, after 
a midwinter journey of five weeks, looking 
incredibly weather-worn, chiefly from sheer 
lack of sleep, a deficiency soon remedied, for, 
in all their unparalleled experiences, frost-bite 
had never seriously assailed them. In spirit, 
all were equally unwavering.; in physique, 
Bowers seemed to have come through best. 
“ 1 believe,” writes Scott, “ lie is the hardest 
traveller that ever undertook Polar journey, 
as well as one of the most undaunted. More 
bv hint than direct statement, I gather his 
value to the party, his untiring energy, and 
the astonishing physique which enables him 
to continue to work under conditions which 
are absolutely paralyzing to others. 
“ So far as one can gather, the story of 
this journey in brief is much as follows : 
The party reached the Barrier two days after 
leaving Cape Evans, still pulling their full 
load of two hundred and fifty pounds per man. 
Tfe snow surface then changed completely 
and grew worse and worse as they advanced. 
For one day they struggled on as before, 
covering four miles ; but from this- onward 
they were forced to relay and found the half- 
load heavier than 
the whole one had 
been on the sea-ice. 
“ Meanwhile the 
temperature h a d 
been falling, and 
now for more than 
a week the ther- 
mometer fell below 
6o°. On one 
night the minimum 
showed -71 0 , and 
on the next -77°; 
109° of frost! 
Although in this 
truly fearful cold 
the air was com- 
paratively s t i 1 1, 
every n 0 w and 
again little puffs of 
wind came eddying 
across the snow 
plain with blight- 
ing effect. No 
civilized being has 
ever encountered 
such conditions be- 
fore with only a 
tent of thin canvas 
to rely on for 
shelter. We have 
been looking up 
the records to-day, 
and find that 
Amundsen, on a 
j <5 u r n ey to the 
N 0 r t h magnetic 
pole in March, en- 
countered tempera- 
tures similar in 
degree, and recorded a minimum of 79 0 , but 
he was with Eskimos, who built him an igloo 
shelter nightly ; he had a good measure of 
daylight ; the temperatures given are prob- 
ably " * unscreened ’ from radiation ; and 
finally he turned homeward and regained 
his ship after five days’ absence. Our 
DR. SIMPSON SENDING UP A SCIENTIFIC BALLOON. 
TO THESE BA I I. CONS, WHICH WERE USED FOR TESTING ATR-CURRENTS AND 
TEMPERATURE, A THREE- MICE THREAD OF SILK WAS ATTACHED FOR TRACING 
PURPOSES. 
