248 
THE STRAND MAGAZINE. 
abandoned 
m o fora 
Nov Sfr-G* 
Ponies take on 
extra loads from 
abandoned 
m o Tors . 
ONE TOM 
CAMP 
K Bad 
agfca. Surface 
1 2 men ,10 Ponies 
and do$s 
arrive Nov IS. 
depart Nov I? 
(A Day's Rest.) 
aos 
80 * 32 ' 
/ 
iT 
MINNA 
BLUFF 
— r* 
*3 men (the 
ex-motor party- 
wait here 6 h 
days, until NovZl-, 
For main party. 
Full Party of 
16 men ,10 ponies, 
and do«Js £0 
forward 
81, 
♦ 
1** Po. v 
kil lei, 
THE ABOVE MAP, WHICH IS CONTINUED ON PAGES 262-263, WILL BE OF GREAT 
the Barrier, and if Amundsen journeying that 
way lias a stroke of luck, he may well find 
his summit journey reduced to one hundred 
miles or sjo. In any case it is a fascinating 
direction for next year’s work if only fresh 
transport arrives.” 
Here he showed true geographical insight, 
no less than splendid confidence for the 
future. J ndeed they had done well ; on these 
“two wretched days” they had only lost five 
or six miles on their scheduled time-table. 
Nevertheless the skies augured ill : “ One has 
a horrid feeling that this is a. real bad season,” 
A prophetic sense indeed. From the “ gate- 
way ” of the Glacier came ominous puffs of 
wind ; December 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, a 
ik raging, howling ” blizzard continued, with 
the typical fine powdery snow, and the 
temperature so high that the snow clung 
where it touched, and melted on anything but 
the snow. Tents, clothes, sleeping-bags were 
soaked, with prospect of infinite discomfort 
if a cold snap came before things could be 
dried. Worse still, the delay. Still twelve 
miles from the Glacier, they had to begin on 
the rations calculated to carry them forward 
from an advanced depot. The check was 
outside calculation : “ the margin for bad 
weather was ample according to all experience, 
and this stormy December— our finest month 
— is a thing that the most cautious organizer 
might not have been prepared to encounter.” 
December 9th they managed to get away ; 
“ a most painful day.” After an almost 
hopeless struggle the situation was saved by 
Petty Officer Evans, who put the last pair of 
snow-shoes on Snatcher, so that he was able 
to lead, making a track for the other ponies. 
It. was the last effort ; the forage was already 
spent ; and at this camp — “ Shambles Camp ” 
— a mile below the gateway — the beasts were 
shot. “It is hard to have to kill them so 
early.” 
The Ascent of the Glacier. 
December 10th. The first stage of the 
journey, four hundred and twenty-four miles 
over the Barrier ice, was ended. On the 
fortieth day out — a week behind schedule — 
began the second stage, the ascent of the 
Glacier, which took twelve days of the 
most strenuous exertion. The surface was 
“ appalling ” ; that they got forward with 
their loads was “ mainly due to the ski.” 
Loads were readjusted ; for the first day 
and a half the dog-team pulled s : .\ hundred 
pounds, besides two hundred pounds to be 
left in the depot when they returned, and 
their loads were distributed among the man- 
hauled sledges. 
The start bettered expectation : “ the 
day was gloriously fine, and we were soon 
perspiring. After the first mile we began to 
rise, and for some way a steep slope ; we held 
to our ski and kept going. Then the slope 
got steeper and the surface much worse, and 
we had to take off our ski. The pulling after 
this was extraordinarily fatiguing. We sank 
below our finnesko everywhere, and in places 
nearly to our knees. The runners of the 
sledges got coated with a thin film of ice 
from which we could not free them, and the 
sledges themselves sank to the cross-bars in 
soft spots. All the time they were literally 
ploughing the snow. We reached the top of 
