with a thin film of ice from which we could not free them, and the sledges themselves sank to the crossbars in soft spots.  All the time they were literally ploughing the snow.  We reached the top of the slope at 5, and started on after tea on the down grade.  On this we had to pull almost as hard as on the upward slope, but could just manage to get along on ski.  We camped at 9.15, when a heavy wind coming down the glacier suddenly fell on us; but I had decided to camp before, as Evans’ party could not keep up, and Wilson told me some very alarming news concerning it.  It appears that Atkinson says that Wright is getting played out and Lashly is not so fit as he was owing to the heavy pulling since the blizzard.  I have not felt satisfied about this party.  The finish of the march to-day showed clearly that something was wrong.  They fell a long way behind, had to take off ski, and took nearly half an hour to come up a few hundred yards.  True, the surface was awful and growing worse every moment.  It is a very serious business if the men are going to crack up.  As for myself, I never felt fitter and my party can easily hold its own.  P.O.  Evans, of course, is a tower of strength, but Oates and Wilson are doing splendidly also.

Here where we are camped the snow is worse than I have ever seen it, but we are in a hollow.  Every step here one sinks to the knees and the uneven surface is obviously insufficient to support the sledges.  Perhaps this wind is a blessing in disguise, already it seems to be hardening the snow.  All this soft snow is an aftermath of our prolonged storm.  Hereabouts Shackleton found hard blue ice.  It seems an extraordinary difference in fortune, and at every step S.’s luck becomes more evident.  I take the dogs on for half a day to-morrow, then send them home.  We have 200 lbs. to add to each sledge load and could easily do it on a reasonable surface, but it looks very much as though we shall be forced to relay if present conditions hold.  There is a strong wind down the glacier to-night.

’Beardmore Glacier.—­Just a tiny note to be taken back by the dogs.  Things are not so rosy as they might be, but we keep our spirits up and say the luck must turn.  This is only to tell you that I find I can keep up with the rest as well as of old.’

Monday, December 11.—­Camp 33.  A very good day from one point of view, very bad from another.  We started straight out over the glacier and passed through a good deal of disturbance.  We pulled on ski and the dogs followed.  I cautioned the drivers to keep close to their sledges and we must have passed over a good many crevasses undiscovered by us, thanks to ski, and by the dogs owing to the soft snow.  In one only Seaman Evans dropped a leg, ski and all.  We built our depot [34] before starting, made it very conspicuous, and left a good deal of gear there.  The old man-hauling party made heavy weather at first, but when relieved of a little weight and having cleaned their runners and