To-day Wilson, Oates, Cherry-Garrard, and Crean have gone to Hut Point with their ponies, Oates getting off with Christopher after some difficulty.  At 5 o’clock the Hut Point telephone bell suddenly rang (the line was laid by Meares some time ago, but hitherto there has been no communication).  In a minute or two we heard a voice, and behold! communication was established.  I had quite a talk with Meares and afterwards with Oates.  Not a very wonderful fact, perhaps, but it seems wonderful in this primitive land to be talking to one’s fellow beings 15 miles away.  Oates told me that the ponies had arrived in fine order, Christopher a little done, but carrying the heaviest load.

If we can keep the telephone going it will be a great boon, especially to Meares later in the season.

The weather is extraordinarily unsettled; the last two days have been fairly fine, but every now and again we get a burst of wind with drift, and to-night it is overcast and very gloomy in appearance.

The photography craze is in full swing.  Ponting’s mastery is ever more impressive, and his pupils improve day by day; nearly all of us have produced good negatives.  Debenham and Wright are the most promising, but Taylor, Bowers and I are also getting the hang of the tricky exposures.

Saturday, October 7.—­As though to contradict the suggestion of incompetence, friend ‘Jehu’ pulled with a will this morning—­he covered 3 1/2 miles without a stop, the surface being much worse than it was two days ago.  He was not at all distressed when he stopped.  If he goes on like this he comes into practical politics again, and I am arranging to give 10-feet sledges to him and Chinaman instead of 12-feet.  Probably they will not do much, but if they go on as at present we shall get something out of them.

Long and cheerful conversations with Hut Point and of course an opportunity for the exchange of witticisms.  We are told it was blowing and drifting at Hut Point last night, whereas here it was calm and snowing; the wind only reached us this afternoon.

Sunday, October 8.—­A very beautiful day.  Everyone out and about after Service, all ponies going well.  Went to Pressure Ridge with Ponting and took a number of photographs.

So far good, but the afternoon has brought much worry.  About five a telephone message from Nelson’s igloo reported that Clissold had fallen from a berg and hurt his back.  Bowers organised a sledge party in three minutes, and fortunately Atkinson was on the spot and able to join it.  I posted out over the land and found Ponting much distressed and Clissold practically insensible.  At this moment the Hut Point ponies were approaching and I ran over to intercept one in case of necessity.  But the man# party was on the spot first, and after putting the patient in a sleeping-bag, quickly brought him home to the hut.  It appears that Clissold was acting as Ponting’s ‘model’ and that the two had been climbing about the berg to get pictures.  As far as I can make out Ponting did his best to keep Clissold in safety by lending him his crampons and ice axe, but the latter seems to have missed his footing after one of his ‘poses’; he slid over a rounded surface of ice for some 12 feet, then dropped 6 feet on to a sharp angle in the wall of the berg.