This inpouring of warm moist air, which gives rise to this heavy surface deposit at this season, is certainly an interesting meteorological fact, accounting as it does for the very sudden change in Barrier conditions from spring to summer.

Wednesday, November 15.—­Camp 12.  Found our One Ton Camp without any difficulty [130 geographical miles from Cape Evans].  About 7 or 8 miles.  After 5 1/2 miles to lunch camp, Chinaman was pretty tired, but went on again in good form after the rest.  All the other ponies made nothing of the march, which, however, was over a distinctly better surface.  After a discussion we had decided to give the animals a day’s rest here, and then to push forward at the rate of 13 geographical miles a day.  Oates thinks the ponies will get through, but that they have lost condition quicker than he expected.  Considering his usually pessimistic attitude this must be thought a hopeful view.  Personally I am much more hopeful.  I think that a good many of the beasts are actually in better form than when they started, and that there is no need to be alarmed about the remainder, always excepting the weak ones which we have always regarded with doubt.  Well, we must wait and see how things go.

A note from Evans dated the 9th, stating his party has gone on to 80 deg. 30’, carrying four boxes of biscuit.  He has done something over 30 miles (geo.) in 2 1/2 days—­exceedingly good going.  I only hope he has built lots of good cairns.

It was a very beautiful day yesterday, bright sun, but as we marched, towards midnight, the sky gradually became overcast; very beautiful halo rings formed around the sun.  Four separate rings were very distinct.  Wilson descried a fifth—­the orange colour with blue interspace formed very fine contrasts.  We now clearly see the corona ring on the snow surface.  The spread of stratus cloud overhead was very remarkable.  The sky was blue all around the horizon, but overhead a cumulo-stratus grew early; it seemed to be drifting to the south and later to the east.  The broken cumulus slowly changed to a uniform stratus, which seems to be thinning as the sun gains power.  There is a very thin light fall of snow crystals, but the surface deposit seems to be abating the evaporation for the moment, outpacing the light snowfall.  The crystals barely exist a moment when they light on our equipment, so that everything on and about the sledges is drying rapidly.  When the sky was clear above the horizon we got a good view of the distant land all around to the west; white patches of mountains to the W.S.W. must be 120 miles distant.  During the night we saw Discovery and the Royal Society Range, the first view for many days, but we have not seen Erebus for a week, and in that direction the clouds seem ever to concentrate.  It is very interesting to watch the weather phenomena of the Barrier, but one prefers the sunshine to days such as this, when everything is blankly white and a sense of oppression is inevitable.