Monday, February 19.—­Lunch T. -16 deg..  It was late (past noon) before we got away to-day, as I gave nearly 8 hours sleep, and much camp work was done shifting sledges [44] and fitting up new one with mast, &c., packing horsemeat and personal effects.  The surface was every bit as bad as I expected, the sun shining brightly on it and its covering of soft loose sandy snow.  We have come out about 2’ on the old tracks.  Perhaps lucky to have a fine day for this and our camp work, but we shall want wind or change of sliding conditions to do anything on such a surface as we have got.  I fear there will not be much change for the next 3 or 4 days.

R. 33.  Temp. -17 deg..  We have struggled out 4.6 miles in a short day over a really terrible surface—­it has been like pulling over desert sand, not the least glide in the world.  If this goes on we shall have a bad time, but I sincerely trust it is only the result of this windless area close to the coast and that, as we are making steadily outwards, we shall shortly escape it.  It is perhaps premature to be anxious about covering distance.  In all other respects things are improving.  We have our sleeping-bags spread on the sledge and they are drying, but, above all, we have our full measure of food again.  To-night we had a sort of stew fry of pemmican and horseflesh, and voted it the best hoosh we had ever had on a sledge journey.  The absence of poor Evans is a help to the commissariat, but if he had been here in a fit state we might have got along faster.  I wonder what is in store for us, with some little alarm at the lateness of the season.

Monday, February 20.—­R. 34.  Lunch Temp. -13 deg.; Supper Temp. -15 deg..  Same terrible surface; four hours’ hard plodding in morning brought us to our Desolation Camp, where we had the four-day blizzard.  We looked for more pony meat, but found none.  After lunch we took to ski with some improvement of comfort.  Total mileage for day 7—­the ski tracks pretty plain and easily followed this afternoon.  We have left another cairn behind.  Terribly slow progress, but we hope for better things as we clear the land.  There is a tendency to cloud over in the S.E. to-night, which may turn to our advantage.  At present our sledge and ski leave deeply ploughed tracks which can be seen winding for miles behind.  It is distressing, but as usual trials are forgotten when we camp, and good food is our lot.  Pray God we get better travelling as we are not fit as we were, and the season is advancing apace.

Tuesday, February 21.—­R. 35.  Lunch Temp. -9 1/2 deg.; Supper Temp. -11 deg..  Gloomy and overcast when we started; a good deal warmer.  The marching almost as bad as yesterday.  Heavy toiling all day, inspiring gloomiest thoughts at times.  Rays of comfort when we picked up tracks and cairns.  At lunch we seemed to have missed the way, but an hour or two after we passed the last pony walls, and since, we struck a tent ring, ending the march actually