Having put this in order, we continued our journey on the following day.  The temperature fell steadily as we went inland; if it continued in this way it would be cold before one got to the Pole.  The surface remained as before —­ flat and even.  We ourselves had a feeling that we were ascending, but, as the future will show, this was only imagination.  We had had no trouble with fissures, and it almost looked as if we should avoid them altogether, since, of course, it might be supposed that the part of the Barrier nearest the edge would be the most fissured, and we had already left that behind us.  South of 80deg. we found the going easier, but the dogs were now beginning to be stiff and sore-footed, and it was hard work to get them started in the morning.  The sore feet I am speaking of here are not nearly so bad as those the dogs are liable to on the sea-ice of the Arctic regions.  What caused sore feet on this journey was the stretches of snow-crust we had to cross; it was not strong enough to bear the dogs, and they broke through and cut their paws.  Sore feet were also caused by the snow caking and sticking between the toes.  But the dog that has to travel on sea-ice in spring and summer is exposed to worse things —­ the sharp ice cuts the paws and the salt gets in.  To prevent this kind of sore feet one is almost obliged to put socks on the dogs.  With the kind of foot-trouble our dogs experienced it is not necessary to take any such precautions.  As a result of the long sea voyage their feet had become unusually tender and could not stand much.  On our spring journey we noticed no sore-footedness, in spite of the conditions being worse rather than better; probably their feet had got into condition in the course of the winter.

On March 3 we reached 81deg.  S. The temperature was then -45.4deg.  F., and it did not feel pleasant.  The change had come too rapidly; this could be seen both in men and in dogs.  We pitched our camp at three in the afternoon, and went straight into the tents.  The following day was employed in building and marking the depot.  That night was the coldest we observed on the trip, as the temperature was -49deg.  F. when we turned out in the morning.  If one compares the conditions of temperature in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, it will be seen that this temperature is an exceptionally low one.  The beginning of March corresponds, of course, to the beginning of September in the northern hemisphere —­ a time of year when summer still prevails.  We were astonished to find this low temperature while summer ought still to have lasted, especially when I remembered the moderate temperatures Shackleton had observed on his southern sledge journey.  The idea at once occurred to me of the existence of a local pole of maximum cold extending over the central portion of the Ross Barrier.  A comparison with the observations recorded at Captain Scott’s station in McMurdo Sound might to some extent explain this.  In order to establish it completely one would require to have information about the conditions in King Edward Land as well.  The observations Dr. Mawson is now engaged upon in Adelie Land and on the Barrier farther west will contribute much to the elucidation of this question.