as from a hammer, grunts, groans and squeaks, electric trams running, birds singing, kettles boiling noisily, and an occasional swish as a large piece of ice, released from pressure, suddenly jumped or turned over.  We noticed all sorts of quaint effects, such as huge bubbles or domes of ice, 40 ft. across and 4 or 5 ft. high.  Large sinuous pancake-sheets were spread over the floe in places, and in one spot we counted five such sheets, each about 2½ in. thick, imbricated under one another.  They look as though made of barley-sugar and are very slippery.”

The noon position on the 14th was lat. 76° 54´ S., long. 36° 10´ W. The land was visible faintly to the south-east, distant about 36 miles.  A few small leads could be seen from the ship, but the ice was firm in our neighbourhood.  The drift of the ‘Endurance’ was still towards the north-west.

I had the boilers blown down on the 15th, and the consumption of 2 cwt. of coal per day to keep the boilers from freezing then ceased.  The bunkers still contained 52 tons of coal, and the daily consumption in the stoves was about 2½ cwt.  There would not be much coal left for steaming purposes in the spring, but I anticipated eking out the supply with blubber.  A moderate gale from the north-east on the 17th brought fine, penetrating snow.  The weather cleared in the evening, and a beautiful crimson sunset held our eyes.  At the same time the ice-cliffs of the land were thrown up in the sky by mirage, with an apparent reflection in open water, though the land itself could not be seen definitely.  The effect was repeated in an exaggerated form on the following day, when the ice-cliffs were thrown up above the horizon in double and treble parallel lines, some inverted.  The mirage was due probably to lanes of open water near the land.  The water would be about 30° warmer than the air and would cause warmed strata to ascend.  A sounding gave 606 fathoms, with a bottom of glacial mud.  Six days later, on the 24th, the depth was 419 fathoms.  We were drifting steadily, and the constant movement, coupled with the appearance of lanes near the land, convinced me that we must stay by the ship till she got clear.  I had considered the possibility of making a landing across the ice in the spring, but the hazards of such an undertaking would be too great.

The training of the dogs in sledge teams was making progress.  The orders used by the drivers were “Mush” (Go on), “Gee” (Right), “Haw” (Left), and “Whoa” (Stop).  These are the words that the Canadian drivers long ago adopted, borrowing them originally from England.  There were many fights at first, until the dogs learned their positions and their duties, but as days passed drivers and teams became efficient.  Each team had its leader, and efficiency depended largely on the willingness and ability of this dog to punish skulking and disobedience.  We learned not to interfere unless the disciplinary measures threatened to have a fatal termination.  The drivers could sit on the sledge and jog along at ease if they chose.  But the prevailing minus temperatures made riding unpopular, and the men preferred usually to run or walk alongside the teams.  We were still losing dogs through sickness, due to stomach and intestinal worms.