Page:Scott's Last Expedition, Volume 2.djvu/274

about 7 p.m., when we camped. Distance 14 miles. Weather fine. The latter part of our march we were delayed by pressure ridges running north and south.

November 3.—5.15 a.m. Weather overcast, surface good, with belts of heavy pressure, the ridges running north and south. Some of the smooth ice had struck me as being rather new ice. At 11.30 our iron-runner sledge broke down hopelessly, one side coming off. We had a hasty lunch, packed the sleeping-bags, records, and a little fresh food on the other sledge, depôted all the remainder, and then started on again. The smooth-ice leads between the pressure were suspiciously dark and greasy-looking, so after going about half a mile we sounded with an ice axe and found we were on thin soft ice, which cannot have been much more than a day or two old. Turning the sledge we went back at a run, not stopping until we got on to better ice by the old sledge. Taking the rest of the food we then started W.S.W. towards the Eskers. Several leads were so new we had to cross them at a run, and it was 7.30 before we found sound ice, with no weak leads between us and the shore, and then I decided to camp.

November 4.—Weather overcast and warm. We turned out at 4.30, and after breakfast Priestley, Abbott, and Dickason went back with the empty sledge to get the remainder of the depôt, and if possible fit on the iron runners, while Levick, Browning, and I went back with packs to get more food. We had a long tramp to Butter Point and back over rough ice, and we had done 18 miles before we got back to camp, Levick and I with a 50-lb.