Page:Scott's Last Expedition, Volume 2.djvu/40

were taken so diagonally that they seemed much longer. The difference of surface was quite noticeable, harder on the ridge summits and softer in the hollows. We have never met with anything like a crevasse on them.

Friday, June 30, 1911.—The surface to-day proved too heavy for us—we were unable to drag both sledges together, so we relayed one at a time, by daylight from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.—and by candle-lamp from 4.30 p.m. to 7.45 p.m. We made only 3¼ miles in the day. The surface was soft and sandy, and though always crusted, always let one through an inch or two, as well as the sledge runners.

Heavy subsidences were continual all day, and the surface seemed to give way more when we were on the edges of the softer sandy patches. They were not extensive as a rule as far as one could judge, but they were exceptionally frequent—much more so than I have known them in the summer. There was no reason to think they dropped more than ¼ to ½ inch. The temp. to-day ranged from −55° in the morning to −61·6° at lunch and −66° on camping for the night. We had calm weather all day, and some aurora to watch in the E. and from N.E. to S. during the march.

[June 30.—Relaying all day—surface awful. It does not look as if we could pull this off. Last night was record sledging temperature −75° on sledge, −69° under sledge.^[1] I was in big bag and most of night shivered till back seemed to break, then warm for half minute