Page:Scott's Last Expedition, Volume 2.djvu/450

Next day, February 28, they started at 7.45 p.m. on a beautifully clear day and ran 10 miles up to the time they camped for tea. The surface was good, with very large sastrugi. On one of these, while Demetri was ahead, Cherry-Garrard's sledge upset; he had to unload the sledge partially in order to right it. As it was righted the team took charge. Cherry-Garrard clung to the sledge but lost his driving stick, and it was not until the team had taken him over a mile to the south that they were stopped. The weather was coming on thick, and it was an anxious time as their weekly bag, cooker and tent poles had been left behind. Eventually both teams returned and the sledge was re-packed. A blizzard came on and they were unable to travel until the next afternoon. There was a strong wind and the temperature began falling on this day. They completed 16¾ miles for the day.

February 29 proved a good clear day and they reached the Bluff Depôt in latitude 79° south. The sledgemeters had been giving a great deal of trouble and did not tally; this, with the bad light, increased the difficulty of navigation enormously.

On March 1 they started about mid-day after giving the dogs a good rest, which they needed after their long runs of the previous days. They proceeded for 10 miles without seeing anything. The weather came on thick and they had to camp at 6.30 p.m. It cleared a little later and they made good two more miles. The party on this day saw a snowy petrel. The position of this bird so far south and away from food is remarkable.

On March 2 they had a cold and sleepless night with a