Page:Scott's Last Expedition, Volume 2.djvu/48

After lunch, which we finished about 6.30 p.m., we got an indistinct view of the mountains, and saw we were beginning to close Mt. Terra Nova with Mt. Terror, but the fog came down again at once, and at 9.45 p.m. we camped, as we were unable to guess at all what direction we had been making. We only made one and two-thirds miles good in the day.

The min. temp. for the night from 12 to 2 p.m. had been −75·8. At 2 p.m. it was −58·3°, and at 7 p.m. had risen to −55·4°, a change which we felt as a grateful one both in our hands and feet on the march. [There is something after all rather good in doing something never done before—these temperatures must be world's record.]

Saturday, July 8, 1911.—A day of white fog and high moonlight but without a trace of landmark to guide us. We relayed as usual, four hours in the forenoon, for 1¼ miles, and three hours in the afternoon for one mile only. We were on a better surface, either more windswept or else improved by the rise in temperature, but still deep and soft to walk in, though often with harder crusted areas. Here and there were really hard and slippery windswept snow surfaces occurring under a covering of some inches of quite soft snow, showing the peculiar planed-off appearance which was always associated with horse-shoe impressions and very heavy dragging. We made our course to-day by compass.

The min. temp. for the night was −59·8° and at 10.30 a.m. −52·3°, with south-easterly airs, and −47° at 7.15 p.m.

Sunday, July 9, 1911.—Dense mist, and white fog [the fourth day of fog], and snow falling all day, made