ook as snug
as possible.

_Saturday, November_ 18.--Camp 14. The ponies are not pulling well. The
surface is, if anything, a little worse than yesterday, but I should
think about the sort of thing we shall have to expect henceforward. I
had a panic that we were carrying too much food and this morning we
have discussed the matter and decided we can leave a sack. We have
done the usual 13 miles (geog.) with a few hundred yards to make the 15
statute. The temperature was -21 deg. when we camped last night, now it is
-3 deg.. The crocks are going on, very wonderfully. Oates gives Chinaman
at least three days, and Wright says he may go for a week. This is
slightly inspiriting, but how much better would it have been to have
had ten really reliable beasts. It's touch and go whether we scrape
up to the Glacier; meanwhile we get along somehow. At any rate the
bright sunshine makes everything look more hopeful.

_Sunday, November_ 19.--Camp 15. We have struck a real bad surface,
sledges pulling well over it, but ponies sinking very deep. The
result is to about finish Jehu. He was terribly done on getting in
to-night. He may go another march, but not more, I think. Considering
the surface the other ponies did well. The ponies occasionally sink
halfway to the hock, little Michael once or twice almost to the hock
itself. Luckily the weather now is glorious for resting the animals,
which are very placid and quiet in the brilliant sun. The sastrugi are
confused, the underlying hard patches appear as before to have been
formed by a W.S.W. wind, but there are some surface waves pointing
to a recent south-easterly wind. Have been taking some photographs,
Bowers also.

_Monday, November_ 20.--Camp 16. The surface a little better. Sastrugi
becoming more and more definite from S.E. Struck a few hard patches
which made me hopeful of much better things, but these did not last
long. The crocks still go. Jehu seems even a little better than
yesterday, and will certainly go another march. Chinaman reported
bad the first half march, but bucked up the second. The dogs found
the surface heavy. To-morrow I propose to relieve them of a forage
bag. The sky was slightly overcast during the march, with radiating
cirro-stratus S.S.W.-N.N.E. Now very clear and bright again. Temp,
at night -14 deg., now 4 deg.. A very slight southerly breeze, from which
the walls protect the animals well. I feel sure that the long day's
rest in the sun is very good f