en clearly within view.

[TEXT ILLUSTRATION]

Adelie Land: Showing tracks of the Western Sledging Party from the Main
Base.

December 21 marked the end of the good weather, for drift and wind came
on apace lasting four days, the wind attaining about eighty miles an
hour. Sleeping-bags and tent-cloth were soon in a wretched state, sodden
with moisture. Christmas Day was not very enjoyable in cramped quarters,
the tent having encroached on us owing to drift settling around it.
Still, by the evening, it was clear enough to break camp and we made a
spurt of thirteen miles.

From the next camp there was a good view to the northwest, the
pack extending beyond the limit of vision. The land trended to the
west-north-west and we could see it at a distance of fifty miles from
our altitude.

All things considered, I thought it right to turn back at this stage.
In twenty-six days we had done one hundred and fifty-eight miles, and
ninety-seven miles of that distance had been covered on the only five
consecutive good days. We waited some time until the sun appeared, when
I was able to get an observation while Hodgeman made a sketch of the
view.

By December 30 we reoccupied the camp of the 20th, sixteen miles on the
return journey. A time-shot was successful, and observations were also
taken for magnetic declination.

As the weather was fine, Hodgeman and Whetter went to investigate two
odd-looking pyramids about five miles away. These turned out to be high
snow-ramps, two hundred yards long, on the lee side of open crevasses.

The last day of 1912 was calm and "snow-blind"--the first of this
particular variety we had experienced without drift. A New Year pudding
was made of soaked biscuit, cocoa, milk, sugar, butter, and a few
remaining raisins, and it was, of course, an immense success.

On January 1 and the two succeeding days the drift was so thick that
we had to lie up and amuse ourselves discussing various matters of
individual interest. Hodgeman gave us a lecture on architecture,
explaining the beauties of certain well-known buildings. Whetter
would describe some delicate surgical operation, while I talked about
machinery. I also worked up the time-shots, and the hours passed
quickly. If only our sleeping-bags had been drier we might have enjoyed
ourselves at intervals.

The evening of the 4th found us camped ten miles nearer home, beside a
large crevasse and with a closer view of the bay seen on December 20.
T