lation was that our lips, which were very sore from exposure to the
sun and wind, had now a chance of healing.

Next afternoon, the gale moderated sufficiently for us to go once more
to David Island, in clearer weather, to see the outlook from the bluff.
This time the sun was shining on the mainland and on the extension of
the glacier past the bluff to the north. The distant southern slopes
were seamed with a pattern of crevasses up to a height of three thousand
feet. To the north, although the way was certainly impassable for twelve
miles, it appeared to become smoother beyond that limit. We decided to
try and cross in that direction.

We persevered on the 24th over many lines of pressure-ice and then
camped near an especially rough patch. Watson had the worst fall on that
day, going down ten feet vertically into a crevasse before his harness
stopped him. After supper, we went to locate a trail ahead, and were
greatly surprised to find salt water in some of the cracks. It meant
that in two days our descent had been considerable, since the great
bergschrund farther south was well over three hundred feet in depth and
no water had appeared in its depths.

A few extracts from the diary recall a situation which daily became more
serious and involved:

"Monday, November 25. A beautiful day so far as the weather and scenery
are concerned but a very hard one. We have been amongst 'Pressure,' with
a capital P, all day, hauling up and lowering the sledges with an alpine
rope and twisting and turning in all directions, with waves and hills,
monuments, statues, and fairy palaces all around us, from a few feet to
over three hundred feet in height. It is impossible to see more than a
few hundred yards ahead at any time, so we go on for a bit, then climb a
peak or mound, choose a route and struggle on for another short stage.

"We have all suffered from the sun to-day; Kennedy has caught it worst,
his lips, cheeks, nose and forehead are all blistered. He has auburn
hair and the tender skin which frequently goes with it....

"Tuesday, November 26. Another very hard day's work. The first half-mile
took three hours to cover; in several places we had to cut roads with
ice-axes and shovels and also to build a bridge across a water-lead. At
1 P.M. we had done just one mile. I never saw or dreamt of anything
so gloriously beautiful as some of the stuff we have come through this
morning. After lunch the country changed entirely. In plac