Saturday 21 October [Actually October 20]Gale during the night from E., eased somewhat during the forenoon. Set off at 10 a.m.
It was not long before the wind rose again from the same quarter, now with thick driving snow. However we made good progress. Passed flag after flag for each nautical mile, and after having covered 17 nautical miles, we found a snow cairn erected at the beginning of April. It has thus lasted for seven months and is still in good condition. From this cairn we changed course a point northwards – ENE – so as not to get mixed up in «filth». – The wind dropped as the day went on. We drove on to the south-east. Luckily we had no wind from this quarter – It was really bitter to drive on, in spite of the temperature only being –24.2° Many of our dogs: Neptune, Rotta, Uranus, Ulrik, Bjørn and Fudis are exhausted; some have sore feet, the reason is unclear. This transcript comes from “Race for the South Pole - The Expedition Diaries of Scott and Amundsen” by Roland Huntford. It appears by courtesy of the author and The Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd. |
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