travelling on account of thick
drift and high wind. I spent part of the time in reckoning up the amount
of food remaining and in cooking the rest of the dogs' meat; the last
device enabling me to leave behind some of the kerosene, of which there
was still a good supply. Late in the afternoon the wind fell and the
sun peered amongst the clouds just as I was in the middle of a long job
riveting and lashing the broken shovel.

It was on January 11--a beautiful, calm day of sunshine--that I set out
over a good surface with a slight down grade. From the start my feet
felt lumpy and sore. They had become so painful after a mile of walking
that I decided to make an examination of them on the spot, sitting in
the sun on the sledge. The sight of my feet gave me quite a shock, for
the thickened skin of the soles had separated in each case as a complete
layer, and abundant watery fluid had escaped into the socks. The new
skin underneath was very much abraded and raw.

I did what appeared to be the best thing under the stances: smeared
the new skin with lanoline, of which there was a good store, and with
bandages bound the skin soles back in place, as they were comfortable
and soft in contact with the raw surfaces. Outside the bandages I wore
six pairs of thick woollen socks, fur boots and a crampon over-shoe
of soft leather. Then I removed most of my clothing and bathed in
the glorious heat of the sun. A tingling sensation seemed to spread
throughout my whole body, and I felt stronger and better.

When the day commenced with ideal weather I thought I would cover a
long distance, but at 5.30 P.M., after six and a quarter miles, I felt
nerve-worn and had to camp, "so worn that had it not been a delightful
evening, I should not have found strength to erect the tent."

Though the medical outfit was limited, there were a fair number of
bandages and on camping I devoted much time to tending raw patches all
over the body, festering fingers and inflamed nostrils.

High wind and much drift put travelling out of the question on January
12, and in any case my feet needed a rest.

"January 13.--The wind subsided and the snow cleared off at noon. The
afternoon was beautifully fine. Descended hard ice-slopes over many
crevasses--almost all descent--but surface cut my feet up; at 8 P.M.
camped, having done five and three-quarter miles--painful feet--on
camping find feet worse than ever; things look bad but shall persevere.
It is now 11 P.M