I was ordered to
take a long rest, but could do the zoological work, the South Polar
Times, and keep the Official Account of the Expedition from day to day.
Crean was in charge of sledging stores and equipment. Archer was cook.
Hooper, our domestic, took over in addition the working of the acetylene
plant. There was plenty of work for our other two seamen, Keohane and
Williamson, in the daily life of the camp and in preparations for the
sledging season to come.
The blizzard which threatened us all the way from Hut Point on May 1
broke soon after we got in. The ice in North Bay, which had been frozen
for some time, was taken out on the first day of this blizzard, with the
exception of a small strip running close along the shore. The rest
followed the next afternoon, when the wind was still rising, and blew in
the gusts up to 89 miles an hour. The curious thing was that all this
time the air had been quite clear.
This was the second day of the blizzard. The wind continued in violence
as the night wore on, and it began to snow, becoming very thick. From 3
A.M. to 4 A.M. the wind was so strong that there was a continuous rattle
of sand and stones up against the wall of the hut. The greater part of
the time the anemometer head was choked by the drifting snow, and
Debenham, whose night-watch it was, had a bad time in clearing it at 4
A.
Pages:
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
738
739
740
741
742
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753