rapidly, and by 2 a.m. was over 200 yds. wide in places with an area of
open water to the south-west. Sounds of pressure were heard along this
lead, which soon closed to a width of about 30 yds. and then froze
over. The temperature at that time was -23° Fahr.

The most severe blizzard we had experienced in the Weddell Sea swept
down upon the 'Endurance' on the evening of the 13th, and by breakfast-
time on the following morning the kennels to the windward, or southern
side of the ship were buried under 5 ft. of drift. I gave orders that
no man should venture beyond the kennels. The ship was invisible at a
distance of fifty yards, and it was impossible to preserve one's sense
of direction in the raging wind and suffocating drift. To walk against
the gale was out of the question. Face and eyes became snowed up
within two minutes, and serious frost-bites would have been the penalty
of perseverance. The dogs stayed in their kennels for the most part,
the "old stagers" putting out a paw occasionally in order to keep open
a breathing-hole. By evening the gale had attained a force of 60 or 70
miles an hour, and the ship was trembling under the attack. But we
were snug enough in our quarters aboard until the morning of the 14th,
when all hands turned out to shovel the snow from deck and kennels.
The wind was still keen and searching, with a temperature of something
like -30° Fahr., and it was necessary for us to be on guard against
frost-bite. At least 100 tons of snow were piled against the bows and
port side, where the weight of the drift had forced the floe downward.
The lead ahead had opened out during the night, cracked the pack from
north to south and frozen over again, adding 300 yds. to the distance
between the ship and "Khyber Pass." The breakdown gang had completed
its work by lunch-time. The gale was then decreasing and the three-
days-old moon showed as a red crescent on the northern horizon. The
temperature during the blizzard had ranged from -21° to -33.5° Fahr. It