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
is usual for the temperature to rise during a blizzard, and the failure
to produce any F?hn effect of this nature suggested an absence of high
land for at least 200 miles to the south and south-west. The weather
did not clear until the 16th. We saw then that the appearance of the
surrounding pack had been altered completely by the blizzard. The
"island" floe containing the 'Endurance' still stood fast, but cracks
and masses of ice thrown up by pressure could be seen in all
directions.
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