AURORA AUSTRALIS.
a valuable aneroid was lost, and one of the hypsometer thermometers broken. It seemed as though we should never reach the bottom of the cone, but at last the slope flattened out to the gently inclined terrace, where our depot lay; altogether we had dropped down 5,000 feet in level by glissading.
Adams and Marshall were the first to reach the depot, the rest of the party, with the exception of Brocklehurst, having made a detour to their left, in consequence of having to pursue some lost luggage in that direction. At the depot, the blizzard of Sunday the 8th, had made sad havoc of our gear; the sledge had been overturned, and some of our belongings blown right away, while the remainder had been scattered to some distance, and were now partly or wholly covered by drift snow. After setting up the tent, Adams and Marshall returned over half a mile to rejoin Brocklehurst. Meanwhile a slight blizzard had sprung up, which completely blotted out the depot from view; fortunately the wind soon died down, and Adams, Marshall, and Brocklehurst were able to regain the camp. Tea was soon brewed with the help of the primus. The remainder of the party arrived at the depot at about 10 p. m..
It was suggested that, as a blizzard seemed to be