May 14. Midnight. Saw planet for the first time. A beautiful luminous disk with shades of tone dimly visible. Southern pole cap white and seen. May 15. Certain details sufficiently distinct to make out dark areas, and at times a line or two. May 16. Occasional flashes of a few lines, while broad darkened area and cuniform area on right visible, and, in one flash, a line supporting the wedge as well as basal line. With no better seeing conditions than last night, more details came out, and for the first time I am encouraged to believe that each day an improvement will take place. I saw enough to make my first drawing. May 17. Bad seeing. I made out only the broad southern band, the line at the northern pole and the wedge-shaped area to the right below, also a slight discoloration in the middle. May 18. Not very good seeing. Could make out but little more than I did last night. May 19. Seeing about the same, perhaps slightly less. Saw rift in southern dark band and north pole appeared luminous. May 20. Mr. Lowell informed me this morning that the luminous appearance around the north pole that I saw last night was the result of a snowstorm. Seeing fair. Considerable vibration of planet. Saw new snow field of the northern pole distinctly outlined and much confused markings. Looked in vain for spots but could not discern them. May 21. Seeing clearer, and for the first time I made out distinctly two spots, or oases. Mr. Lowell informed me that Schiaparelli had never seen them. The snow which fell on May 19 was still conspicuous. May 22. With a headache and a seedy condition from not being acclimated, I yet found an improvement in my seeing capacities. I made out a promontory in the southern dark belt, also a canal running down from the Trivium. May 23. Bad seeing. Could not define snow cap though dark southern band showed. Made no drawing. May 24. Am in despair of seeing anything when the others see so much. I must have an old and worn-out retina. In looking, lines flash out at times but it is impossible to locate them. I can certainly see more than Huyghens did, but not much more. May 25. Heavens very cloudy and Mars obscured. May 26. Poor seeing--saw but a few markings. May 27. Snow and hail storm in the afternoon. Temperature 35° at night. Seeing zero, and consequently no observation. May 30. To-night markings and more particularly shades seemed abundant yet so evanescent that only an intimate knowledge by long study could define them. I gave up in despair.