THE MAGNETIC POLE Each successive evening saw us some ten miles nearer to the Magnetic Pole, but by the 11th we had various inconveniences (to name them mildly) to add to our difficulties. Mawson had a touch of snow-blindness in his right eye, and both he and Mackay suffered much through the skin of their lips peeling off, leaving the raw flesh exposed. Mawson, particularly, experienced great difficulty every morning in getting his mouth to open, as his lips were firmly glued together. The compass by this time was very sluggish, in fact the theodolite compass would scarcely work at all. This pleased us all a good deal, and at first we all wished more power to it; and then, recognising our mistake, we amended the sentiment and cordially wished less power to it. On the evening of the 12th, Mawson, after carefully analysing the results set forth in the advance copy of the _Discovery_ Expedition Magnetic Report, decided that, although the matter was not expressly so stated, the Magnetic Pole instead of moving easterly, as it had done in the interval between Sabine's observation in 1841 and the time of the _Discovery_ expedition in 1902, was likely now to be travelling somewhat to the north-west. The results of dip readings taken earlier in the journey also agreed with this decision. It would, therefore, be necessary to travel farther in that direction than we had expected, if we were to reach our goal. Most extremely disquieting news was this for us, as we had come almost to the end of our provisions, after making allowance for enough to take us back on short rations to the coast. Still, in spite of anxiety, our overwhelming weariness enabled us to get some sleep. At breakfast on the following morning we fully discussed our future movements, and Mawson, having carefully reviewed his observations as to the position of the Magnetic Pole, decided that we must travel four more days if we were to reach it, and we resolved to go on sledging for that time. On that day we advanced thirteen miles, and on the next the snow surface over which we were sledging sparkled with large reconstructed ice crystals, about half an inch in width and one sixteenth of an inch in thickness, which it seemed a sacrilege to break. On the 15th about twenty minutes before true noon Mawson took magnetic observations with the dip circle and found the angle only fifteen minutes off the vertical, the dip being 89° 45'. Naturally we were very much rejoiced to find that we were close to the Magnetic Pole. The observations made by Bernacchi, during the two years of the _Discovery_ expedition sojourn at winter quarters on Ross Island, showed that the extent of daily swing of the magnet was sometimes considerable. The compass at a distance from the Pole pointing in a slightly varying direction at different times of the day, indicates that the polar centre executes a daily round of wanderings about its mean position.