Tonight we had a glorious auroral display –

Quite the most brilliant I have seen

At one time the sky from North North-West

To South South-East as high as the zenith

Was massed with arches bands and curtains

Always in rapid movement

The waving curtains were especially fascinating –

A wave of bright light would start at one end

And run along to the other

Or a patch of brighter light would spread

As if to reinforce the failing light of the curtain

For four days we have been unable to leave the tent –

The gale howling about us

We are weak writing is difficult but for my own sake

I do not regret this journey which has shown

That Englishmen can endure hardships

Help one another and meet death

With as great a fortitude as ever in the past

We took risks we knew we took them

Things have come out against us

And therefore we have no cause for complaint

But bow to the will of Providence

Determined still to do our best to the last

These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale