section 11 of scott's last expedition volume 1 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org scott's last expedition volume 1 the journals of robert falcon scott arranged by Leonard Huxley second part of chapter 5 depot lane to one ton camp Wednesday February 1st camp 3 a day of comparative inactivity and some disappointment mirris and wilson returned at noon reporting the eyes out beyond the razorback island no return to Cape Evans no pony snowshoes alas I have decided to make a start tomorrow without them late tonight akinson's foot was examined it is bad and there's no possibility of its getting right for some days he must fill up behind I've decided to leave crayon with him most luckily we now have an extra tent and cooker how the ponies are to be led is very doubtful well we must do the best that circumstances permit poor Akinson is in very low spirits I sent ground to the discovery hut with our last male he went on skiing was nearly four hours away making me rather anxious as the wind had sprung up and there was a strong surface drift he narrowly missed the camp on returning and I am glad to get him back our food allowance seems to be very ample and if we go on as at present we shall thrive amazingly Thursday February 2nd camp four made a start at last roused out at seven left camp about 1030 Akinson and crayon remained behind very hard on the ladder Akinson suffering much pain and mental distress at his condition for the latter I fear I cannot have much sympathy as he ought to have reported his trouble long before crayon will manage to rescue some more of the forage from the barrier edge I am very sorry for him on starting with all the ponies I leading Akinson's I saw with some astonishment that the animals were not sinking deeply and to my plea surprise we made good progress at once this lasted for more than an hour then the surface got comparatively bad again but still most of the ponies did well with it making five miles birdies footnote the favorite nickname for bowers end of footnote animal however is very heavy and flounders where the others walk fairly easily he is eager and tries to go faster as he flounders as a result he was brought in in a ladder I inquired for our one set of snowshoes and found they had been left behind the difference in surface from what was expected makes one wonder whether better conditions may not be expected during the night and in the morning when the temperatures are low my suggestion that we should take tonight marching has met with general approval even if there is no improvement in the surface the ponies will rest better during the warmer hours and march better in the night so we are resting in our tents waiting to start tonight grand has gone back for the snowshoes he volunteered good naturally certainly his expertness on ski is useful last night the temperature fell to minus six degree after the wind dropped today is warm and calm impressions the seductive folds of the sleeping bag the hiss of the primus and the fragrant steam of the cooker issuing from the tent ventilator the small green tent and the great white road the wine of a dog and the nay of our steeds the driving cloud of powdered snow the crunch of footsteps which break the surface crust the wind blown furrows the blue arch beneath the smoky cloud the crisp ring of the ponies hooves and the swish of the following sledge the droning conversation of the march as driver encourages or chides his horse the patter of dog pads the gentle flutter of our can the shelter its deep booming sound under the full force of a blizzard the drift snow like finest flour penetrating every hole and corner flickering up beneath one's head covering pricking sharply as the sand blast the sun with blurred image peeping shyly through the breathing drift giving pale shadowless light the eternal silence of the great white desert cloudy columns of snow drift advancing from the south pale yellow wreaths heralding the coming storm blotting out one by one the sharp cut lines of the land the blizzard nature's protest the crevasse nature's pitfall that grim trap for the unwary no hunter could conceal his snare so perfectly the light rippled snow bridge gives no hint or sign of the hidden danger its position unguessable till man or beast is floundering clawing and struggling for foothold on the brink the vast silence broken only by the mellow sounds of the marching column friday february the third eight a.m camp five rouse the camp at ten p.m and we started marching at twelve thirty at first surface bad but gradually improving we had two short spells and set up temporary camp to feed ourselves and ponies at three twenty started again at five and marched till seven in all covered nine miles surface seemed to have improved during the last part of the march till just before camping time windbowers who was leading plunged into soft snow some of the others following close on his heels shared his fate and soon three ponies were plunging and struggling in a drift garage pony which has very broad feet found hard stuff beyond and then my pony got round ford in keohane led round on comparatively hard ground well to the right and the entangled ponies were unharnessed and led round from patch to patch till firmer ground was reached then we camped and the remaining loads were brought in then came the triumph of the snowshoe again we put a set on bower's big pony at first he walked awkwardly for a few minutes only then he settled down was harnessed to his load brought that in and another also all over places into which he had been plunging if we had more of these shoes we could certainly put them on seven out of eight of our ponies and after a little i think on the eighth oats his pony as certainly the ponies so shod would draw their loads over the soft snow patches without any difficulty it is trying to feel that so great a help to our work has been left behind at the station impressions it is pathetic to see the ponies floundering in the soft patches the first sink is a shock to them and seems to brace them to action thus they generally try to rush through when they feel themselves sticking if the patch is small they land snorting and agitated on the harder surface with much effort and if the patch is extensive they plunge on gamely until exhausted most of them after a bit plunge forward with both four feet together making a series of jumps and bringing the sledge behind them with jerks this is of course terribly tiring for them now and again they have to stop and it is hard to see them half engulfed in the snow panting and heaving from the strain now and again one falls and lies trembling and temporarily exhausted it must be terribly trying for them but it is wonderful to see how soon they recover their strength the quiet lazy ponies have a much better time than the eager ones when such troubles arise the soft snow which gave the trouble is evidently in the hollow of one of the big waves that continue through the pressure ridges at Cape Crociere towards the bluff there are probably more of these waves though we crossed several during the last part of the march so far it seems that the soft parts are in patches only and do not extend the whole length of the hollow our course is to pick away with the sure-footed beasts and keep the others back till the road has been tested what extraordinary uncertainties this work exhibits every day some new fact comes to light some new obstacle which threatens the gravest obstruction i suppose this is the reason which makes the game so well worth playing impressions the more i think of our sledging outfit the more certain i am that we have arrived at something near a perfect equipment for civilized man under such conditions the borderline between necessity and luxury is vague enough we might save weight at the expense of comfort but all possible saving would amount to but a mere fraction of one's loads supposing it were a grim struggle for existence and we were forced to drop everything but the barest necessities the total saving on this three weeks journey would be fuel for cooking 100 pounds cooking apparatus 45 personal clothing and such say 100 tent say 30 instruments and such 100 total 375 pounds this is half of one of 10 sledge loads or about one twentieth of the total weight carried if this is the only part of our weights which under any conceivable circumstances could be included in the category of luxuries it follows the sacrifice to comfort is negligible certainly we could not have increased our mileage by making such a sacrifice but beyond this it may be argued that we have an unnecessary amount of food 32 ounces per day per man is our allowance i will remember the great strain of hunger to which we were reduced in 1903 after four or five weeks on 26 ounces and i'm perfectly confident that we were steadily losing stamina at that time let it be supposed that four ounces per day per man might conceivably be saved we have been a three pounds a day saved in the camp or 63 pounds in the three weeks or one one hundredth part of our present loads the smallness of the fractions on which the comfort and physical well-being of the men depend is due to the fact of traveling with animals whose needs are proportionately so much greater than those of the men it follows that it must be sound policy to keep the men of a sledge party keyed up to a high pitch a well-fed physical condition as long as they have animals to drag their loads the time for short rations long marches and careful scrutiny of detail comes when the men are dependent on their own traction efforts 6 p.m it has been flowing from the southwest but the wind is dying away the sky is overcast i ride after nine hours sleep the others still peacefully slumbering work with animals means that long intervals of rest which are not altogether easily occupied with our present routine the dogs remaining behind for an hour or more trying to hit off their rival in the new camp soon after the ponies have been picketed the teams are pulling very well mirrors is especially the animals are getting a little fierce two white dogs and mirrors's team have been trained to attack strangers they were quite enough on board ship but now bark fiercely if anybody but their driver approaches the team they suddenly barked at me as i was pointing out the stopping place to mirrors and osmond my erstwhile friend swept round and nipped my leg lightly i had no stick and there is no doubt that if mirrors had not been on the sledge the whole team following the lead of the white dogs would have been at me in a moment hunger and fear are the only realities in dog life an empty stomach makes a fierce dog there is something almost alarming in the sudden fierce display of natural instinct in a tame creature instinct becomes a blind unreasoning relentless passion for instance the dogs are as a rule all very good friends and harness they pull side by side rubbing shoulders they walk over each other as they settle to rest relations seem quite peaceful and quiet but the moment food is in their thoughts however their passions awaken each dog is suspicious of his neighbor and the smallest circumstance produces a fight with like suddenness their rage flares out instantaneously if they get mixed up on the march a quiet peaceable team which has been lazily stretching itself with wagging tails one moment will become a set of raging tearing fighting devils the next it is such stern facts that resign one to the sacrifice of animal life in the effort to advance such human projects as this the corner camp bearings ops hill less than bluff 86 degrees ops hill less than null 81 half degree mount terror north four west ops hill north 69 west saturday february 4th 8 a.m 1911 camp six a satisfactory night march covering 10 miles and some hundreds of yards ross party at 10 when it was blowing quite hard from the southeast with temperature below zero it looks as though we should have a pretty cold start but by the end of breakfast the wind had dropped and the sun shone forth started on a bad surface ponies plunging a good deal for two miles or so bowers's uncle bill walking steadily on his snowshoes after this the surface improved and the marching became steadier we camped for lunch after five miles going still better in the afternoon except that we crossed several crevasses oats's pony dropped his legs into two of these and sank into one oddly the other ponies escaped and we were the last some two miles from our present position the cracks appeared to cease and in the last march we have gone on to quite a hard surface on which the ponies drag their loads with great ease this part seems to be swept by the winds which so continually sweep brown Cape Crocierre and therefore it is doubtful if it extends far to the south but for the present the going should be good had bright moonshine for the march but now the sky is clouded and it looks threatening to the south i think we may have a blizzard though the wind is northerly at present the ponies are in very good form james pig remarkably recovered from his lameness 8 p.m it is blowing a blizzard wind moderate temperature mild impressions the deep dreamless sleep that follows the long march and the satisfying supper the surface crust which breaks with a snap and sinks with a snap startling men and animals custom robbs of dread but not of interest to the dogs who come to imagine such sounds as a result of some strange freak of hitting creatures they become all alert and spring from side to side hoping to catch the creature the hope clings in spite of continual disappointment footnote from dr wilson's journal february 15th there were also innumerable substances of the surface the breaking of crusts over air spaces under them large areas of dropping one fourth inch or so with a hushing sort of noise or a muffled report my leader starik the nicest and wisest old dog in both teams thought there was a rabbit under the crust and every time one gave way close by him and he would jump sideways with both feet on the spot and his nose in the snow the action was like a flash and never checked the team it was most amusing i have another funny little dog mucaca small but very game and a good worker he is paired with a fat lazy and very greedy black dog nougas by name and in every march this brightly little mucaca will once or twice notice that nougas is not pulling and will jump over the trace bite nougas like a snap and be back again in his own place before the fat dog knows what has happened end a footnote a dog must be either eating asleep or interested his eagerness to snatch an interest to change his attention to something is almost pathetic the monotony of marching kills him this is the fearfulest difficulty for the dog driver on a snow plane without leading marks or objects in sight the dog is almost human in its demand for living interest yet fatally less than human and its inability to foresee the dog lives for the day the hour even the moment the human being can live and support discomfort for a future sunday february 5th corner camp number six the blizzard descended on us at about four p.m. yesterday for 24 hours it continued with moderate wind then the wind shifting slightly to the west came with much greater violence now it is blowing very hard and our small frail tent is being well-tested one imagines it cannot continue long as at present but remembers our proximity to Cape Crocier and the length of the blizzards recorded in that region as usual we sleep and eat conversing as cheerfully as maybe in the intervals there is scant news of our small outside world only report of comfort and a rumor that Bowers' Pony has eaten one of its putties 11 p.m. still blowing hard a real blizzard now with dusty flower redrift two minutes in the open makes a white figure what a wonderful shelter our little tent affords we have just had an excellent meal a quiet pipe and fireside conversation within almost forgetful for the time of the howling tempest without now as we line our bags warm and comfortable one can scarcely realize that hell is on the other side of the thin sheet of canvas that protects us Monday February 6th corner camp number 6 6 p.m. the wind increased in the night it has been blowing very hard all day no fun to be out of the tent but there are no shirkers with us oats has been out regularly to feed the ponies Marius and Wilson to attend to the dogs the rest of us as occasion required the ponies are fairly comfortable though one sees now what great improvements could be made to the horse clothes the dogs ought to be quite happy they are cruel snugly under the snow and at mealtimes issue from steaming warm holes the temperature is high luckily we are comfortable enough in the tent but it is terribly trying to the patients over 50 hours already and no sign of the end the drifts about the camp are very deep some of the sludges almost covered it is the old story eat and sleep sleep and eat and it's surprising how much sleep can be put in Tuesday February 7th 5 p.m. corner camp number 6 the wind kept on through the night commencing to lull at 8 a.m. at 10 a.m. one could see an arch of clear sky to the southwest and west white island the bluff and the western mountains clearly defined the wind had fallen very light and we were able to do some camp work digging out sledges and making the ponies more comfortable at 11 a low dark cloud crept over the southern horizon and there could be no doubt the wind was coming upon us again at 1 p.m. the drift was all about us once more and the sun obscured one began to feel that fortune was all together too hard on us but now as i write the wind has fallen again to a gentle breeze the sun is bright and the whole southern horizon clear a good sign is the freedom of the bluff from cloud one feels that we ought to have a little respite for the next week and now we must do everything possible to tend and protect our ponies all looks promising for the night march Wednesday February 8th number 7 camp bearings latitude 78 degree 13 minute mountain terror north three west arabus 23 1 half terror second peak from south peak two white island 74 terror castle rock 43 terror night march just completed 10 miles 200 yards the ponies were much shaken by the blizzard one supposes they did not sleep all look listless and two or three are visibly thinner than before but the worst case by far is for the little pony he was reduced to a weight little exceeding 400 pounds on his sledge and caved in all together on the second part of the march the load was reduced to 200 pounds and finally ford pulled this in leading the pony the poor thing is a miserable scarecrow and never ought to have been brought it is the same pony that did so badly in the ship today it is very fine and bright we are giving a good deal of extra food to the animals and my hope is that they will soon pick up again but they cannot stand more blizzards in their present state i'm afraid we shall not get very far but at all hazards we must keep the greater number of the ponies alive the dogs are in fine form the blizzard has only been a pleasant rest for them memo left number seven camp two bales of fodder thursday february 9th number eight camp made good 11 miles goodnight march surface excellent but we are carrying very light loads with the exception of one or two ponies ford's poor misery is improving slightly it is very keen on its feed its fate is much in doubt keohane's jimmy pig is less lame than yesterday in fact there is a general buck up all around it was a cold just march with light headwind and temperature of five degree or six degree below zero but it was warm in the sun all yesterday and promises to be warm again today if such weather would hold there would be nothing to fear for the ponies we have come to the conclusion that the principal cause of their discomfort is the comparative thinness of their coats we get the well-remembered glorious views of the western mountains but now very distant no crevasses today i shall be surprised if we pass outside all sign of them one begins to see how things ought to be worked next year if the ponies hold out ponies and dogs are losing their snow blindness end of second part of chapter five section 12 of scott's last expedition volume one this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org scott's last expedition volume one the journals of robert falcon scott arranged by lennard huxley third part of chapter five depot laying to one-ton camp friday february 10th number nine camp 12 miles 200 yards cold march very chilly wind overcast sky difficult to see surface or course noticed sledges ponies etc cast shadows all around surface very good and animals did splendidly we came over some undulations during the early part of the march but the last part appeared quite flat i think i remember observing the same fact on our former trip the wind veers and backs from south to west and even to north coming in guests the sestruggie are distinctly south southwest there isn't a shadow of doubt that the prevailing wind is along the coast taking the curve of the deep bay south of the bluff the question now is shall we by going do southward keep this hard surface if so we shall have little difficulty in reaching the beard more glacier next year we turn out of our sleeping bags about nine p.m. somewhere about 11 30 i shout to the soldier how are things there was a response suggesting readiness and soon after figures are busy amongst the sledges and ponies it is chilling work for the fingers and not too warm for the feet the rugs come off the animals the harness is put on tents and camp equipment are loaded on the sledges nose bags filled for the next halt one by one the animals are taken off the picketing rope and yoke to the sledges odes watches his animal warily reluctant to keep such a nervous creature standing in the traces if one is prompt one feels impatient and fretful whilst watching one's more tardy fellows wilson and mirrors hang about ready to help with odds and ends still we wait the picketing lines must be gathered up a few pony putties need adjustment a party has been slow striking their tent with numbed fingers on our horses bridle and the animals striving to turn its head from the wind one feels resentful at last all is ready one says all right bowers go ahead and birdie leaps his big animal forward starting as he continues at a steady pace the horses have got cold and at the word they are off the soldiers and one or two others with a rush finisco give poor foothold on the slippery saz struggy and for a minute or two drivers have some difficulty in maintaining the pace on their feet movement is warming and in 10 minutes the column has settled itself to steady marching the paces brisk the light bad and at intervals one or another of a suddenly steps on a slippery patch and falls prone these are the only real incidents of the march for the rest it passes with a steady tramp and slight variation of formation the weaker ponies drop a bit but not far so that they are soon up to the line again when the first halt is made we have come to a single halt in each half march last night it was too cold to stop long and a very few minutes found us on the go again as the end of the half march approaches i get out my whistle then at a shrill blast bowers wheel slightly to the left his tent mates lead still farther out to get the distance for the picket lines oats and i stop behind bowers and evans the two other sludges of our squad behind the two other of bowers so we are drawn up in camp formation the picket lines are run across at right angles to the line of advance and secured to the two sludges at each end in a few minutes ponies are on the lines covered tense up again and cookers going meanwhile the dog drivers after a long cold wait at the old camp have packed the last sledge and come trotting along our tracks they try to time their arrival in the new camp immediately after our own and generally succeed well the mid-march halt runs into an hour to an hour and a half and at the end we pack up and tramp forth again we generally make our final camp about eight o'clock and within an hour and a half most of us around our sleeping bags such is at present the daily routine at the long halt we do our best for our animals by building snow walls and improving their rugs etc saturday february 11th number 10 camp bearings latitude 78 degrees 47 minutes bluff south 79 west left extreme bluff 65 degrees bluff a white island near sound 11 miles covered six and five miles between halts the surface has got a good deal softer in the next two marches we should know more certainly but it looks as though the conditions to the south will not be so good as those we have had hitherto blossom evans's pony has very small hooves and has found the going bad it is less a question of load than one of walking and there is no doubt that some form of snowshoe would help greatly the question is what form all the ponies were a little done when we stopped but the weather is favorable for a good rest there is no doubt this night marching is the best policy even the dogs found the surface more difficult today but they are pulling very well mires has deposed osman in favor of rabchik as the former was getting either very disobedient or very deaf the change appears excellent rabchik leads most immediately memorandum for next year a stout male bamboo shod with a spike to sound for crevices saturday february 12th number 11 camp 10 miles depot one bale of fodder variation 150 east south true north 30 east by compass the surface is getting decidedly worse the pony sunk quite deep every now and again we marched six and a quarter miles before lunch blossom dropping considerably behind he lagged more on the second march and we halted at nine miles evans said he might be dragged for another mile and we went on for that distance and camped the sky was overcast very dark and snowy looking in the south very difficult to steer a course mount discovery is in line with the south end of the bluff from the camp and we are near the 79th parallel we must get exact bearings for this is to be called the bluff camp and should play an important part in the future bearings bluff 36 degrees 13 minutes black island right x i have decided to send e evans ford and kohane back with the three weakest ponies which they have been leading the remaining five ponies which have been improving in condition will go on for a few days at least and we must see how near we can come to the 80th parallel tonight we have been making all the necessary arrangements for this plan cherry gerard is to come into our tent monday february 13th number 12 camp nine miles 150 yards the wind got up from the south with drift before we started today all appearance of a blizzard but we got away at 12 30 and marched through drift for seven miles it was exceedingly cold at first just at starting the sky cleared in the wonderfully rapid fashion usual in these regions we saw that our camp had the southern edge of the base rock of the bluff in line with mount discovery and white island well clear of the eastern slope of mount arabus a fairly easy alignment to pick up at lunchtime the sky lightened up in the drift temporarily ceased i thought we were going to get in a good march but on starting again the drift came thicker than ever and soon the course grew wild we went on for two miles and then i decided to camp so here we are with a full blizzard blowing i told wilson i should camp if it grew thick and hope he and mirrors have stopped where they were they saw evans start back from number 11 camp before leaving i trust they've gotten in something of a march before stopping this continuous bad weather is exceedingly trying but our ponies are quite comfortable this time i'm glad to say we have built them extensive snow walls behind which they seem to get quite comfortable a shelter we are five in a tent yet fairly comfortable our ponies coats are certainly getting thicker and i see no reason why we shouldn't get to the 80th parallel if only the weather would give us a chance bowers is wonderful throughout the night he has worn no headgear but a common green felt hat kept on with a chin strap and affording no cover whatever for the ears his face and ears remain bright red the rest of us were glad to have thick balaclavas and wind helmets i've never seen anyone so unaffected by the cold tonight he remained outside a full hour after the rest of us had got into the tent he was simply pottering about the camp doing small jobs to the sledges etc cherry gerard is remarkable because of his eyes he can only see through glasses and has to wrestle with all sorts of inconveniences and consequence yet one would never guess it for he manages somehow to do more than his share of the work tuesday february 14th 13 camp seven miles 650 yards a disappointing day the weather had cleared the night was fine though cold temperature well below zero with a keen southwest breeze soon after the start we struck very bad surface conditions the ponies sank lower than their hawks frequently and the soft patches of snow left by the blizzard lay in sandy heaps making great friction for the runners we struggled on but found gran with weary willy dropping to the rear i consulted oats as to the distance and he cheerfully proposed 15 miles for the day this peaked me somewhat and i marched till the sledge meter showed six and a half miles by this time weary willy had dropped about three quarters of a mile and the dog teams were approaching suddenly we heard much barking in the distance and later it was evident that something had gone wrong oats and i then hurried back i met mirrors who told me the dogs of his team had got out of hand and attacked weary willy when they saw him fall finally they'd been beaten off and weary willy was being led without his sledge weary willy had been much bitten but luckily i think not seriously he appears to have made a gallant fight and bit and shook some of the dogs with his teeth grand did his best breaking his ski stick mirrors broke his dog stick one way and another the dogs must have had a rocky time yet they seem to bear charmed lives when their blood is up as apparently not one of them has been injured after lunch four of us went back and dragged up the load it taught us the nature of the surface more than many hours of pony leading the incident is deplorable and the blame widespread i find weary willy's load was much heavier than that of the other ponies i blame myself for not supervising these matters more effectively and for allowing weary willy to get so far behind we started off again after lunch but when we had done two-thirds of a mile weary willy's condition made it advisable to halt he has been given a hot feed a large snow wall and some extra sacking the day promises to be quiet and warm for him and one can only hope that these measures will put him right again but the whole thing is very annoying memorandum arrangements for ponies one hot brand or oat mashes two clippers for breaking wires of bales three pickets for horses four lighter ponies to take 10 foot sledges the surface is so crusty and friable that the question of snowshoes again becomes of great importance all the sestruggy are from southwest to south by southwest and all the wind that we have experienced in this region there cannot be a doubt that the wind sweeps up the coast at all seasons a point has arisen as to the deposition david called the crust seasonal this must be wrong they mark blizzards but after each blizzard fresh crusts are formed over only by the patchy heaps left by the blizzard a blizzard seems to leave heaps which cover anything from one-sixth to one-third of the whole surface such heaps presumably turn hollows and amounts with fresh hollows between these are filled in turn by ensuing blizzards if this is so the only way to get at the seasonal deposition would be to average the heaps deposited and multiply this by the number of blizzards in the year monday february 15th 14 camp seven miles 775 yards the surface was wretched today the two drawbacks of yesterday the thin crusts which let the ponies through and the sandy heaps which hang on the runners if anything exaggerated bower's his pony refused to work at intervals for the first time his hind legs sink very deep weary willy is decidedly better the soldier takes a gloomy view of everything but i've come to see that this is a characteristic of him in spite of it he pays every attention to the weaker horses we had frequent halts on the march but managed four miles before lunch and three and a half after the temperature was minus 15 degrees at the lunch camp it was cold sitting in the tents waiting for the ponies to rest the thermometer is now negative seven degrees but there is a bright sun and no wind which makes the air feel quite comfortable one socks and finesco dry well our provision allowance is working out very well in fact all is well with us except the condition of the ponies the more i see of the matter the more certain i am that we must save all the ponies to get better value out of them next year it would have been ridiculous to have worked some out this year as the soldier wished even now i feel we went too far with the first three one thing is certain a good snowshoe would be worth its weight in gold on this surface and if we can get something really practical we ought to greatly increase our distances next year memorandums storage of biscuit next year lashing cases on sludges look into sledge meter picket lines for ponies food tanks to be size required two sledges altered to take steel runners storage of pony food enough sacks for ready bags thursday february 16th six miles fourteen hundred and fifty yards fifteen camp the surface a good deal better but the ponies running out three of the five could go on without difficulty vowers as pony might go on a bit but weary willie is a good deal done up and to push him further would be to risk him unduly so tomorrow we turn the temperature on the march tonight fell to negative twenty one degrees with the brisk southwest breeze vowers started out as usual in his small felt hat ears uncovered luckily i called a halt after a mile and looked at him his ears were quite white cherry and i nursed them back whilst the patient seemed to feel nothing but intense surprise and discussed at the mere fact of possessing such unruly organs oats's nose gave great trouble i got frostbitten on the cheek lightly as also did cherry gerrard tried to march in light wool and mitts to great discomfort friday february 17th camp 15 latitude 79 degrees 28 and a half minutes south it clouded over yesterday the temperature rose and some snow fell wind from the south cold and biting as we turned we started to build the depot i had intended to go on half a march and return to same camp leaving weary willie to rest but under the circumstances did not like to take risk stores left in depot latitude 29 degrees 29 minutes depot 245 pounds seven weeks full provision bags for one unit 12 pounds two days provision bags for one unit eight pounds eight weeks tea 31 pounds six weeks extra butter 176 pounds biscuits seven weeks full biscuits 85 pounds eight and a half gallons of oil 12 weeks oil for one unit 850 pounds five sacks of oats 424 pounds four bales of fodder 250 pounds a tank of dog biscuit 100 pounds two cases of biscuit total 2181 pounds one skein white line one set breast harness two 12 foot sledges two pair skis one pair of ski sticks one minimum thermometer 110 round tree coco 110 matches with packing we have landed considerably over a ton of stuff it is a pity we couldn't get to 80 degrees but as it is we shall have a good leg up for next year and can at least feed the ponies full up to this point our camp 15 is well marked i think besides the flagstaff and black flag we have piled biscuit boxes filled and empty to act as reflectors secured tea tins to the sledges which are planted upright in the snow the depot carn is more than six foot above the surface very solid and large then there are the pony protection walls all together it should show up for many miles i forgot to mention that looking back on the 15th we saw a carn built on a camp 12 and a half miles behind it was miraged up it seems as though some of our party will find spring journeys pretty trying oats as noses always on the point of being frostbitten mirrors has a refractory toe which gives him much trouble this is the worst prospect for some at work i've been wondering how i shall stick the summit again as this cold spell gives ideas i think i should be all right but one must be prepared for a pretty good doing end of chapter five section 13 of scott's last expedition volume one this is a librivox recording all librivox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit librivox.org recording by you and bales scott's last expedition volume one the journals of robert falcon scott arranged by lennard hoaxley chapter six adventure and peril saturday february 18 camp 12 north 22 miles 1996 yards i scattered some oats 50 yards east of depot footnote this was done in order to measure on the next visit the results of wind and snow end of footnote the minimum thermometer showed minus 16 degrees when we left camp in form simpson the pony started off well grand leading my pony with weary willy behind the soldier leading his with cherries behind and bowers steering course as before with a light sledge footnote scott wilson mears and cherry garard now went back swiftly with the dog teams to look after the return parties at safety camp having found all satisfactory scott left wilson and mirrors there with the dogs and marched back with the rest to corner camp taking more stores to the depot and hoping to meet bowers rearguard party end of footnote we started half an hour later soon overtook the ponies and luckily picked up a small bag of oats which they had dropped we went on for 10 and three quarter miles and stopped for lunch after lunch to our astonishment the ponies appeared going strong they were making for a camp some miles farther on and meant to remain there i'm very glad to have seen them making the pace so well they don't propose to stop for lunch at all but to march right through 10 or 12 miles a day i think they will have little difficulty in increasing this distance for the dogs the surface has been bad and one or another of us on either sledge has been running a good part of the time but we have covered 23 miles three marches out we have four days food for them and ought to get in very easily as we camp late the temperature is evidently very low and there is a low drift conditions are beginning to be severe on the barrier and i shall be glad to get the ponies into more comfortable quarters sunday february 19 started 10 p.m camped 6 30 nearly 26 miles to our credit the dogs went very well and the surface became excellent after the first five or six miles at the bluff camp number 11 we picked up heaven's track and found that he must have made excellent progress number 10 camp was much snowed up i should imagine our light blizzard was severely felt along this part of the route we must look out tomorrow for signs of evans being held up the old tracks show better here than on the softer surface during this journey both ponies and dogs have had what under ordinary circumstances would have been a good allowance of food yet both are desperately hungry both eat their own excrement with the ponies it does not seem so horrid as there must be a good deal of grain etc which is not fully digested it is the worst side of dog driving all the rest is diverting the way in which they keep up a steady jog trot for hour after hour is wonderful their legs seem steel springs fatigue unknown for at the end of a tiring march any unusual incident will arouse them to full vigor osman has been restored to leadership it is curious how these leaders come off and go off all except old starik who remains as steady as ever we are all acting like seasoned sledge travelers now such is the force of example our tent is up and cook are going in the shortest time after halt and we are able to break camp in exceptionally good time cherry garard is cook he is excellent and is quickly learning all the tips for looking after himself and his gear what a difference such care makes is apparent now but was more so when he joined the tent with all his foot gear iced up whilst wilson and i nearly always had dry socks and finesse go to put on this is only a point amongst many in which experience gives comfort every minute spent in keeping one's gear dry and free of snow is very well repaid monday february 20 29 miles lunch excellent run on hard windswept surface covered nearly 17 miles very cold at starting and during march suddenly wind changed and temperature rose so that at the moment of stopping for final halt it appeared quite warm almost sultry on stopping found we had covered 29 miles some 35 statutes miles the dogs are weary but by no means played out during the last part of the journey they trotted steadily with a wonderfully tireless rhythm i have been off the sledge a good deal and trotting for a good many miles so should sleep well eevans has left the bale of forage at camp eight and has not taken on the one which he might have taken from the depot facts which show that his ponies must have been going strong i hope to find them safe and sound the day after tomorrow we had the most wonderfully beautiful sky effects on the march with the sun circling low on the southern horizon bright pink clouds hovered overhead on a deep gray blue background gleams of bright sunlit mountains appeared through the stratus here it is most difficult to predict what is going to happen sometimes the southern sky looks dark and ominous but within half an hour all has changed the land comes and goes as the veil of stratus lifts and falls it seems as though weather is made here rather than dependent on conditions elsewhere it is all very interesting tuesday february 21 new camp about 12 miles from safety camp 15 and a half miles we made a start as usual about 10 p.m the light was good at first but rapidly grew worse till we could see little of the surface the dogs showed signs of wearying about an hour and a half after starting we came on mistily outlined pressure ridges we were running by the sledges suddenly wilson shouted hold on to the sledge and i saw him slip a leg into a crevasse i jumped to the sledge but saw nothing five minutes after as the teams were trotting side by side the middle dogs of our team disappeared in a moment the whole team was sinking two by two we lost sight of them each pair struggling for foothold osmond the leader exerted all his great strength and kept a foothold it was wonderful to see him the sledge stopped and we left aside the situation was clear in another moment we had been actually traveling along the bridge of a crevasse the sledge had stopped on it whilst the dogs hung in their harness in the abyss suspended between the sledge and the leading dog why the sledge and ourselves didn't follow the dogs we shall never know i think a fraction of a pound of added weight must have taken us down as soon as we grasped the position we hold the sledge clear of the bridge and anchored it then we peered into the depths of the crack the dogs were howling dismally suspended in all sorts of fantastic positions and evidently terribly frightened two had dropped out of their harness and we could see them indistinctly on a snow bridge far below the rope at either end of the chain had bitten deep into the snow at the side of the crevasse and with the weight below it was impossible to move it by this time wilson and cherry garard who had seen the accident had come to our assistance at first things looked very bad for our poor team and i saw little prospect of rescuing them i had luckily inquired about the alpine rope before starting the march and now cherry garard hurriedly brought this most essential aid it takes one a little time to make plans under such sudden circumstances and for some minutes our efforts were rather futile we could get not an inch on the main trace of the sledge or on the leading rope which was binding osmond to the snow with a throttling pressure then thoughts became clearer we unloaded our sledge putting in safety our sleeping bags with the tent and cooker choking sounds from osmond made it clear that the pressure on him must soon be relieved i seized the lashing off mere's sleeping bag past the tent poles across the crevasse and with mere's managed to get a few inches on the leading line this freed osmond whose harness was immediately cut then securing the alpine rope to the main trace we tried to haul up together one dog came up and was unlashed but by this time the rope had cut so far back at the edge that it was useless to attempt to get more of it but we could now unbend the sledge and do that for which we should have aimed from the first namely run the sledge across the gap and work from it we managed to do this our fingers constantly numbed wilson held on to the anchored trace whilst the rest of us laboured at the leader end the leading rope was very small and i was fearful of it was breaking so mere's was lowered down a foot or two to secure the alpine rope to the leading end of the trace this done the work of rescue proceeded in better order two by two we hauled the animals up to the sledge and one by one cut them out of their harness strangely the last dogs were the most difficult as they were close under the lip of the gap bound in by the snow covered rope finally with a grasp we got the last poor creature onto firm snow we had recovered 11 of the 13 footnote taking up the story from the point where 11 of the 13 dogs had been brought to the surface mr cherry garrad's diary records this left the two at the bottom scott had several times wanted to go down bill said to me that he hoped he wouldn't but now he insisted we found the alpine rope would reach and then lowered scott down to the platform 60 feet below i thought it very plucky we then hauled the two dogs upon the rope leaving scott below scott said the dogs were very glad to see him they had curled up asleep it was wonderful they had no bones broken then mere's dogs which were all wondering about loose started fighting our team and we all had to leave scott to go and separate them which took some time they fixed on nougis badly we then hauled scott up it was all three of us could do fingers a good deal frostbitten at the end that was all the dogs scott has just said that at one time he never hoped to get back the 13 or even half of them when he was down in the crevasse he wanted to go off exploring but we dissuaded him of course it was a great opportunity he kept on saying i wonder why this is running the way it is you expect to find them at right angles scott found inside crevasse warmer than above but had no thermometer it is a great wonder the whole sledge did not drop through the inside was like the cliff of dover end of footnote then i wondered if the last two could not be got and we paid down the alpine rope to see if it was long enough to reach the snow bridge on which they were coiled the rope is 90 feet and the amount remaining showed that the depth of the bridge was about 65 feet i made a bow line and the others lowered me down the bridge was firm and i got hold of both dogs which were hauled up in turn to the surface then i heard dim shouts and howls above some of the rescued animals had wandered to the second sledge and a big fight was in progress all my rope tenders had to leave to separate the combatants but they soon returned and with some effort i was hauled to the surface all is well that ends well and certainly this was a most surprisingly happy ending to a very serious episode we felt we must have refreshment so camped and had a meal congratulating ourselves on a really miraculous escape if the sledge had gone down nears an eye must have been badly injured if not killed outright the dogs are wonderful but have had a terrible shaking three of them are passing blood and have more or less serious internal injuries many were held up by a thin thong round the stomach riding madly to get free one dog better placed in its harness stretched its legs full before and behind and just managed to claw either side of the gap it had continued attempts to climb throughout giving vent to terrified howls two of the animals hanging together had been fighting at intervals when they swung into any position which allowed them to bite one another the crevasse for the time being was in inferno and the time must have been all too terribly long for the wretched creatures it was 20 minutes past three when we had completed the rescue work and the accident must have happened before 130 some of the animals must have been dangling for over an hour I had a good opportunity of examining the crack the section seemed such as I have shown it narrowed towards the east and widened slightly towards the west in this direction there were curious curved splinters below the snow bridge on which I stood the opening continued but narrowing so that I think one could not have fallen many more feet without being wedged twice I have owed safety to a snow bridge and it seems to me that the chance of finding some obstruction or some saving fault in the crevasse is a good one but I am far from thinking that such a chance can be relied upon and it would be an awful situation to fall beyond the limits of the alpine rope we went on after lunch and very soon got into soft snow and regular surface where crevasses are most unlikely to occur we have pushed on with difficulty for the dogs are badly cooked and the surface tries then we are all pretty done but luckily the weather favours us a sharp storm from the south has been succeeded by ideal sunshine which is flooding the tent as I write it is the calmest warmest day we have had since we started sledging we are only about 12 miles from safety camp and I trust we shall push on without accident tomorrow but I am anxious about some of the dogs we shall be lucky indeed if all recover my companions today were excellent Wilson and Cherry Garrad if anything the most intelligently and readily helpful I begin to think that there is no avoiding the line of cracks running from the bluff to Cape Crozier but my hope is that the danger does not extend beyond a mile or two and that the cracks are narrower on the pony road to corner camp if eight ponies can cross without accident I do not think there can be great danger certainly we must rigidly adhere to this course on all future journeys we must try and plot out the danger line footnote the party had made a shortcut where in going out with the ponies they had made an elbow and so had passed within this danger line end of footnote I begin to be a little anxious about the returning ponies I rather think the dogs are being underfed they have weakened badly in the last few days more than such work ought to entail now they are absolutely ravenous nears has very dry feet whilst we others perspire freely and our skin remains pink and soft his gets horny and scaly he amused us greatly tonight by scraping them the sound suggested the whittling of a hardwood block and the action was curiously like an attempt to shake the feet to fit the finesco summary of marches made on the depot journey distances in geographical miles variation 152 east safely number three to four east four males 2000 yards four to five south 64 east four males 500 yards four to five south 77 east one mile 312 yards four to five south 60 east three miles 1575 yards five to six south 48 east 10 miles 270 yards variation 149 and a half east corner six to seven south 10 miles 145 yards 7 to 8 south 11 miles 198 yards with a question mark 8 to 9 south 12 miles 325 yards 9 to 10 south 11 miles 118 yards bluff camp 10 to 11 south 10 miles 226 yards variation 152 and a half east 11 to 12 south 9 miles 150 yards 12 to 13 south 7 miles 650 yards 13 to 14 south 7 miles 775 yards 14 to 15 south 8 miles 1450 yards total 111 miles 610 yards return 17th to 18th 15 to 12 north 22 miles 1994 yards 18th to 19th 12 to midway between 9 and 10 north 48 miles 1825 yards 19th to 20th lunch 8 camp north 65 miles 1720 yards 19th to 20th 7 camp north 77 miles 1820 yards 20th to 21st north 30 to 35 west 93 miles 950 yards 21st to 22nd safety camp north and west 107 miles 1125 yards wednesday february 22 safety camp got away at 10 again surface fairly heavy dogs going badly the dogs are as thin as rakes they are reverence and very tired i feel this should not be and that it is evident that they are underfed the ration must be increased next year and we must have some properly thought-out diet the biscuit alone is not good enough mires is excellent to a point but ignorant of the conditions here one thing is certain the dogs will never continue to drag heavy loads with men sitting on the sledges we must all learn to run with the teams and the russian custom must be dropped mires i think rather imagined himself racing to the pole and back on a dog sledge the journey has opened his eyes a good deal we reached safety camp distance 14 miles at 4 30 am found evans and his party in excellent health but alas with only one pony as far as i can gather ford's pony only got four miles back from the bluff camp then a blizzard came on and in spite of the most tender care from ford the pony sank under it evans says that ford spent hours with the animal trying to keep it going feeding it walking it about and at last he returned to the tent to say that the poor creature had fallen they all tried to get it on its feet again but their efforts were useless it couldn't stand and soon after it died then the party marched some 10 miles but the blizzard had had a bad effect on blossom it seemed to have shriveled him up and now he was terribly emaciated after this march he could scarcely move evans describes his efforts as pathetic he got on 100 yards then stopped with legs outstretched and nose to the ground they rested him fed him well covered him with rugs but again all efforts were unavailing the last stages came with painful detail so blossom is also left on the southern road the last pony james pig as he is called has thriven amazingly of course great care has been taken with him and he is now getting full feed and very light work so he ought to do well the loss is severe but they were the two oldest ponies of our team and the two which oats thought of least use atkinson and kreen have departed leaving no trace not even a note kreen had carried up a good deal of fodder and some seal meat was found buried after a few hours sleep we are off for hut point there are certain points in night marching if only for the glorious light effect which the coming night exhibits wednesday february 22 10 p.m safety camp turned out at 11 this morning after four hours sleep wilson mires evans cherry garard and i went to hut point found a great enigma the hut was cleared and habitable but no one was there a pencil line on the wall said that a bag containing a mail was inside but no bag could be found we puzzled much then finally decided on the true solution is that atkinson and kreen had gone towards safety camp as we went to hut point later we saw their sledge track leading around on the sea ice then we returned towards safety camp and endured a very bad hour in which we could see the two bell tents but not the domed it was an enormous relief to find the dome securely planted as the ice around cape harmitage is evidently very weak i have never seen such enormous water holes off it but every incident of the day pales before the startling contents of the mailbag which atkinson gave me a letter from cambell setting out his doings and the finding of amundson established in the bay of wales one thing only fixes itself definitely in my mind the proper as well as the wiser course for us is to proceed exactly as though this had not happened to go forward and do our best for the honor of the country without fear or panic there is no doubt that amundson's plan is a very serious menace to ours he has a shorter distance to the pole by 60 miles i never thought he could have got so many dogs safely to the ice his plan for running them seems excellent but above and beyond that he can start his journey early in the season an impossible condition with ponies the ice is still in at the glacier tongue a very late date it looks as though it will not break right back this season but off cape armitage it is so thin that i doubt if the ponies could safely be walked round thursday february 23 spent the day preparing sledges etc for party to meet bowers at corner camp it was blowing and drifting and generally uncomfortable wilson and mears killed three seals for the dogs friday february 24 roused out at six started marching at nine south kreen and jerry garard one sledge and tent evans atkinson ford second sledge and tent keo hain leading his pony we pulled on ski in the four noon the second sledge couldn't keep up so we changed about for half the march in the afternoon we pulled on foot on the whole i thought the labor greater on foot so did kreen showing the advantage of experience there is no doubt that very long day's work could be done by men in hard condition on ski the hanging back of the second sledge was mainly a question of condition but to some extent due to the sledge we have a 10 foot whilst the other party has a 12 foot the former is a distinct advantage in this case it has been a horrid day we won't to find a thick covering of sticky ice crystals on everything a frost rhyme i cleared my ski before breakfast and found more on afterwards there was the suggestion of an early frost morning at home such a morning has developed into a beautiful sunshiny day but in our case alas such hopes were shattered it was almost damp with temperature near zero and a terribly bad light for traveling in the afternoon error bus and terror showed up for a while now it is drifting hard with every sign of a blizzard a beastly night this marching is going to be very good for our condition and i shall certainly keep people at it saturday february 25 fine bright day easy marching covered nine miles in a bit yesterday and the same today should reach corner camp before lunch tomorrow turned out at 3 a.m and saw a short black line on the horizon towards white island thought it's an odd place for a rock exposure and then observed movement in it walked one and a half miles towards it and made certain that it was oats bowers and the ponies they seem to be going very fast and evidently did not see our camp today we have come on their tracks and i fear there are only four ponies left james pig our own pony limits the length of our marches the men haulers could go on much longer and we all like pulling on ski everyone must be practiced in this end of first part of chapter six section 14 of scott's last expedition volume one this is a librew ox recording all librew ox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit librewvox.org recording by you and bailis scott's last expedition volume one the journals of robert falcon scott arranged by lenard hoaxley second part of chapter six adventure and peril sunday february 26 marched on corner camp but second main party found going very hard and eventually got off their ski and pulled on foot james pig also found the surface bad so we camped and had lunch after doing three miles except for our tent the camp routine is slack shall have to tell people that we are out on business not picnicking it was another three miles to depot after lunch found signs of bowers party having camped there and glad to see five pony walls left six full weeks provision one bag of oats three quarters of a bale of fodder then cherry garard cream and i started for home leaving the others to bring the pony by slow stages we covered six and a quarter miles in direct line then had some tea and marched another eight we must be less than 10 miles from safety camp pitched tent at 10 p.m very dark for cooking monday february 27 awoke to find it blowing a howling blizzard absolutely confined to tent at present to step outside is to be covered with drift in a minute we have managed to get our cooking things inside and have had a meal very anxious about the ponies and wondering where they can be the return party has had two days and may have got them into some shelter but more probably they were not expecting this blow i wasn't footnote bowers oats and gran with the five ponies the two days had after all brought them to safety camp end of footnote the wind is blowing force eight or nine heavy gusts straining the tent the temperature is evidently quite low this is poor luck tuesday february 28 safety camp packed up at six a.m and marched into safety camp found everyone very cold and depressed wilson and mears had had continuous bad weather since we left bowers a note since their arrival the blizzard had raged for two days the animals looked in a sorry condition but all were alive the wind blew keen and cold from the east there could be no advantage in waiting here and soon all arrangements were made for a general shift to hut point packing took a long time the snowfall had been prodigious and parts of the sledge were three or four feet underdrift about four o'clock the two dog teams got safely away then the pony party prepared to go as the clothes were stripped from the ponies the ravages of the blizzard became evident the animals without exception were terribly emaciated and weary willy was in a pitiable condition the plan was for the ponies to follow the dog tracks our small party to start last and get in front of the ponies on the sea ice i was very anxious about the sea ice passage owing to the spread of the waterholes the ponies started but weary willy tethered last without a load immediately fell down we tried to get him up and he made efforts but was too exhausted then we rapidly reorganized cherry garad and kreen went on whilst oats and grand stayed with me we made desperate efforts to save the poor creature got him once more on his legs and gave him a hot oak mash then after a wait of an hour oats led him off and we packed the sledge and followed on ski five hundred yards away from the camp the poor creature fell again and i felt it was the last effort we camped built a snow wall around him and did all we possibly could to get him on his feet every effort was fruitless though the poor thing made pitiful struggles towards midnight we propped him up as comfortably as we could and went to bed wednesday march one am our pony died in the night it is hard to have got him back so far only for this it is clear that these blizzards are terrible for the poor animals their coats are not good but even with the best of coats it is certain they would lose condition badly if caught in one and we cannot afford to lose condition at the beginning of a journey it makes a late start necessary for next year well we have done our best and bought our experience at a heavy cost now every effort must be bent on saving the remaining animals and it will be good luck if we get four back at kpevens or even three jimmy pig may have fared badly bowers big pony is in a bad way after that frightful blizzard i cannot remember such a bad storm in february or march the temperature was minus seven degrees bowers incident i note the events of the night of march the first while they are yet fresh in my memory thursday march two am the events of the past 48 hours bid fair to wreck the expedition and the only one comfort is the miraculous avoidance of loss of life we turned out early yesterday oats gran and i after the dismal night of our pony's death and pulled towards the forage depot on ski footnote this was at a point on the barrier one half mile from the edge in a south southeast direction from huts point end of footnote as we approached the sky looked black and lowering and mirage effects of huge broken flows loomed out ahead at first i thought it one of the strange optical illusions common in this region but as we neared the depot all doubt was dispelled the sea was full of broken pieces of barrier edge my thoughts flew to the ponies and dogs and fearful anxieties assailed my mind we turned to follow the sea edge and suddenly discovered a working crack note from the glossary working crack an open crack which leaves the eyes free to move with the movement of the water beneath end of note we dashed over this and slackened pace again after a quarter of a mile then again cracks appeared ahead and we increased pace as much as possible not slackening again till we were in line between the safety camp and castle rock meanwhile my first thought was to warn evans we set up tents and grand went to the depot with a note as oats and i disconsolidately thought out the situation i thought to myself that if either party had reached safety either on the barrier or at huts point they would immediately have sent a warning messenger to safety camp by this time the messenger should have been with us some half hour passed and suddenly with a thank god i made certain that two specks in the direction of pram point were human beings i hastened towards them and found they were wilson and nears who had led the homeward way with the dog teams they were astonished to see me they said they feared the ponies were adrift on the sea ice they had seen them with glasses from observation hill they thought i was with them they had hastened out without breakfast we made them coco and discussed the gloomier situation just after coco wilson discovered a figure making rapidly for the depot from the west gran was sent off again to intercept it proved to be cream he was exhausted and a little incoherent the ponies had camped at 2 30 am on the sea ice well beyond the seal crack on the previous night friday march 3 am i was interrupted when writing yesterday and continue my story this morning in the middle of the night at 4 30 bowers got out of the tent and discovered the ice had broken all round him a crack ran under the picketing line and one pony had disappeared they had packed with great haste and commenced jumping the ponies from flow to flow then dragging the loads over after the three men must have worked splendidly and fearlessly at length they had worked their way to heavier flows lying near the barrier edge and at one time thought they could get up but soon discovered that there were gaps everywhere off the high barrier face in this dilemma cream volunteering was sent off to try and reach me the sea was like a cauldron at the time of the breakup and killer whales were putting their heads up on all sides luckily they did not frighten the ponies he traveled a great distance over the sea ice leaping from flow to flow and at last found a thick flow from which with help of ski stick he could climb the barrier face it was a desperate venture but luckily successful as soon as i had digested cream's news i sent gran back to hut point with wilson and nears and started with my sledge cream and oats for the scene of the mishap we stopped at safety camp to load some provisions and oil and then marching carefully around approached the ice edge to my joy i caught sight of the lost party we got our alpine rope and with its help dragged the two men to the surface i pitched camper to safe distance from the edge and then we all started salvage work the ice had ceased to drift and lay close and quiet against the barrier edge we got the men at 5 30 p.m and all the sledges in effect onto the barrier by 4 a.m as we were getting up the last loads the ice showed signs of drifting off and we saw it was hopeless to try and move the ponies the three poor beasts had to be left on their flow for the moment well fed none of our party had had sleep the previous night and all were dog tired i decided we must rest but turned everyone out at 8 30 yesterday morning before breakfast we discovered the ponies had drifted away we had tried to anchor their flow with the alpine rope but the anchors had drawn it was a sad moment at breakfast we decided to pack and follow the barrier edge this was the position when i last wrote but the interruption came when bowers who had taken the binoculars announced that he could see the ponies about a mile to the northwest we packed and went on at once we found it easy enough to get down to the poor animals and decided to rush them for a last chance of life then there was an unfortunate mistake i went along the barrier edge and discovered what i thought and what proved to be a practicable way to land the pony but the others meanwhile a little overwrought tried to leap punch across a gap the poor beast fell in eventually we had to kill him it was awful i recalled all hands and pointed out my road bowers and oats went out on it with a sledge and worked their way to the remaining ponies and started back with them on the same track meanwhile cherry and i dug a road at the barrier edge we saved one pony for a time i thought we should get both but bowers poor animal slipped at a jump and plunged into the water we dragged him out on some brash ice killer whales all about us in an intense state of excitement the poor animal couldn't rise and the only merciful thing was to kill it these incidents were terrible at five p.m we sadly broke our temporary camp and marched back to the one i had first pitched even here it seemed unsafe so i walked nearly two miles to discover cracks i could find none and we turned in about midnight so here we are ready to start our sad journey to hut point everything out of joint with the loss of the ponies but mercifully with all the party alive and well saturday march 4 a.m we had a terrible pull at the start yesterday taking four hours to cover some three males to march on the line between safety camp and fodder depot from there bowers went to safety camp and found my notes to evans had been taken we dragged on after lunch to the place where my tent had been pitched when wilson first met me and where we had left our ski and other loads all these had gone we found sledge tracks leading in towards the land and at length marks of a pony's hoofs we followed these and some ski tracks right into the land coming at length to the highest of the pram point ridges i decided to camp here and as we unpacked i saw four figures approaching they proved to be evans and his party they had ascended towards castle rock on friday and found a good campsite on top of the ridge they were in good condition it was a relief to hear they had found a good road up they went back to their camp later dragging one of our sledges and a light load atkinson is to go to hut point this morning to tell wilson about us the rest ought to meet us and help us up the hill just off to march up the hill hoping to avoid trouble with the pony footnote from dr wilson's journal february 28 meers and i led off with a dog team each and leaving the barrier we managed to negotiate the first long pressure ridge of the sea eyes where the seals all lie without much trouble the dogs were running well and fast and we kept on the old tracks still visible by which we had come out in january heading a long way out to make a wide detour around the open water off cape armitage from which a very wide extent a thick black fog frost smoke as we call it was rising on our right this completely obscured our view of the open water and the only suggestion it gave me was that the thaw pool off the cape was much bigger than when we passed it in january and that we should probably have to make a detour of three or four miles around it to reach hut point instead of one or two i still thought it was not impossible to reach hut point this way so we went on but before we had run two miles on the sea eyes we noticed that we were coming on to an area broken up by fine thread like cracks evidently quite fresh and as i ran along by the sledge i paced them and found they occurred regularly at every 30 paces which could only mean that they were caused by a swell this suggested to me that the thaw pool off cape armitage was even bigger than i thought and that we were getting on to ice which was breaking up to flow north into it we stopped to consider and found that the cracks in the ice we were on with a rise and fall of a swell knowing that the ice might remain like this with each piece tied against the next only until the tide turned i knew that we must get off it at once in case the tide did turn in the next half hour when each crack would open up into a wide lead of open water and we should find ourselves on an isolated flow so we at once turned and went back as fast as possible to the unbroken sea ice obviously it was now unsafe to go round to hookpoint by cape armitage and we therefore made for the gap it was between eight and nine in the evening when we turned and we soon came in sight of the pony party led as we thought by captain scott we were within half a mile of them when we hurried right across their bows and headed straight for the gap making a course more than a right angle off the course we had been on there was the seals pressure ridge of sea ice between us and them but as i could see them quite distinctly i had no doubt they could see us and we were occupied more than once just then in beating the teams off stray seals so that we didn't go by either very quickly or very silently from here we ran into the gap where there was some nasty pressed up ice to cross and large gaps and cracks by the ice foot but with the alpine rope and the rush we got first one team over and then the other without mishap onto the land ice and we're then practically at hot point however expecting that the pony party was following us we ran our team up onto level ice picketed them and pitched our tent to remain there for the night as we had a half mile of rock to cross to reach the hut and the sledges would have to be carried over this and the dogs led by hand in couples a very long job having done this we returned to the ice foot with a pick and a shovel to improve the road up for horse party as they would have to come over the same bad ice we had found difficult with the dogs but they were nowhere to be seen close at hand as we had expected for they were miles out as we soon saw still trying to reach hut point by the sea ice around Cape Armitage Thorpool and on the ice which was showing a working crack at 30 paces i couldn't understand how scott could do such a thing and it was only the next day that i found out that scott had remained behind and had sent bowers in charge of the pony party bowers having had no experience of the kind did not grasp the situation for some time and as we watched him and his party or as we thought captain scott and his party of ponies we saw them all suddenly realize that they were getting into trouble and the whole party turned back but instead of coming back towards the gap as we had we saw them go due south towards the barrier edge and white island then i thought they were all right for i knew they would get onto safe ice and camp for the night we therefore had our supper in the tent and were turning in between 11 and 12 when i had a last look to see where they were and found they had camped as it appeared to me on safe barrier ice the only safe thing they could have done they were now about six miles away from us and it was lucky that i had my gert's glasses with me so that we could follow their movements now as everything looked all right meers and i turned in and slept at five a.m i awoke and as i felt uneasy about the party i went out and along the gap to see where we could see their camp and i was horrified to see that the whole of the sea ice was now on the move and that hit had broken up for miles further than when we turned in and right back past where they had camped and that the pony party was now as we could see a drift on a flow and separated by open water and a lot of drifting ice from the edge of the fast barrier ice we could see with our glasses that they were running the ponies and sledges over as quickly as possible from flow to flow whenever they could trying to draw nearer to the safe barrier ice again the whole straight was now open water to the north of cape armitage with the frost smoke rising everywhere from it and full of pieces of floating ice all going up north to ross sea march one ash wednesday the question for us was whether we could do anything to help them there was no boat anywhere and there was no one to consult with but everyone was on the floating flow as we believed except teddie evans ford and keohane who with one pony were on their way back from corner camp so we searched the barrier for signs of their tent and then saw that there was a tent at safety camp which meant evidently to us that they had returned the obvious thing was to join up with them and go round to where the pony party was adrift and see if we could help them to reach to safe ice so without waiting for breakfast we went off six miles to this tent we couldn't go now by the gap for the ice by which we had reached land yesterday was now broken up in every direction and all on the move up the straight we had no choice now but to cross up by crater hill and down by pram point and over the pressure ridges and so on to the barrier and off to safety camp we couldn't possibly take a dog sledge this way so we walked taking the alpine rope to cross the pressure ridges which are full of crevasses we got to this tent soon afternoon and were astonished to find that not teddie evans and his two seamen were here but that scott and oats and gran were in it and no pony with them teddie evans were still on his way back from corner camp and had not arrived it was now for the first time that we understood how the accident had happened when we had left safety camp yesterday with the dogs the ponies began their march to follow us but one of the ponies was so weak after the last blizzard and so obviously about to die that bowers cherry garard and cream were sent on with the four capable ponies while scott oats and gran remained at safety camp till the sick bony died which happened apparently that night he was dead and buried when we got there we found that scott had that morning seen the open water up to the barrier edge and had been in a dreadful state of mind thinking that meers and i as well as the whole pony party had gone out into the straight on floating ice he was therefore much relieved when we arrived and he learned for the first time where the pony party was trying to get to fast ice again we were now given some food which we badly wanted and while we were eating we saw in the far distance a single man coming hurriedly along the edge of the barrier ice from the direction of the catastrophe party and towards our camp gran went off on ski to meet him and when he arrived we found it was creen who had been sent off by bowers with a note unencumbered otherwise to jump from one piece of floating ice to another until he reached the fast edge of the barrier in order to let captain scott know what had happened this he did of course not knowing that we or anyone else had seen him go adrift and being unable to leave the ponies and all his loaded sledges himself creen had considerable difficulty and ran a pretty good risk in doing this but succeeded all right there were now scott oats creen gran miers myself here and only three sleeping bags so the three first remained to see if they could help bowers cherry garard and the ponies while miers gran and i returned to look after our dogs at hut point here we had only two sleeping bags for the three of us so we had to take turns and i remained up till one o'clock that night while gran had six hours in my bag it was a bitterly cold job after a long day we had been up at five with nothing to eat till one o'clock and walked 14 miles the nights are now almost dark march two a very bitter wind blowing and it was a cheerless job waiting for six hours to get asleep in the bag i walked down from our tent to the hut and watched whales blowing in the semi darkness out in the black water of the straight when we turned out in the morning the pony party was still on floating ice but not any further from the barrier ice by a merciful providence the current was taking them rather along the barrier edge where they went to drift instead of straight out to sea we could do nothing more for them so we set to our work with the dogs it was blowing a bitter gale of wind from the southeast with some drift and we made a number of journeys backwards and forwards between the gap and the hut carrying our tent and camp equipment down and preparing a permanent picketing line for the dogs as the ice had all gone out of the straight we were quite cut off from any return to Cape Evans until the sea should again freeze over and this was not likely until the end of April we rigged up a small fireplace in the hut and found some wood and made a fire for an hour or so at each meal but as there was no coal and not much wood we felt we must be economical with the fuel and so also with matches and everything else in case Bowers should lose his sledge loads which had most of the supplies for the whole party to last 12 men for two months the weather had now become too thick for us to distinguish anything in the distance and we remained in ignorance as to the party adrift until Saturday I had also lent my glasses to Captain Scott this night I had first go in the bag and turned out to shiver for eight hours till breakfast there was literally nothing in the hut that one could cover oneself with to keep warm and we couldn't run to keeping the fire going it was very cold work there were heaps of biscuit cases here which we had left in discovery days and with these we built up a small inner hut to live in March 3 spent the day in transferring dogs in couples from the gap to the hut in the afternoon Teddy Evans and Atkinson turned up from over the hills having returned from their corner camp journey with one horse and two seamen all of which they had left and camped at Castle Rock three miles off on the hills they naturally expected to find Scott here and everyone else and had heard nothing of the pony party going adrift but having found only open water ahead of them they turned back and came to land by Castle Rock slopes we fed them and I walked halfway back to Castle Rock with them March 4 Mears Grant and I walked up ski slope towards Castle Rock to meet Evans party and pilot them and the dogs safely to hut point but halfway we met Atkinson who told us that they had now been joined by Scott and all the catastrophe party who were safe but who had lost all the ponies except one a great blow however no lives were lost and the sledge loads and stores were saved so Mears and I returned to hut point to make stables for the only two ponies that now remained both in wretched condition of the eight with which we started End of Footnote Sunday March 5 AM marched up the hill to Evans camp under Castle Rock Evans party came to meet us and helped us up with the loads it was a steep stiff pull the pony was led up by oats as we camped for lunch Atkinson and Grant appeared the former having been to hut point to carry news of the relief I sent Grant on to safety camp to fetch some sugar and chocolate left Evans Oats and Keohane in camp and marched on with the remaining six to hut point it was calm at Evans camp but blowing hard on the hill and harder at hut point found the hut in comparative order and slept there End of Chapter 6