34 THE VOYAGE OF THE 'DISCOVERY' 



fresh ships were launched from time to time to compete in it. 

 The whale, however, was growing timid, and had to be sought 

 in new waters; the difficulties with the pack-ice were ever in- 

 creasing, and success lay more and more with those ships 

 which were capable of forcing their way through it. 



As a natural result of these conditions, a class of vessels 

 was evolved which, whilst capable of taking the same hard 

 knocks as the older ships, had a greatly increased power for 

 making progress through the pack-ice, and to this class be- 

 longed the old 'Discovery.' As regards lines, she probably 

 reached the best form for such a vessel ; for although others 

 have been launched since, they have achieved greater efficiency 

 mainly by increased engine-power. It was generally admitted 

 by those who witnessed her performances in 1875 that the old 

 ' Discovery' was the best ship that had ever been employed on 

 Arctic service. 



The Ship Committee which was appointed to consider the 

 design of the new vessel for the Antarctic Expedition had all 

 these facts vividly before it, since some of its members had 

 occupied the most important positions in the expedition of 

 1875. Without giving the names of all the members, as the 

 Committee was a large one, I may mention that amongst the 

 most active were Sir Leopold McClintock, Sir George Nares, 

 Sir Vesey Hamilton, Sir Albert Markham, Sir Anthony Hoskins, 

 and Captain E. W. Creak. 



This Committee, therefore, after due deliberation, decided 

 that the new vessel should be built more or less on the lines of 

 the old 'Discovery'; and here it is necessary to explain more 

 exactly why this decision was made, as it wholly rejected an- 

 other and newer type of Arctic vessel suggested by the 'Fram.' 



I have so often been asked whether the 'Discovery' was 

 like the ' Fram,' and if not, why not, that I wish to make this 

 point clear. The ' Fram ' was built for a specific object, which 

 was to remain in safety in the North Polar pack in spite of the 

 terrible pressures which were to be expected in such a great 

 extent of ice. 



This object was achieved in the simplest manner by in- 



