pan wen 
rat . 
36 SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION [Jury 
ward end, and then ripping into hundreds of pieces in about half 
a minute. 
We got into our bags as best we could. I remember trying 
to get Bill into his, as he was farther out than I was; he wouldn’t 
let me—‘ Please get into your bag, Cherry.’ Both Birdie’s hands 
went in getting back to his. We turned our bags over, flaps 
under, as much as possible, and were gradually drifted up. — 
It was a most appalling position. I knew that Peary had 
once come through a blizzard lying in the open in his bag in the 
summer. I had no idea that human beings could do so in winter 
in the state in which we were already. I wondered whether it was 
really worth trying to keep warm. I confess that I considered 
that we were now come to the end. If we got out of the blizzard 
and had, as we decided, to try and get back by digging ourselves 
into the snow for the night, I meant to ask Bill to let us have 
enough morphia to deaden the pain when, as I think still it must 
have come, the cold became too much to live. With a steep icy 
slope below us, ending in an ice-cliff which itself led into the pres- 
sure, I don’t know whether any of us had much hope of finding 
the tent—though afterwards as the wind went down we said 
we had. Without the tent I think we must have died. 
I suppose at times all through this blizzard we must have 
dozed—I remember waking once after this to hear Bill singing 
hymns—every now and then I could hear a little, and Bill says 
Birdie was doing the same: I chimed in a bit, but not very much. 
Early Monday morning there were decided lulls in the wind, and 
the blizzard had practically blown itself out. Before daylight, 
while it was still blowing, we turned out and went down the slope 
to try and find the tent. We could see nothing, and were forced 
to return. It was now 48 hours since we had had a meal, and 
we managed about the weirdest meal ever eaten N. or South. 
We got the floorcloth under the heads of our bags, then got into 
our bags and drew the floorcloth over our heads and got the 
primus going in this shelter, and the cooker held by hand over the 
primus. In time we got both tea and pemmican—the blubber left 
in the cooker burnt and gave the tea a burnt taste—none of us 
will ever forget that meal. I enjoyed it as much as such a meal 
ever could be enjoyed, and that burnt taste will always bring back 
that memory. 
A little glow of light began to come up and we turned out to 
