224 SCOTT’S LAST EXPEDITION [June 
the base, in the hope of finding a note left in some depét which 
could tell whether they had fulfilled their task or turned back 
before reaching the Pole. On general grounds it was of great 
importance not to leave the record of the Expedition incomplete, 
with one of its most striking chapters a blank. 
The other alternative was to go west and north to relieve 
Campbell and his party, always supposing they had survived the 
winter. If they had come through the ‘winter, every day of 
advancing summer would improve their chances of living on in 
Terra Nova Bay. At the same time there was good prospect of 
their being ultimately relieved by the ship, if indeed she had not 
taken them off in the autumn. As for ourselves, it seemed most 
improbable that we could journey up the coast owing to the ab- 
normal state of the ice. Instead of being frozen for the winter, 
the whole Sound to the north and west of Inaccessible Island 
was open water during July; the ice was driven out by the ex- 
ceptionally strong and frequent winds, and there was little chance 
of a firm road forming for the spring. Under these conditions 
officers and men unanimously supported the decision to go south. 
Nelson at the end of June had started some lectures upon 
heredity. These proved to be of great interest and led to 
several discussions amongst the men and officers. They were 
so popular that they had to be continued for three weeks. ‘The 
weather in June as a whole was immeasurably worse than it had 
been in any previous season. Comparison of the records will 
show this in figures, both as regards wind and snow, though not 
in actual lowness of temperatures. Our hut was becoming grad- 
ually snowed in. After these blizzards in the dark it was almost 
an impossibility to walk far in the camp because of the huge 
drifts. Pyaree started giving some trouble with her capped 
knee on her near foreleg. This continued for some time and 
she was unable to get exercise and lost condition. ‘The ice which 
had been fairly permanent again blew out in a large bight to the 
south of the Cape. In the afternoon now we occasionally saw 
some colour in the northern sky, a presage of the light that we 
were to have. One never appreciates fully the blessing of an 
amount of light until one has been through a good deal of dark- 
ness. This time also we started bagging off the rations for the 
future sledging season. Owing to the probable length of our 
search these were of considerable bulk. 
