I9IO] A PONY'S MEMORY 15 



ful discomfort will remain with them — animals so often remem- 

 ber places and conditions where they have encountered difficul- 

 ties or hurt. Do they only recollect circumstances which are 

 deeply impressed by some shock of fear or sudden pain, and does 

 the remembrance of prolonged strain pass away? Who can tell? 

 But it would seem strangely merciful if nature should blot out 

 these weeks of slow but inevitable torture. 



The dogs are in great form again; for them the greatest cir- 

 cumstance of discomfort is to be constantly wet. It was this cir- 

 cumstance prolonged throughout the gale which nearly lost us 

 our splendid leader ' Osman.' In the morning he was discovered 

 utterly exhausted and only feebly trembling; life was very nearly 

 out of him. Fie was buried in hay, and lay so for twenty-four 

 hours, refusing food — the wonderful hardihood of his species 

 was again shown by the fact that within another twenty-four hours 

 he was to all appearance as lit as ever. 



Antarctic petrels have come about us. This afternoon one 

 was caught. 



Later, about 7 p.m. Evans saw two icebergs far on the port 

 beam; they could only be seen from the masthead. Whales have 

 been frequently seen — Balanoptera Sibbaldi — supposed to be the 

 biggest mammal that has ever existed.^ 



Friday, December 9. — 65° 8'. 177° 41'. Made good S. 

 4 W. 109'; Scott Island S. 22 W. 147'. At six this morning 

 bergs and pack were reported ahead; at first we thought the 

 pack might consist only of fragments of the bergs, but on enter- 

 ing a stream we found small worn floes — the ice not more than 

 two or three feet in thickness. ' I had hoped that we should not 

 meet it till we reached latitude 66y2 or at least 66.'' We decided 

 to work to the south and west as far as the open water would 

 allow, and have met with some success. At 4 p.m., as I write, we 

 are still in open water, having kept a fairly straight course and 

 come through five or six light streams of ice, none more than 300 

 yards across. 



We have passed some very beautiful bergs, mostly tabular. 

 The heights have varied from 60 to 80 feet, and I am getting 

 to think that this part of the Antarctic yields few bergs of greater 

 altitude. 



Two bergs deserve some description. One, passed very close 

 on port hand in order that it might be cinematographed, was 



