132 SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION [February 



for home, leaving the others to brnig the pony by slow stages. 

 We covered 6yi miles in direct line, then had some tea and 

 marched another 8. We must be less than lo miles from 

 Safety Camp. Pitched tent at lo p.m., very dark for cooking. 



Monday, February 27. — Awoke to find it blowing a howl- 

 ing blizzard — absolutely confined to tent at present — to step 

 outside is to be covered with drift in a minute. We have man- 

 aged to get our cooking things inside and have had a meal. 

 Very anxious about the ponies — am 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 ex- 

 pecting this blow — I wasn't. The wind is blowing force 8 or 

 9; hea\7 gusts straining the tent; the temperature is evidently 

 quite low. This is poor luck. 



Tuesday, February 28. — Safety Camp. Packed up at 6 A.M. 

 and marched into Safety Camp. Found everyone very cold and 

 depressed. Wilson and Meares had had continuous bad weather 

 since we left. Bowers and Oates since their arrival. The bliz- 

 zard 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 sledges were 3 or 4 feet under drift. About 

 4 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 water holes. 



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 reorganised. Cherry-Garrard and Crean 

 went on whilst Oates and Gran stayed with me. We made des- 



* Bowers, Oates, and Gran, with the five ponies. The two days had after all 

 brought them to Safety Camp. 



