134 SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION [March 



flew to the ponies and dogs, and fearful anxieties assailed my 

 mind. We turned to follow the sea edge and suddenly dis- 

 covered a working crack. We dashed over this and slackened 

 pace again after a quarter of a mile. Then again cracks ap- 

 peared ahead and we increased pace as much as possible, not 

 slackening again till we were in line between the Safety Camp and 

 Castle Rock. Meanwhile my first thought was to warn Evans. 

 We set up tent, and Gran went to the depot with a note as Oates 

 and I disconsolately thought out the situation. I thought to 

 myself that if either party had reached safety either on the 

 Barrier or at* Hut Point they would immediately have sent a 

 warning messenger to Safety Camp. By this time the messenger 

 should have been v/ith us. Some half-hour passed, and suddenly 

 with a 'Thank God! ' I made certain that two specks in the 

 direction of Pram Point were human beings. I hastened towards 

 them and found they were Wilson and Meares, who had led the 

 homeward way with the dog teams. They were astonished to 

 see me — they said they feared the ponies were adrift on the 

 sea ice — they had seen them with glasses from Observation Hill. 

 They thought I was with them. They had hastened out without 

 breakfast: we made them cocoa and discussed the gloomiest 

 situation. Just after cocoa Wilson discovered a figure making 

 rapidly for the depot from the west. Gran was sent off again 

 to intercept. It proved to be Crean — he was exhausted and a 

 little incoherent. The ponies had camped at 2.30 A.M. on the 

 sea ice well beyond the seal crack on the previous night. In 

 the middle of the night . . . 



Friday, March 3, A.M. — I was interrupted when writing 

 yesterday and continue my story this morning. ... In the 

 middle of the night at 4.30 Bowers got out of the tent and 

 discovered the ice had broken all round him: a crack ran under 

 the picketing line, and one pony had disappeared. They had 

 packed with great haste and commenced jumping the ponies 

 from floe to floe, then dragging the loads over after — the three 

 men must have worked splendidly and fearlessly. At length 

 they had worked their way to heavier floes lying near the Barrier 

 edge, and at one time thought they could get up, but soon 

 discovered that there were gaps everywhere off the high Barrier 

 face. In this dilemma Crean volunteering v/as sent off to try 

 to reach me. The sea was like a cauldron at the time of the 



