APPENDIX 425 



unselfish lot of men — each one doing his utmost fair and square in the 

 most cheery manner possible. 



As late as October 15 he writes further: ' No one yet knows who will 

 be on the Summit party : it is to depend on condition, and fitness when we 

 get there.' It is told of Scott, wliile still in New Zealand, that being 

 pressed on the point, he playfully said, ' Well, I should like to have Bill 

 to hold my hand when we get to the Pole ' ; but the Diary shows how the 

 actual choice was made on the march. 



Note 10, p. 86. — Campbell, Levick, and Priestly set off to the old 

 Nimrod hut eight miles away to see if they could find a stove of con- 

 venient size for their own hut, as well as any additional paraffin, and in 

 default of the latter, to kill some seals for oil. 



Note II, p. 92. — The management of stores and transport was finally 

 entrusted to Bowers. Rennick therefore remained with the ship. A story 

 told by Lady Scott illustrates the spirit of these men — the expedition first, 

 personal distinctions nowhere. It was in New Zealand and the very day 

 on which the order had been given for Bowers to exchange with Rennick. 

 In the afternoon Captain Scott and his wife were returning from the ship 

 to the house where they were staying; on the hill they saw the two men 

 coming down with arms on each other's shoulders — a fine testimony to 

 both. ' Upon my word,' exclaimed Scott, * that shows Rennick in a good 

 light!' 



Note 12, p. 102. — January 29. The seals have been giving a lot of 

 trouble, that is just to Meares and myself with our dogs. The whole 

 teams go absolutely crazy when they sight them or get wind of them, and 

 there are literally hundreds along some of the cracks. Occasionally when 

 one pictures oneself quite away from trouble of that kind, an old seal will 

 pop his head up at a blowhole a few yards ahead of the team, and they 

 are all on top of him before one can say ' Knife ! ' Then one has to rush 

 in with the whip — and every one of the team of eleven jumps over the 

 harness of the dog next to him and the harnesses become a muddle that 

 takes much patience to unravel, not to mention care lest the whole team 

 should get away with the sledge and its load and leave one behind to follow 

 on foot at leisure. I never did get left the whole of this depot journey, 

 but I was often very near it and several times had only time to seize a strap 

 or a part of the sledge and be dragged along helter-skelter over everything 

 that came in the way till the team got sick of galloping and one could 

 struggle to one's feet again. One gets very wary and wide awake when 

 one has to manage a team of eleven dogs and a sledge load by oneself, but 

 it was a most interesting experience, and I had a delightful leader, 

 ' Stareek ' by name — Russian for ' Old Man,' and he was the most wise 

 old man. We have to use Russian terms with all our dogs. ' Ki Ki ' 

 means go to the right, ' Chui ' means go to the left, ' Esh to ' means lie 

 down — and the remainder are mostly swear words which mean everything 



