148 THE VOYAGE OF THE 'DISCOVERY' [Sept. 



As in the previous year, the plan of campaign for the 

 coming season had been drawn up in good time, so that 

 everyone might have ample opportunity of preparing himself 

 for the work ; and in the peaceful quiet of the winter it had 

 been easy to see the weak places in our former explorations 

 and the directions in which the future journeys should be 

 made. 



Perhaps here, therefore, it would be well to mention briefly 

 the considerations which led me to the adoption of the pro- 

 gramme of sledging carried out during our second year. 



The first point was of course to review our resources ; as 

 before, I knew that extended journeys could only be made by 

 properly supported parties, and an easy calculation showed me 

 that our small company would only admit of two such sup- 

 ported journeys, though numbers might permit of a third more 

 or less lengthy journey without support. 



The next thing was to decide in what direction these 

 parties should go. In this connection, as I have already 

 explained, the principal interest undoubtedly lay in the west ; 

 to explore the Ferrar Glacier from a geological point of view 

 and to find out the nature of the interior ice-cap were matters 

 which must be attempted at all hazards. 



In the south it was evident to me that however well a 

 party might march, or however well they might be supported, 

 without dogs they could not hope to get beyond the point 

 which we had reached in the previous year ; but our journey 

 had been made a long way from land, and had consequently 

 left many unsolved problems, chief amongst which were the 

 extraordinary straits which had appeared to us to run through 

 the mountain ranges without rising in level. It was obviously 

 absurd for us to pretend that we knew all about these places 

 when we had only seen them at a distance of twenty or thirty 

 miles ; any further light thrown on these, or on the junction 

 of the barrier with the land, must prove of immense interest 

 to us. It was therefore with the main object of exploring one 

 of these straits that I decided that the second supported party 

 should set forth. 



