162 THE VOYAGE OF THE 'DISCOVERY' [Oct. 



them on their severe depot journey, whilst the supporting party 

 consisted of Dellbridge, Allan, Wild, Pilbeam, and Croucher. 

 The whole party were to journey south around the Bluff, and 

 thence to strike across for the entrance to the big strait since 

 called the Barne Inlet. After about a fortnight the supporting 

 party were to turn back, whilst the advance party made the 

 best of a ten weeks' absence from the ship. 



By October 1 1 all preparations for my own western effort 

 had been completed, and on the following day we started full 

 of high hopes of penetrating far into the interior. 



I have already pointed out what great interests lay to the 

 west at this time, and how incomplete our knowledge was of 

 this region. The long hours of our second winter had given 

 me ample time to consider the importance of the problems 

 which yet remained to be solved there, and these thoughts had 

 not only resigned me to our detention in the ice, but had 

 gradually shown me that if all went well in future, it might 

 turn out to be an unmixed blessing. 



If we could do all that I hoped in the Ferrar Glacier and 

 beyond, during a second season's work, I knew that the value 

 of our labours of the first year would be immensely increased. 

 As I have said before, the interest centred in this region ; there 

 were fascinating problems elsewhere, but none now which 

 could compare with those of the western land. It was such 

 considerations that made me resolve to go in this direction 

 myself, and I determined that no effort should be spared to 

 ensure success. 



Rarely, I think, has more time and attention been devoted 

 to the preparation of a sledge journey than was given to this 

 one. I rightly guessed that in many respects it was going to 

 be the hardest task we had yet undertaken, but I knew also 

 that our experience was now a thing that could be counted 

 upon, and that it would take a good deal to stop a party of our 

 determined, experienced sledge travellers. 



I am bound to confess that I have some pride in this 

 journey. We met with immense difficulties, such as would 

 have brought us hopelessly to grief in the previous year, yet 



