36 SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION [December 



we made excellent progress during the morning watch, and 

 early in the forenoon turned south, and then south-west. 



We had made 8y 2 ' S. 22 E. and about 5' S.S.W. by 1 p.m., 

 and could see a long lead of water to the south, cut oft only by 

 a broad strip of floe with many water holes in it: a composite 

 floe. There was just a chance of getting through, but we have 

 stuck half-way, advance and retreat equally impossible under 

 sail alone. Steam has been ordered but will not be ready till 

 near midnight. Shall we be out of the pack by Christmas 

 Eve? 



The floes to-day have been larger but thin and very sodden. 

 There are extensive water pools showing in patches on the sur- 

 face, and one notes some that run in line as though extending 

 from cracks; also here and there close water-free cracks can 

 be seen. Such floes might well be termed ' composite ' floes, 

 since they evidently consist of old floes which have been frozen 

 together the junction being concealed by more recent snow 

 falls. 



A month ago it would probably have been difficult to detect 

 inequalities or differences in the nature of the parts of the 

 floes, but now the younger ice has become waterlogged and is 

 melting rapidly, hence the pools. 



I am inclined to think that nearly all the large floes as well 

 as many of the smaller ones are ' composite,' and this would 

 seem to show that the cementing of two floes does not neces- 

 sarily mean a line of weakness, provided the difference in the 

 thickness of the cemented floes is not too great; of course, young 

 ice or even a single season's sea ice cannot become firmly attached 

 to the thick old bay floes, and hence one finds these isolated even 

 at this season of the year. 



Very little can happen in the personal affairs of our com- 

 pany in this comparatively dull time, but it is good to see the 

 steady progress that proceeds unconsciously in cementing the 

 happy relationship that exists between the members of the party. 

 Never could there have been a greater freedom from quarrels 

 and trouble of all sorts. I have not heard a harsh word or seen 

 a black look. A spirit of tolerance and good humour pervades 

 the whole community, and it is glorious to realise that men can 

 live under conditions of hardship, monotony, and danger in such 

 bountiful good comradeship. 



