342 SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION 



once complained that we had forgotten to bring an article South 

 it was shaving soap but it was produced forthwith from the 

 * annexe,' as we called the store outside the big hut at Cape 

 Evans. 



Captain Scott, assisted by Lieutenant Campbell and Mr. 

 Gran, selected the sledging outfit, fur gloves, sleeping-bags, and 

 finneskoe, and Gran personally chose every pair of ski and in- 

 spected every sledge-runner. 



Mr. Meares gave us some very sound advice on the prepa- 

 ration of the animals' harness and accoutrements, and the credit 

 of this part of our equipment certainly belongs to him, while 

 Captain Oates at his own cost provided the ponies' forage from 

 New Zealand. 



A more detailed description of the outfit will subsequently be 

 published, but the nature of this narrative does not permit one 

 to expand on the subject of fitting out. 



The choice of a ship was made on September 22, 1909, and 

 that day arrangements were made for the purchase of the steam- 

 ship Terra Nova, the largest and strongest of the old Scottish 

 whalers. Thanks to Messrs. C. T. Bowring & Co., we were able 

 to secure the ship before we had raised a tenth of the necessary 

 funds, and she was handed over to the Expedition on November 

 8, in the West India Docks. The Terra Nova was purchaesd for 

 the Expedition by Messrs. David Bruce & Sons for 12,500. 

 This firm subsequently subscribed the amount of their commis- 

 sion and the transaction to the funds of the British Antarctic Ex- 

 pedition, and the owners (C. T. Bowring & Co.) subscribed 500 

 and greatly assisted Captain Scott to raise money in Liverpool 

 for his enterprise. 



The Terra Nova was handed over to the second-in-command 

 to fit out while Captain Scott busied himself more with the scien- 

 tific programme and the financial side of the Expedition. She 

 was docked by the Glengall Ironworks Co., who altered her ac- 

 cording to the specification which had been prepared to meet the 

 requirements of the Expedition. 



We had her rigged as a barque (her original rig) , and on her 

 upper deck a large well-insulated ice-house was erected. This 

 was to hold 150 carcases of frozen mutton, and owing to its 

 position, free from the vicinity of iron and with a good all-round 

 view, the top of the ice-house was selected for mounting the stand- 



