i 9 o 4 ] THE SECOND RELIEF EXPEDITION 241 



undertook that relief should be sent, it could not afford to 

 entrust the fulfilment of its pledge to one small ship, which, 

 however ably handled, might break down or become entangled 

 in the ice before she reached her destination. 



It was felt, therefore, that to support the Government pledge 

 and ensure the relief of the ' Discovery ' two ships should be 

 sent. This decision and the very short time which was left 

 for its performance brought a heavy strain on the Admiralty 

 Committee to which I have referred. It consisted of the 

 Hydrographer, Sir William Wharton, Admiral Pelham Aldrich, 

 and Admiral Boyes, and it is thanks to the unremitted labour 

 of these officers that the relief expedition was organised to that 

 degree of efficiency which the Government desired. 



To meet the requirements of the case the ' Terra Nova,' one 

 of the finest of the whaling ships, was purchased and brought 

 to Dundee to be thoroughly refitted ; whilst there she was 

 completely stocked with provisions and all other necessaries 

 for the voyage, and a whaling crew, under the command of 

 Captain Harry MacKay, was engaged to navigate her. Perhaps 

 never before has a ship been equipped so speedily and efficiently 

 for polar work, and it is a striking example of what can be done 

 under able guidance and urgent requirement. Even when the 

 1 Terra Nova ' had been prepared for her long voyage in this 

 rapid manner the need for haste had not vanished, and it 

 appeared that the time still left was quite inadequate to allow 

 her to make the long voyage around the Cape under her own 

 motive power. The same high pressure was therefore continued, 

 and her course was directed through the Mediterranean and 

 Suez Canal, on which route cruiser after cruiser took her in tow 

 and raced her through the water at a speed which must have 

 surprised the barnacles on her stout wooden sides. 



Thanks to this haste, however, she arrived in the South in 

 time to make the final preparations for her Antarctic voyage, 

 and towards the end of November she lay off Hobart Town 

 in Tasmania. In December she was joined by the ' Morning,' 

 and in the middle of the same month both ships sailed for the 

 Ross Sea. Captain Colbeck was directed to take charge of 



VOL. II. R 



