r 9 o 4 ] PLANS FOR THE HOMEWARD JOURNEY 273 



content to be plain John Smith and to labour in common for 

 the general good. 



The ' Morning ' afforded us twenty-five tons of coal, and I 

 have an ever grateful recollection of that kindly deed, for in 

 giving us so much, Colbeck reduced himself to the narrowest 

 margin, and voluntarily resigned himself to the necessity of 

 having to return directly homeward without joining in any 

 attempt at further exploration. I have already mentioned that 

 I had determined to try to penetrate to the westward around 

 Cape North, and now that it had become necessary to pro- 

 mulgate my plans, I saw that whilst the 'Terra Nova 'could 

 keep pace with us wherever we went, we were likely to be 

 much hampered by the company of the small * Morning,' with 

 her feeble engine power. But whilst these facts were evident, 

 I naturally felt a reluctance to except from our further ad- 

 ventures the ship which had stood by us so faithfully in our 

 troubles. 



But Colbeck needed no reminder to see the difficulty of 

 my position ; his practical common sense told him he could 

 be of little use to us, and with his usual loyalty he never 

 hesitated to act for the best, at whatever sacrifice to his own 

 hopes and wishes. 



So before we left the glacier in McMurdo Sound our pro- 

 gramme was arranged, and it was decided that the three ships 

 should remain in company while we journeyed up the coast, 

 but that afterwards we should separate, the 'Morning' pro- 

 ceeding to the north, whilst the ' Discovery ' and the ' Terra 

 Nova ' turned west. The companies of both our relief ships 

 expressed a strong wish that, whatever separation took place, 

 they might be permitted to be with us when we entered our 

 first civilised port ; and as this seemed to me a most reasonable 

 desire after all their efforts on our behalf, I fixed upon Port 

 Ross, in the Auckland Islands, as a spot at which we might 

 rendezvous before our final return to New Zealand. 



In accordance with these plans, before we left McMurdo 

 Sound, the captain of each relief ship was in possession of 

 full instructions providing for all such eventualities as the 



VOL, II. T 



