34Q WORST JOURNEY IN THE WORLD 



Before we started Scott walked over to Bowers. " I 

 have come to a decision which will shock you." Victor 

 was to go at the end of the march, because pony food was 

 running so short. Birdie wrote at the end of the day: — 

 He " did a splendid march and kept ahead all day, and as 

 usual marched into camp first, pulling over 450 lbs. easily. 

 It seemed an awful pity to have to shoot a great strong 

 animal, and it seemed like the irony of fate to me, as I had 

 been downed for over-provisioning the ponies with need- 

 less excess of food, and the drastic reductions had been 

 made against my strenuous opposition up to the last. It is 

 poor satisfaction to me to know that I was right now that 

 my horse is dead. Good old Victor ! He has always had a 

 biscuit out of my ration, and he ate his last before the 

 bullet sent him to his rest. Here ends my second horse in 

 8 3 S., not quite so tragically as my first when the sea-ice 

 broke up, but none the less I feel sorry for a beast that has 

 been my constant companion and care for so long. He has 

 done his share in our undertaking anyhow, and may I do 

 my share as well when I get into harness myself. 



"The snow has started to fall over his bleak resting- 

 place, and it looks like a blizzard. The outlook is dark, 

 stormy and threatening." 



Indeed it had been a dismal march into a blank white 

 wall, and the ponies were sinking badly in the snow, leav- 

 ing holes a full foot deep. The temperature was + 17 and 

 the flakes of snow melted when they lay on the dark colours 

 of the tents and our furs. After building the pony walls 

 water was running down our windproofs. 



I note " we are doing well on pony meat and go to bed 

 very content." Notwithstanding the fact that we could not 

 do more than heat the meat by throwing it into the pemmi- 

 can we found it sweet and good, though tough. The man- 

 hauling party consisted of Lieut. Evans and Lashly who 

 had lost their motors, and Atkinson and Wright who had 

 lost their ponies. They were really quite hungry by now, 

 and most of us pretty well looked forward to our meals and 

 kept a biscuit to eat in our bags if we could. The pony 

 meat therefore came as a relief. I think we ought to have 



