CHAPTER XII 

 the polar journey {continued) 



the devil. And these are the creatures in whom you discover what 

 you call a Life Force ! 



don juan. Yes ; for now comes the most surprising part of the 

 whole business. 



the statue. What's that ? 



don juan. Why, that you can make any of these cowards brave by 

 simply putting an idea into his head. 



the statue. Stuff! As an old soldier I admit the cowardice: 

 it's as universal as sea sickness, and matters just as little. But that about 

 putting an idea into a man's head is stuff and nonsense. In a battle all 

 you need to make you fight is a little hot blood and the knowledge that 

 it's more dangerous to lose than to win. 



don juan. That is perhaps why battles are so useless. But men 

 never really overcome fear until they imagine they are fighting to further 

 a universal purpose — fighting for an idea, as they call it. 



Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman. 



IV. Returning Parties 



Two Dog Teams (Meares and Dimitri) turned back from 

 the bottom of the Beardmore Glacier on December 11, 

 191 1. They reached Hut Point on January 4, 1912. 



First Supporting Party (Atkinson, Cherry-Garrard, 

 Wright, Keohane) turned back in lat. 85 15' on December 

 22, 1 9 1 1 . They reached Hut Point January 26, 1 9 1 2. 



Last Supporting Party (Lieut. Evans, Lashly, Crean) 

 turned back in lat. 87 32' on January 4, 1912. They 

 reached Hut Point February 22, 1912. 



Of the three teams which started up the Beardmore 

 Glacier the first to return, a fortnight after starting the 

 Summit Rations, was known as the First Supporting 



380 



