480 WORST JOURNEY IN THE WORLD 



November 12. Early morning. Lunch 2.30 a.m. I am 

 afraid our sledge-meters do not agree over this morning's 

 march. The programme is to do thirteen miles a day if 

 possible from here: that is 7 \ before lunch and 5^ after- 

 wards. We could see two cairns of last year on our right as 

 we came along. We have got on to a softer surface now, 

 and there is bad news of Lai Khan, and it will depend on 

 this after-lunch march whether he must be shot this even- 

 ing or not. It was intended to shoot a mule two marches 

 from One Ton, but till just lately it had not been thought 

 that it must be Lai Khan. He is getting very slow, and 

 came into camp with Khan Sahib : the trouble of course 

 is that he will not eat: he has hardly eaten, they say, a 

 day's ration since he left Hut Point, and he can't work on 

 nothing. It is now - 1 6°, with a slight southerly wind. 



Nearly mid-day. 1 1-1 2 miles south of One Ton. We have 

 found them — to say it has been a ghastly day cannot ex- 

 press it — it is too bad for words. The tent was there, about 

 half-a-mile to the west of our course, and close to a drifted- 

 up cairn of last year. It was covered with snow and looked 

 just like a cairn, only an extra gathering of snow showing 

 where the ventilator was, and so we found the door. 



It was drifted up some 2-3 feet to windward. Just by 

 the side two pairs of ski sticks, or the topmost half of 

 them, appeared over the snow, and a bamboo which proved 

 to be the mast of the sledge. 



Their story I am not going to try and put down. They 

 got to this point on March 2 1, and on the 29th all was over. 



Nor will I try and put down what there was in that tent. 

 Scott lay in the centre, Bill on his left, with his head to- 

 wards the door, and Birdie on his right, lying with his feet 

 towards the door. 



Bill especially had died very quietly with his hands 

 folded over his chest. Birdie also quietly. 



Oates' death was a very fine one. We go on to-morrow 

 to try and find his body. He was glad that his regiment 

 would be proud of him. 



They reached the Pole a month after Amundsen. 



We have everything — records, diaries, etc. They have 



