viii WORST JOURNEY IN THE WORLD 
in this complicated atmosphere of civilization. They run 
one another down like the deuce, and it is quite time that 
stopped. What is the use of A running down Scott be- 
cause he served with Shackleton, or B going for Amundsen 
because he served with Scott ? They have all done good 
work ; within their limits, the best work to date. There 
are jobs for which, if I had to do them, I would like to 
serve under Scott, Amundsen, Shackleton and Wilson— 
each to his part. For a joint scientific and geographical 
piece of organization, give me Scott; fora Winter Journey, 
Wilson; for a dash to the Pole and nothing else, Amund- 
sen: and if I am in the devil of a hole and want to get out 
of it, give me Shackleton every time. They will all go 
down in polar history as leaders, these men. I believe 
Bowers would also have made a great name for himself if 
he had lived, and few polar ships have been commanded as 
capably as was the Terra Nova, by Pennell. 
In a way this book is a sequel to the friendship which 
there was between Wilson, Bowers and myself, which, 
having stood the strain of the Winter Journey, could never 
have been broken. Between the three of us we had a share 
in all the big journeys and bad times which came to Scott’s 
main landing party, and what follows is, particularly, our 
unpublished diaries, letters and illustrations. I, we, have 
tried to show how good the whole thing was—and how 
bad. I have had a freer hand than many in this, because 
much of the dull routine has been recorded already and 
can be found if wanted : also because, not being the leader 
of the expedition, I had no duty to fulfil in cataloguing my 
followers’ achievements. But there was plenty of work left 
for me. It has been no mere gleaning of the polar field. 
Not half the story had been told, nor even all the most 
interesting documents. Among these, I have had from 
Mrs. Bowers her son’s letters home, and from Lashly his 
