LAND 84 
you ridiculous things want?’ And they come a few steps 
nearer. The dogs make a rush as far as their harness or 
leashes allow. The penguins are not daunted in the least, 
but their ruffs go up and they squawk with semblance of 
anger, for all the world as though they were rebutting a 
rude stranger—their attitude might be imagined to con- 
vey, ‘Oh, that’s the sort of animal you are; well, you’ve 
come to the wrong place—we aren’t going to be blufted 
and bounced by you,’ and then the final fatal steps forward 
are taken and they come within reach. There is a spring, 
a squawk, a horrid red patch on the snow, and the incident 
is closed.’’ 1 
Everything had to be sledged nearly a mile and a half 
across the sea-ice, but at midnight, after seventeen hours’ 
continuous work, the position was most satisfactory. The 
large amount of timber which went to make the hut was 
mostly landed. The ponies and dogs were sleeping in the 
sun on shore. A large green tent housed the hut builders, 
and the site for the hut was levelled. 
‘Such weather in such a place comes nearer to satisfy- 
ing my ideal of perfection than any condition I have ever 
experienced. The warm glow of the sun with the keen in- 
vigorating cold of the air forms a combination which is 
inexpressibly health-giving and satisfying to me, whilst 
the golden light on this wonderful scene of mountain and 
ice satisfies every claim of scenic magnificence. No words 
of mine can convey the impressiveness of the wonderful 
panorama displayed to our eyes. . . . It’s splendid to see at 
last the effect of all the months of preparation and organisa- 
tion. There is much snoring about me as I write (2 a.m.) 
from men tired after a hard day’s work and preparing for 
such another to-morrow. I also must sleep, for I have had 
none for 48 hours—but it should be to dream happily.” ? 
Getting to bed about midnight and turning out at 5 a.m. 
we kept it up day after day. Petrol, paraffin, pony food, 
dog food, sledges and sledging gear, hut furniture, pro- 
visions of all kinds both for life at the hut and for sledging, 
coal, scientificinstruments and gear, carbide, medical stores, 
1 Scott's Last Expedition, vol. i. pp. 92-93. 2 Ibid. pp. 92-94. 
