LAND gi 
cracks which they had made. As they reared them to a 
height of six or eight feet it was possible to see their tawny 
head markings, their small glistening eyes, and their 
terrible array of teeth—by far the largest and most terri- 
fying in the world. There cannot be a doubt that they 
looked up to see what had happened to Ponting and the 
dogs. 
“The latter were horribly frightened and strained to 
their chains, whining; the head of one killer must cer- 
tainly have been within five feet of one of the dogs. 
** After this, whether they thought the game insignifi- 
cant, or whether they missed Ponting is uncertain, but the 
terrifying creatures passed on to other hunting grounds, 
and we were able to rescue the dogs, and what was even 
more important, our petrol—five or six tons of which was 
waiting on a piece of ice which was not split away from the 
main mass. 
“Of course, we have known well that killer whales 
continually skirt the edge of the floes and that they would 
undoubtedly snap up any one who was unfortunate enough 
to fall into the water ; but the facts that they could display 
such deliberate cunning, that they were able to break ice 
of such thickness (at least 24 feet), and that they could act 
in unison, were a revelation to us. It is clear that they are 
endowed with singular intelligence, and in future we shall 
treat that intelligence with every respect.” 4 
We were to be hunted by these Killer whales again. 
The second adventure was the loss of the third motor 
sledge. It was Sunday morning, January 8, and Scott had 
given orders that this motor was to be hoisted out of the 
ship. “‘’This was done first thing and the motor placed 
‘on firm ice. Later Campbell told me one of the men had 
dropped a leg through crossing a sludgy patch some 200 
yards from the ship. I didn’t consider it very serious, as 
I imagined the man had only gone through the surface 
crust. About 7 a.m. I started for the shore with a single 
man load, leaving Campbell looking about for the best 
crossing for the motor.” ? 
1 Scott’s Last Expedition, vol. i. pp. 94-96. 2 Ibid. p. 106. 
