130 
SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION 
[March 
Saturday and every other Wednesday, and eight lumps 
of sugar every Sunday. A bag of raisins we are keeping to 
allow twenty-five raisins per man on birthdays and red- 
letter days, and I can see that one of Priestley's difficulties 
in the future is going to be preventing each man from 
having a birthday once a month. We have decided to 
open up neither the chocolate nor the sugar till we are 
settled in our winter quarters, and, at present, breakfast 
and supper each consist of a mug of weak seal hoosh and 
one of weak cocoa, with one biscuit. 
To eke out these provisions we have eleven seals and 
120 penguins already killed, but to get through the whole 
winter, even on half rations, we shall require several more 
seals, and the infrequency of their appearance is causing 
us all great anxiety. 
The wind is incessant, but although strong and very 
cold, it at least has the merit of being usually free from 
drift, so that on most days we can work even if under very 
disadvantageous conditions. 
There is plenty of work for all hands, for besides 
collecting the seals and penguins we have had to carry 
over our equipment, such as it is, and the provisions from 
our depot at Hell's Gate to the site of the snow cave on 
Inexpressible Island, while three or four of us are usually 
at work there with pick and shovel. 
We have selected a hard drift under the lee of a small 
hill and have commenced burrowing into it, using two 
short-handled ice-axes of Priestley's. It is slow work, 
but after a few hours we had a sheltered place to work 
in and made better progress. 
