ch. lxiiiJ Scoffs Last Expedition 
497 
hut. On the igth they made an unsuccessful attempt to 
descend to the rookery and next day the hut was finished. 
Then at last they effected a descent. Six eggs were 
collected and three birds were killed and skinned. Re- 
turning, the ascent was extremely difficult and hazardous. 
A heavy gale was blowing on the 22nd from S.S.W. and 
the tent was blown clean away. They took refuge in the 
hut, but next day the force of wind had risen to a storm, 
and the roof of the hut was blown away. At last the 
wind went down and they all started in search of the 
tent, which Bowers found a quarter of a mile from the 
place where it had been pitched, but fortunately un- 
damaged. Without the tent it is doubtful whether any 
of them would have survived. The return journey in 
darkness and intense cold was terrible, the bags were 
saturated and hard frozen. Hut Point was reached on 
the last day of July, and the home at Cape Evans on 
August 1st. 
Scott wrote : — 
"The Cape Crozier party returned after enduring for five weeks the 
hardest conditions on record, it forms one of the most gallant stories 
in polar history. That man should wander forth in the depth of a 
polar winter to face the most dismal cold and the fiercest gales in dark- 
ness is something new ; that they should have persisted in their efforts 
in spite of every adversity for five full weeks, is heroic. It makes a 
tale for our generation which I hope will not be lost in the telling." 
From that time all was preparation and calculation 
for the great journey. The ponies wei"e to take them to 
the foot of the glacier, where they would be killed for 
fresh food ; the dog teams were also to go thus far, as far 
as they could be taken without cruelty. The hope that 
the motor sledges would be useful auxiliaries was vain. 
Scott had looked forward to their revolutionizing polar 
traction, but was doomed to disappointment. 
From the foot of the glacier to the Pole, a distance of 
450 miles, the extended party would be able to reach their 
goal by the help of two limited parties, making three 
parties of four men each to start. Six depots were to 
be placed at intervals. The most careful calculations 
were made about the quantity in each depot and the 
quantity to be taken by each returning party, and it 
was found in practice that every detail of equipment was 
right. 
M. T. 
32 
