IOO 
SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION [January 
only fuel and fodder (60 tons) to complete our landing. 
So far it has been remarkably expeditious. 
The motor sledges are working well, but not very well ; 
the small difficulties will be got over, but I rather fear 
they will never draw the loads we expect of them. Still 
they promise to be a help, and they are lively and attractive 
features of our present scene as they drone along over 
the floe. At a little distance, without silencers, they 
sound exactly like threshing machines. 
The dogs are getting better, but they only take very 
light loads still and get back from each journey pretty 
dead beat. In their present state they don't inspire 
confidence, but the hot weather is much against them. 
The men parties have done splendidly. Campbell 
and his Eastern Party made eight journeys in the day, 
a distance over 24 miles. Everyone declares that the 
ski sticks greatly help pulling ; it is surprising that we 
never thought of using them before. 
Atkinson is very bad with snow blindness to-night ; 
also Bruce. Others have a touch of the same disease. 
It's well for people to get experience of the necessity of 
safeguarding their eyes. 
The only thing which troubles me at present is the 
wear on our sledges owing to the hard ice. No great harm 
has been done so far, thanks to the excellent wood of which 
the runners are made, but we can't afford to have them 
worn. Wilson carried out a suggestion of his own to- 
night by covering the runners of a 9-ft. sledge with strips 
from the skin of a seal which he killed and flensed for the 
purpose. I shouldn't wonder if this acted well, and if it 
