SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION 
[January 
The wind has been boisterous all day, to advantage 
after the last snow fall, as it has been drifting the loose 
snow along and hardening the surfaces. The horses don't 
like it, naturally, but it wouldn't do to pamper them so 
soon before our journey. I think the hardening process 
must be good for animals though not for men ; nature 
replies to it in the former by growing a thick coat with 
wonderful promptitude. It seems to me that the shaggy 
coats of our ponies are already improving. The dogs seem 
to feel the cold little so far, but they are not so exposed. 
A milder situation might be found for the ponies if 
only we could picket them off the snow. 
Bowers has completed his southern storeroom and 
brought the wing across the porch on the windward side, 
connecting the roofing with that of the porch. The 
improvement is enormous and will make the greatest 
difference to those who dwell near the door. 
The carpenter has been setting up standards and roof 
beams for the stables, which will be completed in a few 
days. Internal affairs have been straightening out as 
rapidly as before, and every hour seems to add some 
new touch for the better. 
This morning I overhauled all the fur sleeping-bags 
and found them in splendid order— on the whole the 
skins arc excellent. Since that I have been trying to 
work out sledge details, but my head doesn't seem half 
as clear on the subject as it ought to be. 
I have fixed the 25th as the date for our departure. 
P.O. Evans is to get all the sledges and gear ready whilst 
Bowers superintends the filling of provision bags. 
