154 SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION [February 
bridge gives no hint or sign of the hidden danger, its 
position unguessable till man or beast is floundering, 
clawing and struggling for foothold on the brink. 
The vast silence broken only by the mellow sounds of 
the marching column. 
Friday, February 3, 8 a.m. — Camp 5. Roused the 
camp at 10 p.m. and we started marching at 12.30. At 
first surface bad, but gradually improving. We had two 
short spells and set up temporary camp to feed ourselves 
and ponies at 3.20. Started again at 5 and marched till 7. 
In all covered 9 miles. Surface seemed to have improved 
during the last part of the march till just before camping 
time, when Bowers, who was leading, plunged into soft 
snow. Several of the others following close on his heels 
shared his fate, and soon three ponies were plunging and 
struggling in a drift. Garrard's pony, which has very broad 
feet, found hard stuff beyond and then my pony got 
round. Fordc and Kcohanc led round on comparatively 
hard ground well to the right, and the entangled ponies 
were unharnessed and led round from patch to patch till 
firmer ground was reached. Then we camped and the 
remaining loads were brought in. Then came the triumph 
of the snow-shoe again. We put a set on Bowers' big pony 
— at first he walked awkwardly (for a few minutes only) 
then he settled down, was harnessed to his load, brought 
that in and another also — all over places into which he 
had been plunging. If we had more of these shoes we 
could certainly put them on seven out of eight of our 
ponies — and after a little I think on the eighth, (Dates' 
pony, as certainly the ponies so shod would draw their 
