432 
SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION 
[October 
In the transport department, in spite of all the care 
I have taken to make the details of my plan clear by 
lucid explanation, I find that Bowers is the only man on 
whom I can thoroughly rely to carry out the work without 
mistake, with its arrays of figures. For the practical 
consistent work of pony training Oates is especially 
capable, and his heart is very much in the business. 
' October , 191 1. — I don't know what to think of Amund- 
sen's chances. If he gets to the Pole, it must be before 
we do, as he is bound to travel fast with dogs and pretty 
certain to start early. On this account I decided at a 
very early date to act exactly as I should have done had 
he not existed. Any attempt to race must have wrecked 
my plan, besides which it doesn't appear the sort of thing 
one is out for. 
' Possibly you will have heard something before this 
reaches you. Oh ! and there are all sorts of possibilities. 
In any case you can rely on my not doing or saying any- 
thing foolish — only Pm afraid you must be prepared 
for the chance of finding our venture much belittled. 
' After all, it is the work that counts, not the applause 
that follows. 
4 Words must always fail me when I talk of Bill Wilson. 
I believe he really is the finest character I ever met — 
the closer one gets to him the more there is to admire. 
Every quality is so solid and dependable ; cannot you 
imagine how that counts down here ? Whatever the 
matter, one knows Bill will be sound, shrewdly practical, 
intensely loyal and quite unselfish. Add to this a wider 
knowledge of persons and things than is at first guessable, 
