4 8o SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION [November 
\ 
yesterday, and say it was excellent. I am cook for the 
present. Have been discussing pony snow-shoes. I wish 
to goodness the animals would wear them — it would save 
them any amount of labour in such surfaces as this. 
Thursday, November 30. — Camp 26. A very pleasant 
day for marching, but a very tiring march for the poor 
animals, which, with the exception of Nobby, arc showing 
signs of failure all round. We were slower by half an hour 
or more than yesterday. Except that the loads are light 
now and there are still eight animals left, things don't 
look too pleasant, but we should be less than 60 miles 
from our first point of aim. The surface was much worse 
to-day, the ponies sinking to their knees very often. There 
were a few harder patches towards the end of the march. 
In spite of the sun there was not much 1 glide ' on the 
snow. The dogs are reported as doing very well. They 
are going to be a great standby, no doubt. The land has 
been veiled in thin white mist ; it appeared at intervals 
after we camped and I had taken a couple of photographs. 
Friday, December 1.— Camp 27. Lat. 82 0 47'. The 
ponies are tiring pretty rapidly. It is a question of days 
with all except Nobby. Yet they are outlasting the 
forage, and to-night against some opinion I decided 
Christopher must go. He has been shot ; less regret 
goes with him than the others, in remembrance of all the 
trouble he gave at the outset, and the unsatisfactory way 
he has gone of late. Here we leave a depot * so that no 
extra weight is brought on the other ponies ; in fact there 
is a slight diminution. Three more marches ought to 
* The Southern Barrier Depdt. 
