4 io SIEGE OF THE SOUTH POLE 
staff, Mr. L. Bernacchi, who had been on the Southern 
Cross expedition and had wintered at Cape Adare, was 
magnetician and physicist ; Mr. T. V. Hodgson, an inde- 
fatigable natural history collector, was zoologist, and 
Mr. H. T. Ferrar, a young Cambridge graduate, was 
geologist Mr. George Murray of the British Museum, 
who accompanied the expedition as far as Cape Town 
only, was appointed scientific director. The whole ship’s 
company of fifty composed a splendid body of young men 
all in the highest state of health and intensely interested 
in the expedition on which they were bound. 
A better set of fellows than the officers and scientific 
staff were never afloat together, and whatever might have 
been the case on other expeditions harmony and good-will 
reigned on board the Discovery ; each was determined to 
do his very best and each did it. How much better they 
might have done with a more thorough preliminary train- 
ing in scientific work we cannot tell, but as it was the 
officers and scientific staff of the Discovery were able to 
do more and better work than anyone could have antici- 
pated when they set out. 
Leaving Cowes on August 6th, 1901, and Madeira on 
the 1 6th, the Discovery reached Simon’s Bay on October 
3rd, and after a short stay sailed for New Zealand on the 
14th. In the course of the passage a detour southward 
was made when south of Australia, in order to carry out 
some special magnetic work and to give the ship her 
baptism of ice. The pack was encountered in 62° S., 140° 
E., and was penetrated for a few* miles on November 16th, 
but there was no time then to spare and the ship headed 
for New Zealand, calling for a few hours at Macquarie 
Island, and reaching Lyttelton on November 29th. Cer- 
tain repairs were necessary and fresh stores had to be 
