CAPTAIN SCOTT'S OWN STORY. 
247 
TEAMS WORKED. 
OFF ON THE DAY’S MARCH. 
“ very horrid marches,” with a strong head 
wind at first ; then a snowstorm. Next day 
the new snow lay soft — while they entered 
on an area of soft crust between a few hard 
wind-ridges ( sastrugi ), in pits between which 
here and there the snow lay in sandy heaps. 
The ponies gave great anxiety — despite the 
care they had received conditions had been 
sadly against them since leaving New 
Zealand * “if they pull through well all the 
thanks will be due to Oates.” 
Even on November 14th, when the sun 
reappeared, it was painful struggling on 
through this snow, and even “ Christopher 
has now been harnessed three times without 
difficulty.” In the long-continued mist, so 
different from former experiences, “ had we 
been dependent on landmarks we should have 
fared ill.” Happily the cairns that marked 
the way were distinguishable, and One Ton 
Camp, one hundred and twenty - nine 
geographical miles from the start, was found 
without any difficulty on November 15th. 
Here was a note from Evans saying that 
he had gone on with his party “ man-hauling ” 
their sledge to the rendezvous at 
8o° 30'. “ He has done something 
over thirty miles (geographical) in 
two and a half days — exceedingly 
good going. I only hope he has 
built lots of cairns,” i.e., to ease 
the task of guiding the main party. 
Flere, too, was the minimum ther- 
mometer left the previous year, 
recording - 73 0 . 
The ponies got a day’s rest ; the 
loads were readjusted ; five hun- 
dred and eighty pounds on the 
sledges of the stronger beasts, four 
hundred pounds odd with the 
others. Already “ the weakness of 
breeding and age is showing itself ” 
— and the surface grew worse the 
following days. 
On November 2Tst they came up 
with the ex-motor party, who con- 
tinued with them for three days. 
It was not till the 24th, with some 
one hundred and forty miles still 
to the Glacier, that the first of the 
“ crocks” was killed, providing four 
feeds for the dogs. 
From the 25th onwards the start 
was made successively later at 
night, so as to lead up to the day 
routine of the final party when 
the Glacier should be reached. A 
spell of fair weather was followed 
by three days of “ summer 
blizzard ” (26th, 27th, 28th) through which 
necessity impelled the travellers. “ A tired 
animal makes a tired man ” ; and even with 
better weather on the 29th and 30th the 
surface was bad. By December 1st it was 
a question of days with most of the ponies, 
and the weakest were killed. Their duty was 
to draw supplies across the Barrier as long as 
forage lasted and supply food for the dog- 
teams at the end. 
December 2nd* “ Wild, in his diary 
of Shaekleton’s journey, remarks on 
December 15th that it is the first day for 
a month that he could not record splendid 
weather. With us a fine day has been the 
exception so far ” ; and next day : “ Our luck 
in weather is preposterous.” It blew a full 
gale from the south from 4.30 a.m. to 
12.30. “It is really time the luck turned 
in our favour.” 
On December 4th, after a morning blizzard, 
he writes : “ Looking from the last, camp 
towards the S.S.E., where the farthest land 
can be seen, it seemed more than probable 
that a very high latitude could be reached on 
