262 
THE STRAND MAGAZINE. 
4 pit 7 or ‘ whirl/ which seemed the centre 
oi the trouble. Js it a submerged mountain 
peak ? 
“ Steering the party is no light, task. One 
cannot allow one's thoughts to wander as 
others do, and when, as this afternoon, one 
gets among disturbances* I find it is very 
worrying and tiring.” 
December 28th. The first team travelled 
easily, while the second “ made heavy 
weather.” Scott himself changed over, then 
made an additional change, but without 
success. “ What was the difficulty ? One 
theory was that some members of the second 
party were stale. Another that all was due 
to the bad stepping and want of swing ; 
another that the sledge pulled heavy. In the 
afternoon we exchanged sledges, and at lirst 
went off well, but getting into soft snow we 
found a terrible drag, the second party 
coming quite easily with our sledge. So the 
sledge is the cause of the trouble.” Investi- 
gation showed that the framework had been 
wrenched out of the true by the hard knocks 
received on the rugged ice. A less rigid 
strapping of the load enabled the necessary 
adjustment to be made ; whereupon the 
second party, pacing well together, held 
their own again. 
il The marches are terribly monotonous. 
One’s thoughts wander occasionally to 
pleasanter scenes and places, but the necessity 
to keep the course, or some hitch in the 
surface, quickly brings them hack. There 
have been some hours of very steady plodding 
to-day ; these are the best part of the 
business, mean forgetfulness and advance.” 
On the last day of t he year the “ 'Lhree 
Degree ” depot was formed, with a week’s 
provisions for both units ; so called because 
by Lieutenant Evans’s observations they 
were nearly on the eighty-seventh parallel 
aimed at for that night. Here camp was 
pitched at 1.30, and the second party left 
their ski and some heavy things in depot. 
“ We had a good full brew of tea and then 
set to work stripping the sledges. That 
didn’t take long, but the process of building 
up the ten-feet sledges [instead of twelve feet] 
now in operation in the other tent is a long 
job. Evans (P.O.) and Crean are tackling it, 
and it is a very remarkable piece of work. 
Certainly P.O. Evans is the most invaluable 
asset to our party. To build a sledge under 
these conditions is a fact for special record.” 
January 1st. 1912. Twice on this day, as 
on the next, starting after the foot-haulers, 
Scott’s team caught them up without 
difficulty. “ It was surprising how easily 
the sledge pulled ; we have scarcely exerted 
ourselves all day. We are very comfortable 
in our double tent. Stick of chocolate to 
celebrate the New Year. Prospects seem to 
get brighter — only about one hundred and 
seventy miles to go and plenty of food left. 
u January 3rd. Within one hundred and 
•fifty miles of our goal. Last night 1 decided 
to reorganize, and this morning told off 
Teddy Evans, Lashley. and Crean to return. 
They are disappointed, but take it well. 
Bowers is to come into our tent, and we 
proceed as a five-man unit to-morrow. We 
have five and a half units of food practically 
over a month’s allowance for five people it 
ought to see us through. We came along 
well on .ski to-day, but the foot-haulers were 
