The object of this book is to keep alive the interest of English-speaking people in the story of Scott and his little band of sailor-adventurers, scientific explorers, and companions. It is written more particularly for Britain's younger generations. I have to acknowledge with gratitude the assistance of Miss Zeala Wakeford Cox of Shanghai and Pay-master Lieutenant-Commander Bernard Carter of H.M.S. "Carlisle." Without their help, I doubt if the book would have found its way into print. Edward R

It is nine years since the last supporting party bid farewell to Captain Scott and his four brave companions, whose names are still fresh in the memory of those who were interested in Captain Scott's last Polar Expedition. The Great War has come and gone and the majority of us wish to forget it, but the story of Scott undoubtedly appeals still to a great number of people. It is a good story, and my only hope is that I can retell it well enough to make my volume worth while reading after so much

Sailing day came at last, and on June 1, 1910, when I proudly showed Scott his ship, he very kindly ordered the hands aft and thanked them for what they had done. The yards were square, the hatches on with spick-and-span white hatch covers, a broad white ribbon brightened the black side, and gold leaf bedizened the quarter badges besides gilding the rope scroll on the stern. The ship had been well painted up, a neat harbour furl put on the sails, and if the steamers and lofty sailing vessels in

The trip from Simon's Town to Melbourne was disappointing on account of the absence of fair winds. We had a few gales, but finer weather than we expected, and took advantage of the ship's steadiness to work out the details for the sledge journeys and depot plans. The lists of those who were to form the two shore parties were published, together with a skeleton list for the ship. The seamen had still to be engaged in New Zealand to complete this party. A programme was drawn up for work on arrival

After all it was a relief to get going at last and to have the Expedition on board in its entirety, but what a funny little colony of souls. A floating farm-yard best describes the appearance of the upper deck, with the white pony heads peeping out of their stables, dogs chained to stanchions, rails, and ring-bolts, pet rabbits lolloping around the ready supply of compressed hay, and forage here, there, and everywhere. If the "Terra Nova" was deeply laden from Cardiff, imagine what she looked li

We sighted our first iceberg in latitude 62 degrees on the evening of Wednesday, December 7. Cheetham's squeaky hail came down from aloft and I went up to the crow's-nest to look at it, and from this time on we passed all kinds of icebergs, from the huge tabular variety to the little weathered water-worn bergs. Some we steamed quite close to and they seemed for all the world like great masses of sugar floating in the sea. From latitudes 60 to 63 degrees we saw a fair number of birds: southern fu

The following members were selected for the depot journey which Captain Scott elected to lead in person: Wilson, Bowers, Atkinson, Oates, Cherry-Garrard, Gran, Meares, Ford, Crean, Keohane, and myself. It was decided to take eight pony-sledges and two dog-sledges, together with about a ton of pony food, sledging rations, dog biscuit, and paraffin to a position on the Great Ice Barrier as far south as we could get before the first winter set in. This decision was arrived at by Scott after consult

Less than a fortnight from the day of our return to Cape Evans, on April 23 to be exact, the sun left us to remain below the horizon for four long weary months. Of course, there was a considerable amount of twilight, and even on midwinter's day at noon there was some gray light in the north. Different people took the winter in different fashion, according to their temperaments. There were some who never could have faced a second winter with any degree of cheerfulness, but taking it all round, we

The closing down of the Polar night was very swift now and the few hours of gray daylight were employed collecting what data was required by certain members for working on during the forthcoming days of darkness. Young Gran was handed over to me to help with the survey work and astronomical observations which had to be taken from time to time. He was a most entertaining assistant. Without complaint, he stood patiently shivering in that cutting winter wind whilst I swung around the theodolite tel

So much for the winter life up to date; no great excitements, nothing untoward, but a remarkable bonhomie obtaining in our little company despite the tedium of so many days of winter gloom. On June 27 Dr. Wilson with Bowers and Cherry-Garrard started on a remarkable journey to Cape Crozier, nearly seventy miles distant from Cape Evans, via Hut Point and the Barrier. The object of these intrepid souls was to observe the incubation of the Emperor Penguins at their rookery, which was known to exist

However well equipped an expedition may be, there are always special arrangements and adaptions necessary to further the labour-saving contrivances and extend the radius of action. For this reason the short autumn journeys had been undertaken to test the equipment as well as to give us sledging experience and carry weights of stores out on to the Barrier. And now that Wilson had added yet more knowledge to what we were up against, we set Evans and his seamen companions on to the most strenuous p

Whilst the spring depot-laying party was absent, Scott, on September 15, took a small sledge party counting Bowers, Seaman Evans, and Simpson away westward. They covered over 150 geographical miles, and commenced by taking over to Butter Point a quantity of stores for Griffith Taylor's forthcoming western summer journey. The provisions deposited, Scott marched up the Ferrar Glacier to Cathedral Rocks and did some scientific work and surveying. He found that the Ferrar Glacier moved 32 feet in se

On October 24, 1911, the advance guard of the Southern Party, consisting of Day, Lashly, Hooper, and myself, left Cape Evans with two motor sledges as planned. We had with us three tons of stores, pony food, and petrol, carried on five 12 ft. sledges, and our own tent, etc., on a smaller sledge. The object of sending forward such a weight of stores was to save the ponies' legs over the variable sea ice, which was in some places hummocky and in others too slippery to stand on. Also the first thir

Depots were made every 65 miles: they were marked by big black flags flying from bamboos, and we saw one of them, Mount Hooper, nine miles away. Each depot contained one week's rations for every returning unit. That outward Barrier march will long be remembered, it was so full of life, health, and hope—our only sad days came when the ponies were killed, one by one. But hunger soon defeated sentiment, and we grew to relish our pony-meat cooked in the pemmican "hoosh." On November 24 Oates slew po

Probably no part of the Southern journey was enjoyed more thoroughly than that stage which embraced the ascent of the Beardmore Glacier. Those who survive it can only have refreshing reminiscences of this bright chapter in our great sledge excursion. Scientifically it was by far the most interesting portion travelled over, and to the non-scientific it presented something interesting every day, if only in the shape, colour, and size of the fringing rocks and mountains—a vast relief from the monot

Scott had already made a great geographical journey in spite of adverse weather conditions, which had severely handicapped him throughout, but he was nevertheless behindhand in his expectations, and although the attainment of the Pole was practically within his grasp, the long 900 mile march homeward from that spot had to be considered. It was principally on this account that Captain Scott changed his marching organisation and took Bowers from the last supporting party. After the first day's hom

The details of Scott's final march to the Pole, and the heartrending account of his homeward journey, of Evans's sad death, of Oates's noble sacrifice, and of the martyr like end of Wilson, Bowers, and Scott himself have been published throughout the length and breadth of the civilised world. In "Scott's Last Expedition"—Vol. I. the great explorer's journals are practically reproduced in their entirety. Mr. Leonard Huxley, who arranged them in 1913, had had to do with Scott's first work, "The Vo

The foregoing story of triumph and disaster going hand in hand to Scott dwarfed the remaining chapters of the Expedition's history into insignificance. I venture, however, to give a resume of what was happening elsewhere in this region at the time. The Norwegian explorers commenced their trip homeward to Framheim in the Bay of Whales, a distance of 870 English miles, on December 17, 1911 and made the amazing marching average of 22 1/2 miles a day for this distance. On January 25, 1912, at 4 a.m.

To set forth concisely the adventurous story of Campbell's Northern Party in a single chapter is no light task. Raymond Priestley has written it in book form already, just as Griffith-Taylor has published his particular narrative of the Western Journey in "The Silver Lining." Both books are of absorbing interest to those who are fond of Polar literature. I have, I hope, made clear the reason of Campbell's landing at Cape Adare. Mr. Borchgrevink in his "Southern Cross" Antarctic Expedition used t

The second ascent of Mount Erebus was carried out in December, 1912, by a party under Raymond Priestley, and although it cannot be described in a little volume like this a really fine scientific journey was made by Griffith-Taylor, Debenham, Gran, and Petty Officer Forde. They had the best time of the lot, for they carried out their explorations in blissful ignorance of the tribulations of Scott, Campbell, Atkinson and myself, whose stories I have tried to summarise. For breezy reading and real