I can only give a brief summary of the second winter, taken from Atkinson’s and Gran’s accounts:  the weather was probably exceptional from the persistency of the early winter blizzards.  There was a great dearth of seal-meat, due to the ice blowing out from the North Bay and to the lack of ice everywhere in May month.

Debenham gave great joy to the company after examining the geological specimens brought by Atkinson’s supporting party from the Beardmore.  Fossils of plants and small marine animals were found amongst them.

Ice formed at the end of May, but again blew out in June—­close on to midwinter, when the sea was seen to be phosphorescent, and Atkinson writes:  “We had a wonderful show of phosphorescence—­we saw a seal chasing a school of fish, the fish outlined with phosphorescence, and the seal with a glowing snout and all his body bright in hot pursuit.”

On midwinter day, after the attendant festivities, Atkinson called the members together and outlined his plans for the coming season.

He says, “Two alternatives lay before us.  One was to go South and try to discover the fate of Captain Scott’s party.  I thought it most likely that they had been lost in a crevasse on the Beardmore Glacier.  Whether their bodies could be found or not, it was highly desirable to go even as far as the Upper Glacier Depot, nearly 600 miles from the Base, in the hope of finding a note left in some depot which could tell whether they had fulfilled their task or turned back before reaching the Pole.  On general grounds it was of great importance not to leave the record of the Expedition incomplete, with one of its most striking chapters a blank.

“The other alternative was to go West and North to relieve Campbell and his party, always supposing they had survived the winter.  If they had come through the winter every day of advancing summer would improve their chances of living on in Terra Nova Bay.  At the same time there was good prospect of their ultimately being relieved by the ship, if indeed she had not taken them off in the autumn.  As for ourselves, it seemed most improbable that we could journey up the coast owing to the abnormal state of the ice.  Instead of being frozen for the winter, the whole Sound to the north and west of Inaccessible Island was open water during July; the ice was driven out by the exceptionally strong and frequent winds, and there was little chance of a firm road forming for the spring.  Under these conditions officers and men unanimously supported the decision to go South.”

An important fact is noted by Atkinson which is worth including for the guidance of future expeditions.  Six new sledges came down per “Terra Nova” from Messrs. Hagen of Christiania, with tapered runners—­the breadth of the runner in front being 4 inches, diminishing to 2 1/2 on the after part of the sledge.  Compared with our original 12-foot pattern the new sledges contrasted to great advantage over the old.  The idea seems to be that the broad iron portion should run over and smooth the track for the after tapered portion.