The ice conditions about King Edward VII.  Land had been found insuperable, great masses of land ice barring the way to their objective, and so poor Campbell and his mates left news that they were reluctantly seeking a landing elsewhere.  We spent a very unhappy night, in spite of all attempts to be cheerful.  Clearly, there was nothing for us but to abandon science and go for the Pole directly the season for sledging was advanced enough to make travelling possible after the winter.  It now became a question of dogs versus ponies, for the main bulk of our stuff must of necessity be pony-drawn unless we could rely on the motor sledges—­nobody believed we could.  However, all the arguing in the world wouldn’t push Amundsen and his dogs off the Antarctic continent and we had to put the best face on our disappointment.  Captain Scott took it very bravely, better than any of us, I think, for he had done already such wonderful work down here.  It was he who initiated and founded Antarctic sledge travelling, it was he who had blazed the trail, as it were, and we were very very sorry for him, for such news, such a menace, could hardly be expected to give him a happy winter.

Scott did the best thing under the circumstances:  he set us all to work on the 23rd February to get out three weeks’ men provisions for eight men from the stores at Safety Camp, and these collected and packed, he, Cherry-Garrard, and Crean took a 10-ft. sledge, and Forde, Atkinson, and myself a 12-ft. one, while Keohane and James Pigg pulled another big sledge containing oats and paraffin, and we all set out in a bunch for Corner Camp, thirty odd miles away.  All this depot work meant an easy start next season, since the transport of great loads over sea ice and the deep, soft snow, which is usually encountered when first getting on to the Barrier hereabouts, would strain the ponies’ legs and break the hearts of the dogs.  Scott thought all this out and certainly overcame preliminary difficulties by getting so much pony food, provision, and paraffin out to One Ton Camp and Corner Camp.  He felt the benefit next springtime.  This second little run out is not worth describing; we sighted Bowers’s party coming back with the five ponies whilst we were camped one night, and we noted that they were travelling very quickly, which proved all was well with these animals.

On arrival at Corner Camp Scott left us in order to get back and see the five ponies safely conducted to Hut Point.  He instructed me to make easy marches with our friend James Pigg as there was no further work for him this season.  Cherry-Garrard and Crean accompanied Scott, and the three pushed on at their utmost for blizzard weather had come again and the snow fall was considerable.

We must now follow Captain Scott’s and Bowers’s party, who, in conjunction, engaged on the problem of getting five ponies and two dog teams to Hut Point.  There did not seem to be anything in doing this, but if ever a man’s footsteps were dogged by misfortune, they surely were our leader’s.