g in causing the big
floes to grind and crunch in rather alarming fashion. Fortunately,
Pennell had raised steam, which was just as well for before he got clear
the ship was only half a cable from Cape Evans, which lay dead to
leeward--she was well out of it. We took the wire hawsers, pram and ice
anchors to our winter quarters and kept them in readiness for the ship's
return, then had a delightful breakfast, with appetites sharpened from
the early morning exercise and chill wind. Afterwards we continued the
preparations for the depot trip and got eight out of eleven sledges
fitted up with the bulk of their gear and a portion of stores.

At about 3 p.m. the "Terra Nova" came in, and just as she was turning to
come alongside the fast ice she struck a rock with only twelve feet of
water on it. This pinnacle, as it proved to be, lay within twenty feet of
a sounding of eleven fathoms. Pennell immediately sounded all round,
shifted several tons weight aft, and with the engines going full speed
astern, he made his crew run from side to side and roll ship. Scott sent
me out in the whaler with a party to assist the ship; we sounded all
round and quickly made a plan of the relative disposition of the
soundings round the "Terra Nova." However, as we finished, the ship moved
astern and successfully floated, the crew gave three cheers, and we
cheered lustily from the whaler. Pennell, as usual, was quite equal to
the occasion when the ship struck; he was absolutely master of the
situation, cool, decided, and successful. I was thankful to see the ship
floating again, for, unlike the "Discovery" expedition, we had no plans
for a relief ship.

When I told Captain Scott that the "Terra Nova" had run ashore he took it
splendidly. We ran down to the beach, and when we beheld the ship on a
lee shore heeling over to the wind, a certain amount of sea and swell
coming in from the northward, and with the ultimate fate of the
Expedition looking black and doubtful, Scott was quite cheerful, and he
immediately set about to cope with the situation as coolly as though he
were talking out his plans for a sledge journey.

After the "Terra Nova" got off this intruding rock she was steamed round
to the edge of the fast ice, near the glacier tongue which juts out
between Cape Evans and Cape Barne. We placed her ice-anchors, and after
that Wilson and I went on board and had a yarn with Pennell, whom we
brought back to tea. Scott was awfully nice to him