rctic venture. There were nearly 8000 of them to select
from, and many eligible men were turned down simply because they were
frozen out by those who had previous Antarctic experience. We tried to
select fairly, and certainly picked a representative crowd. It was not an
all-British Expedition because we included amongst us a young Norwegian
ski-runner and two Russians; a dog driver and a groom. The Norwegian has
since distinguished himself in the Royal Air Force--he was severely
wounded in the war whilst fighting for the British and their Allies, but
his pluck and Anglophile sentiments cost him his commission in the
Norwegian Flying Corps.

Dr. Wilson assisted Captain Scott in selecting the scientific staff,
while the choice of the officers and crew was mainly left to myself as
Commander-elect of the "Terra Nova."

Most Polar expeditions sail under the Burgee of some yacht club or other:
We were ambitious to fly the White Ensign, and to enable this to be done
the Royal Yacht Squadron adopted us. Scott was elected a member, and it
cost him 100 pounds, which the Expedition could ill afford. However, with
the "Terra Nova" registered as a yacht we were able to evade those Board
of Trade officials who declared that she was not a well-found merchant
ship within the meaning of the Act. Having avoided the scrutiny of the
efficient and official, we painted out our Plimsoll mark with tongue in
cheek and eyelid drooped, and, this done, took our stores aboard and
packed them pretty tight. The Crown Preserve Co. sent us a quantity of
patent fuel which stowed beautifully as a flooring to the lower hold, and
all our provision cases were thus kept well up out of the bilge water
which was bound to scend to and fro if we made any quantity of water, as
old wooden ships usually do. The day before sailing the Royal
Geographical Society entertained Scott and his party at luncheon in the
King's Hall, Holborn Restaurant. About 300 Fellows of the Society were
present to do us honour. The President, Major Leonard Darwin, proposed
success to the Expedition, and in the course of his speech wished us
God-speed. He congratulated Captain Scott on having such a well-found
expedition and, apart from dwelling on the scientific and geographical
side of the venture, the President said that Captain Scott was going to
prove once again that the manhood of our nation was not dead and that the
characteristics of our ancestors who won our great Empire still
fl