ast relief from our inactivity came to us. On 21st November, just
before 5 a.m., Lashly woke me and said the ponies had arrived. Out we all
popped to find Atkinson with poor, old "Jehu," Wright with "Chinaman,"
and Keohane with my old friend "James Pigg."

They looked tired, the ponies' leaders, and we looked as though we had
come out of a bull fight in a barn, with our hair grown long and full of
the loose reindeer hairs from the sleeping-bags, all mixed with our
beards and jerseys. After hallos and handshakes, smiles and grunts, we
asked for news, and were gratified to find that all was well with men and
beasts alike. What delay there was was due to blizzards and to the
marches being purposely kept down to give the weaker animals a chance:
Day facetiously remarked, "We haven't seen anything of Amundsen"--seeing
that the valiant Norseman was in Latitude 85 degrees 30 minutes S. nearly
eleven thousand feet up above the altitude of the Barrier at this date
one is not surprised.

For all our peace of mind it was well we did not know it.

We yarned away about ourselves and our experiences, then got our cooker
under way to have breakfast and to await the arrival of Captain Scott and
the seven lustier ponies. They arrived before our breakfast was ready;
more greetings and much joy in the motor party. Scott expressed his
satisfaction at our share in the advance, hurriedly gave us further
instructions, and then proceeded, leaving us to join at their camp 3 1/2
miles farther south: Accordingly we deposited a unit of provisions at the
cairn, put up a bamboo with a large black flag on it, left two of the
boxes of biscuit from One Ton Depot and three tins of paraffin, and then
set out.

We came up to the Main Camp at 10 o'clock in the forenoon, pitched our
tent, had a conference with Captain Scott, cadged some biscuits, and then
cooked lunch and got into our sleeping-bags to await the hour of 6 p.m.
before commencing our southward march as pioneers and trail breakers.

Scott had with him the following, leading ponies: Wilson, Oates, Bowers,
Cherry-Garrard, Edgar Evans, and Crean, besides the aforesaid three with
the "crocks."

Meares and Dimitri drove dog teams and every one was in good health and
sparkling spirits. Our leader ordered the motor party, or man-hauling
party, as we were now termed, to go forward and advance 15 miles daily,
and to erect cairns at certain prearranged distances, surveying,
navigating, and selectin