chosen, for want of a better spot where
their stuff could be set safely on land. Loose ice and surf hampered
operations, for owing to shallow water, boats had to convey hut, gear,
and equipment from the ship instead of sledges taking it over fast ice,
as was the case at Cape Evans. It was truly a case of bundling Campbell
and Co. out of the ship, and only their great optimism and _bonhomie_
kept this party from despair. As it turned out they had some of the best
of the Expedition game, since neither disaster nor terrific
disappointment dogged their steps as in Scott's case, for up till the
very last they were in blissful ignorance of our dreadful plight in the
main party.

The old huts left by Borchgrevink in 1900 were much dilapidated: one
snowed up inside, and the other roofless and full of penguin guano. The
snow was all removed from the snow-choked hut, and this shack used as a
temporary shelter during the building of the Chateau Campbell. The work
of landing stores from the "Terra Nova" was accomplished in two days, and
the ship, after tooting a farewell to the little party on her siren,
steamed away and left them to their own devices.

The Cape Adare locality is a famous penguin rookery, and Campbell's men
might for all the world have been erecting their hut on Hampstead Heath
during a Bank Holiday, for the penguins gathered in their thousands
around them in a cawing, squawking crowd.

Penguins are the true inhabitants of Antarctica, and have flourished for
countless ages in these parts. Surgeon Levick, Campbell's doctor, has
written a splendid little book entitled "Antarctic Penguins" (Heinemann),
which tells all about the little beggars in popular language. The members
landed with Lieutenant Victor Campbell were:

Levick . . . Surgeon and Zoologist.
Priestley . . Geologist.
Abbott . . . Seaman.
Browning . . Seaman.
Dickason . . Seaman.

The three seamen were chosen by Campbell after careful observation on the
outward voyage.

The Northern Party Hut was completed and first inhabited by March 5. An
ice house for the storage of fresh meat was constructed, or rather
hollowed out of an iceberg grounded close to. Unfortunately, this had to
be evacuated owing to a surf causing the berg to disintegrate, and V
Campbell puts it, "we had only just time to rescue the forty penguins
with which we had stocked it, and carry the lit