y biscuit crumbs, tea, some
cornflour, and half a cup of pemmican. He was therefore taking fifty
biscuits, and a day's provisions for two men from each of our units. He
had killed one American dog some camps back: if he killed more he was
going to kill Krisravitza who he said was the fattest and laziest. We
shall take on thirty biscuits short."[256] Meares was to have turned
homewards with the two dog-teams in lat. 81 deg. 15'. Scott took him on to
approximately 83 deg. 35'. The dogs had the ponies on which to feed: to make
up the deficiency of man-food we went one biscuit a day short when going
up the Beardmore: but the dogs went back slower than was estimated and
his provisions were insufficient. It was evident that the dog-teams would
arrive too late and be too done to take out the food which had still to
be sledged to One Ton for the three parties returning from the plateau.
It was uncertain whether a man-hauling party with such of this food as
they could drag would arrive at the depot before us.[257] We might have
to travel the 130 geographical miles from One Ton to Hut Point on the
little food which was already at that depot and we were saving food by
going on short rations to meet this contingency if it arose. Judge
therefore our joy when we reached One Ton in the evening of January 15 to
find three of the five XS rations which were necessary for the three
parties. A man-hauling party consisting of Day, Nelson, Hooper and
Clissold had brought out this food; they left a note saying the crevasses
near Corner Camp were bad and open. Day and Hooper had reached Cape Evans
from the Barrier[258] on December 21: they started out again on this
depot-laying trip on December 26.

It is a common experience for men who have been hungry to be ill after
reaching plenty of food. Atkinson was not at all well during our journey
in to Hut Point, which we reached without difficulty on January 26.

When I was looking for data concerning the return of the Last Supporting
Party of which no account has been published, I wrote to Lashly and asked
him to meet and tell me all he could remember. He was very willing, and
added that somewhere or other he had a diary which he had written:
perhaps it might be of use? I asked him to send it me, and was sent some
dirty thumbed sheets of paper. And this is what I read:

_3rd January 1912._

Very heavy going to-day. This will be our last night together, as we are
to return to-morrow after go