act as Honorary Treasurer--without hesitation I may
say we owe more to Sir Edgar than ever we can repay.

We were somewhat limited in our choice of a ship, suitable for the work
contemplated. The best vessel of all was of course the "Discovery," which
had been specially constructed for the National Antarctic Expedition in
1900, but she had been acquired by the Hudson Bay Company, and although
the late Lord Strathcona, then High Commissioner for Canada, was
approached, he could not see his way to obtaining her for us in view of
her important employment as supply ship for the Hudson Bay Trading
Stations. There remained the "Aurora," "Morning," "Bjorn," "Terra Nova,"
Shackleton's stout little "Nimrod," and one or two other old whaling
craft. The "Bjorn," a beautiful wooden whaler, would have served our
purpose excellently, but, alas! she was too small for the enterprise and
we had to fall back on the "Terra Nova," an older ship but a much larger
craft. The "Terra Nova" had one great defect--she was not economic in the
matter of coal consumption. She was the largest and strongest of the old
Scotch whalers, had proved herself in the Antarctic pack-ice and
acquitted herself magnificently in the Northern ice-fields in whaling and
sealing voyages extending over a period of twenty years. In spite of her
age she had considerable power for a vessel of that type.

After a preliminary survey in Newfoundland, which satisfied us as to her
seaworthiness in all respects, the "Terra Nova" was purchased for the
Expedition by Messrs. David Bruce & Sons for the sum of 12,500 pounds. It
seems a high price, but this meant nothing more than her being chartered
to us for 2000 pounds a year, since her owners were ready to pay a good
price for the ship if we returned her in reasonably good condition at the
conclusion of the Expedition.

Captain Scott handed her over to me to fit out, whilst he busied himself
more with the scientific programme and the question of finance. We had
her barque-rigged and altered according to the requirements of the
expedition. A large, well-insulated ice-house was erected on the upper
deck which held 150 cascases of frozen mutton, and, owing to the position
of the cold chamber, free as it was from the vicinity of iron, we mounted
here our standard compass and Lloyd Creek pedestal for magnetic work. Our
range-finder was also mounted on the ice-house. A new stove was put in
the galley, a lamp room and paraffin store b