"Thus the steaming days passed away in an ever-changing environment and
are remembered as an unceasing struggle.

"The ship behaved splendidly--no other ship, not even the Discovery,
would have come through so well. Certainly the Nimrod would never have
reached the south water had she been caught in such pack. As a result I
have grown strangely attached to the Terra Nova. As she bumped the floes
with mighty shocks, crushing and grinding a way through some, twisting
and turning to avoid others, she seemed like a living thing fighting a
great fight. If only she had more economical engines she would be
suitable in all respects.

[Illustration: TERRA NOVA]

"Once or twice we got among floes which stood 7 or 8 feet above water,
with hummocks and pinnacles as high as 25 feet. The ship could have stood
no chance had such floes pressed against her, and at first we were a
little alarmed in such situations. But familiarity breeds contempt;
there never was any pressure in the heavy ice, and I'm inclined to think
there never would be.

"The weather changed frequently during our journey through the pack. The
wind blew strong from the west and from the east; the sky was often
darkly overcast; we had snowstorms, flaky snow, and even light rain. In
all such circumstances we were better placed in the pack than outside of
it. The foulest weather could do us little harm. During quite a large
percentage of days, however, we had bright sunshine, which, even with the
temperature well below freezing, made everything look bright and
cheerful. The sun also brought us wonderful cloud effects, marvellously
delicate tints of sky, cloud and ice, such effects as one might travel
far to see. In spite of our impatience we would not willingly have missed
many of the beautiful scenes which our sojourn in the pack afforded us.
Ponting and Wilson have been busy catching these effects, but no art can
reproduce such colours as the deep blue of the icebergs."[81]

As a rule the officer of the watch conned from the crow's nest, shouting
his orders to the steersman direct, and to the engine-room through the
midshipman of the watch, who stood upon the bridge. It is thrilling work
to the officer in charge, who not only has to face the immediate problem
of what floes he dare and what he dare not charge, but also to puzzle out
the best course for the future,--but I expect he soon gets sick of it.

About this time Bowers made a fancy sketch of the Terra Nova