s we discovered
later, a clasp-knife is quite useless to kill a seal. Oates returned with
a bad cut, as his hand had slipped down the knife; and it was a long time
before he was allowed to forget it.

This Barrier, which we were to know so well, was soft, too soft for the
ponies, and apparently flat. Only to our left, some hundreds of yards
distant, there were two little snowy mounds. We got out the telescope
which we carried, but could make nothing of them. While we held our
ponies Scott walked towards them, and soon we saw him brushing away snow
and uncovering something dark beneath. They were tents, obviously left by
Shackleton or his men when the Nimrod was embarking his Southern party
from the Barrier. They were snowed up outside, and iced up inside almost
to the caps. Afterwards we dug them out, a good evening's work. The
fabric was absolutely rotten, we just tore it down with our hands, but
the bamboos and caps were as sound as ever. When we had dug down to the
floor-cloth we found everything intact as when it was left. The cooker
was there and a primus--Scott lighted it and cooked a meal; we often used
it afterwards. And there were Rowntree's cocoa, Bovril, Brand's extract
of beef, sheep's tongues, cheese and biscuits--all open to the snow and
all quite good. We ate them for several days. There is something
impressive in these first meals off food which has been exposed for
years.

It was on a Saturday, January 28, that we took our first load a short
half-mile on to the Barrier and left it at a place afterwards known as
the Fodder Depot. Two days later we moved our camp 1 mile 1200 yards
farther on to the Barrier and here was erected the main depot, known as
Safety Camp. 'Safety' because it was supposed that even if a phenomenal
break-up of sea-ice should occur, and take with it part of the Barrier,
this place would remain. Subsequent events proved the supposition well
founded. This short bit of Barrier sledging gave all of us food for
thought, for the surface was appallingly soft, and the poor ponies were
sinking deep. It was obvious that no animals could last long under such
conditions. But somehow Shackleton had got his four a long way.

There was now no hurry, for there was plenty of food. It was only when we
went on from here that we must economize food and travel fast. It was
determined to give the ponies a rest while we made the depot and
rearranged sledges, which we did on the following day. We had wit