he admiration of
even the stevedores, especially when he fell down the main hatch one
morning on to the pig-iron below, recovered consciousness in about half a
minute, and continued work for the rest of the day as though nothing had
happened.

As the voyage out proceeded it became obvious that his knowledge of the
stores and undefeatable personality would be of great value to the shore
party, and it was decided that he should land, to his great delight. He
was personally responsible for all food supplies, whether for home
consumption or for sledging, for all sledging stores and the distribution
of weights, the loading of sledges, the consumption of coal, the issue of
clothing, bosun's stores, and carpenter's stores. Incidentally the keeper
of stores wanted a very exact knowledge of the cases which contained
them, for the drifts of snow soon buried them as they lay in the camp
outside.

As time proved his capacity Scott left one thing after another in
Bowers' hands. Scott was a leader of men, and it is a good quality in
such to delegate work from themselves on to those who prove their power
to shoulder the burden. Undoubtedly Bowers saved Scott a great deal of
work, and gave him time which he might not otherwise have been able to
spare to interest himself in the scientific work of the station, greatly
to its benefit, and do a good deal of useful writing. The two ways in
which Bowers helped Scott most this winter were in the preparation of the
plans and the working out of the weights of the Southern Journey, which
shall be discussed later, and in the routine work of the station, for
which he was largely responsible, and which ran so smoothly that I am
unable to tell the reader how the stores were issued, or the dinner
settled, by what rule the working parties for fetching ice for water and
other kindred jobs about the camp were ordered. They just happened, and I
don't know how. I only know that Bowers had the bunk above mine in the
hut, and that when I was going to sleep he was generally standing on a
chair and using his own bunk as a desk, and I conclude from the numerous
lists of stores and weights which are now in my hands that these were
being produced. Anyway the job was done, and the fact that we knew
nothing about it goes far to prove how efficiently it was carried
through.

For him difficulties simply did not exist. I have never known a more
buoyant, virile nature. Scott's writings abound in references to the