Whales. The "Terra Nova" had entered the bay and found the "Fram" there
with the Norwegians working like ants unloading their stores and
hut-building in rather a dangerous position quite close to the Barrier
edge. Amundsen's people had about 120 dogs and a hard lot of men, mostly
expert ski-runners. They were contemplating an early summer journey to
the Pole and not proposing to attempt serious scientific work of any
sort. Further, to our chagrin, the eastern party had not effected a
landing, for Campbell realised that it would be profitless to set up his
base alongside that of the Norwegians.

The ice conditions about King Edward VII. Land had been found
insuperable, great masses of land ice barring the way to their objective,
and so poor Campbell and his mates left news that they were reluctantly
seeking a landing elsewhere. We spent a very unhappy night, in spite of
all attempts to be cheerful. Clearly, there was nothing for us but to
abandon science and go for the Pole directly the season for sledging was
advanced enough to make travelling possible after the winter. It now
became a question of dogs versus ponies, for the main bulk of our stuff
must of necessity be pony-drawn unless we could rely on the motor
sledges--nobody believed we could. However, all the arguing in the world
wouldn't push Amundsen and his dogs off the Antarctic continent and we
had to put the best face on our disappointment. Captain Scott took it
very bravely, better than any of us, I think, for he had done already
such wonderful work down here. It was he who initiated and founded
Antarctic sledge travelling, it was he who had blazed the trail, as it
were, and we were very very sorry for him, for such news, such a menace,
could hardly be expected to give him a happy winter.

Scott did the best thing under the circumstances: he set us all to work
on the 23rd February to get out three weeks' men provisions for eight men