22 February, 1911 (Part One)

Met up with Evans's party, delighted to find them hale and well but Alas! with only one pony still alive of the three they took. James Pigg he is, and has been working very light loads and fed well to keep him going. But Blossom failed first, followed by Blucher. We must have passed their bodies snowed up along the way and not noticed. It seems their end was horrible, as they were much done in by the blizzards. Oates had reckoned that these two, the oldest, were the least likely to survive, and I hear he had bets that Blucher would go first.

All that trouble to save them at One Ton Depot for this.

The dogs are emaciated; it is clear they are not getting enough food. We much start with a serious plan for feeding them next year -- biscuit is simply not enough. They are ravenous at the end of each day's labor.

Bill, Cherry, Meares and I went on to Hut Point anxious to get news, but were most puzzled by what we found there: the hut itself had been cleared of snow and was habitable; a sign on the door said there was mail for me inside, but though we looked and looked, there was none. Just an onion and some bread which showed that some of our party had been there recently. Was most troubled by having no sign of Crean and Atkinson -- no note, nothing. Had left them here and Crean had brought up a lot of fodder and buried some seal livers -- I am terribly worried about them. Why no note?

Am most troubled.