A THRILLING NARRATIVE.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14015, 24 June 1913, Page 5

A THRILLING NARRATIVE.

CART. SJOTTS DIARY. FIRST IXSTAL lENI PUBLISHED IN ILVDON. ■ Prow Associatioi —Teteranh. —Copyright LOEDOS, June 23. The July nnm er of; the “Strand Magazine” has publi hod (be first instalment of Contain Scot’s story from his journals. finely illust ated with paintings and photographs. T c narrative covers the journey from N« t Zealand to tho establishment of the < rpots preparatory to the advance to th< Pole. Captain Scott graphically dese ibes the grave outlook when the Dumps vere choked after clearing New Zealand the danger from foundering, and how Captain Oates and Dr Anderson labour* I through the night to save the ponies, -bile 24 officers literally Haled out the T rra Nova with’ buckets. Williams worked in swbltering heat behind the boilers to ent the bulkheads, enabling Lieut. £ wets to reach the pump and clear the sui ion. The spirit of the crew throughout, ays Captain Scott, was instanced by the ay they cheerfully prepared to “pig i ’ in the forecastle in order to provide more stowage for the stores, and the heerfulncss and good fellowship which signed whether in calm or in storm. Lient. Bowers v is an organising genius, and wonderful. Captain Scott elates a thrilling incident when six kil er whales rose under a floe whereon was Wonting with a number of dogs. The ice ras shattered into fragments, but all m rvellously escaped. Depot laving wis greatly hampered by the soft snow. ’he ponies were useless until a sort of sow-shoe was devised. Captain Scott ontinues: “What extraordinary unccr lin ties presented themselves every day, =ome new fact, new obstacle revealed, hreatening grave obstruction. I suppose that, is the reason which makes the game so well worth playing.” The do«s grewja little fierce, and one bit Caotain Scott) but Meares’ intervention prevented tip whole pack attacking him. Many figbw occurred. The pack, which was pcacefil one moment, became tearing, raging, fighting devils the next. A team falling ijto a crevasse was an exciting incident.) Eleven dogs out of thirteen were rescued after a Herculean task.

Captain Scott op his return to Safety Camp received Lieut. Campbell’s letter announcing that Captain Amundsen was at the Bav of Whales ready with his dogs to dash for die Pole earlier than it was possible to do;with the ponies. Captain Scott resolved to adhere to the original plans. j The preliminary work revealed a disturbing factor. Tie ponies lost condition in the blizzards. . “This,” says Captain Scott “makes a late start necessary next year.” He recapitulates Captain Evans’ Albert Hall story if Lieut. Bower’s party’s braveiy on the ice floe at Hut Point. He eulogises the way they stuck to the ponies, knowing that their loss would ruin his plans. The nest instalment describes the winter quarters and the start on the fatal Journey.

PENSIONS AND RECORDS.

THE LEADER’S LAST MESSAGE

\1 citing nuder date Tendon, May 9, the correspondent of the N.Z. Herald says;—

It is expected that Captain Scott’s diary will be published in October and that the book, which will bo in two volumes, will be about the same size as his narrative of bis previous expedition. There will be a simultaneous publication in America, and about the same time certain magazines in this country and in America will produce serially abridged narratives of the story. Lady Scott and Commander Evans are working very hard on the diaries, and the work will be edited by Mr Leonard Huxley, sen of the famous scientist. Mr Truuuull White, editor of “Everybody’s Magazine,” which has secured the American rights, says: "Captain Scott’s diary consists of ten large volumes written in pencil. It is still in perfect condition after lying for nine months in that tragic death-smitten tent. The last three volumes arc devoted to the dash from the Foie. It struck me as most remarkable that the very last passage—Captain Scot’s appeal to his country on behalf of the dependents that he aud his comrades left—is written without erasure, interlineation, or correction of any kind. It is a flue passage, and even a skilled writer might well have made emendations aud corrections before it was iu the form that Captain Scott evidently wrote it. I think he must have had a great uplifting, a great stirring of the soul, at the very finish, when he wrote mo fluently that tine and touching appeal.

Commander Evans went down to Swansea this week to hand over to the widow of Petty Officer Edgar Evans the diary which the later wrote during the Polar journey. Mrs Evans told a Press interviewer afterwards that she had promised Commander Evans that the contents of the diary should not be disclosed for at least two vears.

There has been some criticism of. the amount which has been arranged ; .o fa paid to the 'dependents of Lieutenant Itoewsr and also of the fact that this pension is charged upon the revenues of India, which had really nothing • > do with the expedition. Lieutenant Bowciv. was, of coarse, an Indian marine officer, and that service would have expected to pay him nearly £IOO a year if he had been merely invalided out of the service. The Government points out that Lieutenant Bowers did not leave a widow, merely a mother and sisters, and the amount they are to receive is more than would have been the case had he been killed in action.

The will of Dr. Adrian Wilson has been proved at £965 17s sd. It was made in 1901, and leaves everything to Dr. Wilson’s widow, Mrs Ori'ana Wilson. There are no children.