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 depôt and
rearranged sledges, which we did on the following day. We had with us one
pair of pony snow-shoes, a circle of wire as a foundation, hooped round
with bamboo, and with beckets of the same material. The surface suggested
their trial, which was completely successful. The question of snow-shoes
had been long and anxiously considered, and shoes for all the ponies were
at Cape Evans; but as we had so lately landed from the ship the ponies
had not been trained in their use, and they had not been brought.

Scott immediately sent Wilson and Meares with a dog-team to see whether
the sea-ice would allow them to reach Cape Evans and bring back shoes for
the other ponies. Meanwhile the next morning saw us trying to accustom
the animals to wearing snow-shoes by exercising them in the one pair we
possessed. But it seemed no use continuing to do this after the dog party
came in. They had found the sea-ice gone between Glacier Tongue and
Winter Quarters and so were empty-handed. They reported that a crevasse
at the edge of the Tongue had opened under the sledge, which had tilted
back into the crevasse but had run over it. These Glacier Tongue
crevasses are shallow things; Gran fell into one later and walked out of
the side of the Tongue on to the sea-ice beyond!