purchasing the photographic and cinematographic outfit, Griffith Taylor,
Debenham, and Priestley, our three geologists, and Day, the motor
engineer, were to join us in New Zealand, and Captain Scott with Drake at
Capetown.

In order to get another series of magnetic observations and to give the
staff relief from the monotony of the voyage as well as an opportunity
for doing a little special work, we stopped at the uninhabited island of
South Trinidad for a couple of days, arriving on July 26.

Trinidad Island looked magnificent with its towering peaks as we
approached it by moonlight. We dropped anchor shortly after dawn, the
ship was handed over to the Wicked Mate and Boatswain, who set up the
rigging and delighted themselves with a seamanlike refit. Campbell had a
party over the side scrubbing the weeds off, and many of the ship's
company attempted to harpoon the small sharks which came close round in
shoals and provided considerable amusement. These fish were too small to
be dangerous. After breakfast all the scientists and most of the officers
landed and were organised by Uncle Bill into small parties to collect
birds' eggs, flowers, specimens, to photograph and to sketch. A good
lunch was taken ashore, and we looked more like a gunroom picnic party
than a scientific expedition when we left the ship in flannels and all
manner of weird costumes. Wilson, Pennell, and Cherry-Garrard shot a
number of birds, mostly terns and gannets, and climbed practically to the
top of the island, where they could see the Martin Vaz islets on the
horizon. Wilson secured some Trinidad petrels, both white breasted and
black breasted, and discovered that the former is the young bird and the
latter the adult of the same species. He found them in the same nests. We
collected many terns' eggs; the tern has no nest but lays its eggs on a
smooth rock. Also one or two frigate birds were caught. Nelson worked