The seamen
made a hammock for him with blanket and pillow, and slung it forward
among their own bedding. Nigger had turned in, not feeling very well,
owing to the number of moths he had eaten, the ship being full of them.
When awakened by the Admiral, Nigger had no idea of the importance of the
occasion, but stretched himself, yawned in the most natural manner,
turned over and went to sleep again.
This cat became a well-known and much photographed member of the crew of
the Terra Nova. He is said to have imitated the Romans of old, being a
greedy beast, by having eaten as much seal blubber as he could hold, made
himself sick, and gone back and resumed his meal. He had most beautiful
fur. When the ship was returning from the Antarctic in 1911 Nigger was
frightened by something on deck and jumped into the sea, which was
running fairly rough. However, the ship was hove to, a boat lowered, and
Nigger was rescued. He spent another happy year on board, but disappeared
one dark night when the ship was returning from her second journey to the
South in 1912, during a big gale. He often went aloft with the men, of
his own accord. This night he was seen on the main lower topsail yard,
higher than which he never would go. He disappeared in a big squall,
probably because the yard was covered with ice.
Wilson rejoined the ship at Melbourne; and Scott left her, to arrange
further business matters, and to rejoin in New Zealand.
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