The first of the two boats came alongside, and men began to go clumsily, even fearfully down the ladders.

Throughout the early stages of activity on shore, the passengers and crew went out in shifts, so to speak.
Percival and others experienced in construction work had learned that efficiency and accomplishment depend entirely upon the concentration of force, and so, instead of piling hundreds of futile men on shore to create confusion, they adopted the plan of sending out daily detachments of fifty or sixty, to work in regular rotation until all available man power had been broken in and classified according to fitness and strength.

For example, certain men developed into capable wood-choppers, while others were useless in that capacity.

Each successive draft, therefore, had its choppers, its strippers, its haulers, its "handy men,"-- and its water-boys.

Moreover, this systematic replacement of toilers made it possible for those who were not accustomed to hard, manual labour to recover from the unusual tax on strength and endurance.
It should be explained, however, that this system was not applied to individuals selected for the purpose of exploration and research.