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diff --git a/old/south12h.htm b/old/south12h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..422a1d5 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/south12h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,14969 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<HTML><HEAD> +<TITLE>The Project Gutenberg eBook of South!, by Sir Ernest Shackleton</TITLE> +<META http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> +<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> +<!-- +DIV.book { margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%; text-align: justify; } +DIV.toc { margin-left: 5%; text-align: left; } +DIV.toc2 { margin-left: 1em; text-align: left } +--> +</STYLE> +</HEAD> +<BODY> +<h1>The Project Gutenberg EBook of South!, by Sir Ernest Shackleton</h1> +<PRE>Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: South! + +Author: Sir Ernest Shackleton + +Release Date: February, 2004 [EBook #5199] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[Most recently updated April 21, 2003] + +Edition: 12 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, SOUTH! *** + + + +This eBook was converted to HTML and given additional editing by +Jose Menendez from the text edition produced by Geoffrey Cowling +gcowling@laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au.</pre> +<br><br><br> +<DIV CLASS="book"> +<hr size="3" noshade> +<center><h1>SOUTH!</h1> +<h2>THE STORY OF<br>SHACKLETON’S LAST +EXPEDITION<br>1914–1917</h2> +<br> +<h3>BY SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON C.V.O.</h3> +<br><br><b> +TO<br><br> +MY COMRADES<br><br> +WHO FELL IN THE WHITE WARFARE<br> +OF THE SOUTH AND ON THE<br>RED FIELDS OF FRANCE<br>AND FLANDERS</b> +<br><br><hr><br> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2></center> +<DIV class="toc"><br><b> +<a href="#1">I. INTO THE WEDDELL SEA</a><br> +<a href="#2">II. NEW LAND</a><br> +<a href="#3">III. WINTER MONTHS</a><br> +<a href="#4">IV. LOSS OF THE <i>ENDURANCE</i></a><br> +<a href="#5">V. OCEAN CAMP</a><br> +<a href="#6">VI. THE MARCH BETWEEN</a><br> +<a href="#7">VII. PATIENCE CAMP</a><br> +<a href="#8">VIII. ESCAPE FROM THE ICE</a><br> +<a href="#9">IX. THE BOAT JOURNEY</a><br> +<a href="#10">X. ACROSS SOUTH GEORGIA</a><br> +<a href="#11">XI. THE RESCUE</a><br> +<a href="#12">XII. ELEPHANT ISLAND</a><br> +<a href="#13">XIII. THE ROSS SEA PARTY</a><br> +<a href="#14">XIV. WINTERING IN McMURDO SOUND</a><br> +<a href="#15">XV. LAYING THE DEPOTS</a><br> +<a href="#16">XVI. THE <i>AURORA’S</i> DRIFT</a><br> +<a href="#17">XVII. THE LAST RELIEF</a><br> +<a href="#18">XVIII. THE FINAL PHASE</a><br> +<br> +<a href="#19">APPENDIX I:</a></b> +<DIV class="toc2"><b> +<a href="#19">SCIENTIFIC WORK</a><br> +<a href="#20">SEA-ICE NOMENCLATURE</a><br> +<a href="#21">METEOROLOGY</a><br> +<a href="#22">PHYSICS</a><br> +<a href="#23">SOUTH ATLANTIC WHALES AND WHALING</a><br></b></DIV> +<br><b> +<a href="#24">APPENDIX II:</a></b> +<DIV class="toc2"><b> +<a href="#24">THE EXPEDITION HUTS AT McMURDO SOUND</a></b><br></DIV> +<br><b> +<a href="#25">INDEX</a></b></DIV><br><hr> +<center><h2>PREFACE</h2></center> +<p><br> +After the conquest of the South Pole by Amundsen, who, by a +narrow margin of days only, was in advance of the British +Expedition under Scott, there remained but one great main object +of Antarctic journeyings—the crossing of the South Polar continent +from sea to sea. +<p> +When I returned from the <i>Nimrod</i> Expedition on which we had to turn +back from our attempt to plant the British flag on the South Pole, +being beaten by stress of circumstances within ninety-seven miles +of our goal, my mind turned to the crossing of the continent, for +I was morally certain that either Amundsen or Scott would reach +the Pole on our own route or a parallel one. After hearing of +the Norwegian success I began to make preparations to start a last +great journey—so that the first crossing of the last continent +should be achieved by a British Expedition. +<p> +We failed in this object, but the story of our attempt is the +subject for the following pages, and I think that though failure +in the actual accomplishment must be recorded, there are chapters +in this book of high adventure, strenuous days, lonely nights, +unique experiences, and, above all, records of unflinching +determination, supreme loyalty, and generous self-sacrifice on +the part of my men which, even in these days that have witnessed +the sacrifices of nations and regardlessness of self on the part +of individuals, still will be of interest to readers who now turn +gladly from the red horror of war and the strain of the last five +years to read, perhaps with more understanding minds, the tale of +the White Warfare of the South. The struggles, the disappointments, +and the endurance of this small party of Britishers, hidden away +for nearly two years in the fastnesses of the Polar ice, striving +to carry out the ordained task and ignorant of the crises through +which the world was passing, make a story which is unique in the +history of Antarctic exploration. +<p> +Owing to the loss of the <i>Endurance</i> and the disaster to the <i>Aurora</i>, +certain documents relating mainly to the organization and preparation +of the Expedition have been lost; but, anyhow, I had no intention of +presenting a detailed account of the scheme of preparation, storing, +and other necessary but, to the general reader, unimportant affairs, +as since the beginning of this century, every book on Antarctic +exploration has dealt fully with this matter. I therefore briefly +place before you the inception and organization of the Expedition, +and insert here the copy of the programme which I prepared in order +to arouse the interest of the general public in the Expedition. +<p><br> +“<i>The Trans-continental Party.</i> +<p> + “The first crossing of the Antarctic continent, from sea to sea + via the Pole, apart from its historic value, will be a journey + of great scientific importance. +<p> + “The distance will be roughly 1800 miles, and the first half of + this, from the Weddell Sea to the Pole, will be over unknown + ground. Every step will be an advance in geographical science. + It will be learned whether the great Victoria chain of mountains, + which has been traced from the Ross Sea to the Pole, extends across + the continent and thus links up (except for the ocean break) + with the Andes of South America, and whether the great plateau + around the Pole dips gradually towards the Weddell Sea. +<p> + “Continuous magnetic observations will be taken on the journey. + The route will lead towards the Magnetic Pole, and the determination + of the dip of the magnetic needle will be of importance in practical + magnetism. The meteorological conditions will be carefully noted, + and this should help to solve many of our weather problems. +<p> + “The glaciologist and geologist will study ice formations and the + nature of the mountains, and this report will prove of great + scientific interest. +<p> +“<i>Scientific Work by Other Parties.</i> +<p> + “While the Trans-continental party is carrying out, for the + British Flag, the greatest Polar journey ever attempted, + the other parties will be engaged in important scientific work. +<p> + “Two sledging parties will operate from the base on the Weddell + Sea. One will travel westwards towards Graham Land, making + observations, collecting geological specimens, and proving whether + there are mountains in that region linked up with those found on + the other side of the Pole. +<p> + “Another party will travel eastward toward Enderby Land, carrying + out a similar programme, and a third, remaining at the base, will + study the fauna of the land and sea, and the meteorological + conditions. +<p> + “From the Ross Sea base, on the other side of the Pole, another + party will push southward and will probably await the arrival of + the Trans-continental party at the top of the Beardmore Glacier, + near Mount Buckley, where the first seams of coal were discovered + in the Antarctic. This region is of great importance to the + geologist, who will be enabled to read much of the history of the + Antarctic in the rocks. +<p> + “Both the ships of the Expedition will be equipped for dredging, + sounding, and every variety of hydrographical work. The Weddell + Sea ship will endeavour to trace the unknown coast-line of Graham + Land, and from both the vessels, with their scientific staffs, + important results may be expected. +<p> + “The several shore parties and the two ships will thus carry out + geographical and scientific work on a scale and over an area never + before attempted by any one Polar expedition. +<p> + “This will be the first use of the Weddell Sea as a base for + exploration, and all the parties will open up vast stretches of + unknown land. It is appropriate that this work should be carried + out under the British Flag, since the whole of the area southward + to the Pole is British territory. In July 1908, Letters Patent + were issued under the Great Seal declaring that the Governor of the + Falkland Islands should be the Governor of Graham Land (which forms + the western side of the Weddell Sea), and another section of the + same proclamation defines the area of British territory as + ‘situated in the South Atlantic Ocean to the south of the 50th + parallel of south latitude, and lying between 20 degrees and + 80 degrees west longitude.’ Reference to a map will show that this + includes the area in which the present Expedition will work. +<p> +“<i>How the Continent will be crossed.</i> +<p> + “The Weddell Sea ship, with all the members of the Expedition + operating from that base, will leave Buenos Ayres in October + 1914, and endeavour to land in November in latitude 78 degrees + south. +<p> + “Should this be done, the Trans-continental party will set out on + their 1800-mile journey at once, in the hope of accomplishing + the march across the Pole and reaching the Ross Sea base in five + months. Should the landing be made too late in the season, the + party will go into winter quarters, lay out depots during the autumn + and the following spring, and as early as possible in 1915 set out + on the journey. +<p> + “The Trans-continental party will be led by Sir Ernest Shackleton, + and will consist of six men. It will take 100 dogs with sledges, + and two motor-sledges with aerial propellers. The equipment will + embody everything that the experience of the leader and his expert + advisers can suggest. When this party has reached the area of the + Pole, after covering 800 miles of unknown ground, it will strike due + north towards the head of the Beardmore Glacier, and there it is + hoped to meet the outcoming party from the Ross Sea. Both will join + up and make for the Ross Sea base, where the previous Expedition had + its winter quarters. +<p> + “In all, fourteen men will be landed by the <i>Endurance</i> on the + Weddell Sea. Six will set out on the Trans-continental journey, + three will go westward, three eastward, and two remain at the base + carrying on the work already outlined. +<p> + “The <i>Aurora</i> will land six men at the Ross Sea base. They will + lay down depots on the route of the Trans-continental party, and + make a march south to assist that party, and to make geological + and other observations as already described. +<p> + “Should the Trans-continental party succeed, as is hoped, in + crossing during the first season, its return to civilization + may be expected about April 1915. The other sections in April + 1916. +<p> +“<i>The Ships of the Expedition.</i> +<p> + “The two ships for the Expedition have now been selected. +<p> + “The <i>Endurance</i>, the ship which will take the Trans-continental + party to the Weddell Sea, and will afterwards explore along an + unknown coast-line, is a new vessel, specially constructed for + Polar work under the supervision of a committee of Polar explorers. + She was built by Christensen, the famous Norwegian constructor of + sealing vessels, at Sandefjord. She is barquentine rigged, and + has triple-expansion engines giving her a speed under steam of nine + to ten knots. To enable her to stay longer at sea, she will carry + oil fuel as well as coal. She is of about 350 tons, and built of + selected pine, oak, and greenheart. This fine vessel, equipped, + has cost the Expedition £14,000. +<p> + “The <i>Aurora</i>, the ship which will take out the Ross Sea party, + has been bought from Dr. Mawson. She is similar in all respects + to the <i>Terra Nova</i>, of Captain Scott’s last Expedition. She + had extensive alterations made by the Government authorities in + Australia to fit her for Dr. Mawson’s Expedition, and is now at + Hobart, Tasmania, where the Ross Sea party will join her in + October next.” +<p><br> +I started the preparations in the middle of 1913, but no public +announcement was made until January 13, 1914. For the last six +months of 1913 I was engaged in the necessary preliminaries, solid +mule work, showing nothing particular to interest the public, but +essential for an Expedition that had to have a ship on each side +of the Continent, with a land journey of eighteen hundred miles to +be made, the first nine hundred miles to be across an absolutely +unknown land mass. +<p> +On January 1, 1914, having received a promised financial support +sufficient to warrant the announcement of the Expedition, I made it +public. +<p> +The first result of this was a flood of applications from all classes +of the community to join the adventure. I received nearly five +thousand applications, and out of these were picked fifty-six men. +<p> +In March, to my great disappointment and anxiety, the promised +financial help did not materialize, and I was now faced with the +fact that I had contracted for a ship and stores, and had engaged the +staff, and I was not in possession of funds to meet these liabilities. +I immediately set about appealing for help, and met with generous +response from all sides. I cannot here give the names of all who +supported my application, but whilst taking this opportunity of +thanking every one for their support, which came from parts as far +apart as the interior of China, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia, +I must particularly refer to the munificent donation of £24,000 +from the late Sir James Caird, and to one of £10,000 from the +British Government. I must also thank Mr. Dudley Docker, who enabled +me to complete the purchase of the <i>Endurance</i>, and Miss Elizabeth +Dawson Lambton, who since 1901 has always been a firm friend to +Antarctic exploration, and who again, on this occasion, assisted +largely. The Royal Geographical Society made a grant of £1000; +and last, but by no means least, I take this opportunity of +tendering my grateful thanks to Dame Janet Stancomb Wills, whose +generosity enabled me to equip the <i>Endurance</i> efficiently, especially +as regards boats (which boats were the means of our ultimate safety), +and who not only, at the inception of the Expedition, gave financial +help, but also continued it through the dark days when we were +overdue, and funds were required to meet the need of the dependents +of the Expedition. +<p> +The only return and privilege an explorer has in the way of +acknowledgment for the help accorded him is to record on the +discovered lands the names of those to whom the Expedition owes +its being. +<p> +Owing to the exigencies of the war the publication of this book +has been long delayed, and the detailed maps must come with the +scientific monographs. I have the honour to place on the +new land the names of the above and other generous donors to the +Expedition. The two hundred miles of new coast-line I have called +Caird Coast. Also, as a more personal note, I named the three +ship’s boats, in which we ultimately escaped from the grip of the +ice, after the three principal donors to the Expedition—the <i>James +Caird</i>, the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> and the <i>Dudley Docker</i>. The two last-named +are still on the desolate sandy spit of Elephant Island, where +under their shelter twenty-two of my comrades eked out a bare existence +for four and a half months. +<p> +The <i>James Caird</i> is now in Liverpool, having been brought home from +South Georgia after her adventurous voyage across the sub-Antarctic +ocean. +<p> +Most of the Public Schools of England and Scotland helped the Expedition +to purchase the dog teams, and I named a dog after each school that +helped. But apart from these particular donations I again thank the +many people who assisted us. +<p> +So the equipment and organization went on. I purchased the <i>Aurora</i> +from Sir Douglas Mawson, and arranged for Mackintosh to go to +Australia and take charge of her, there sending sledges, equipment +and most of the stores from this side, but depending somewhat on the +sympathy and help of Australia and New Zealand for coal and certain +other necessities, knowing that previously these two countries had +always generously supported the exploration of what one might call +their hinterland. +<p> +Towards the end of July all was ready, when suddenly the war clouds +darkened over Europe. +<p> +It had been arranged for the <i>Endurance</i> to proceed to Cowes, to be +inspected by His Majesty on the Monday of Cowes week. But on Friday +I received a message to say that the King would not be able to go to +Cowes. My readers will remember how suddenly came the menace of war. +Naturally, both my comrades and I were greatly exercised as to the +probable outcome of the danger threatening the peace of the world. +<p> +We sailed from London on Friday, August 1, 1914, and anchored off +Southend all Saturday. On Sunday afternoon I took the ship off +Margate, growing hourly more anxious as the ever-increasing +rumours spread; and on Monday morning I went ashore and read in +the morning paper the order for general mobilization. +<p> +I immediately went on board and mustered all hands and told them +that I proposed to send a telegram to the Admiralty offering the +ships, stores, and, if they agreed, our own services to the +country in the event of war breaking out. All hands immediately +agreed, and I sent off a telegram in which everything was placed +at the disposal of the Admiralty. We only asked that, in the event +of the declaration of war, the Expedition might be considered as a +single unit, so as to preserve its homogeneity. There were enough +trained and experienced men amongst us to man a destroyer. Within +an hour I received a laconic wire from the Admiralty saying “Proceed.” +Within two hours a longer wire came from Mr. Winston Churchill, in which +we were thanked for our offer, and saying that the authorities desired +that the Expedition, which had the full sanction and support of the +Scientific and Geographical Societies, should go on. +<p> +So, according to these definite instructions, the <i>Endurance</i> sailed +to Plymouth. On Tuesday the King sent for me and handed me the Union +Jack to carry on the Expedition. That night, at midnight, war broke +out. On the following Saturday, August 8, the <i>Endurance</i> sailed from +Plymouth, obeying the direct order of the Admiralty. I make particular +reference to this phase of the Expedition as I am aware that there was +a certain amount of criticism of the Expedition having left the country, +and regarding this I wish further to add that the preparation of the +Expedition had been proceeding for over a year, and large sums of money +had been spent. We offered to give the Expedition up without even +consulting the donors of this money, and but few thought that the war +would last through these five years and involve the whole world. +The Expedition was not going on a peaceful cruise to the South Sea +Islands, but to a most dangerous, difficult, and strenuous work that +has nearly always involved a certain percentage of loss of life. +Finally, when the Expedition did return, practically the whole of +those members who had come unscathed through the dangers of the +Antarctic took their places in the wider field of battle, and the +percentage of casualties amongst the members of this Expedition is +high. +<p> +The voyage out to Buenos Ayres was uneventful, and on October 26 we +sailed from that port for South Georgia, the most southerly outpost +of the British Empire. Here, for a month, we were engaged in final +preparation. The last we heard of the war was when we left Buenos +Ayres. Then the Russian Steam-Roller was advancing. According to +many the war would be over within six months. And so we left, not +without regret that we could not take our place there, but secure +in the knowledge that we were taking part in a strenuous campaign +for the credit of our country. +<p> +Apart from private individuals and societies I here acknowledge +most gratefully the assistance rendered by the Dominion +Government of New Zealand and the Commonwealth Government of +Australia at the start of the Ross Sea section of the Expedition; +and to the people of New Zealand and the Dominion Government I +tender my most grateful thanks for their continued help, which +was invaluable during the dark days before the relief of the Ross +Sea Party. +<p> +Mr. James Allen (acting Premier), the late Mr. McNab (Minister of +Marine), Mr. Leonard Tripp, Mr. Mabin, and Mr. Toogood, and +many others have laid me under a debt of gratitude that can +never be repaid. +<p> +This is also the opportunity for me to thank the Uruguayan +Government for their generous assistance in placing the government +trawler, <i>Instituto de Pesca</i>, for the second attempt at the relief +of my men on Elephant Island. +<p> +Finally, it was the Chilian Government that was directly +responsible for the rescue of my comrades. This southern +Republic was unwearied in its efforts to make a successful +rescue, and the gratitude of our whole party is due to them. +I especially mention the sympathetic attitude of Admiral Muñoz +Hurtado, head of the Chilian Navy, and Captain Luis Pardo, who +commanded the <i>Yelcho</i> on our last and successful venture. +<p> +Sir Daniel Gooch came with us as far as South Georgia. I owe +him my special thanks for his help with the dogs, and we all +regretted losing his cheery presence, when we sailed for the +South.<br><br> +<hr> +<center><h2><a name="1">CHAPTER I</a></h2><h2>INTO THE WEDDELL SEA</h2></center> +<p><br> +I decided to leave South Georgia about December 5, and in the +intervals of final preparation scanned again the plans for the +voyage to winter quarters. What welcome was the Weddell Sea +preparing for us? The whaling captains at South Georgia were +generously ready to share with me their knowledge of the waters +in which they pursued their trade, and, while confirming earlier +information as to the extreme severity of the ice conditions in +this sector of the Antarctic, they were able to give advice that +was worth attention. +<p> +It will be convenient to state here briefly some of the considerations +that weighed with me at that time and in the weeks that followed. +I knew that the ice had come far north that season and, after +listening to the suggestions of the whaling captains, had decided +to steer to the South Sandwich Group, round Ultima Thule, and work +as far to the eastward as the fifteenth meridian west longitude +before pushing south. The whalers emphasized the difficulty of +getting through the ice in the neighbourhood of the South Sandwich +Group. They told me they had often seen the floes come right up to +the group in the summer-time, and they thought the Expedition would +have to push through heavy pack in order to reach the Weddell Sea. +Probably the best time to get into the Weddell Sea would be the +end of February or the beginning of March. The whalers had gone +right round the South Sandwich Group and they were familiar with +the conditions. The predictions they made induced me to take the +deck-load of coal, for if we had to fight our way through to Coats’ +Land we would need every ton of fuel the ship could carry. +<p> +I hoped that by first moving to the east as far as the fifteenth +meridian west we would be able to go south through looser ice, +pick up Coats’ Land and finally reach Vahsel Bay, where Filchner +made his attempt at landing in 1912. Two considerations were +occupying my mind at this juncture. I was anxious for certain +reasons to winter the <i>Endurance</i> in the Weddell Sea, but the +difficulty of finding a safe harbour might be very great. If no +safe harbour could be found, the ship must winter at South +Georgia. It seemed to me hopeless now to think of making the +journey across the continent in the first summer, as the season +was far advanced and the ice conditions were likely to prove +unfavourable. In view of the possibility of wintering the ship +in the ice, we took extra clothing from the stores at the various +stations in South Georgia. +<p> +The other question that was giving me anxious thought was the size +of the shore party. If the ship had to go out during the winter, +or if she broke away from winter quarters, it would be preferable +to have only a small, carefully selected party of men ashore after +the hut had been built and the stores landed. These men could proceed +to lay out depots by man-haulage and make short journeys with the dogs, +training them for the long early march in the following spring. +The majority of the scientific men would live aboard the ship, where +they could do their work under good conditions. They would be able +to make short journeys if required, using the <i>Endurance</i> as a base. +All these plans were based on an expectation that the finding of winter +quarters was likely to be difficult. If a really safe base could +be established on the continent, I would adhere to the original +programme of sending one party to the south, one to the west +round the head of the Weddell Sea towards Graham Land, and one +to the east towards Enderby Land. +<p> +We had worked out details of distances, courses, stores required, +and so forth. Our sledging ration, the result of experience as well +as close study, was perfect. The dogs gave promise, after training, +of being able to cover fifteen to twenty miles a day with loaded +sledges. The trans-continental journey, at this rate, should be +completed in 120 days unless some unforeseen obstacle intervened. +We longed keenly for the day when we could begin this march, the +last great adventure in the history of South Polar exploration, +but a knowledge of the obstacles that lay between us and our +starting-point served as a curb on impatience. Everything depended +upon the landing. If we could land at Filchner’s base there was no +reason why a band of experienced men should not winter there in +safety. But the Weddell Sea was notoriously inhospitable and +already we knew that its sternest face was turned toward us. +All the conditions in the Weddell Sea are unfavourable from the +navigator’s point of view. The winds are comparatively light, +and consequently new ice can form even in the summer-time. +The absence of strong winds has the additional effect of allowing +the ice to accumulate in masses, undisturbed. Then great quantities +of ice sweep along the coast from the east under the influence of +the prevailing current, and fill up the bight of the Weddell Sea +as they move north in a great semicircle. Some of this ice +doubtless describes almost a complete circle, and is held up +eventually, in bad seasons, against the South Sandwich Islands. +The strong currents, pressing the ice masses against the coasts, +create heavier pressure than is found in any other part of the +Antarctic. This pressure must be at least as severe as the pressure +experienced in the congested North Polar basin, and I am inclined +to think that a comparison would be to the advantage of the Arctic. +All these considerations naturally had a bearing upon our immediate +problem, the penetration of the pack and the finding of a safe +harbour on the continental coast. +<p> +The day of departure arrived. I gave the order to heave +anchor at 8.45 a.m. on December 5, 1914, and the clanking of the +windlass broke for us the last link with civilization. The morning +was dull and overcast, with occasional gusts of snow and sleet, but +hearts were light aboard the <i>Endurance</i>. The long days of preparation +were over and the adventure lay ahead. +<p> +We had hoped that some steamer from the north would bring news of +war and perhaps letters from home before our departure. A ship +did arrive on the evening of the 4th, but she carried no letters, +and nothing useful in the way of information could be gleaned from +her. The captain and crew were all stoutly pro-German, and the +“news” they had to give took the unsatisfying form of accounts +of British and French reverses. We would have been glad to have +had the latest tidings from a friendlier source. A year and a +half later we were to learn that the <i>Harpoon</i>, the steamer which +tends the Grytviken station, had arrived with mail for us not more +than two hours after the <i>Endurance</i> had proceeded down the coast. +<p> +The bows of the <i>Endurance</i> were turned to the south, and the good +ship dipped to the south-westerly swell. Misty rain fell during +the forenoon, but the weather cleared later in the day, and we had +a good view of the coast of South Georgia as we moved under steam +and sail to the south-east. The course was laid to carry us clear +of the island and then south of South Thule, Sandwich Group. The +wind freshened during the day, and all square sail was set, with +the foresail reefed in order to give the look-out a clear view +ahead; for we did not wish to risk contact with a “growler,” one +of those treacherous fragments of ice that float with surface +awash. The ship was very steady in the quarterly sea, but +certainly did not look as neat and trim as she had done when +leaving the shores of England four months earlier. We had filled +up with coal at Grytviken, and this extra fuel was stored on deck, +where it impeded movement considerably. The carpenter had built a +false deck, extending from the poop-deck to the chart-room. We had +also taken aboard a ton of whale-meat for the dogs. The big +chunks of meat were hung up in the rigging, out of reach but not +out of sight of the dogs, and as the <i>Endurance</i> rolled and pitched, +they watched with wolfish eyes for a windfall. +<p> +I was greatly pleased with the dogs, which were tethered about +the ship in the most comfortable positions we could find for them. +They were in excellent condition, and I felt that the Expedition +had the right tractive-power. They were big, sturdy animals, +chosen for endurance and strength, and if they were as keen to +pull our sledges as they were now to fight one another all would +be well. The men in charge of the dogs were doing their work +enthusiastically, and the eagerness they showed to study the natures +and habits of their charges gave promise of efficient handling and +good work later on. +<p> +During December 6 the <i>Endurance</i> made good progress on a south-easterly +course. The northerly breeze had freshened during +the night and had brought up a high following sea. The weather +was hazy, and we passed two bergs, several growlers, and numerous +lumps of ice. Staff and crew were settling down to the routine. +Bird life was plentiful, and we noticed Cape pigeons, whale-birds, +terns, mollymauks, nellies, sooty, and wandering albatrosses in +the neighbourhood of the ship. The course was laid for the passage +between Sanders Island and Candlemas Volcano. December 7 brought +the first check. At six o’clock that morning the sea, which had +been green in colour all the previous day, changed suddenly to a +deep indigo. The ship was behaving well in a rough sea, and some +members of the scientific staff were transferring to the bunkers +the coal we had stowed on deck. Sanders Island and Candlemas were +sighted early in the afternoon, and the <i>Endurance</i> passed between +them at 6 p.m. Worsley’s observations indicated that Sanders Island +was, roughly, three miles east and five miles north of the charted +position. Large numbers of bergs, mostly tabular in form, lay to +the west of the islands, and we noticed that many of them were +yellow with <i>diatoms</i>. One berg had large patches of red-brown soil +down its sides. The presence of so many bergs was ominous, +and immediately after passing between the islands we encountered +stream-ice. All sail was taken in and we proceeded slowly under +steam. Two hours later, fifteen miles north-east of Sanders +Island, the <i>Endurance</i> was confronted by a belt of heavy pack-ice, +half a mile broad and extending north and south. There was clear +water beyond, but the heavy south-westerly swell made the pack +impenetrable in our neighbourhood. This was disconcerting. +The noon latitude had been 57° 26´ S., and I had +not expected to find pack-ice nearly so far north, though the whalers +had reported pack-ice right up to South Thule. +<p> +The situation became dangerous that night. We pushed into the pack +in the hope of reaching open water beyond, and found ourselves +after dark in a pool which was growing smaller and smaller. The +ice was grinding around the ship in the heavy swell, and I watched +with some anxiety for any indication of a change of wind to the east, +since a breeze from that quarter would have driven us towards +the land. Worsley and I were on deck all night, dodging the pack. +At 3 a.m. we ran south, taking advantage of some openings that had +appeared, but met heavy rafted pack-ice, evidently old; some of it +had been subjected to severe pressure. Then we steamed north-west +and saw open water to the north-east. I put the <i>Endurance’s</i> head +for the opening, and, steaming at full speed, we got clear. Then +we went east in the hope of getting better ice, and five hours later, +after some dodging, we rounded the pack and were able to set sail +once more. This initial tussle with the pack had been exciting at +times. Pieces of ice and bergs of all sizes were heaving and +jostling against each other in the heavy south-westerly swell. +In spite of all our care the <i>Endurance</i> struck large lumps stem on, +but the engines were stopped in time and no harm was done. The +scene and sounds throughout the day were very fine. The swell +was dashing against the sides of huge bergs and leaping right to +the top of their icy cliffs. Sanders Island lay to the south, +with a few rocky faces peering through the misty, swirling clouds +that swathed it most of the time, the booming of the sea running +into ice-caverns, the swishing break of the swell on the loose pack, +and the graceful bowing and undulating of the inner pack to the +steeply rolling swell, which here was robbed of its break by the +masses of ice to windward. +<p> +We skirted the northern edge of the pack in clear weather with a +light south-westerly breeze and an overcast sky. The bergs were +numerous. During the morning of December 9 an easterly breeze +brought hazy weather with snow, and at 4.30 p.m. we encountered +the edge of pack-ice in lat. 58° 27´ S., long. +22° 08´ W. It was one-year-old ice interspersed +with older pack, all heavily snow-covered and lying west-south-west +to east-north-east. We entered the pack at 5 p.m., but could not +make progress, and cleared it again at 7.40 p.m. Then we steered +east-north-east and spent the rest of the night rounding the pack. +During the day we had seen adelie and ringed penguins, also several +humpback and finner whales. An ice-blink to the westward indicated +the presence of pack in that direction. After rounding the pack we +steered S. 40° E., and at noon on the 10th had reached lat. +58° 28´ S., long. 20° 28´ W. Observations +showed the compass variation to be 1½° less than the chart +recorded. I kept the <i>Endurance</i> on the course till midnight, +when we entered loose open ice about ninety miles south-east of our +noon position. This ice proved to fringe the pack, and progress +became slow. There was a long easterly swell with a light northerly +breeze, and the weather was clear and fine. Numerous bergs lay +outside the pack. +<p> +The <i>Endurance</i> steamed through loose open ice till 8 a.m. on the +11th, when we entered the pack in lat. 59° 46´ S., +long. 18° 22´ W. We could have gone farther east, +but the pack extended far in that direction, and an effort to circle +it might have involved a lot of northing. I did not wish to lose +the benefit of the original southing. The extra miles would not have +mattered to a ship with larger coal capacity than the <i>Endurance</i> +possessed, but we could not afford to sacrifice miles unnecessarily. +The pack was loose and did not present great difficulties at this +stage. The foresail was set in order to take advantage of the +northerly breeze. The ship was in contact with the ice occasionally +and received some heavy blows. Once or twice she was brought up +all standing against solid pieces, but no harm was done. The chief +concern was to protect the propeller and rudder. If a collision +seemed to be inevitable the officer in charge would order “slow” +or “half speed” with the engines, and put the helm over so as to +strike floe a glancing blow. Then the helm would be put over towards +the ice with the object of throwing the propeller clear of it, and +the ship would forge ahead again. Worsley, Wild, and I, with three +officers, kept three watches while we were working through the +pack, so that we had two officers on deck all the time. The +carpenter had rigged a six-foot wooden semaphore on the bridge to +enable the navigating officer to give the seamen or scientists at +the wheel the direction and the exact amount of helm required. +This device saved time, as well as the effort of shouting. We were +pushing through this loose pack all day, and the view from the crow’s-nest +gave no promise of improved conditions ahead. A Weddell seal +and a crab-eater seal were noticed on the floes, but we did not +pause to secure fresh meat. It was important that we should make +progress towards our goal as rapidly as possible, and there was +reason to fear that we should have plenty of time to spare later +on if the ice conditions continued to increase in severity. +<p> +On the morning of December 12 we were working through loose pack +which later became thick in places. The sky was overcast and +light snow was falling. I had all square sail set at 7 a.m. in +order to take advantage of the northerly breeze, but it had to +come in again five hours later when the wind hauled round to the +west. The noon position was lat. 60° 26´ S., long. +17° 58´ W., and the run for the twenty-four hours +had been only 33 miles. The ice was still badly congested, and +we were pushing through narrow leads and occasional openings with +the floes often close abeam on either side. Antarctic, snow and +stormy petrels, fulmars, white-rumped terns, and adelies were +around us. The quaint little penguins found the ship a cause +of much apparent excitement and provided a lot of amusement aboard. +One of the standing jokes was that all the adelies on the floe +seemed to know Clark, and when he was at the wheel rushed along +as fast as their legs could carry them, yelling out “Clark! Clark!” +and apparently very indignant and perturbed that he never waited +for them or even answered them. +<p> +We found several good leads to the south in the evening, and +continued to work southward throughout the night and the following +day. The pack extended in all directions as far as the eye could +reach. The noon observation showed the run for the twenty-four +hours to be 54 miles, a satisfactory result under the conditions. +Wild shot a young Ross seal on the floe, and we manoeuvred the ship +alongside. Hudson jumped down, bent a line on to the seal, and the +pair of them were hauled up. The seal was 4 ft. 9 in. long and +weighed about ninety pounds. He was a young male and proved very +good eating, but when dressed and minus the blubber made little +more than a square meal for our twenty-eight men, with a few scraps +for our breakfast and tea. The stomach contained only <i>amphipods</i> +about an inch long, allied to those found in the whales at +Grytviken. +<p> +The conditions became harder on December 14. There was a misty +haze, and occasional falls of snow. A few bergs were in sight. +The pack was denser than it had been on the previous days. Older +ice was intermingled with the young ice, and our progress became +slower. The propeller received several blows in the early +morning, but no damage was done. A platform was rigged under the +jib-boom in order that Hurley might secure some kinematograph +pictures of the ship breaking through the ice. The young ice did +not present difficulties to the <i>Endurance</i>, which was able to smash +a way through, but the lumps of older ice were more formidable +obstacles, and conning the ship was a task requiring close +attention. The most careful navigation could not prevent an +occasional bump against ice too thick to be broken or pushed aside. +The southerly breeze strengthened to a moderate south-westerly +gale during the afternoon, and at 8 p.m. we hove to, stem against +a floe, it being impossible to proceed without serious risk of +damage to rudder or propeller. I was interested to notice that, +although we had been steaming through the pack for three days, +the north-westerly swell still held with us. It added to the +difficulties of navigation in the lanes, since the ice was +constantly in movement. +<p> +The <i>Endurance</i> remained against the floe for the next twenty-four +hours, when the gale moderated. The pack extended to the horizon +in all directions and was broken by innumerable narrow lanes. +Many bergs were in sight, and they appeared to be travelling +through the pack in a south-westerly direction under the current +influence. Probably the pack itself was moving north-east with +the gale. Clark put down a net in search of specimens, and at +two fathoms it was carried south-west by the current and fouled +the propeller. He lost the net, two leads, and a line. Ten +bergs drove to the south through the pack during the twenty-four +hours. The noon position was 61° 31´ S., long. +18° 12´ W. The gale had moderated at 8 p.m., and +we made five miles to the south before midnight and then we +stopped at the end of a long lead, waiting till the weather cleared. +It was during this short run that the captain, with semaphore +hard-a-port, shouted to the scientist at the wheel: “Why in +Paradise don’t you port!” The answer came in indignant tones: +“I am blowing my nose.” +<p> +The <i>Endurance</i> made some progress on the following day. Long +leads of open water ran towards the south-west, and the ship +smashed at full speed through occasional areas of young ice till +brought up with a heavy thud against a section of older floe. +Worsley was out on the jib-boom end for a few minutes while Wild +was conning the ship, and he came back with a glowing account of +a novel sensation. The boom was swinging high and low and from +side to side, while the massive bows of the ship smashed through +the ice, splitting it across, piling it mass on mass and then +shouldering it aside. The air temperature was 37° Fahr., +pleasantly warm, and the water temperature 29° Fahr. We +continued to advance through fine long leads till 4 a.m. on +December 17, when the ice became difficult again. Very large +floes of six-months-old ice lay close together. Some of these +floes presented a square mile of unbroken surface, and among +them were patches of thin ice and several floes of heavy old ice. +Many bergs were in sight, and the course became devious. The +ship was blocked at one point by a wedge-shaped piece of floe, +but we put the ice-anchor through it, towed it astern, and +proceeded through the gap. Steering under these conditions +required muscle as well as nerve. There was a clatter aft during +the afternoon, and Hussey, who was at the wheel, explained that +“The wheel spun round and threw me over the top of it!” The noon +position was lat. 62° 13´ S., long. 18° +53´ W., and the run for the preceding twenty-four hours had +been 32 miles in a south-westerly direction. We saw three blue +whales during the day and one emperor penguin, a 58-lb. bird, which +was added to the larder. +<p> +The morning of December 18 found the <i>Endurance</i> proceeding amongst +large floes with thin ice between them. The leads were few. There +was a northerly breeze with occasional snow-flurries. We secured +three crab-eater seals—two cows and a bull. The bull was a fine +specimen, nearly white all over and 9 ft. 3 in. long; he weighed +600 lbs. Shortly before noon further progress was barred by heavy +pack, and we put an ice-anchor on the floe and banked the fires. +I had been prepared for evil conditions in the Weddell Sea, but had +hoped that in December and January, at any rate, the pack would be +loose, even if no open water was to be found. What we were actually +encountering was fairly dense pack of a very obstinate character. +Pack-ice might be described as a gigantic and interminable jigsaw-puzzle +devised by nature. The parts of the puzzle in loose pack +have floated slightly apart and become disarranged; at numerous +places they have pressed together again; as the pack gets closer +the congested areas grow larger and the parts are jammed harder +till finally it becomes “close pack,” when the whole of the jigsaw-puzzle +becomes jammed to such an extent that with care and labour +it can be traversed in every direction on foot. Where the parts +do not fit closely there is, of course, open water, which freezes +over, in a few hours after giving off volumes of “frost-smoke.” +In obedience to renewed pressure this young ice “rafts,” so +forming double thicknesses of a toffee-like consistency. Again +the opposing edges of heavy floes rear up in slow and almost silent +conflict, till high “hedgerows” are formed round each part of the +puzzle. At the junction of several floes chaotic areas of piled-up +blocks and masses of ice are formed. Sometimes 5-ft. to 6-ft. piles +of evenly shaped blocks of ice are seen so neatly laid that it seems +impossible for them to be Nature’s work. Again, a winding canyon +may be traversed between icy walls 6 ft. to 10 ft. high, or a dome +may be formed that under renewed pressure bursts upward like a +volcano. All the winter the drifting pack changes—grows by +freezing, thickens by rafting, and corrugates by pressure. If, +finally, in its drift it impinges on a coast, such as the western +shore of the Weddell Sea, terrific pressure is set up and an inferno +of ice-blocks, ridges, and hedgerows results, extending possibly for +150 or 200 miles off shore. Sections of pressure ice may drift +away subsequently and become embedded in new ice. +<p> +I have given this brief explanation here in order that the reader +may understand the nature of the ice through which we pushed our +way for many hundreds of miles. Another point that may require +to be explained was the delay caused by wind while we were in the +pack. When a strong breeze or moderate gale was blowing the ship +could not safely work through any except young ice, up to about +two feet in thickness. As ice of that nature never extended for +more than a mile or so, it followed that in a gale in the pack we +had always to lie to. The ship was 3 ft. 3 in. down by the stern, +and while this saved the propeller and rudder a good deal, it made +the <i>Endurance</i> practically unmanageable in close pack when the wind +attained a force of six miles an hour from ahead, since the air +currents had such a big surface forward to act upon. The pressure +of wind on bows and the yards of the foremast would cause the bows +to fall away, and in these conditions the ship could not be steered +into the narrow lanes and leads through which we had to thread our +way. The falling away of the bows, moreover, would tend to bring +the stern against the ice, compelling us to stop the engines in +order to save the propeller. Then the ship would become unmanageable +and drift away, with the possibility of getting excessive sternway +on her and so damaging rudder or propeller, the Achilles’ heel of a +ship in pack-ice. +<p> +While we were waiting for the weather to moderate and the ice to +open, I had the Lucas sounding-machine rigged over the rudder-trunk +and found the depth to be 2810 fathoms. The bottom sample was lost +owing to the line parting 60 fathoms from the end. During the +afternoon three adelie penguins approached the ship across the floe +while Hussey was discoursing sweet music on the banjo. The +solemn-looking little birds appeared to appreciate “It’s a Long +Way to Tipperary,” but they fled in horror when Hussey treated +them to a little of the music that comes from Scotland. The shouts +of laughter from the ship added to their dismay, and they made off +as fast as their short legs would carry them. The pack opened +slightly at 6.15 p.m., and we proceeded through lanes for three +hours before being forced to anchor to a floe for the night. We +fired a Hjort mark harpoon, No. 171, into a blue whale on this +day. The conditions did not improve during December 19. A fresh +to strong northerly breeze brought haze and snow, and after +proceeding for two hours the <i>Endurance</i> was stopped again by +heavy floes. It was impossible to manoeuvre the ship in the ice +owing to the strong wind, which kept the floes in movement and +caused lanes to open and close with dangerous rapidity. The noon +observation showed that we had made six miles to the south-east in +the previous twenty-four hours. All hands were engaged during the +day in rubbing shoots off our potatoes, which were found to be +sprouting freely. We remained moored to a floe over the following +day, the wind not having moderated; indeed, it freshened to a gale +in the afternoon, and the members of the staff and crew took +advantage of the pause to enjoy a vigorously contested game of +football on the level surface of the floe alongside the ship. +Twelve bergs were in sight at this time. The noon position was +lat. 62° 42´ S., long. 17° 54´ W., +showing that we had drifted about six miles in a north-easterly +direction. +<p> +Monday, December 21, was beautifully fine, with a gentle west-north-westerly +breeze. We made a start at 3 a.m. and proceeded +through the pack in a south-westerly direction. At noon we had +gained seven miles almost due east, the northerly drift of the +pack having continued while the ship was apparently moving to +the south. Petrels of several species, penguins, and seals were +plentiful, and we saw four small blue whales. At noon we entered +a long lead to the southward and passed around and between nine +splendid bergs. One mighty specimen was shaped like the Rock of +Gibraltar but with steeper cliffs, and another had a natural dock +that would have contained the <i>Aquitania</i>. A spur of ice closed +the entrance to the huge blue pool. Hurley brought out his +kinematograph-camera, in order to make a record of these bergs. +Fine long leads running east and south-east among bergs were found +during the afternoon, but at midnight the ship was stopped by +small, heavy ice-floes, tightly packed against an unbroken plain +of ice. The outlook from the mast-head was not encouraging. +The big floe was at least 15 miles long and 10 miles wide. +The edge could not be seen at the widest part, and the area of +the floe must have been not less than 150 square miles. It +appeared to be formed of year-old ice, not very thick and with +very few hummocks or ridges in it. We thought it must have been +formed at sea in very calm weather and drifted up from the south-east. +I had never seen such a large area of unbroken ice in +the Ross Sea. +<p> +We waited with banked fires for the strong easterly breeze to +moderate or the pack to open. At 6.30 p.m. on December 22 some +lanes opened and we were able to move towards the south again. +The following morning found us working slowly through the pack, +and the noon observation gave us a gain of 19 miles S. 41° +W. for the seventeen and a half hours under steam. Many year-old +adelies, three crab-eaters, six sea-leopards, one Weddell and two +blue whales were seen. The air temperature, which had been down +to 25° Fahr. on December 21, had risen to 34° Fahr. +While we were working along leads to the southward in the afternoon, +we counted fifteen bergs. Three of these were table-topped, and +one was about 70 ft high and 5 miles long. Evidently it had come +from a barrier-edge. The ice became heavier but slightly more open, +and we had a calm night with fine long leads of open water. The +water was so still that new ice was forming on the leads. We had +a run of 70 miles to our credit at noon on December 24, the position +being lat. 64° 32´ S., long. 17° 17´ W. +All the dogs except eight had been named. I do not know who had +been responsible for some of the names, which seemed to represent +a variety of tastes. They were as follows Rugby, Upton Bristol, +Millhill, Songster, Sandy, Mack, Mercury, Wolf, Amundsen, Hercules, +Hackenschmidt, Samson, Sammy, Skipper, Caruso, Sub, Ulysses, Spotty, +Bosun, Slobbers, Sadie, Sue, Sally, Jasper, Tim, Sweep, Martin, +Splitlip, Luke, Saint, Satan, Chips, Stumps, Snapper, Painful, Bob, +Snowball, Jerry, Judge, Sooty, Rufus, Sidelights, Simeon, Swanker, +Chirgwin, Steamer, Peter, Fluffy, Steward, Slippery, Elliott, Roy, +Noel, Shakespeare, Jamie, Bummer, Smuts, Lupoid, Spider, and Sailor. +Some of the names, it will be noticed, had a descriptive flavour. +<p> +Heavy floes held up the ship from midnight till 6 a.m. on +December 25, Christmas Day. Then they opened a little and we made +progress till 11.30 a.m., when the leads closed again. We had +encountered good leads and workable ice during the early part of the +night, and the noon observation showed that our run for the twenty-four +hours was the best since we entered the pack a fortnight earlier. +We had made 71 miles S. 4° W. The ice held us up till the +evening, and then we were able to follow some leads for a couple of +hours before the tightly packed floes and the increasing wind +compelled a stop. The celebration of Christmas was not forgotten. +Grog was served at midnight to all on deck. There was grog again +at breakfast, for the benefit of those who had been in their bunks +at midnight. Lees had decorated the wardroom with flags and had a +little Christmas present for each of us. Some of us had presents +from home to open. Later there was a really splendid dinner, +consisting of turtle soup, whitebait, jugged hare, Christmas pudding, +mince-pies, dates, figs and crystallized fruits, with rum and stout +as drinks. In the evening everybody joined in a “sing-song.” +Hussey had made a one-stringed violin, on which, in the words of +Worsley, he “discoursed quite painlessly.” The wind was +increasing to a moderate south-easterly gale and no advance could +be made, so we were able to settle down to the enjoyments of +the evening. +<p> +The weather was still bad on December 26 and 27, and the <i>Endurance</i> +remained anchored to a floe. The noon position on the 26th was +lat. 65° 43´ S., long. 17° 36´ W. +We made another sounding on this day with the Lucas machine and +found bottom at 2819 fathoms. The specimen brought up was a +terrigenous blue mud (glacial deposit) with some <i>radiolaria</i>. +Every one took turns at the work of heaving in, two men working +together in ten-minute spells. +<p> +Sunday, December 27, was a quiet day aboard. The southerly gale +was blowing the snow in clouds off the floe and the temperature had +fallen to 23° Fahr. The dogs were having an uncomfortable +time in their deck quarters. The wind had moderated by the +following morning, but it was squally with snow-flurries, and I +did not order a start till 11 p.m. The pack was still close, but +the ice was softer and more easily broken. During the pause the +carpenter had rigged a small stage over the stern. A man was +stationed there to watch the propeller and prevent it striking +heavy ice, and the arrangement proved very valuable. It saved the +rudder as well as the propeller from many blows. +<p> +The high winds that had prevailed for four and a half days gave way +to a gentle southerly breeze in the evening of December 29. Owing +to the drift we were actually eleven miles farther north than we +had been on December 25. But we made fairly good progress on the +30th in fine, clear weather. The ship followed a long lead to the +south-east during the afternoon and evening, and at 11 p.m. we +crossed the Antarctic Circle. An examination of the horizon +disclosed considerable breaks in the vast circle of pack-ice, +interspersed with bergs of different sizes. Leads could be traced +in various directions, but I looked in vain for an indication of +open water. The sun did not set that night, and as it was +concealed behind a bank of clouds we had a glow of crimson and gold +to the southward, with delicate pale green reflections in the water +of the lanes to the south-east. +<p> +The ship had a serious encounter with the ice on the morning of +December 31. We were stopped first by floes closing around us, +and then about noon the <i>Endurance</i> got jammed between two floes +heading east-north-east. The pressure heeled the ship over six +degrees while we were getting an ice-anchor on to the floe in order +to heave astern and thus assist the engines, which were running at +full speed. The effort was successful. Immediately afterwards, +at the spot where the <i>Endurance</i> had been held, slabs of ice 50 ft. +by 15 ft. and 4 ft. thick were forced ten or twelve feet up on +the lee floe at an angle of 45°. The pressure was severe, +and we were not sorry to have the ship out of its reach. The noon +position was lat. 66° 47´ S., long. 15° 52´ W., +and the run for the preceding twenty-four hours was +51 miles S. 29° E. +<p> +“Since noon the character of the pack has improved,” wrote Worsley +on this day. “Though the leads are short, the floes are rotten +and easily broken through if a good place is selected with care +and judgment. In many cases we find large sheets of young ice +through which the ship cuts for a mile or two miles at a stretch. +I have been conning and working the ship from the crow’s-nest +and find it much the best place, as from there one can see ahead +and work out the course beforehand, and can also guard the rudder +and propeller, the most vulnerable parts of a ship in the ice. +At midnight, as I was sitting in the ‘tub’ I heard a clamorous +noise down on the deck, with ringing of bells, and realized that +it was the New Year.” Worsley came down from his lofty seat and +met Wild, Hudson, and myself on the bridge, where we shook hands +and wished one another a happy and successful New Year. Since +entering the pack on December 11 we had come 480 miles, through +loose and close pack-ice. We had pushed and fought the little ship +through, and she had stood the test well, though the propeller had +received some shrewd blows against hard ice and the vessel had been +driven against the floe until she had fairly mounted up on it and +slid back rolling heavily from side to side. The rolling had been +more frequently caused by the operation of cracking through thickish +young ice, where the crack had taken a sinuous course. The ship, +in attempting to follow it, struck first one bilge and then the +other, causing her to roll six or seven degrees. Our advance through +the pack had been in a S. 10° E. direction, and I estimated +that the total steaming distance had exceeded 700 miles. The first +100 miles had been through loose pack, but the greatest hindrances +had been three moderate south-westerly gales, two lasting for three +days each and one for four and a half days. The last 250 miles had +been through close pack alternating with fine long leads and +stretches of open water. +<p> +During the weeks we spent manoeuvring to the south through the +tortuous mazes of the pack it was necessary often to split floes +by driving the ship against them. This form of attack was effective +against ice up to three feet in thickness, and the process is +interesting enough to be worth describing briefly. When the way +was barred by a floe of moderate thickness we would drive the ship +at half speed against it, stopping the engines just before the +impact. At the first blow the <i>Endurance</i> would cut a V-shaped +nick in the face of the floe, the slope of her cutwater often causing +her bows to rise till nearly clear of the water, when she would +slide backwards, rolling slightly. Watching carefully that loose +lumps of ice did not damage the propeller, we would reverse the +engines and back the ship off 200 to 300 yds. She would then be +driven full speed into the V, taking care to hit the centre +accurately. The operation would be repeated until a short dock was +cut, into which the ship, acting as a large wedge, was driven. At +about the fourth attempt, if it was to succeed at all, the floe +would yield. A black, sinuous line, as though pen-drawn on white +paper, would appear ahead, broadening as the eye traced it back to +the ship. Presently it would be broad enough to receive her, and +we would forge ahead. Under the bows and alongside, great slabs +of ice were being turned over and slid back on the floe, or driven +down and under the ice or ship. In thus way the <i>Endurance</i> would +split a 2-ft. to 3-ft. floe a square mile in extent. Occasionally +the floe, although cracked across, would be so held by other floes +that it would refuse to open wide, and so gradually would bring the +ship to a standstill. We would then go astern for some distance +and again drive her full speed into the crack, till finally the floe +would yield to the repeated onslaughts.<br><br> +<hr> +<center><h2><a name="2">CHAPTER II</a></h2><h2>NEW LAND</h2></center> +<p><br> +The first day of the New Year (January 1, 1915) was cloudy, with +a gentle northerly breeze and occasional snow-squalls. The condition +of the pack improved in the evening, and after 8 p.m. we forged ahead +rapidly through brittle young ice, easily broken by the ship. A +few hours later a moderate gale came up from the east, with +continuous snow. After 4 a.m. on the 2nd we got into thick old +pack-ice, showing signs of heavy pressure. It was much hummocked, +but large areas of open water and long leads to the south-west +continued until noon. The position then was lat. 69° 49´ +S., long. 15° 42´ W., and the run for the +twenty-four hours had been 124 miles S. 3° W. This was +cheering. +<p> +The heavy pack blocked the way south after midday. It would have +been almost impossible to have pushed the ship into the ice, and +in any case the gale would have made such a proceeding highly +dangerous. So we dodged along to the west and north, looking for +a suitable opening towards the south. The good run had given me +hope of sighting the land on the following day, and the delay was +annoying. I was growing anxious to reach land on account of the +dogs, which had not been able to get exercise for four weeks, and +were becoming run down. We passed at least two hundred bergs +during the day, and we noticed also large masses of hummocky bay-ice +and ice-foot. One floe of bay-ice had black earth upon it, +apparently basaltic in origin, and there was a large berg with a +broad band of yellowish brown right through it. The stain may +have been volcanic dust. Many of the bergs had quaint shapes. +There was one that exactly resembled a large two-funnel liner, +complete in silhouette except for smoke. Later in the day we +found an opening in the pack and made 9 miles to the south-west, +but at 2 a.m. on January 3 the lead ended in hummocky ice, +impossible to penetrate. A moderate easterly gale had come up +with snow-squalls, and we could not get a clear view in any +direction. The hummocky ice did not offer a suitable anchorage +for the ship, and we were compelled to dodge up and down for +ten hours before we were able to make fast to a small floe under +the lee of a berg 120 ft. high. The berg broke the wind and +saved us drifting fast to leeward. The position was lat. 69° +59´ S., long. 17° 31´ W. We made a +move again at 7 p.m., when we took in the ice-anchor and proceeded +south, and at 10 p.m. we passed a small berg that the ship had +nearly touched twelve hours previously. Obviously we were not +making much headway. Several of the bergs passed during this day +were of solid blue ice, indicating true glacier origin. +<p> +By midnight of the 3rd we had made 11 miles to the south, and +then came to a full stop in weather so thick with snow that we +could not learn if the leads and lanes were worth entering. +The ice was hummocky, but, fortunately, the gale was decreasing, +and after we had scanned all the leads and pools within our reach +we turned back to the north-east. Two sperm and two large blue +whales were sighted, the first we had seen for 260 miles. We saw +also petrels, numerous adelies, emperors, crab-eaters, and sea-leopards. +The clearer weather of the morning showed us that the +pack was solid and impassable from the south-east to the south-west, +and at 10 a.m. on the 4th we again passed within five yards of +the small berg that we had passed twice on the previous day. We had +been steaming and dodging about over an area of twenty square miles +for fifty hours, trying to find an opening to the south, south-east, +or south-west, but all the leads ran north, north-east, or north-west. +It was as though the spirits of the Antarctic were pointing us to +the backward track—the track we were determined not to follow. +Our desire was to make easting as well as southing so as to reach +the land, if possible, east of Ross’s farthest South and well east +of Coats’ Land. This was more important as the prevailing winds +appeared to be to easterly, and every mile of easting would count. +In the afternoon we went west in some open water, and by 4 p.m. +we were making west-south-west with more water opening up ahead. +The sun was shining brightly, over three degrees high at midnight, +and we were able to maintain this direction in fine weather till +the following noon. The position then was lat. 70° 28´ +S., long. 20° 16´ W., and the run had been 62 miles S. +62° W. At 8 a.m. there had been open water from north round +by west to south-west, but impenetrable pack to the south and east. +At 3 p.m. the way to the south-west and west-north-west was +absolutely blocked, and as we experienced a set to the west, I did +not feel justified in burning more of the reduced stock of coal to +go west or north. I took the ship back over our course for four +miles, to a point where some looser pack gave faint promise of a +way through; but, after battling for three hours with very heavy +hummocked ice and making four miles to the south, we were brought +up by huge blocks and floes of very old pack. Further effort +seemed useless at that time, and I gave the order to bank fires +after we had moored the <i>Endurance</i> to a solid floe. The weather +was clear, and some enthusiastic football-players had a game on +the floe until, about midnight, Worsley dropped through a hole +in rotten ice while retrieving the ball. He had to be retrieved +himself. +<p> +Solid pack still barred the way to the south on the following +morning (January 6). There was some open water north of the floe, +but as the day was calm and I did not wish to use coal in a +possibly vain search for an opening to the southward, I kept +the ship moored to the floe. This pause in good weather gave an +opportunity to exercise the dogs, which were taken on to the +floe by the men in charge of them. The excitement of the +animals was intense. Several managed to get into the water, +and the muzzles they were wearing did not prevent some hot fights. +Two dogs which had contrived to slip their muzzles fought +themselves into an icy pool and were hauled out still locked in a +grapple. However, men and dogs enjoyed the exercise. A sounding +gave a depth of 2400 fathoms, with a blue mud bottom. The wind +freshened from the west early the next morning, and we started to +skirt the northern edge of the solid pack in an easterly direction +under sail. We had cleared the close pack by noon, but the outlook +to the south gave small promise of useful progress, and I was anxious +now to make easting. We went north-east under sail, and after making +thirty-nine miles passed a peculiar berg that we had been abreast +of sixty hours earlier. Killer-whales were becoming active around +us, and I had to exercise caution in allowing any one to leave the +ship. These beasts have a habit of locating a resting seal by +looking over the edge of a floe and then striking through the ice +from below in search of a meal; they would not distinguish between +seal and man. +<p> +The noon position on January 8 was lat. 70° 0´ S., +long. 19° 09´ W. We had made 66 miles in a north-easterly +direction during the preceding twenty-four hours. The +course during the afternoon was east-south-east through loose pack +and open water, with deep hummocky floes to the south. Several +leads to the south came in view, but we held on the easterly course. +The floes were becoming looser, and there were indications of open +water ahead. The ship passed not fewer than five hundred bergs +that day, some of them very large. A dark water-sky extended +from east to south-south-east on the following morning, and the +<i>Endurance</i>, working through loose pack at half speed, reached open +water just before noon. A rampart berg 150 ft. high and a quarter +of a mile long lay at the edge of the loose pack, and we sailed +over a projecting foot of this berg into rolling ocean, stretching +to the horizon. The sea extended from a little to the west of +south, round by east to north-north-east, and its welcome promise +was supported by a deep water-sky to the south. I laid a course +south by east in an endeavour to get south and east of Ross’s +farthest south (lat. 71° 30´ S.). +<p> +We kept the open water for a hundred miles, passing many bergs but +encountering no pack. Two very large whales, probably blue +whales, came up close to the ship, and we saw spouts in all +directions. Open water inside the pack in that latitude might have +the appeal of sanctuary to the whales, which are harried by man +farther north. The run southward in blue water, with a path +clear ahead and the miles falling away behind us, was a joyful +experience after the long struggle through the ice-lanes. But, +like other good things, our spell of free movement had to end. +The <i>Endurance</i> encountered the ice again at 1 a.m. on the 10th. +Loose pack stretched to east and south, with open water to the west +and a good watersky. It consisted partly of heavy hummocky ice +showing evidence of great pressure, but contained also many thick, +flat floes evidently formed in some sheltered bay and never +subjected to pressure or to much motion. The swirl of the ship’s +wash brought diatomaceous scum from the sides of this ice. The +water became thick with <i>diatoms</i> at 9 a.m., and I ordered a cast +to be made. No bottom was found at 210 fathoms. The <i>Endurance</i> +continued to advance southward through loose pack that morning. +We saw the spouts of numerous whales and noticed some hundreds +of crab-eaters lying on the floes. White-rumped terns, Antarctic +petrels and snow petrels were numerous, and there was a colony of +adelies on a low berg. A few killer-whales, with their characteristic +high dorsal fin, also came in view. The noon position was lat. +72° 02´ S., long. 16° 07´ W., and the run +for the twenty-four hours had been 136 miles S. 6° E. +<p> +We were now in the vicinity of the land discovered by Dr. W. S. +Bruce, leader of the <i>Scotia</i> Expedition, in 1904, and named by him +Coats’ Land. Dr. Bruce encountered an ice-barrier in lat. 72° +18´ S., long. 10° W., stretching from north-east to +south-west. He followed the barrier-edge to the south-west for +150 miles and reached lat. 74° 1´ S., long. 22° W. +He saw no naked rock, but his description of rising slopes of snow +and ice, with shoaling water off the barrier-wall, indicated clearly +the presence of land. It was up those slopes, at a point as far +south as possible, that I planned to begin the march across the +Antarctic continent. All hands were watching now for the coast +described by Dr. Bruce, and at 5 p.m. the look-out reported an +appearance of land to the south-south-east. We could see a gentle +snow-slope rising to a height of about one thousand feet. It seemed +to be an island or a peninsula with a sound on its south side, +and the position of its most northerly point was about 72° +34´ S., 16° 40´ W. The <i>Endurance</i> was +passing through heavy loose pack, and shortly before midnight +she broke into a lead of open sea along a barrier-edge. A +sounding within one cable’s length of the barrier-edge gave no +bottom with 210 fathoms of line. The barrier was 70 ft. high, +with cliffs of about 40 ft. The <i>Scotia</i> must have passed this point +when pushing to Bruce’s farthest south on March 6, 1904, and I knew +from the narrative of that voyage, as well as from our own +observation, that the coast trended away to the south-west. The +lead of open water continued along the barrier-edge, and we pushed +forward without delay. +<p> +An easterly breeze brought cloud and falls of snow during the +morning of January 11. The barrier trended south-west by south, +and we skirted it for fifty miles until 11 am. The cliffs in the +morning were 20 ft. high, and by noon they had increased to 110 +and 115 ft. The brow apparently rose 20 to 30 ft. higher. We +were forced away from the barrier once for three hours by a line +of very heavy pack-ice. Otherwise there was open water along the +edge, with high loose pack to the west and north-west. We noticed +a seal bobbing up and down in an apparent effort to swallow a +long silvery fish that projected at least eighteen inches from its +mouth. The noon position was lat. 73° 13´ S., long. +20° 43´ W., and a sounding then gave 155 fathoms at +a distance of a mile from the barrier. The bottom consisted of +large igneous pebbles. The weather then became thick, and I held +away to the westward, where the sky had given indications of open +water, until 7 p.m., when we laid the ship alongside a floe in +loose pack. Heavy snow was falling, and I was anxious lest the +westerly wind should bring the pack hard against the coast and +jam the ship. The <i>Nimrod</i> had a narrow escape from a misadventure +of this kind in the Ross Sea early in 1908. +<p> +We made a start again at 5 a.m. the next morning (January 12) in +overcast weather with mist and snow-showers, and four hours later +broke through loose pack-ice into open water. The view was +obscured, but we proceeded to the south-east and had gained 24 +miles by noon, when three soundings in lat. 74° 4´ S., +long. 22° 48´ W. gave 95, 128, and 103 fathoms, with +a bottom of sand, pebbles, and mud. Clark got a good haul of +biological specimens in the dredge. The <i>Endurance</i> was now close +to what appeared to be the barrier, with a heavy pack-ice foot +containing numerous bergs frozen in and possibly aground. The +solid ice turned away towards the north-west, and we followed the +edge for 48 miles N. 60° W. to clear it. +<p> +Now we were beyond the point reached by the <i>Scotia</i>, and the land +underlying the ice-sheet we were skirting was new. The northerly +trend was unexpected, and I began to suspect that we were really +rounding a huge ice-tongue attached to the true barrier-edge and +extending northward. Events confirmed this suspicion. We skirted +the pack all night, steering north-west; then went west by north +till 4 a.m. and round to south-west. The course at 8 a.m. on +the 13th was south-south-west. The barrier at midnight was low and +distant, and at 8 a.m. there was merely a narrow ice-foot about +two hundred yards across separating it from the open water. By +noon there was only an occasional shelf of ice-foot. The barrier +in one place came with an easy sweep to the sea. We could have +landed stores there without difficulty. We made a sounding 400 +ft. off the barrier but got no bottom at 676 fathoms. At 4 p.m., +still following the barrier to the south-west, we reached a corner +and found it receding abruptly to the south-east. Our way was +blocked by very heavy pack, and after spending two hours in a +vain search for an opening, we moored the <i>Endurance</i> to a floe and +banked fires. During that day we passed two schools of seals, +swimming fast to the north-west and north-north-east. The animals +swam in close order, rising and blowing like porpoises, and we +wondered if there was any significance in their journey northward +at that time of the year. Several young emperor penguins had +been captured and brought aboard on the previous day. Two of them +were still alive when the <i>Endurance</i> was brought alongside the floe. +They promptly hopped on to the ice, turned round, bowed gracefully +three times, and retired to the far side of the floe. There is +something curiously human about the manners and movements of these +birds. I was concerned about the dogs. They were losing condition +and some of them appeared to be ailing. One dog had to be shot on +the 12th. We did not move the ship on the 14th. A breeze came +from the east in the evening, and under its influence the pack began +to work off shore. Before midnight the close ice that had barred +our way had opened and left a lane along the foot of the barrier. +I decided to wait for the morning, not wishing to risk getting caught +between the barrier and the pack in the event of the wind changing. +A sounding gave 1357 fathoms, with a bottom of glacial mud. The +noon observation showed the position to be lat. 74° 09´ +S., long. 27° 16´ W. We cast off at 6 a.m. on the 15th +in hazy weather with a north-easterly breeze, and proceeded along +the barrier in open water. The course was south-east for sixteen +miles, then south-south-east. We now had solid pack to windward, +and at 3 p.m. we passed a bight probably ten miles deep and running +to the north-east. A similar bight appeared at 6 p.m. These deep +cuts strengthened the impression we had already formed that for +several days we had been rounding a great mass of ice, at least +fifty miles across, stretching out from the coast and possibly +destined to float away at some time in the future. The soundings—roughly, +200 fathoms at the landward side and 1300 fathoms at the +seaward side—suggested that this mighty projection was afloat. +Seals were plentiful. We saw large numbers on the pack and several +on low parts of the barrier, where the slope was easy. The ship +passed through large schools of seals swimming from the barrier +to the pack off shore. The animals were splashing and blowing +around the <i>Endurance</i>, and Hurley made a record of this unusual +sight with the kinematograph-camera. +<p> +The barrier now stretched to the south-west again. Sail was set to +a fresh easterly breeze, but at 7 p.m. it had to be furled, the +<i>Endurance</i> being held up by pack-ice against the barrier for an +hour. We took advantage of the pause to sound and got 268 fathoms +with glacial mud and pebbles. Then a small lane appeared ahead. +We pushed through at full speed, and by 8.30 p.m. the <i>Endurance</i> +was moving southward with sails set in a fine expanse of open +water. We continued to skirt the barrier in clear weather. I was +watching for possible landing-places, though as a matter of fact I +had no intention of landing north of Vahsel Bay, in Luitpold Land, +except under pressure of necessity. Every mile gained towards the +south meant a mile less sledging when the time came for the +overland journey. +<p> +Shortly before midnight on the 15th we came abreast of the +northern edge of a great glacier or overflow from the inland ice, +projecting beyond the barrier into the sea. It was 400 or 500 ft. +high, and at its edge was a large mass of thick bay-ice. The bay +formed by the northern edge of this glacier would have made an +excellent landing-place. A flat ice-foot nearly three feet above +sea-level looked like a natural quay. From this ice-foot a snow-slope +rose to the top of the barrier. The bay was protected +from the south-easterly wind and was open only to the northerly +wind, which is rare in those latitudes. A sounding gave 80 +fathoms, indicating that the glacier was aground. I named the +place Glacier Bay, and had reason later to remember it with regret. +<p> +The <i>Endurance</i> steamed along the front of this ice-flow for about +seventeen miles. The glacier showed huge crevasses and high +pressure ridges, and appeared to run back to ice-covered slopes or +hills 1000 or 2000 ft. high. Some bays in its front were filled +with smooth ice, dotted with seals and penguins. At 4 a.m. on the +16th we reached the edge of another huge glacial overflow from the +ice-sheet. The ice appeared to be coming over low hills and was +heavily broken. The cliff-face was 250 to 350 ft. high, and the +ice surface two miles inland was probably 2000 ft. high. The +cliff-front showed a tide-mark of about 6 ft., proving that it was +not afloat. We steamed along the front of this tremendous glacier +for 40 miles and then, at 8.30 a.m., we were held up by solid +pack-ice, which appeared to be held by stranded bergs. The depth, +two cables off the barrier-cliff, was 134 fathoms. No further +advance was possible that day, but the noon observation, which gave +the position as lat. 76° 27´ S. long. 28° 51´ +W., showed that we had gained 124 miles to the south-west +during the preceding twenty-four hours. The afternoon was not +without incident. The bergs in the neighbourhood were very large, +several being over 200 ft. high, and some of them were firmly +aground, showing tidemarks. A barrier-berg bearing north-west +appeared to be about 25 miles long. We pushed the ship against +a small banded berg, from which Wordie secured several large +lumps of biotite granite. While the <i>Endurance</i> was being held +slow ahead against the berg a loud crack was heard, and the +geologist had to scramble aboard at once. The bands on this +berg were particularly well defined; they were due to morainic +action in the parent glacier. Later in the day the easterly wind +increased to a gale. Fragments of floe drifted past at about two +knots, and the pack to leeward began to break up fast. A low berg +of shallow draught drove down into the grinding pack and, smashing +against two larger stranded bergs, pushed them off the bank. The +three went away together pell-mell. We took shelter under the +lee of a large stranded berg. +<p> +A blizzard from the east-north-east prevented us leaving the +shelter of the berg on the following day (Sunday, January 17). +The weather was clear, but the gale drove dense clouds of snow +off the land and obscured the coast-line most of the time. +“The land, seen when the air is clear, appears higher than we +thought it yesterday; probably it rises to 3000 ft. above the +head of the glacier. Caird Coast, as I have named it, connects +Coats’ Land, discovered by Bruce in 1904, with Luitpold Land, +discovered by Filchner in 1912. The northern part is similar in +character to Coats’ Land. It is fronted by an undulating barrier, +the van of a mighty ice-sheet that is being forced outward from +the high interior of the Antarctic Continent and apparently is +sweeping over low hills, plains, and shallow seas as the great +Arctic ice-sheet once pressed over Northern Europe. The barrier +surface, seen from the sea, is of a faint golden brown colour. +It terminates usually in cliffs ranging from 10 to 300 ft. in +height, but in a very few places sweeps down level with the sea. +The cliffs are of dazzling whiteness, with wonderful blue shadows. +Far inland higher slopes can be seen, appearing like dim blue or +faint golden fleecy clouds. These distant slopes have increased +in nearness and clearness as we have come to the south-west, while +the barrier cliffs here are higher and apparently firmer. We are +now close to the junction with Luitpold Land. At this southern end +of the Caird Coast the ice-sheet, undulating over the hidden and +imprisoned land, is bursting down a steep slope in tremendous +glaciers, bristling with ridges and spikes of ice and seamed by +thousands of crevasses. Along the whole length of the coast we +have seen no bare land or rock. Not as much as a solitary nunatak +has appeared to relieve the surface of ice and snow. But the +upward sweep of the ice-slopes towards the horizon and the ridges, +terraces, and crevasses that appear as the ice approaches the sea +tell of the hills and valleys that lie below.” +<p> +The <i>Endurance</i> lay under the lee of the stranded berg until 7 a.m. +on January 18. The gale had moderated by that time, and we +proceeded under sail to the south-west through a lane that had +opened along the glacier-front. We skirted the glacier till 9.30 +a.m., when it ended in two bays, open to the north-west but +sheltered by stranded bergs to the west. The coast beyond trended +south-south-west with a gentle land-slope. +<p> +“The pack now forces us to go west 14 miles, when we break through +a long line of heavy brash mixed with large lumps and ‘growlers’ +We do this under the fore-topsail only, the engines being stopped +to protect the propeller. This takes us into open water, where we +make S. 50° W. for 24 miles. Then we again encounter pack +which forces us to the north-west for 10 miles, when we are brought +up by heavy snow-lumps, brash, and large, loose floes. The +character of the pack shows change. The floes are very thick and +are covered by deep snow. The brash between the floes is so thick +and heavy that we cannot push through without a great expenditure of +power, and then for a short distance only. We therefore lie to for +a while to see if the pack opens at all when this north-east wind +ceases.” +<p> +Our position on the morning of the 19th was lat. 76° 34´ +S., long. 31° 30´ W. The weather was good, +but no advance could be made. The ice had closed around the ship +during the night, and no water could be seen in any direction from +the deck. A few lanes were in sight from the mast-head. We sounded +in 312 fathoms, finding mud, sand, and pebbles. The land showed +faintly to the east. We waited for the conditions to improve, and +the scientists took the opportunity to dredge for biological and +geological specimens. During the night a moderate north-easterly +gale sprang up, and a survey of the position on the 20th showed +that the ship was firmly beset. The ice was packed heavily and +firmly all round the <i>Endurance</i> in every direction as far as the +eye could reach from the masthead. There was nothing to be done +till the conditions changed, and we waited through that day and +the succeeding days with increasing anxiety. The east-north-easterly +gale that had forced us to take shelter behind the stranded +berg on the 16th had veered later to the north-east, and it +continued with varying intensity until the 22nd. Apparently this +wind had crowded the ice into the bight of the Weddell Sea, and +the ship was now drifting south-west with the floes which had +enclosed it. A slight movement of the ice round the ship caused +the rudder to become dangerously jammed on the 21st, and we had +to cut away the ice with ice-chisels, heavy pieces of iron with +6-ft. wooden hafts. We kept steam up in readiness for a move if +the opportunity offered, and the engines running full speed ahead +helped to clear the rudder. Land was in sight to the east and +south about sixteen miles distant on the 22nd. The land-ice +seemed to be faced with ice-cliffs at most points, but here and +there slopes ran down to sea-level. Large crevassed areas in +terraces parallel with the coast showed where the ice was moving +down over foot-hills. The inland ice appeared for the most part +to be undulating, smooth, and easy to march over, but many crevasses +might have been concealed from us by the surface snow or by the +absence of shadows. I thought that the land probably rose to a +height of 5000 ft. forty or fifty miles inland. The accurate +estimation of heights and distances in the Antarctic is always +difficult, owing to the clear air, the confusing monotony of +colouring, and the deceptive effect of mirage and refraction. +The land appeared to increase in height to the southward, where +we saw a line of land or barrier that must have been seventy miles, +and possibly was even more distant. +<p> +Sunday, January 24, was a clear sunny day, with gentle easterly +and southerly breezes. No open water could be seen from +the mast-head, but there was a slight water-sky to the west and +north-west. “This is the first time for ten days that the wind +has varied from north-east and east, and on five of these days it +has risen to a gale. Evidently the ice has become firmly packed +in this quarter, and we must wait patiently till a southerly gale +occurs or currents open the ice. We are drifting slowly. The +position to-day was 76° 49´ S., 33° 51´ +W. Worsley and James, working on the floe with a Kew magnetometer, +found the variation to be six degrees west.” +Just before midnight a crack developed in the ice five yards wide +and a mile long, fifty yards ahead of the ship. The crack had +widened to a quarter of a mile by 10 a.m. on the 25th, and for three +hours we tried to force the ship into this opening with engines at +full speed ahead and all sails set. The sole effect was to wash +some ice away astern and clear the rudder, and after convincing +myself that the ship was firmly held I abandoned the attempt. +Later in the day Crean and two other men were over the side on a +stage chipping at a large piece of ice that had got under the ship +and appeared to be impeding her movement. The ice broke away +suddenly, shot upward and overturned, pinning Crean between the +stage and the haft of the heavy 11-ft. iron pincher. He was +in danger for a few moments, but we got him clear, suffering merely +from a few bad bruises. The thick iron bar had been bent against +him to an angle of 45 degrees. +<p> +The days that followed were uneventful. Moderate breezes from the +east and south-west had no apparent effect upon the ice, and the +ship remained firmly held. On the 27th, the tenth day of +inactivity, I decided to let the fires out. We had been burning +half a ton of coal a day to keep steam in the boilers, and as the +bunkers now contained only 67 tons, representing thirty-three +days’ steaming, we could not afford to continue this expenditure +of fuel. Land still showed to the east and south when the horizon +was clear. The biologist was securing some interesting specimens +with the hand-dredge at various depths. A sounding on the 26th +gave 360 fathoms, and another on the 29th 449 fathoms. The drift +was to the west, and an observation on the 31st (Sunday) showed +that the ship had made eight miles during the week. James and +Hudson rigged the wireless in the hope of hearing the monthly +message from the Falkland Islands. This message would be due +about 3.20 a.m. on the following morning, but James was doubtful +about hearing anything with our small apparatus at a distance of +1630 miles from the dispatching station. We heard nothing, as a +matter of fact, and later efforts were similarly unsuccessful. +The conditions would have been difficult even for a station of +high power. +<p> +We were accumulating gradually a stock of seal meat during these +days of waiting. Fresh meat for the dogs was needed, and +seal-steaks and liver made a very welcome change from the ship’s +rations aboard the <i>Endurance</i>. Four crab-eaters and three Weddells, +over a ton of meat for dog and man, fell to our guns on February 2, +and all hands were occupied most of the day getting the carcasses +back to the ship over the rough ice. We rigged three sledges for +man-haulage and brought the seals about two miles, the sledging +parties being guided among the ridges and pools by semaphore from +the crow’s-nest. Two more seals were sighted on the far side of +a big pool, but I did not allow them to be pursued. Some of the +ice was in a treacherous condition, with thin films hiding cracks +and pools, and I did not wish to risk an accident. +<p> +A crack about four miles long opened in the floe to the stern of +the ship on the 3rd. The narrow lane in front was still open, +but the prevailing light breezes did not seem likely to produce +any useful movement in the ice. Early on the morning of the 5th +a north-easterly gale sprang up, bringing overcast skies and +thick snow. Soon the pack was opening and closing without much +loosening effect. At noon the ship gave a sudden start and heeled +over three degrees. Immediately afterwards a crack ran from the +bows to the lead ahead and another to the lead astern. I thought +it might be possible to reeve the ship through one of these leads +towards open water, but we could see no water through the thick +snow; and before steam was raised, and while the view was still +obscured, the pack closed again. The northerly gale had given +place to light westerly breezes on the 6th. The pack seemed to be +more solid than ever. It stretched almost unbroken to the horizon +in every direction, and the situation was made worse by very low +temperatures in succeeding days. The temperature was down to zero +on the night of the 7th and was two degrees below zero on the 8th. +This cold spell in midsummer was most unfortunate from our point +of view, since it cemented the pack and tightened the grip of the +ice upon the ship. The slow drift to the south-west continued, +and we caught occasional glimpses of distant uplands on the eastern +horizon. The position on the 7th was lat. 76° 57´ S., +long. 35° 7´ W. Soundings on the 6th and 8th found +glacial mud at 630 and 529 fathoms. +<p> +The <i>Endurance</i> was lying in a pool covered by young ice on the 9th. +The solid floes had loosened their grip on the ship itself, but +they were packed tightly all around. The weather was foggy. +We felt a slight northerly swell coming through the pack, and the +movement gave rise to hope that there was open water near to us. +At 11 a.m. a long crack developed in the pack, running east and +west as far as we could see through the fog, and I ordered steam +to be raised in the hope of being able to break away into this lead. +The effort failed. We could break the young ice in the pool, but +the pack defied us. The attempt was renewed on the 11th, a fine +clear day with blue sky. The temperature was still low, —2° +Fahr. at midnight. After breaking through some young ice the +<i>Endurance</i> became jammed against soft floe. The engines running +full speed astern produced no effect until all hands joined in +“sallying” ship. The dog-kennels amidships made it necessary for +the people to gather aft, where they rushed from side to side in +a mass in the confined space around the wheel. This was a ludicrous +affair, the men falling over one another amid shouts of laughter +without producing much effect on the ship. She remained fast, +while all hands jumped at the word of command, but finally +slid off when the men were stamping hard at the double. We were +now in a position to take advantage of any opening that might +appear. The ice was firm around us, and as there seemed small +chance of making a move that day, I had the motor crawler and +warper put out on the floe for a trial run. The motor worked +most successfully, running at about six miles an hour over slabs +and ridges of ice hidden by a foot or two of soft snow. The +surface was worse than we would expect to face on land or barrier-ice. +The motor warped itself back on a 500-fathom steel wire and +was taken aboard again. +“From the mast-head the mirage is continually giving us false alarms. +Everything wears an aspect of unreality. Icebergs hang upside down +in the sky; the land appears as layers of silvery or golden +cloud. Cloud-banks look like land, icebergs masquerade as islands +or nunataks, and the distant barrier to the south is thrown into +view, although it really is outside our range of vision. Worst of +all is the deceptive appearance of open water, caused by the +refraction of distant water, or by the sun shining at an angle on +a field of smooth snow or the face of ice-cliffs below the +horizon.” +<p> +The second half of February produced no important change in our +situation. Early in the morning of the 14th I ordered a good head +of steam on the engines and sent all hands on to the floe with +ice-chisels, prickers, saws, and picks. We worked all day and +throughout most of the next day in a strenuous effort to get the +ship into the lead ahead. The men cut away the young ice before +the bows and pulled it aside with great energy. After twenty-four +hours’ labour we had got the ship a third of the way to the lead. +But about 400 yards of heavy ice, including old rafted pack, still +separated the <i>Endurance</i> from the water, and reluctantly I had +to admit that further effort was useless. Every opening we made +froze up again quickly owing to the unseasonably low temperature. +The young ice was elastic and prevented the ship delivering a strong, +splitting blow to the floe, while at the same time it held the older +ice against any movement. The abandonment of the attack was a great +disappointment to all hands. The men had worked long hours without +thought of rest, and they deserved success. But the task was beyond +our powers. I had not abandoned hope of getting clear, but was +counting now on the possibility of having to spend a winter in the +inhospitable arms of the pack. The sun, which had been above the +horizon for two months, set at midnight on the 17th, and, although +it would not disappear until April, its slanting rays warned us of +the approach of winter. Pools and leads appeared occasionally, but +they froze over very quickly. +<p> +We continued to accumulate a supply of seal meat and blubber, +and the excursions across the floes to shoot and bring in the seals +provided welcome exercise for all hands. Three crab-eater cows +shot on the 21st were not accompanied by a bull, and blood was to +be seen about the hole from which they had crawled. We surmised +that the bull had become the prey of one of the killer-whales. +These aggressive creatures were to be seen often in the lanes and +pools, and we were always distrustful of their ability or +willingness to discriminate between seal and man. A lizard-like +head would show while the killer gazed along the floe with wicked +eyes. Then the brute would dive, to come up a few moments later, +perhaps, under some unfortunate seal reposing on the ice. Worsley +examined a spot where a killer had smashed a hole 8 ft. by 12 ft. +in 12½ in. of hard ice, covered by 2½ in. of snow. Big blocks of +ice had been tossed on to the floe surface. Wordie, engaged in +measuring the thickness of young ice, went through to his waist one +day just as a killer rose to blow in the adjacent lead. His +companions pulled him out hurriedly. +<p> +On the 22nd the <i>Endurance</i> reached the farthest south point of her +drift, touching the 77th parallel of latitude in long. 35° W. +The summer had gone; indeed the summer had scarcely been with us at +all. The temperatures were low day and night, and the pack was +freezing solidly around the ship. The thermometer recorded 10° +below zero Fahr. at 2 a.m. on the 22nd. Some hours earlier we +had watched a wonderful golden mist to the southward, where the +rays of the declining sun shone through vapour rising from the ice. +All normal standards of perspective vanish under such conditions, +and the low ridges of the pack, with mist lying between them, gave +the illusion of a wilderness of mountain-peaks like the Bernese +Oberland. I could not doubt now that the <i>Endurance</i> was confined +for the winter. Gentle breezes from the east, south, and south-west +did not disturb the hardening floes. The seals were disappearing +and the birds were leaving us. The land showed still in fair weather +on the distant horizon, but it was beyond our reach now, and regrets +for havens that lay behind us were vain. +<p> +“We must wait for the spring, which may bring us better fortune. +If I had guessed a month ago that the ice would grip us here, I +would have established our base at one of the landing-places at +the great glacier. But there seemed no reason to anticipate then +that the fates would prove unkind. This calm weather with intense +cold in a summer month is surely exceptional. My chief anxiety is +the drift. Where will the vagrant winds and currents carry the ship +during the long winter months that are ahead of us? We will go west, +no doubt, but how far? And will it be possible to break out of the +pack early in the spring and reach Vahsel Bay or some other suitable +landing-place? These are momentous questions for us.” +<p> +On February 24 we ceased to observe ship routine, and the <i>Endurance</i> +became a winter station. All hands were on duty during the day and +slept at night, except a watchman who looked after the dogs and +watched for any sign of movement in the ice. We cleared a space of +10 ft. by 20 ft. round the rudder and propeller, sawing through ice +2 ft. thick, and lifting the blocks with a pair of tongs made by the +carpenter. Crean used the blocks to make an ice-house for the dog +Sally, which had added a little litter of pups to the strength of +the expedition. Seals appeared occasionally, and we killed all that +came within our reach. They represented fuel as well as food for men +and dogs. Orders were given for the after-hold to be cleared and +the stores checked, so that we might know exactly how we stood for +a siege by an Antarctic winter. The dogs went off the ship on the +following day. Their kennels were placed on the floe along the +length of a wire rope to which the leashes were fastened. +The dogs seemed heartily glad to leave the ship, and yelped +loudly and joyously as they were moved to their new quarters. +We had begun the training of teams, and already there was keen +rivalry between the drivers. The flat floes and frozen leads +in the neighbourhood of the ship made excellent training grounds. +Hockey and football on the floe were our chief recreations, and +all hands joined in many a strenuous game. Worsley took a +party to the floe on the 26th and started building a line of +igloos and “dogloos” round the ship. These little buildings were +constructed, Esquimaux fashion, of big blocks of ice, with thin +sheets for the roofs. Boards or frozen sealskins were placed over +all, snow was piled on top and pressed into the joints, and then +water was thrown over the structures to make everything firm. +The ice was packed down flat inside and covered with snow for the +dogs, which preferred, however, to sleep outside except when the +weather was extraordinarily severe. The tethering of the dogs +was a simple matter. The end of a chain was buried about eight +inches in the snow, some fragments of ice were pressed around it, +and a little water poured over all. The icy breath of the Antarctic +cemented it in a few moments. Four dogs which had been ailing +were shot. Some of the dogs were suffering badly from worms, +and the remedies at our disposal, unfortunately, were not effective. +All the fit dogs were being exercised in the sledges, and they +took to the work with enthusiasm. Sometimes their eagerness to +be off and away produced laughable results, but the drivers +learned to be alert. The wireless apparatus was still rigged, +but we listened in vain for the Saturday-night time signals from +New Year Island, ordered for our benefit by the Argentine +Government. On Sunday the 28th, Hudson waited at 2 a.m. for +the Port Stanley monthly signals, but could hear nothing. +Evidently the distances were too great for our small plant.<br><br> +<hr> +<center><h2><a name="3">CHAPTER III</a></h2><h2>WINTER MONTHS</h2></center> +<p><br> +The month of March opened with a severe north-easterly gale. Five +Weddells and two crab-eaters were shot on the floe during the morning +of March 1, and the wind, with fine drifting snow, sprang up while +the carcasses were being brought in by sledging parties. The men +were compelled to abandon some of the blubber and meat, and they +had a struggle to get back to the ship over the rough ice in the +teeth of the storm. This gale continued until the 3rd, and all +hands were employed clearing out the ’tween decks, which was to be +converted into a living- and dining-room for officers and scientists. +The carpenter erected in this room the stove that had been intended +for use in the shore hut, and the quarters were made very snug. +The dogs appeared indifferent to the blizzard. They emerged +occasionally from the drift to shake themselves and bark, but were +content most of the time to lie, curled into tight balls, under the +snow. One of the old dogs, Saint, died on the night of the 2nd, +and the doctors reported that the cause of death was appendicitis. +<p> +When the gale cleared we found that the pack had been driven in +from the north-east and was now more firmly consolidated than +before. A new berg, probably fifteen miles in length, had appeared +on the northern horizon. The bergs within our circle of vision had +all become familiar objects, and we had names for some of them. +Apparently they were all drifting with the pack. The sighting of +a new berg was of more than passing interest, since in that +comparatively shallow sea it would be possible for a big berg to +become stranded. Then the island of ice would be a centre of +tremendous pressure and disturbance amid the drifting pack. We had +seen something already of the smashing effect of a contest between +berg and floe, and had no wish to have the helpless <i>Endurance</i> +involved in such a battle of giants. During the 3rd the seal meat +and blubber was re-stowed on hummocks around the ship. The frozen +masses had been sinking into the floe. Ice, though hard and solid +to the touch, is never firm against heavy weights. An article left +on the floe for any length of time is likely to sink into the +surface-ice. Then the salt water will percolate through and the +article will become frozen into the body of the floe. +<p> +Clear weather followed the gale, and we had a series of mock suns +and parhelia. Minus temperatures were the rule, 21° below +zero Fahr. being recorded on the 6th. We made mattresses for the +dogs by stuffing sacks with straw and rubbish, and most of the +animals were glad to receive this furnishing in their kennels. +Some of them had suffered through the snow melting with the heat +of their bodies and then freezing solid. The scientific members +of the expedition were all busy by this time. The meteorologist +had got his recording station, containing anemometer, barograph, +and thermograph, rigged over the stern. The geologist was making +the best of what to him was an unhappy situation; but was not +altogether without material. The pebbles found in the penguins +were often of considerable interest, and some fragments of rock +were brought up from the sea floor with the sounding-lead and the +drag-net. On the 7th Wordie and Worsley found some small pebbles, +a piece of moss, a perfect bivalve shell, and some dust on a berg +fragment, and brought their treasure-trove proudly to the ship. +Clark was using the drag-net frequently in the leads and secured +good hauls of <i>plankton</i>, with occasional specimens of greater +scientific interest. Seals were not plentiful, but our store of +meat and blubber grew gradually. All hands ate seal meat with +relish and would not have cared to become dependent on the ship’s +tinned meat. We preferred the crab-eater to the Weddell, which is +a very sluggish beast. The crab-eater seemed cleaner and healthier. +The killer-whales were still with us. On the 8th we examined a +spot where the floe-ice had been smashed up by a blow from beneath, +delivered presumably by a large whale in search of a breathing-place. +The force that had been exercised was astonishing. Slabs of ice 3 ft. +thick, and weighing tons, had been tented upwards over a circular +area with a diameter of about 25 ft., and cracks radiated outwards +for more than 20 ft. +<p> +The quarters in the ’tween decks were completed by the 10th, and +the men took possession of the cubicles that had been built. The +largest cubicle contained Macklin, McIlroy, Hurley, and Hussey and +it was named “The Billabong.” Clark and Wordie lived opposite in +a room called “Auld Reekie.” Next came the abode of “The Nuts” +or engineers, followed by “The Sailors’ Rest,” inhabited by +Cheetham and McNeish. “The Anchorage” and “The Fumarole” were +on the other side. The new quarters became known as “The Ritz,” +and meals were served there instead of in the ward room. Breakfast +was at 9 a.m., lunch at 1 p.m., tea at 4 p.m., and dinner at 6 p.m. +Wild, Marston, Crean, and Worsley established themselves in +cubicles in the wardroom, and by the middle of the month all hands +had settled down to the winter routine. I lived alone aft. +<p> +Worsley, Hurley, and Wordie made a journey to a big berg, called +by us the Rampart Berg, on the 11th. The distance out was 7½ +miles, and the party covered a total distance of about 17 miles. +Hurley took some photographs and Wordie came back rejoicing with +a little dust and some moss. +<p> +“Within a radius of one mile round the berg there is thin young ice, +strong enough to march over with care,” wrote Worsley. “The area +of dangerous pressure, as regards a ship, does not seem to extend +for more than a quarter of a mile from the berg. Here there are +cracks and constant slight movement, which becomes exciting to the +traveller when he feels a piece of ice gradually upending beneath +his feet. Close to the berg the pressure makes all sorts of quaint +noises. We heard tapping as from a hammer, grunts, groans and +squeaks, electric trams running, birds singing, kettles boiling +noisily, and an occasional swish as a large piece of ice, released +from pressure, suddenly jumped or turned over. We noticed all +sorts of quaint effects, such as huge bubbles or domes of ice, +40 ft. across and 4 or 5 ft. high. Large sinuous pancake-sheets +were spread over the floe in places, and in one spot we counted +five such sheets, each about 2½ in. thick, imbricated under +one another. They look as though made of barley-sugar and are +very slippery.” +<p> +The noon position on the 14th was lat. 76° 54´ S., +long. 36° 10´ W. The land was visible faintly to +the south-east, distant about 36 miles. A few small leads could +be seen from the ship, but the ice was firm in our neighbourhood. +The drift of the <i>Endurance</i> was still towards the north-west. +<p> +I had the boilers blown down on the 15th, and the consumption of +2 cwt. of coal per day to keep the boilers from freezing then +ceased. The bunkers still contained 52 tons of coal, and the daily +consumption in the stoves was about 2½ cwt. There would not be +much coal left for steaming purposes in the spring, but I +anticipated eking out the supply with blubber. A moderate gale +from the north-east on the 17th brought fine, penetrating +snow. The weather cleared in the evening, and a beautiful crimson sunset +held our eyes. At the same time the ice-cliffs of the land were +thrown up in the sky by mirage, with an apparent reflection in +open water, though the land itself could not be seen definitely. +The effect was repeated in an exaggerated form on the following +day, when the ice-cliffs were thrown up above the horizon in double +and treble parallel lines, some inverted. The mirage was due +probably to lanes of open water near the land. The water would +be about 30° warmer than the air and would cause warmed +strata to ascend. A sounding gave 606 fathoms, with a bottom of +glacial mud. Six days later, on the 24th, the depth was 419 fathoms. +We were drifting steadily, and the constant movement, coupled with +the appearance of lanes near the land, convinced me that we must +stay by the ship till she got clear. I had considered the +possibility of making a landing across the ice in the spring, +but the hazards of such an undertaking would be too great. +<p> +The training of the dogs in sledge teams was making progress. +The orders used by the drivers were “Mush” (Go on), “Gee” (Right), +“Haw” (Left), and “Whoa” (Stop). These are the words that the +Canadian drivers long ago adopted, borrowing them originally from +England. There were many fights at first, until the dogs learned +their positions and their duties, but as days passed drivers and +teams became efficient. Each team had its leader, and efficiency +depended largely on the willingness and ability of this dog to +punish skulking and disobedience. We learned not to interfere +unless the disciplinary measures threatened to have a fatal +termination. The drivers could sit on the sledge and jog along +at ease if they chose. But the prevailing minus temperatures +made riding unpopular, and the men preferred usually to run or +walk alongside the teams. We were still losing dogs through +sickness, due to stomach and intestinal worms. +<p> +Dredging for specimens at various depths was one of the duties +during these days. The dredge and several hundred fathoms of wire +line made a heavy load, far beyond the unaided strength of the +scientists. On the 23rd, for example, we put down a 2 ft. dredge +and 650 fathoms of wire. The dredge was hove in four hours later +and brought much glacial mud, several pebbles and rock fragments, +three sponges, some worms, <i>brachiapods</i>, and <i>foraminiferae</i>. The +mud was troublesome. It was heavy to lift, and as it froze +rapidly when brought to the surface, the recovery of the specimens +embedded in it was difficult. A haul made on the 26th brought a +prize for the geologist in the form of a lump of sandstone +weighing 75 lbs., a piece of fossiliferous limestone, a fragment of +striated shale, sandstone-grit, and some pebbles. Hauling in the +dredge by hand was severe work, and on the 24th we used the +Girling tractor-motor, which brought in 500 fathoms of line in +thirty minutes, including stops. One stop was due to water having +run over the friction gear and frozen. It was a day or two later +that we heard a great yell from the floe and found Clark dancing +about and shouting Scottish war-cries. He had secured his first +complete specimen of an Antarctic fish, apparently a new species. +<p> +Mirages were frequent. Barrier-cliffs appeared all around us +on the 29th, even in places where we knew there was deep water. +<p> +“Bergs and pack are thrown up in the sky and distorted into the +most fantastic shapes. They climb, trembling, upwards, spreading +out into long lines at different levels, then contract and fall +down, leaving nothing but an uncertain, wavering smudge which comes +and goes. Presently the smudge swells and grows, taking shape +until it presents the perfect inverted reflection of a berg on +the horizon, the shadow hovering over the substance. More smudges +appear at different points on the horizon. These spread out into +long lines till they meet, and we are girdled by lines of shining +snow-cliffs, laved at their bases by waters of illusion in which +they appear to be faithfully reflected. So the shadows come and +go silently, melting away finally as the sun declines to the west. +We seem to be drifting helplessly in a strange world of unreality. +It is reassuring to feel the ship beneath one’s feet and to look +down at the familiar line of kennels and igloos on the solid floe.” +<p> +The floe was not so solid as it appeared. We had reminders +occasionally that the greedy sea was very close, and that the floe +was but a treacherous friend, which might open suddenly beneath us. +Towards the end of the month I had our store of seal meat and +blubber brought aboard. The depth as recorded by a sounding on +the last day of March was 256 fathoms. The continuous shoaling +from 606 fathoms in a drift of 39 miles N. 26° W. in thirty +days was interesting. The sea shoaled as we went north, either to +east or to west, and the fact suggested that the contour-lines ran +east and west, roughly. Our total drift between January 19, when +the ship was frozen in, and March 31, a period of seventy-one days, +had been 95 miles in a N. 80° W. direction. The icebergs +around us had not changed their relative positions. +<p> +The sun sank lower in the sky, the temperatures became lower, +and the <i>Endurance</i> felt the grip of the icy hand of winter. +Two north-easterly gales in the early part of April assisted to +consolidate the pack. The young ice was thickening rapidly, and +though leads were visible occasionally from the ship, no opening +of a considerable size appeared in our neighbourhood. In the early +morning of April 1 we listened again for the wireless signals +from Port Stanley. The crew had lashed three 20-ft. rickers to +the mast-heads in order to increase the spread of our aerials, +but still we failed to hear anything. The rickers had to come down +subsequently, since we found that the gear could not carry the +accumulating weight of rime. Soundings proved that the sea +continued to shoal as the <i>Endurance</i> drifted to the north-west. +The depth on April 2 was 262 fathoms, with a bottom of glacial mud. +Four weeks later a sounding gave 172 fathoms. The presence of +grit in the bottom samples towards the end of the month suggested +that we were approaching land again. +<p> +The month was not uneventful. During the night of the 3rd we +heard the ice grinding to the eastward, and in the morning we saw +that young ice was rafted 8 to 10 ft. high in places. This was +the first murmur of the danger that was to reach menacing +proportions in later months. The ice was heard grinding and +creaking during the 4th and the ship vibrated slightly. The +movement of the floe was sufficiently pronounced to interfere with +the magnetic work. I gave orders that accumulations of snow, ice, +and rubbish alongside the <i>Endurance</i> should be shovelled away, so +that in case of pressure there would be no weight against the +topsides to check the ship rising above the ice. All hands were +busy with pick and shovel during the day, and moved many tons of +material. Again, on the 9th, there were signs of pressure. Young +ice was piled up to a height of 11 ft. astern of the ship, and the +old floe was cracked in places. The movement was not serious, but +I realized that it might be the beginning of trouble for the +Expedition. We brought certain stores aboard and provided space on +deck for the dogs in case they had to be removed from the floe at +short notice. We had run a 500-fathom steel wire round the ship, +snow-huts, and kennels, with a loop out to the lead ahead, where +the dredge was used. This wire was supported on ice-pillars, and +it served as a guide in bad weather when the view was obscured by +driving snow and a man might have lost himself altogether. I had +this wire cut in five places, since otherwise it might have been +dragged across our section of the floe with damaging effect in the +event of the ice splitting suddenly. +<p> +The dogs had been divided into six teams of nine dogs each. Wild, +Crean, Macklin, McIlroy, Marston, and Hurley each had charge of a +team, and were fully responsible for the exercising, training, and +feeding of their own dogs. They called in one of the surgeons when +an animal was sick. We were still losing some dogs through worms, +and it was unfortunate that the doctors had not the proper remedies. +Worm-powders were to have been provided by the expert Canadian dog-driver +I had engaged before sailing for the south, and when this man +did not join the Expedition the matter was overlooked. We had fifty-four +dogs and eight pups early in April, but several were ailing, and +the number of mature dogs was reduced to fifty by the end of the month. +Our store of seal meat amounted now to about 5000 lbs., and I calculated +that we had enough meat and blubber to feed the dogs for ninety days +without trenching upon the sledging rations. The teams were working +well, often with heavy loads. The biggest dog was Hercules, who +tipped the beam at 86 lbs. Samson was 11 lbs. lighter, but he justified +his name one day by starting off at a smart pace with a sledge +carrying 200 lbs. of blubber and a driver. +<p> +A new berg that was going to give us some cause for anxiety made +its appearance on the 14th. It was a big berg, and we noticed as +it lay on the north-west horizon that it had a hummocky, crevassed +appearance at the east end. During the day this berg increased +its apparent altitude and changed its bearing slightly. +Evidently it was aground and was holding its position against the +drifting pack. A sounding at 11 a.m. gave 197 fathoms, with a +hard stony or rocky bottom. During the next twenty-four hours +the <i>Endurance</i> moved steadily towards the crevassed berg, which +doubled its altitude in that time. We could see from the mast-head +that the pack was piling and rafting against the mass of ice, and +it was easy to imagine what would be the fate of the ship if she +entered the area of disturbance. She would be crushed like an +egg-shell amid the shattering masses. +<p> +Worsley was in the crow’s-nest on the evening of the 15th, +watching for signs of land to the westward, and he reported an +interesting phenomenon. The sun set amid a glow of prismatic +colours on a line of clouds just above the horizon. A minute later +Worsley saw a golden glow, which expanded as he watched it, and +presently the sun appeared again and rose a semi-diameter clear +above the western horizon. He hailed Crean, who from a position +on the floe 90 ft. below the crow’s-nest also saw the re-born sun. +A quarter of an hour later from the deck Worsley saw the sun set a +second time. This strange phenomenon was due to mirage or refraction. +We attributed it to an ice-crack to the westward, where the band of +open water had heated a stratum of air. +<p> +The drift of the pack was not constant, and during the succeeding +days the crevassed berg alternately advanced and receded as the +<i>Endurance</i> moved with the floe. On Sunday, April 18, it was only +seven miles distant from the ship. +<p> +“It is a large berg, about three-quarters of a mile long on the +side presented to us and probably well over 200 ft. high. It is +heavily crevassed, as though it once formed the serac portion of +a glacier. Two specially wide and deep chasms across it from +south-east to north-west give it the appearance of having broken +its back on the shoal-ground. Huge masses of pressure-ice are +piled against its cliffs to a height of about 60 ft., showing +the stupendous force that is being brought to bear upon it by +the drifting pack. The berg must be very firmly aground. We +swing the arrow on the current-meter frequently and watch with +keen attention to see where it will come to rest. Will it point +straight for the berg, showing that our drift is in that direction? +It swings slowly round. It points to the north-east end of the berg, +then shifts slowly to the centre and seems to stop; but it moves +again and swings 20 degrees clear of our enemy to the south-west. . . . +We notice that two familiar bergs, the Rampart Berg and the Peak +Berg, have moved away from the ship. Probably they also have +grounded or dragged on the shoal.” +<p> +A strong drift to the westward during the night of the 18th relieved +our anxiety by carrying the <i>Endurance</i> to the lee of the crevassed +berg, which passed out of our range of vision before the end of the +month. +<p> +We said good-bye to the sun on May 1 and entered the period of +twilight that would be followed by the darkness of midwinter. +The sun by the aid of refraction just cleared the horizon at noon +and set shortly before 2 p.m. A fine aurora in the evening was +dimmed by the full moon, which had risen on April 27 and would not +set again until May 6. The disappearance of the sun is apt to be +a depressing event in the polar regions, where the long months of +darkness involve mental as well as physical strain. But the +<i>Endurance’s</i> company refused to abandon their customary cheerfulness, +and a concert in the evening made the Ritz a scene of noisy merriment, +in strange contrast with the cold, silent world that lay outside. +“One feels our helplessness as the long winter night closes upon us. +By this time, if fortune had smiled upon the Expedition, we would have +been comfortably and securely established in a shore base, with +depots laid to the south and plans made for the long march in the +spring and summer. Where will we make a landing now? It is not +easy to forecast the future. The ice may open in the spring, but +by that time we will be far to the north-west. I do not think we +shall be able to work back to Vahsel Bay. There are possible +landing-places on the western coast of the Weddell Sea, but can we +reach any suitable spot early enough to attempt the overland journey +next year? Time alone will tell. I do not think any member of +the Expedition is disheartened by our disappointment. All hands +are cheery and busy, and will do their best when the time +for action comes. In the meantime we must wait.” +<p> +The ship’s position on Sunday, May 2, was lat. 75° +23´ S., long. 42° 14´ W. The temperature +at noon was 5° below zero Fahr., and the sky was overcast. +A seal was sighted from the mast-head at lunch-time, and five men, +with two dog teams, set off after the prize. They had an +uncomfortable journey outward in the dim, diffused light, which +cast no shadows and so gave no warning of irregularities in the +white surface. It is a strange sensation to be running along on +apparently smooth snow and to fall suddenly into an unseen hollow, +or bump against a ridge. +<p> +“After going out three miles to the eastward,” wrote Worsley in +describing this seal-hunt, “we range up and down but find nothing, +until from a hummock I fancy I see something apparently a mile away, +but probably little more than half that distance. I ran for it, +found the seal, and with a shout brought up the others at the double. +The seal was a big Weddell, over 10 ft. long and weighing more than +800 lbs. But Soldier, one of the team leaders, went for its throat +without a moment’s hesitation, and we had to beat off the dogs +before we could shoot the seal. We caught five or six gallons of +blood in a tin for the dogs, and let the teams have a drink of +fresh blood from the seal. The light was worse than ever on our +return, and we arrived back in the dark. Sir Ernest met us with +a lantern and guided us into the lead astern and thence to the +ship.” +<p> +This was the first seal we had secured since March 19, and the +meat and blubber made a welcome addition to the stores. +<p> +Three emperor penguins made their appearance in a lead west of the +ship on May 3. They pushed their heads through the young ice +while two of the men were standing by the lead. The men imitated +the emperor’s call and walked slowly, penguin fashion, away from +the lead. The birds in succession made a magnificent leap 3 ft. +clear from the water on to the young ice. Thence they tobogganed +to the bank and followed the men away from the lead. Their +retreat was soon cut off by a line of men. +<p> +“We walk up to them, talking loudly and assuming a threatening +aspect. Notwithstanding our bad manners, the three birds turn +towards us, bowing ceremoniously. Then, after a closer inspection, +they conclude that we are undesirable acquaintances and make off +across the floe. We head them off and finally shepherd them close +to the ship, where the frenzied barking of the dogs so frightens +them that they make a determined effort to break through the line. +We seize them. One bird of philosophic mien goes quietly, led by +one flipper. The others show fight, but all are imprisoned in an +igloo for the night. . . . In the afternoon we see five emperors +in the western lead and capture one. Kerr and Cheetham fight a +valiant action with two large birds. Kerr rushes at one, seizes +it, and is promptly knocked down by the angered penguin, which +jumps on his chest before retiring. Cheetham comes to Kerr’s +assistance; and between them they seize another penguin, bind +his bill and lead him, muttering muffled protests, to the ship +like an inebriated old man between two policemen. He weighs 85 lbs., +or 5 lbs. less than the heaviest emperor captured previously. +Kerr and Cheetham insist that he is nothing to the big fellow who +escaped them.” +<p> +This penguin’s stomach proved to be filled with freshly caught fish +up to 10 in. long. Some of the fish were of a coastal or littoral +variety. Two more emperors were captured on the following day, and, +while Wordie was leading one of them towards the ship, Wild came +along with his team. The dogs, uncontrollable in a moment, made a +frantic rush for the bird, and were almost upon him when their +harness caught upon an ice-pylon, which they had tried to pass on +both sides at once. The result was a seething tangle of dogs, +traces, and men, and an overturned sled, while the penguin, three +yards away, nonchalantly and indifferently surveyed the disturbance. +He had never seen anything of the kind before and had no idea at +all that the strange disorder might concern him. Several cracks +had opened in the neighbourhood of the ship, and the emperor penguins, +fat and glossy of plumage, were appearing in considerable numbers. +We secured nine of them on May 6, an important addition to our supply +of fresh food. +<p> +The sun, which had made “positively his last appearance” seven +days earlier, surprised us by lifting more than half its disk +above the horizon on May 8. A glow on the northern horizon +resolved itself into the sun at 11 a.m. that day. A quarter of +an hour later the unseasonable visitor disappeared again, only +to rise again at 11.40 a.m., set at 1 p.m., rise at 1.10 p.m., +and set lingeringly at 1.20 p.m. These curious phenomena were due +to refraction, which amounted to 2° 37´ at 1.20 p.m. +The temperature was 15° below zero Fahr. and we calculated +that the refraction was 2° above normal. In other words, +the sun was visible 120 miles farther south than the refraction +tables gave it any right to be. The navigating officer naturally +was aggrieved. He had informed all hands on May 1 that they would +not see the sun again for seventy days, and now had to endure the +jeers of friends who affected to believe that his observations were +inaccurate by a few degrees. +<p> +The <i>Endurance</i> was drifting north-north-east under the influence of +a succession of westerly and south-westerly breezes. The ship’s +head, at the same time, swung gradually to the left, indicating that +the floe in which she was held was turning. During the night of +the 14th a very pronounced swing occurred, and when daylight came +at noon on the 15th we observed a large lead running from the north-west +horizon towards the ship till it struck the western lead, +circling ahead of the ship, then continuing to the south-south-east. +A lead astern connected with this new lead on either side of the +<i>Endurance</i>, thus separating our floe completely from the main body +of the pack. A blizzard from the south-east swept down during the +16th. At 1 p.m. the blizzard lulled for five minutes; then the wind +jumped round to the opposite quarter and the barometer rose suddenly. +The centre of a cyclonic movement had passed over us, and the compass +recorded an extraordinarily rapid swing of the floe. I could see +nothing through the mist and snow, and I thought it possible that a +magnetic storm or a patch of local magnetic attraction had caused +the compass, and not the floe, to swing, Our floe was now about +2½ miles long north and south and 3 miles wide east and west. +<p> +The month of May passed with few incidents of importance. Hurley, +our handy man, installed our small electric-lighting plant and +placed lights for occasional use in the observatory, the +meteorological station, and various other points. We could not +afford to use the electric lamps freely. Hurley also rigged two +powerful lights on poles projecting from the ship to port and +starboard. These lamps would illuminate the “dogloos” brilliantly +on the darkest winter’s day and would be invaluable in the event +of the floe breaking during the dark days of winter. We could +imagine what it would mean to get fifty dogs aboard without lights +while the floe was breaking and rafting under our feet. May 24, +Empire Day, was celebrated with the singing of patriotic songs +in the Ritz, where all hands joined in wishing a speedy victory +for the British arms. We could not know how the war was progressing, +but we hoped that the Germans had already been driven from France +and that the Russian armies had put the seal on the Allies’ success. +The war was a constant subject of discussion aboard the <i>Endurance</i>, +and many campaigns were fought on the map during the long months of +drifting. The moon in the latter part of May was sweeping +continuously through our starlit sky in great high circles. +The weather generally was good, with constant minus temperatures. +The log on May 27 recorded: +<p> +“Brilliantly fine clear weather with bright moonlight throughout. +The moon’s rays are wonderfully strong, making midnight seem as +light as an ordinary overcast midday in temperate climes. The great +clearness of the atmosphere probably accounts for our having eight +hours of twilight with a beautiful soft golden glow to the +northward. A little rime and glazed frost are found aloft. The +temperature is —20° Fahr. A few wisps of cirrus-cloud are +seen and a little frost-smoke shows in one or two directions, but +the cracks and leads near the ship appear to have frozen over again.” +<p> +Crean had started to take the pups out for runs, and it was very +amusing to see them with their rolling canter just managing to keep +abreast by the sledge and occasionally cocking an eye with an +appealing look in the hope of being taken aboard for a ride. As +an addition to their foster-father, Crean, the pups had adopted +Amundsen. They tyrannized over him most unmercifully. It was a +common sight to see him, the biggest dog in the pack, sitting out +in the cold with an air of philosophic resignation while a corpulent +pup occupied the entrance to his “dogloo.” The intruder was +generally the pup Nelson, who just showed his forepaws and face, +and one was fairly sure to find Nelly, Roger, and Toby coiled up +comfortably behind him. At hoosh-time Crean had to stand by +Amundsen’s food, since otherwise the pups would eat the big dog’s +ration while he stood back to give them fair play. Sometimes +their consciences would smite them and they would drag round a +seal’s head, half a penguin, or a large lump of frozen meat or +blubber to Amundsen’s kennel for rent. It was interesting to watch +the big dog play with them, seizing them by throat or neck in what +appeared to be a fierce fashion, while really quite gentle with them, +and all the time teaching them how to hold their own in the world +and putting them up to all the tricks of dog life. +<p> +The drift of the <i>Endurance</i> in the grip of the pack continued +without incident of importance through June. Pressure was reported +occasionally, but the ice in the immediate vicinity of the ship +remained firm. The light was now very bad except in the period +when the friendly moon was above the horizon. A faint twilight +round about noon of each day reminded us of the sun, and assisted +us in the important work of exercising the dogs. The care of the +teams was our heaviest responsibility in those days. The movement +of the floes was beyond all human control, and there was nothing +to be gained by allowing one’s mind to struggle with the problems +of the future, though it was hard to avoid anxiety at times. +The conditioning and training of the dogs seemed essential, +whatever fate might be in store for us, and the teams were taken +out by their drivers whenever the weather permitted. Rivalries +arose, as might have been expected, and on the 15th of the month +a great race, the “Antarctic Derby,” took place. It was a notable +event. The betting had been heavy, and every man aboard the ship +stood to win or lose on the result of the contest. Some money +had been staked, but the wagers that thrilled were those involving +stores of chocolate and cigarettes. The course had been laid off +from Khyber Pass, at the eastern end of the old lead ahead of the +ship, to a point clear of the jib-boom, a distance of about 700 +yds. Five teams went out in the dim noon twilight, with a zero +temperature and an aurora flickering faintly to the southward. +The starting signal was to be given by the flashing of a light on +the meteorological station. I was appointed starter, Worsley was +judge, and James was timekeeper. The bos’n, with a straw hat added +to his usual Antarctic attire, stood on a box near the winning-post, +and was assisted by a couple of shady characters to shout the odds, +which were displayed on a board hung around his neck—6 to 4 on +Wild, “evens” on Crean, 2 to 1 against Hurley, 6 to 1 against Macklin, +and 8 to 1 against McIlroy. Canvas handkerchiefs fluttered from an +improvised grand stand, and the pups, which had never seen such +strange happenings before, sat round and howled with excitement. +The spectators could not see far in the dim light, but they heard +the shouts of the drivers as the teams approached and greeted the +victory of the favourite with a roar of cheering that must have +sounded strange indeed to any seals or penguins that happened to +be in our neighbourhood. Wild’s time was 2 min. 16 sec., or at +the rate of 10½ miles per hour for the course. +<p> +We celebrated Midwinter’s Day on the 22nd. The twilight extended +over a period of about six hours that day, and there was a good +light at noon from the moon, and also a northern glow with wisps +of beautiful pink cloud along the horizon. A sounding gave 262 +fathoms with a mud bottom. No land was in sight from the mast-head, +although our range of vision extended probably a full degree to +the westward. The day was observed as a holiday, necessary work +only being undertaken, and, after the best dinner the cook could +provide, all hands gathered in the Ritz, where speeches, songs, +and toasts occupied the evening. After supper at midnight we sang +“God Save the King” and wished each other all success in the days +of sunshine and effort that lay ahead. At this time the <i>Endurance</i> +was making an unusually rapid drift to the north under the influence +of a fresh southerly to south-westerly breeze. We travelled 39 +miles to the north in five days before a breeze that only once +attained the force of a gale and then for no more than an hour. +The absence of strong winds, in comparison with the almost unceasing +winter blizzards of the Ross Sea, was a feature of the Weddell Sea +that impressed itself upon me during the winter months. +<p> +Another race took place a few days after the “Derby.” The two crack +teams, driven by Hurley and Wild, met in a race from Khyber Pass. +Wild’s team, pulling 910 lbs., or 130 lbs. per dog, covered the 700 +yds. in 2 min. 9 sec., or at the rate of 11.1 miles per hour. +Hurley’s team, with the same load, did the run in 2 min. 16 sec. +The race was awarded by the judge to Hurley owing to Wild failing +to “weigh in” correctly. I happened to be a part of the load on +his sledge, and a skid over some new drift within fifty yards of +the winning post resulted in my being left on the snow. It should +be said in justice to the dogs that this accident, while justifying +the disqualification, could not have made any material difference +in the time. +<p> +The approach of the returning sun was indicated by beautiful +sunrise glows on the horizon in the early days of July. We +had nine hours’ twilight on the 10th, and the northern sky, low to +the horizon, was tinted with gold for about seven hours. Numerous +cracks and leads extended in all directions to within 300 yds. of +the ship. Thin wavering black lines close to the northern horizon +were probably distant leads refracted into the sky. Sounds of +moderate pressure came to our ears occasionally, but the ship was +not involved. At midnight on the 11th a crack in the lead ahead of +the <i>Endurance</i> opened out rapidly, and by 2 a.m. was over 200 yds. +wide in places with an area of open water to the south-west. +Sounds of pressure were heard along this lead, which soon closed to +a width of about 30 yds. and then froze over. The temperature at +that time was —23° Fahr. +<p> +The most severe blizzard we had experienced in the Weddell Sea +swept down upon the <i>Endurance</i> on the evening of the 13th, and +by breakfast-time on the following morning the kennels to the +windward, or southern side of the ship were buried under 5 ft. +of drift. I gave orders that no man should venture beyond the +kennels. The ship was invisible at a distance of fifty yards, +and it was impossible to preserve one’s sense of direction +in the raging wind and suffocating drift. To walk against the +gale was out of the question. Face and eyes became snowed up +within two minutes, and serious frost-bites would have been the +penalty of perseverance. The dogs stayed in their kennels for +the most part, the “old stagers” putting out a paw occasionally +in order to keep open a breathing-hole. By evening the gale +had attained a force of 60 or 70 miles an hour, and the ship +was trembling under the attack. But we were snug enough in our +quarters aboard until the morning of the 14th, when all hands +turned out to shovel the snow from deck and kennels. The wind was +still keen and searching, with a temperature of something like +—30° Fahr., and it was necessary for us to be on guard against +frost-bite. At least 100 tons of snow were piled against the bows +and port side, where the weight of the drift had forced the floe +downward. The lead ahead had opened out during the night, cracked +the pack from north to south and frozen over again, adding 300 yds. +to the distance between the ship and “Khyber Pass.” The +breakdown gang had completed its work by lunch-time. The gale +was then decreasing and the three-days-old moon showed as a red +crescent on the northern horizon. The temperature during the +blizzard had ranged from —21° to —33.5° Fahr. +It is usual for the temperature to rise during a blizzard, and +the failure to produce any Föhn effect of this nature suggested +an absence of high land for at least 200 miles to the south and +south-west. The weather did not clear until the 16th. We saw then +that the appearance of the surrounding pack had been altered +completely by the blizzard. The “island” floe containing the +<i>Endurance</i> still stood fast, but cracks and masses of ice thrown +up by pressure could be seen in all directions. An area of open +water was visible on the horizon to the north, with a water +indication in the northern sky. +<p> +The ice-pressure, which was indicated by distant rumblings and +the appearance of formidable ridges, was increasingly a cause of +anxiety. The areas of disturbance were gradually approaching the +ship. During July 21 we could bear the grinding and crashing of +the working floes to the south-west and west and could see cracks +opening, working, and closing ahead. +<p> +“The ice is rafting up to a height of 10 or 15 ft. in places, the +opposing floes are moving against one another at the rate of about +200 yds. per hour. The noise resembles the roar of heavy, distant +surf. Standing on the stirring ice one can imagine it is disturbed +by the breathing and tossing of a mighty giant below.” +<p> +Early on the afternoon of the 22nd a 2-ft. crack, running south-west +and north-east for a distance of about two miles, approached to +within 35 yds. of the port quarter. I had all the sledges brought +aboard and set a special watch in case it became necessary to get +the dogs off the floe in a hurry. This crack was the result of +heavy pressure 300 yds. away on the port bow, where huge blocks of +ice were piled up in wild and threatening confusion. The pressure +at that point was enormous. Blocks weighing many tons were raised +15 ft. above the level of the floe. I arranged to divide the night +watches with Worsley and Wild, and none of us had much rest. +The ship was shaken by heavy bumps, and we were on the alert to see +that no dogs had fallen into cracks. The morning light showed +that our island had been reduced considerably during the night. +Our long months of rest and safety seemed to be at an end, and a +period of stress had begun. +<p> +During the following day I had a store of sledging provisions, +oil, matches, and other essentials placed on the upper deck handy +to the starboard quarter boat, so as to be in readiness for a +sudden emergency. The ice was grinding and working steadily to +the southward, and in the evening some large cracks appeared on the +port quarter, while a crack alongside opened out to 15 yds. The +blizzard seemed to have set the ice in strong movement towards the +north, and the south-westerly and west-south-westerly winds that +prevailed two days out of three maintained the drift. I hoped that +this would continue unchecked, since our chance of getting clear of +the pack early in the spring appeared to depend upon our making a +good northing. Soundings at this time gave depths of from 186 to +190 fathoms, with a glacial mud bottom. No land was in sight. +The light was improving. A great deal of ice-pressure was heard +and observed in all directions during the 25th, much of it close +to the port quarter of the ship. On the starboard bow huge blocks +of ice, weighing many tons and 5 ft. in thickness, were pushed up +on the old floe to a height of 15 to 20 ft. The floe that held the +<i>Endurance</i> was swung to and fro by the pressure during the day, +but came back to the old bearing before midnight. +<p> +“The ice for miles around is much looser. There are numerous cracks +and short leads to the north-east and south-east. Ridges are being +forced up in all directions, and there is a water-sky to the south-east. +It would be a relief to be able to make some effort on our +own behalf; but we can do nothing until the ice releases our ship. +If the floes continue to loosen, we may break out within the next +few weeks and resume the fight. In the meantime the pressure +continues, and it is hard to foresee the outcome. Just before noon +to-day (July 26) the top of the sun appeared by refraction for +one minute, seventy-nine days after our last sunset. A few minutes +earlier a small patch of the sun had been thrown up on one of the +black streaks above the horizon. All hands are cheered by the +indication that the end of the winter darkness is near. . . . +Clark finds that with returning daylight the <i>diatoms</i> are again +appearing. His nets and line are stained a pale yellow, and much +of the newly formed ice has also a faint brown or yellow tinge. +The <i>diatoms</i> cannot multiply without light, and the ice formed since +February can be distinguished in the pressure-ridges by its clear +blue colour. The older masses of ice are of a dark earthy brown, +dull yellow, or reddish brown.” +<p> +The break-up of our floe came suddenly on Sunday, August 1, just +one year after the <i>Endurance</i> left the South-West India Docks on +the voyage to the Far South. The position was lat. 72° +26´ S., long. 48° 10´ W. The morning brought +a moderate south-westerly gale with heavy snow, and at 8 a.m., +after some warning movements of the ice, the floe cracked 40 yds. +off the starboard bow. Two hours later the floe began to break up +all round us under pressure and the ship listed over 10 degrees to +starboard. I had the dogs and sledges brought aboard at once and +the gangway hoisted. The animals behaved well. They came aboard +eagerly as though realizing their danger, and were placed in their +quarters on deck without a single fight occurring. The pressure +was cracking the floe rapidly, rafting it close to the slip and +forcing masses of ice beneath the keel. Presently the <i>Endurance</i> +listed heavily to port against the gale, and at the same time was +forced ahead, astern, and sideways several times by the grinding +floes. She received one or two hard nips, but resisted them +without as much as a creak. It looked at one stage as if the ship +was to be made the plaything of successive floes, and I was +relieved when she came to a standstill with a large piece of our +old “dock” under the starboard bilge. I had the boats cleared +away ready for lowering, got up some additional stores, and set +a double watch. All hands were warned to stand by, get what +sleep they could, and have their warmest clothing at hand. +Around us lay the ruins of “Dog Town” amid the debris of pressure-ridges. +Some of the little dwellings had been crushed flat beneath +blocks of ice; others had been swallowed and pulverized when the +ice opened beneath them and closed again. It was a sad sight, +but my chief concern just then was the safety of the rudder, which +was being attacked viciously by the ice. We managed to pole away +a large lump that had become jammed between the rudder and the +stern-post, but I could see that damage had been done, though +a close examination was not possible that day. +<p> +After the ship had come to a standstill in her new position very +heavy pressure was set up. Some of the trenails were started and +beams buckled slightly under the terrific stresses. But the +<i>Endurance</i> had been built to withstand the attacks of the ice, +and she lifted bravely as the floes drove beneath her. The +effects of the pressure around us were awe-inspiring. Mighty +blocks of ice, gripped between meeting floes, rose slowly till +they jumped like cherry-stones squeezed between thumb and finger. +The pressure of millions of tons of moving ice was crushing and +smashing inexorably. If the ship was once gripped firmly her +fate would be sealed. +<p> +The gale from the south-west blew all night and moderated during +the afternoon of the 2nd to a stiff breeze. The pressure had +almost ceased. Apparently the gale had driven the southern pack +down upon us, causing congestion in our area; the pressure had +stopped when the whole of the pack got into motion. The gale had +given us some northing, but it had dealt the <i>Endurance</i> what might +prove to be a severe blow. The rudder had been driven hard over +to starboard and the blade partially torn away from the +rudder-head. Heavy masses of ice were still jammed against the +stern, and it was impossible to ascertain the extent of the damage +at that time. I felt that it would be impossible in any case to +effect repairs in the moving pack. The ship lay steady all +night, and the sole sign of continuing pressure was an occasional +slight rumbling shock. We rigged shelters and kennels for the dogs +inboard. +<p> +The weather on August 3 was overcast and misty. We had nine hours +of twilight, with good light at noon. There was no land in sight +for ten miles from the mast-head. The pack as far as the eye could +reach was in a condition of chaos, much rafted and consolidated, +with very large pressure-ridges in all directions. At 9 p.m. +a rough altitude of <i>Canopus</i> gave the latitude as 71° +55´ 17´´ S. The drift, therefore, had been about +37 miles to the north in three days. Four of the poorest dogs +were shot this day. They were suffering severely from worms, +and we could not afford to keep sick dogs under the changed +conditions. The sun showed through the clouds on the northern +horizon for an hour on the 4th. There was no open water to be seen +from aloft in any direction. We saw from the masthead to west-south-west +an appearance of barrier, land, or a very long iceberg, +about 20 odd miles away, but the horizon clouded over before we +could determine its nature. We tried twice to make a sounding that +day, but failed on each occasion. The Kelvin machine gave no bottom +at the full length of the line, 370 fathoms. After much labour we +made a hole in the ice near the stern-post large enough for the +Lucas machine with a 32-lb. lead; but this appeared to be too light. +The machine stopped at 452 fathoms, leaving us in doubt as to whether +bottom had been reached. Then in heaving up we lost the lead, the +thin wire cutting its way into the ice and snapping. All hands +and the carpenter were busy this day making and placing kennels +on the upper deck, and by nightfall all the dogs were comfortably +housed, ready for any weather. The sun showed through the clouds +above the northern horizon for nearly an hour. +<p> +The remaining days of August were comparatively uneventful. The +ice around the ship froze firm again and little movement occurred +in our neighbourhood. The training of the dogs, including the +puppies, proceeded actively, and provided exercise as well as +occupation. The drift to the north-west continued steadily. +We had bad luck with soundings, the weather interfering at times +and the gear breaking on several occasions, but a big increase in +the depth showed that we had passed over the edge of the Weddell +Sea plateau. A sounding of about 1700 fathoms on August 10 agreed +fairly well with Filchner’s 1924 fathoms, 130 miles east of our +then position. An observation at noon of the 8th had given us lat. +71° 23´ S., long. 49° 13´ W. Minus +temperatures prevailed still, but the daylight was increasing. +We captured a few emperor penguins which were making their way +to the south-west. Ten penguins taken on the 19th were all +in poor condition, and their stomachs contained nothing but +stones and a few cuttle-fish beaks. A sounding on the 17th gave +1676 fathoms, 10 miles west of the charted position of Morell Land. +No land could be seen from the mast-head, and I decided that +Morell Land must be added to the long list of Antarctic islands +and continental coasts that on close investigation have resolved +themselves into icebergs. On clear days we could get an extended +view in all directions from the mast-head, and the line of the +pack was broken only by familiar bergs. About one hundred bergs +were in view on a fine day, and they seemed practically the same +as when they started their drift with us nearly seven months +earlier. The scientists wished to inspect some of the neighbouring +bergs at close quarters, but sledge travelling outside the well-trodden +area immediately around the ship proved difficult and +occasionally dangerous. On August 20, for example, Worsley, +Hurley, and Greenstreet started off for the Rampart Berg and got +on to a lead of young ice that undulated perilously beneath their +feet. A quick turn saved them. +<p> +A wonderful mirage of the Fata Morgana type was visible on +August 20. The day was clear and bright, with a blue sky overhead +and some rime aloft. +<p> +“The distant pack is thrown up into towering barrier-like cliffs, +which are reflected in blue lakes and lanes of water at their base. +Great white and golden cities of Oriental appearance at close +intervals along these clifftops indicate distant bergs, some not +previously known to us. Floating above these are wavering violet +and creamy lines of still more remote bergs and pack. The lines +rise and fall, tremble, dissipate, and reappear in an endless +transformation scene. The southern pack and bergs, catching +the sun’s rays, are golden, but to the north the ice-masses +are purple. Here the bergs assume changing forms, first a +castle, then a balloon just clear of the horizon, that changes +swiftly into an immense mushroom, a mosque, or a cathedral. The +principal characteristic is the vertical lengthening of the object, +a small pressure-ridge being given the appearance of a line of +battlements or towering cliffs. The mirage is produced by +refraction and is intensified by the columns of comparatively +warm air rising from several cracks and leads that have opened +eight to twenty miles away north and south.” +<p> +We noticed this day that a considerable change had taken place +in our position relative to the Rampart Berg. It appeared that +a big lead had opened and that there had been some differential +movement of the pack. The opening movement might presage renewed +pressure. A few hours later the dog teams, returning from exercise, +crossed a narrow crack that had appeared ahead of the ship. This +crack opened quickly to 60 ft. and would have given us trouble if +the dogs had been left on the wrong side. It closed on the 25th +and pressure followed in its neighbourhood. +<p> +On August 24 we were two miles north of the latitude of Morell’s +farthest south, and over 10° of longitude, or more than 200 +miles, west of his position. From the mast-head no land could be +seen within twenty miles, and no land of over 500 ft. altitude could +have escaped observation on our side of long. 52° W. A +sounding of 1900 fathoms on August 25 was further evidence of the +non-existence of New South Greenland. There was some movement of +the ice near the ship during the concluding days of the month. All +hands were called out in the night of August 26, sounds of pressure +having been followed by the cracking of the ice alongside the ship, +but the trouble did not develop immediately. Late on the night of +the 31st the ice began to work ahead of the ship and along the port +side. Creaking and groaning of timbers, accompanied by loud +snapping sounds fore and aft, told their story of strain. +The pressure continued during the following day, beams and deck +planks occasionally buckling to the strain. The ponderous floes +were grinding against each other under the influence of wind and +current, and our ship seemed to occupy for the time being an +undesirable position near the centre of the disturbance; but she +resisted staunchly and showed no sign of water in the bilges, +although she had not been pumped out for six months. The pack +extended to the horizon in every direction. I calculated that we +were 250 miles from the nearest known land to the westward, and +more than 500 miles from the nearest outpost of civilization, +Wilhelmina Bay. I hoped we would not have to undertake a march +across the moving ice-fields. The <i>Endurance</i> we knew to be +stout and true; but no ship ever built by man could live if taken +fairly in the grip of the floes and prevented from rising to the +surface of the grinding ice. These were anxious days. In the +early morning of September 2 the ship jumped and shook to the +accompaniment of cracks and groans, and some of the men who had +been in the berths hurried on deck. The pressure eased a little +later in the day, when the ice on the port side broke away from +the ship to just abaft the main rigging. The <i>Endurance</i> was +still held aft and at the rudder, and a large mass of ice could +be seen adhering to the port bow, rising to within three feet of +the surface. I wondered if this ice had got its grip by piercing +the sheathing.<br><br> +<hr> +<center><h2><a name="4">CHAPTER IV</a></h2><h2>LOSS OF THE <i>ENDURANCE</i></h2></center> +<p><br> +The ice did not trouble us again seriously until the end of +September, though during the whole month the floes were seldom +entirely without movement. The roar of pressure would come to us +across the otherwise silent ice-fields, and bring with it a threat +and a warning. Watching from the crow’s-nest, we could see +sometimes the formation of pressure-ridges. The sunshine glittered +on newly riven ice-surfaces as the masses of shattered floe rose +and fell away from the line of pressure. The area of disturbance +would advance towards us, recede, and advance again. The routine +of work and play on the <i>Endurance</i> proceeded steadily. Our plans +and preparations for any contingency that might arise during the +approaching summer had been made, but there seemed always plenty +to do in and about our prisoned ship. Runs with the dogs and +vigorous games of hockey and football on the rough snow-covered +floe kept all hands in good fettle. The record of one or two of +these September days will indicate the nature of our life and our +surroundings: +<p> +“<i>September</i> 4.—Temperature, —14.1° Fahr. Light easterly +breeze, blue sky, and stratus clouds. During forenoon notice a +distinct terra-cotta or biscuit colour in the stratus clouds to the +north. This travelled from east to west and could conceivably +have come from some of the Graham Land volcanoes, now about 300 +miles distant to the north-west. The upper current of air probably +would come from that direction. Heavy rime. Pack unbroken and +unchanged as far as visible. No land for 22 miles. No animal +life observed.” +<p> +“<i>September</i> 7.—Temperature, —10.8° Fahr. Moderate +easterly to southerly winds, overcast and misty, with light +snow till midnight, when weather cleared. Blue sky and fine +clear weather to noon. Much rime aloft. Thick fresh snow on +ship and floe that glistens brilliantly in the morning sunlight. +Little clouds of faint violet-coloured mist rise from the lower +and brinier portions of the pack, which stretches unbroken to the +horizon. Very great refraction all round. A tabular berg about +fifty feet high ten miles west is a good index of the amount of +refraction. On ordinary days it shows from the mast-head, +clear-cut against the sky; with much refraction, the pack beyond +at the back of it lifts up into view; to-day a broad expanse of +miles of pack is seen above it. Numerous other bergs generally +seen in silhouette are, at first sight, lost, but after a closer +scrutiny they appear as large lumps or dark masses well below the +horizon. Refraction generally results in too big an altitude when +observing the sun for position, but to-day, the horizon is thrown +up so much that the altitude is about 12´ too small. No land +visible for twenty miles. No animal life observed. Lower Clark’s +tow-net with 566 fathoms of wire, and hoist it up at two and a half +miles an hour by walking across the floe with the wire. Result +rather meagre—jelly-fish and some fish larvae. Exercise dogs in +sledge teams. The young dogs, under Crean’s care, pull as well, +though not so strongly, as the best team in the pack. Hercules +for the last fortnight or more has constituted himself leader of +the orchestra. Two or three times in the twenty-four hours he +starts a howl—a deep, melodious howl—and in about thirty +seconds he has the whole pack in full song, the great deep, +booming, harmonious song of the half-wolf pack.” +<p> +By the middle of September we were running short of fresh meat +for the dogs. The seals and penguins seemed to have abandoned our +neighbourhood altogether. Nearly five months had passed since we +killed a seal, and penguins had been seen seldom. Clark, who was +using his trawl as often as possible, reported that there was a +marked absence of <i>plankton</i> in the sea, and we assumed that the +seals and the penguins had gone in search of their accustomed food. +The men got an emperor on the 23rd. The dogs, which were having +their sledging exercise, became wildly excited when the penguin, +which had risen in a crack, was driven ashore, and the best efforts +of the drivers failed to save it alive. On the following day Wild, +Hurley, Macklin, and McIlroy took their teams to the Stained Berg, +about seven miles west of the ship, and on their way back got a +female crab-eater, which they killed, skinned, and left to be +picked up later. They ascended to the top of the berg, which lay +in about lat. 69° 30´ S., long. 51° W., and from an +elevation of 110 ft. could see no land. Samples of the discoloured +ice from the berg proved to contain dust with black gritty particles +or sand-grains. Another seal, a bull Weddell, was secured on the +26th. The return of seal-life was opportune, since we had nearly +finished the winter supply of dog-biscuit and wished to be able to +feed the dogs on meat. The seals meant a supply of blubber, +moreover, to supplement our small remaining stock of coal when the +time came to get up steam again. We initiated a daylight-saving +system on this day by putting forward the clock one hour. +“This is really pandering to the base but universal passion that +men, and especially seafarers, have for getting up late, otherwise +we would be honest and make our routine earlier instead of flogging +the clock.” +<p> +During the concluding days of September the roar of the pressure +grew louder, and I could see that the area of disturbance was +rapidly approaching the ship. Stupendous forces were at work and +the fields of firm ice around the <i>Endurance</i> were being diminished +steadily. September 30 was a bad day. It began well, for we got +two penguins and five seals during the morning. Three other seals +were seen. But at 3 p.m. cracks that had opened during the night +alongside the ship commenced to work in a lateral direction. The +ship sustained terrific pressure on the port side forward, the +heaviest shocks being under the forerigging. It was the worst +squeeze we had experienced. The decks shuddered and jumped, beams +arched, and stanchions buckled and shook. I ordered all hands +to stand by in readiness for whatever emergency might arise. +Even the dogs seemed to feel the tense anxiety of the moment. +But the ship resisted valiantly, and just when it appeared that +the limit of her strength was being reached the huge floe that was +pressing down upon us cracked across and so gave relief. +<p> +“The behaviour of our ship in the ice has been magnificent,” +wrote Worsley. “Since we have been beset her staunchness and +endurance have been almost past belief again and again. She has +been nipped with a million-ton pressure and risen nobly, falling +clear of the water out on the ice. She has been thrown to and fro +like a shuttlecock a dozen times. She has been strained, her +beams arched upwards, by the fearful pressure; her very sides +opened and closed again as she was actually bent and curved along +her length, groaning like a living thing. It will be sad if such +a brave little craft should be finally crushed in the remorseless, +slowly strangling grip of the Weddell pack after ten months of +the bravest and most gallant fight ever put up by a ship.” +<p> +The <i>Endurance</i> deserved all that could be said in praise of her. +Shipwrights had never done sounder or better work; but how long +could she continue the fight under such conditions? We were +drifting into the congested area of the western Weddell Sea, +the worst portion of the worst sea in the world, where the pack, +forced on irresistibly by wind and current, impinges on the +western shore and is driven up in huge corrugated ridges and +chaotic fields of pressure. The vital question for us was whether +or not the ice would open sufficiently to release us, or at least +give us a chance of release, before the drift carried us into the +most dangerous area. There was no answer to be got from the silent +bergs and the grinding floes, and we faced the month of October +with anxious hearts. +<p> +The leads in the pack appeared to have opened out a little on +October 1, but not sufficiently to be workable even if we had been +able to release the <i>Endurance</i> from the floe. The day was calm, +cloudy and misty in the forenoon and clearer in the afternoon, +when we observed well-defined parhelia. The ship was subjected to +slight pressure at intervals. Two bull crab-eaters climbed on to +the floe close to the ship and were shot by Wild. They were both +big animals in prime condition, and I felt that there was no more +need for anxiety as to the supply of fresh meat for the dogs. +Seal-liver made a welcome change in our own menu. The two bulls +were marked, like many of their kind, with long parallel scars +about three inches apart, evidently the work of the killers. +A bull we killed on the following day had four parallel scars, +sixteen inches long, on each side of its body; they were fairly +deep and one flipper had been nearly torn away. The creature +must have escaped from the jaws of a killer by a very small +margin. Evidently life beneath the pack is not always monotonous. +We noticed that several of the bergs in the neighbourhood of +the ship were changing their relative positions more than +they had done for months past. The floes were moving. +<p> +Our position on Sunday, October 3, was lat. 69° 14´ S., +long. 51° 8´ W. During the night the floe holding the ship +aft cracked in several places, and this appeared to have eased the +strain on the rudder. The forenoon was misty, with falls of snow, +but the weather cleared later in the day and we could see that the +pack was breaking. New leads had appeared, while several old leads +had closed. Pressure-ridges had risen along some of the cracks. +The thickness of the season’s ice, now about 230 days old, was +4 ft. 5 in. under 7 or 8 in. of snow. This ice had been slightly +thicker in the early part of September, and I assumed that some +melting had begun below. Clark had recorded plus temperatures at +depths of 150 and 200 fathoms in the concluding days of September. +The ice obviously had attained its maximum thickness by direct +freezing, and the heavier older floes had been created by the +consolidation of pressure-ice and the overlapping of floes under +strain. The air temperatures were still low, —24.5° Fahr. being +recorded on October 4. +<p> +The movement of the ice was increasing. Frost-smoke from opening +cracks was showing in all directions during October 6. It had the +appearance in one place of a great prairie fire, rising from the +surface and getting higher as it drifted off before the wind in +heavy, dark, rolling masses. At another point there was the +appearance of a train running before the wind, the smoke rising +from the locomotive straight upwards; and the smoke columns +elsewhere gave the effect of warships steaming in line ahead. +During the following day the leads and cracks opened to such an +extent that if the <i>Endurance</i> could have been forced forward +for thirty yards we could have proceeded for two or three miles; +but the effort did not promise any really useful result. The +conditions did not change materially during the rest of that week. +The position on Sunday, October 10, was lat. 69° 21´ S., +long. 50° 34´ W. A thaw made things uncomfortable for us +that day. The temperature had risen from —10° Fahr. to ++29.8° Fahr., the highest we had experienced since +January, and the ship got dripping wet between decks. The upper +deck was clear of ice and snow and the cabins became unpleasantly +messy. The dogs, who hated wet, had a most unhappy air. +Undoubtedly one grows to like familiar conditions. We had lived +long in temperatures that would have seemed distressingly low +in civilized life, and now we were made uncomfortable by a degree +of warmth that would have left the unaccustomed human being still +shivering. The thaw was an indication that winter was over, +and we began preparations for reoccupying the cabins on the main +deck. I had the shelter-house round the stern pulled down on +the 11th and made other preparations for working the ship as soon +as she got clear. The carpenter had built a wheel-house +over the wheel aft as shelter in cold and heavy weather. The ice +was still loosening and no land was visible for twenty miles. +<p> +The temperature remained relatively high for several days. All +hands moved to their summer quarters in the upper cabins on the 12th, +to the accompaniment of much noise and laughter. Spring was in the +air, and if there were no green growing things to gladden our eyes, +there were at least many seals, penguins, and even whales +disporting themselves in the leads. The time for renewed action +was coming, and though our situation was grave enough, we were +facing the future hopefully. The dogs were kept in a state of +uproar by the sight of so much game. They became almost frenzied +when a solemn-looking emperor penguin inspected them gravely from +some point of vantage on the floe and gave utterance to an +apparently derisive “Knark!” At 7 p.m. on the 13th the ship +broke free of the floe on which she had rested to starboard +sufficiently to come upright. The rudder freed itself, but the +propeller was found to be athwartship, having been forced into that +position by the floe some time after August 1. The water was very +clear and we could see the rudder, which appeared to have suffered +only a slight twist to port at the water-line. It moved quite +freely. The propeller, as far as we could see, was intact, but it +could not be moved by the hand-gear, probably owing to a film of +ice in the stern gland and sleeve. I did not think it advisable +to attempt to deal with it at that stage. The ship had not been +pumped for eight months, but there was no water and not much ice +in the bilges. Meals were served again in the wardroom that day. +<p> +The south-westerly breeze freshened to a gale on the 14th, and the +temperature fell from +31° Fahr. to —1° Fahr. At +midnight the ship came free from the floe and drifted rapidly astern. +Her head fell off before the wind until she lay nearly at right-angles +across the narrow lead. This was a dangerous position for +rudder and propeller. The spanker was set, but the weight of the +wind on the ship gradually forced the floes open until the +<i>Endurance</i> swung right round and drove 100 yds. along the +lead. Then the ice closed and at 3 a.m. we were fast again. +The wind died down during the day and the pack opened for five +or six miles to the north. It was still loose on the following +morning, and I had the boiler pumped up with the intention of +attempting to clear the propeller; but one of the manholes +developed a leak, the packing being perished by cold or loosened +by contraction, and the boiler had to be emptied out again. +<p> +The pack was rather closer on Sunday the 17th. Top-sails and +head-sails were set in the afternoon, and with a moderate north-easterly +breeze we tried to force the ship ahead out of the +lead; but she was held fast. Later that day heavy pressure +developed. The two floes between which the <i>Endurance</i> was lying +began to close and the ship was subjected to a series of +tremendously heavy strains. In the engine-room, the weakest +point, loud groans, crashes, and hammering sounds were heard. +The iron plates on the floor buckled up and overrode with loud +clangs. Meanwhile the floes were grinding off each other’s +projecting points and throwing up pressure-ridges. The ship +stood the strain well for nearly an hour and then, to my great +relief, began to rise with heavy jerks and jars. She lifted +ten inches forward and three feet four inches aft, at the same +time heeling six degrees to port. The ice was getting below us +and the immediate danger had passed. The position was lat. 69° +19´ S., long. 50° 40´ W. +<p> +The next attack of the ice came on the afternoon of October 18th. +The two floes began to move laterally, exerting great pressure on +the ship. Suddenly the floe on the port side cracked and huge +pieces of ice shot up from under the port bilge. Within a few +seconds the ship heeled over until she had a list of thirty +degrees to port, being held under the starboard bilge by the +opposing floe. The lee boats were now almost resting on the floe. +The midship dog-kennels broke away and crashed down on to the lee +kennels, and the howls and barks of the frightened dogs assisted +to create a perfect pandemonium. Everything movable on deck and +below fell to the lee side, and for a few minutes it looked as if +the <i>Endurance</i> would be thrown upon her beam ends. Order was +soon restored. I had all fires put out and battens nailed on the +deck to give the dogs a foothold and enable people to get about. +Then the crew lashed all the movable gear. If the ship had heeled +any farther it would have been necessary to release the lee boats +and pull them clear, and Worsley was watching to give the alarm. +Hurley meanwhile descended to the floe and took some photographs +of the ship in her unusual position. Dinner in the wardroom that +evening was a curious affair. Most of the diners had to sit on +the deck, their feet against battens and their plates on their +knees. At 8 p.m. the floes opened, and within a few minutes +the <i>Endurance</i> was nearly upright again. Orders were given for +the ice to be chipped clear of the rudder. The men poled the +blocks out of the way when they had been detached from the floe +with the long ice-chisels, and we were able to haul the ship’s +stern into a clear berth. Then the boiler was pumped up. +This work was completed early in the morning of October 19, +and during that day the engineer lit fires and got up steam +very slowly, in order to economize fuel and avoid any strain +on the chilled boilers by unequal heating. The crew cut up all +loose lumber, boxes, etc., and put them in the bunkers for fuel. +The day was overcast, with occasional snowfalls, the temperature ++12° Fahr. The ice in our neighbourhood was quiet, but +in the distance pressure was at work. The wind freshened in the +evening, and we ran a wire-mooring astern. The barometer at 11 p.m. +stood at 28.96, the lowest since the gales of July. An uproar +among the dogs attracted attention late in the afternoon, and we +found a 25-ft. whale cruising up and down in our pool. It pushed +its head up once in characteristic killer fashion, but we judged +from its small curved dorsal fin that it was a specimen of +<i>Balaenoptera acutorostrata</i>, not <i>Orca gladiator</i>. +<p> +A strong south-westerly wind was blowing on October 20 and the +pack was working. The <i>Endurance</i> was imprisoned securely in the +pool, but our chance might come at any time. Watches were set so +as to be ready for working ship. Wild and Hudson, Greenstreet and +Cheetham, Worsley and Crean, took the deck watches, and the Chief +Engineer and Second Engineer kept watch and watch with three of the +A.B.’s for stokers. The staff and the forward hands, with the +exception of the cook, the carpenter and his mate, were on “watch +and watch”—that is, four hours on deck and four hours below, or +off duty. The carpenter was busy making a light punt, which might +prove useful in the navigation of lanes and channels. At 11 a.m. +we gave the engines a gentle trial turn astern. Everything worked +well after eight months of frozen inactivity, except that the +bilge-pump and the discharge proved to be frozen up; they were +cleared with some little difficulty. The engineer reported that to +get steam he had used one ton of coal, with wood-ashes and blubber. +The fires required to keep the boiler warm consumed one and a +quarter to one and a half hundred-weight of coal per day. We had +about fifty tons of coal remaining in the bunkers. +<p> +October 21 and 22 were days of low temperature, which caused the +open leads to freeze over. The pack was working, and ever and anon +the roar of pressure came to our ears. We waited for the next move +of the gigantic forces arrayed against us. The 23rd brought a +strong north-westerly wind, and the movement of the floes and +pressure-ridges became more formidable. Then on Sunday, October +24, there came what for the <i>Endurance</i> was the beginning of the end. +The position was lat. 69° 11´ S., long. 51° 5´ W. We +had now twenty-two and a half hours of daylight, and throughout the +day we watched the threatening advance of the floes. At 6.45 p.m. +the ship sustained heavy pressure in a dangerous position. The +attack of the ice is illustrated roughly in the appended diagram. +The shaded portions represent the pool, covered with new ice that +afforded no support to the ship, and the arrows indicate the +direction of the pressure exercised by the thick floes and pressure-ridges. +The onslaught was all but irresistible. The <i>Endurance</i> +groaned and quivered as her starboard quarter was forced against +the floe, twisting the sternpost and starting the heads and ends +of planking. The ice had lateral as well as forward movement, +and the ship was twisted and actually bent by the stresses. +She began to leak dangerously at once. +<p> +I had the pumps rigged, got up steam, and started the bilge-pumps +at 8 p.m. The pressure by that time had relaxed. The ship was +making water rapidly aft, and the carpenter set to work to make +a coffer-dam astern of the engines. All hands worked, watch +and watch, throughout the night, pumping ship and helping the +carpenter. By morning the leak was being kept in check. The +carpenter and his assistants caulked the coffer-dam with strips +of blankets and nailed strips over the seams wherever possible. +The main or hand pump was frozen up and could not be used at once. +After it had been knocked out Worsley, Greenstreet, and Hudson +went down in the bunkers and cleared the ice from the bilges. +“This is not a pleasant job,” wrote Worsley. “We have to dig +a hole down through the coal while the beams and timbers groan +and crack all around us like pistol-shots. The darkness is +almost complete, and we mess about in the wet with half-frozen +hands and try to keep the coal from slipping back into the bilges. +The men on deck pour buckets of boiling water from the galley down +the pipe as we prod and hammer from below, and at last we get the +pump clear, cover up the bilges to keep the coal out, and rush on +deck, very thankful to find ourselves safe again in the open air.” +<p> +Monday, October 25, dawned cloudy and misty, with a minus +temperature and a strong south-easterly breeze. All hands were +pumping at intervals and assisting the carpenter with the coffer-dam. +The leak was being kept under fairly easily, but the outlook +was bad. Heavy pressure-ridges were forming in all directions, +and though the immediate pressure upon the ship was not severe, +I realized that the respite would not be prolonged. The pack within +our range of vision was being subjected to enormous compression, +such as might be caused by cyclonic winds, opposing ocean currents, +or constriction in a channel of some description. The pressure-ridges, +massive and threatening, testified to the overwhelming +nature of the forces that were at work. Huge blocks of ice, +weighing many tons, were lifted into the air and tossed aside as +other masses rose beneath them. We were helpless intruders in a +strange world, our lives dependent upon the play of grim elementary +forces that made a mock of our puny efforts. I scarcely dared hope +now that the <i>Endurance</i> would live, and throughout that anxious +day I reviewed again the plans made long before for the sledging +journey that we must make in the event of our having to take to +the ice. We were ready, as far as forethought could make us, +for every contingency. Stores, dogs, sledges, and equipment were +ready to be moved from the ship at a moment’s notice. +<p> +The following day brought bright clear weather, with a blue sky. +The sunshine was inspiriting. The roar of pressure could be heard +all around us. New ridges were rising, and I could see as the day +wore on that the lines of major disturbance were drawing nearer to +the ship. The <i>Endurance</i> suffered some strains at intervals. +Listening below, I could hear the creaking and groaning of her +timbers, the pistol-like cracks that told of the starting of a +trenail or plank, and the faint, indefinable whispers of our ship’s +distress. Overhead the sun shone serenely; occasional fleecy clouds +drifted before the southerly breeze, and the light glinted and +sparkled on the million facets of the new pressure-ridges. The day +passed slowly. At 7 p.m. very heavy pressure developed, with +twisting strains that racked the ship fore and aft. The butts +of planking were opened four and five inches on the starboard side, +and at the same time we could see from the bridge that the ship +was bending like a bow under titanic pressure. Almost like a +living creature, she resisted the forces that would crush her; +but it was a one-sided battle. Millions of tons of ice pressed +inexorably upon the little ship that had dared the challenge of +the Antarctic. The <i>Endurance</i> was now leaking badly, and at +9 p.m. I gave the order to lower boats, gear, provisions, and +sledges to the floe, and move them to the flat ice a little way +from the ship. The working of the ice closed the leaks slightly +at midnight, but all hands were pumping all night. A strange +occurrence was the sudden appearance of eight emperor penguins +from a crack 100 yds. away at the moment when the pressure upon +the ship was at its climax. They walked a little way towards us, +halted, and after a few ordinary calls proceeded to utter weird +cries that sounded like a dirge for the ship. None of us had +ever before heard the emperors utter any other than the most +simple calls or cries, and the effect of this concerted effort +was almost startling. +<p> +Then came a fateful day—Wednesday, October 27. +The position was lat. 69° 5´ S., long. 51° 30´ W. +The temperature was —8.5° Fahr., a gentle southerly breeze +was blowing and the sun shone in a clear sky. +<p> +“After long months of ceaseless anxiety and strain, after times +when hope beat high and times when the outlook was black indeed, +the end of the <i>Endurance</i> has come. But though we have been +compelled to abandon the ship, which is crushed beyond all hope +of ever being righted, we are alive and well, and we have stores +and equipment for the task that lies before us. The task is to +reach land with all the members of the Expedition. It is hard +to write what I feel. To a sailor his ship is more than a +floating home, and in the <i>Endurance</i> I had centred ambitions, +hopes, and desires. Now, straining and groaning, her timbers +cracking and her wounds gaping, she is slowly giving up her +sentient life at the very outset of her career. She is +crushed and abandoned after drifting more than 570 miles in +a north-westerly direction during the 281 days since she became +locked in the ice. The distance from the point where she +became beset to the place where she now rests mortally hurt in +the grip of the floes is 573 miles, but the total drift through +all observed positions has been 1186 miles, and probably we actually +covered more than 1500 miles. We are now 346 miles from Paulet +Island, the nearest point where there is any possibility of +finding food and shelter. A small hut built there by the Swedish +expedition in 1902 is filled with stores left by the Argentine +relief ship. I know all about those stores, for I purchased them +in London on behalf of the Argentine Government when they asked me +to equip the relief expedition. The distance to the nearest +barrier west of us is about 180 miles, but a party going there +would still be about 360 miles from Paulet Island and there would +be no means of sustaining life on the barrier. We could not take +from here food enough for the whole journey; the weight would be +too great. +<p> +“This morning, our last on the ship, the weather was clear, +with a gentle south-south-easterly to south-south-westerly breeze. +From the crow’s-nest there was no sign of land of any sort. The +pressure was increasing steadily, and the passing hours brought no +relief or respite for the ship. The attack of the ice reached its +climax at 4 p.m. The ship was hove stern up by the pressure, and +the driving floe, moving laterally across the stern, split the +rudder and tore out the rudder-post and stern-post. Then, while +we watched, the ice loosened and the <i>Endurance</i> sank a little. +The decks were breaking upwards and the water was pouring in below. +Again the pressure began, and at 5 p.m. I ordered all hands on to +the ice. The twisting, grinding floes were working their will +at last on the ship. It was a sickening sensation to feel the +decks breaking up under one’s feet, the great beams bending and +then snapping with a noise like heavy gunfire. The water was +overmastering the pumps, and to avoid an explosion when it reached +the boilers I had to give orders for the fires to be drawn and the +steam let down. The plans for abandoning the ship in case of +emergency had been made well in advance, and men and dogs +descended to the floe and made their way to the comparative safety +of an unbroken portion of the floe without a hitch. Just before +leaving, I looked down the engine-room skylight as I stood on the +quivering deck, and saw the engines dropping sideways as the stays +and bed-plates gave way. I cannot describe the impression of +relentless destruction that was forced upon me as I looked down and +around. The floes, with the force of millions of tons of moving +ice behind them, were simply annihilating the ship.” +<p> +Essential supplies had been placed on the floe about 100 yds. from +the ship, and there we set about making a camp for the night. But +about 7 p.m., after the tents were up, the ice we were occupying +became involved in the pressure and started to split and smash +beneath our feet. I had the camp moved to a bigger floe about 200 +yds. away, just beyond the bow of the ship. Boats, stores, and +camp equipment had to be conveyed across a working pressure-ridge. +The movement of the ice was so slow that it did not interfere much +with our short trek, but the weight of the ridge had caused the +floes to sink on either side and there were pools of water there. +A pioneer party with picks and shovels had to build a snow-causeway +before we could get all our possessions across. By +8 p.m. the camp had been pitched again. We had two pole-tents +and three hoop-tents. I took charge of the small pole-tent, +No. 1, with Hudson, Hurley, and James as companions; Wild had +the small hoop-tent, No. 2, with Wordie, McNeish, and McIlroy. +These hoop-tents are very easily shifted and set up. The eight +forward hands had the large hoop-tent, No. 3; Crean had charge +of No. 4 hoop-tent with Hussey, Marston, and Cheetham; and Worsley +had the other pole-tent, No. 5, with Greenstreet, Lees, Clark, +Kerr, Rickenson, Macklin, and Blackborrow, the last named being +the youngest of the forward hands. +<p> +“To-night the temperature has dropped to —16° Fahr., and +most of the men are cold and uncomfortable. After the tents had +been pitched I mustered all hands and explained the position to +them briefly and, I hope, clearly. I have told them the distance +to the Barrier and the distance to Paulet Island, and have stated +that I propose to try to march with equipment across the ice in the +direction of Paulet Island. I thanked the men for the steadiness +and good morale they have shown in these trying circumstances, +and told them I had no doubt that, provided they continued to work +their utmost and to trust me, we will all reach safety in the end. +Then we had supper, which the cook had prepared at the big blubber-stove, +and after a watch had been set all hands except the watch +turned in.” For myself, I could not sleep. The destruction and +abandonment of the ship was no sudden shock. The disaster had been +looming ahead for many months, and I had studied my plans for all +contingencies a hundred times. But the thoughts that came to me +as I walked up and down in the darkness were not particularly +cheerful. The task now was to secure the safety of the party, +and to that I must bend my energies and mental power and apply +every bit of knowledge that experience of the Antarctic had given +me. The task was likely to be long and strenuous, and an ordered +mind and a clear programme were essential if we were to come +through without loss of life. A man must shape himself to a +new mark directly the old one goes to ground. +<p> +At midnight I was pacing the ice, listening to the grinding floe +and to the groans and crashes that told of the death-agony of the +<i>Endurance</i>, when I noticed suddenly a crack running across our floe +right through the camp. The alarm-whistle brought all hands +tumbling out, and we moved the tents and stores lying on what was +now the smaller portion of the floe to the larger portion. Nothing +more could be done at that moment, and the men turned in again; +but there was little sleep. Each time I came to the end of my +beat on the floe I could just see in the darkness the uprearing +piles of pressure-ice, which toppled over and narrowed still +further the little floating island we occupied. I did not notice +at the time that my tent, which had been on the wrong side of the +crack, had not been erected again. Hudson and James had managed +to squeeze themselves into other tents, and Hurley had wrapped +himself in the canvas of No. 1 tent. I discovered this about +5 a.m. All night long the electric light gleamed from the stern +of the dying <i>Endurance</i>. Hussey had left this light switched +on when he took a last observation, and, like a lamp in a +cottage window, it braved the night until in the early morning +the <i>Endurance</i> received a particularly violent squeeze. +There was a sound of rending beams and the light disappeared. +The connexion had been cut. +<p> +Morning came in chill and cheerless. All hands were stiff and +weary after their first disturbed night on the floe. Just at +daybreak I went over to the <i>Endurance</i> with Wild and Hurley, in +order to retrieve some tins of petrol that could be used to boil +up milk for the rest of the men. The ship presented a painful +spectacle of chaos and wreck. The jib-boom and bowsprit had +snapped off during the night and now lay at right angles to the +ship, with the chains, martingale, and bob-stay dragging them as +the vessel quivered and moved in the grinding pack. The ice had +driven over the forecastle and she was well down by the head. We +secured two tins of petrol with some difficulty, and postponed the +further examination of the ship until after breakfast. Jumping +across cracks with the tins, we soon reached camp, and built a +fireplace out of the triangular water-tight tanks we had ripped +from the lifeboat. This we had done in order to make more room. +Then we pierced a petrol-tin in half a dozen places with an ice-axe +and set fire to it. The petrol blazed fiercely under the five-gallon +drum we used as a cooker, and the hot milk was ready +in quick time. Then we three ministering angels went round the +tents with the life-giving drink, and were surprised and a trifle +chagrined at the matter-of-fact manner in which some of the men +accepted this contribution to their comfort. They did not quite +understand what work we had done for them in the early dawn, +and I heard Wild say, “If any of you gentlemen would like your +boots cleaned just put them outside.” This was his gentle way +of reminding them that a little thanks will go a long way on +such occasions. +<p> +The cook prepared breakfast, which consisted of biscuit and hoosh, +at 8 a.m., and I then went over to the <i>Endurance</i> again and made +a fuller examination of the wreck. Only six of the cabins had +not been pierced by floes and blocks of ice. Every one of the +starboard cabins had been crushed. The whole of the after part of +the ship had been crushed concertina fashion. The forecastle and +the Ritz were submerged, and the wardroom was three-quarters full +of ice. The starboard side of the wardroom had come away. The +motor-engine forward had been driven through the galley. Petrol-cases +that had been stacked on the fore-deck had been driven +by the floe through the wall into the wardroom and had carried +before them a large picture. Curiously enough, the glass of this +picture had not been cracked, whereas in the immediate +neighbourhood I saw heavy iron davits that had been twisted and +bent like the ironwork of a wrecked train. The ship was being +crushed remorselessly. +<p> +Under a dull, overcast sky I returned to camp and examined our +situation. The floe occupied by the camp was still subject to +pressure, and I thought it wise to move to a larger and apparently +stronger floe about 200 yds. away, off the starboard bow of the +ship. This camp was to become known as Dump Camp, owing to the +amount of stuff that was thrown away there. We could not afford +to carry unnecessary gear, and a drastic sorting of equipment +took place. I decided to issue a complete new set of Burberrys +and underclothing to each man, and also a supply of new socks. +The camp was transferred to the larger floe quickly, and I began +there to direct the preparations for the long journey across +the floes to Paulet Island or Snow Hill. +<p> +Hurley meanwhile had rigged his kinematograph-camera and was +getting pictures of the <i>Endurance</i> in her death-throes. While +he was engaged thus, the ice, driving against the standing rigging +and the fore-, main- and mizzen-masts, snapped the shrouds. The +foretop and topgallant-mast came down with a run and hung in +wreckage on the fore-mast, with the fore-yard vertical. The +main-mast followed immediately, snapping off about 10 ft. above +the main deck. The crow’s-nest fell within 10 ft. of where Hurley +stood turning the handle of his camera, but he did not stop the +machine, and so secured a unique, though sad, picture. +<p> +The issue of clothing was quickly accomplished. Sleeping-bags were +required also. We had eighteen fur bags, and it was necessary, +therefore, to issue ten of the Jaeger woollen bags in order to +provide for the twenty-eight men of the party. The woollen bags +were lighter and less warm than the reindeer bags, and so each man +who received one of them was allowed also a reindeer-skin to lie +upon. It seemed fair to distribute the fur bags by lot, but some +of us older hands did not join in the lottery. We thought we +could do quite as well with the Jaegers as with the furs. With +quick dispatch the clothing was apportioned, and then we turned one +of the boats on its side and supported it with two broken oars to +make a lee for the galley. The cook got the blubber-stove going, +and a little later, when I was sitting round the corner of the +stove, I heard one man say, “Cook, I like my tea strong.” +Another joined in, “Cook, I like mine weak.” It was pleasant +to know that their minds were untroubled, but I thought the time +opportune to mention that the tea would be the same for all hands +and that we would be fortunate if two months later we had any tea +at all. It occurred to me at the time that the incident had +psychological interest. Here were men, their home crushed, +the camp pitched on the unstable floes, and their chance of +reaching safety apparently remote, calmly attending to the +details of existence and giving their attention to such trifles +as the strength of a brew of tea. +<p> +During the afternoon the work continued. Every now and then we +heard a noise like heavy guns or distant thunder, caused by the +floes grinding together. +<p> +“The pressure caused by the congestion in this area of the pack +is producing a scene of absolute chaos. The floes grind stupendously, +throw up great ridges, and shatter one another mercilessly. The +ridges, or hedgerows, marking the pressure-lines that border the +fast-diminishing pieces of smooth floe-ice, are enormous. The ice +moves majestically, irresistibly. Human effort is not futile, +but man fights against the giant forces of Nature in a spirit of +humility. One has a sense of dependence on the higher Power. +To-day two seals, a Weddell and a crabeater, came close to the camp +and were shot. Four others were chased back into the water, for +their presence disturbed the dog teams, and this meant floggings +and trouble with the harness. The arrangement of the tents has +been completed and their internal management settled. Each tent +has a mess orderly, the duty being taken in turn on an alphabetical +rota. The orderly takes the hoosh-pots of his tent to the galley, +gets all the hoosh he is allowed, and, after the meal, cleans the +vessels with snow and stores them in sledge or boat ready for a +possible move.” +<p> +“<i>October</i> 29.—We passed a quiet night, although the pressure was +grinding around us. Our floe is a heavy one and it withstood the +blows it received. There is a light wind from the north-west to +north-north-west, and the weather is fine. We are twenty-eight +men with forty-nine dogs, including Sue’s and Sallie’s five +grown-up pups. All hands this morning were busy preparing gear, +fitting boats on sledges, and building up and strengthening the +sledges to carry the boats. . . . The main motor-sledge, with +a little fitting from the carpenter, carried our largest boat +admirably. For the next boat four ordinary sledges were lashed +together, but we were dubious as to the strength of this +contrivance, and as a matter of fact it broke down quickly under +strain. . . . The ship is still afloat, with the spurs of the +pack driven through her and holding her up. The forecastle-head +is under water, the decks are burst up by the pressure, the wreckage +lies around in dismal confusion, but over all the blue ensign flies +still. +<p> +“This afternoon Sallie’s three youngest pups, Sue’s Sirius, and +Mrs. Chippy, the carpenter’s cat, have to be shot. We could not +undertake the maintenance of weaklings under the new conditions. +Macklin, Crean, and the carpenter seemed to feel the loss of their +friends rather badly. We propose making a short trial journey +to-morrow, starting with two of the boats and the ten sledges. +The number of dog teams has been increased to seven, Greenstreet +taking charge of the new additional team, consisting of Snapper +and Sallie’s four oldest pups. We have ten working sledges to +relay with five teams. Wild’s and Hurley’s teams will haul the +cutter with the assistance of four men. The whaler and the other +boats will follow, and the men who are hauling them will be able +to help with the cutter at the rough places. We cannot hope to +make rapid progress, but each mile counts. Crean this afternoon +has a bad attack of snow-blindness.” +<p> +The weather on the morning of October 30 was overcast and misty, +with occasional falls of snow. A moderate north-easterly breeze +was blowing. We were still living on extra food, brought from the +ship when we abandoned her, and the sledging and boating rations +were intact. These rations would provide for twenty-eight men for +fifty-six days on full rations, but we could count on getting +enough seal and penguin meat to at least double this time. We +could even, if progress proved too difficult and too injurious to +the boats, which we must guard as our ultimate means of salvation, +camp on the nearest heavy floe, scour the neighbouring pack for +penguins and seals, and await the outward rift of the pack, to open +and navigable water. +<p> +“This plan would avoid the grave dangers we are now incurring of +getting entangled in impassable pressure-ridges and possibly +irretrievably damaging the boats, which are bound to suffer in +rough ice; it would also minimize the peril of the ice splitting +under us, as it did twice during the night at our first camp. +Yet I feel sure that it is the right thing to attempt a march, +since if we can make five or seven miles a day to the north-west +our chance of reaching safety in the months to come will be +increased greatly. There is a psychological aspect to the question +also. It will be much better for the men in general to feel that, +even though progress is slow, they are on their way to land than +it will be simply to sit down and wait for the tardy north-westerly +drift to take us out of this cruel waste of ice. We will make +an attempt to move. The issue is beyond my power either to +predict or to control.” +<p> +That afternoon Wild and I went out in the mist and snow to find a +road to the north-east. After many devious turnings to avoid the +heavier pressure-ridges, we pioneered a way for at least a mile +and a half. and then returned by a rather better route to the camp. +The pressure now was rapid in movement and our floe was suffering +from the shakes and jerks of the ice. At 3 p.m., after lunch, +we got under way, leaving Dump Camp a mass of debris. The order +was that personal gear must not exceed two pounds per man, and +this meant that nothing but bare necessaries was to be taken on +the march. We could not afford to cumber ourselves with +unnecessary weight. Holes had been dug in the snow for the +reception of private letters and little personal trifles, +the Lares and Penates of the members of the Expedition, +and into the privacy of these white graves were consigned much +of sentimental value and not a little of intrinsic worth. +I rather grudged the two pounds allowance per man, owing to +my keen anxiety to keep weights at a minimum, but some personal +belongings could fairly be regarded as indispensable. The +journey might be a long one, and there was a possibility of a +winter in improvised quarters on an inhospitable coast at the other +end. A man under such conditions needs something to occupy his +thoughts, some tangible memento of his home and people beyond the +seas. So sovereigns were thrown away and photographs were kept. +I tore the fly-leaf out of the Bible that Queen Alexandra had given +to the ship, with her own writing in it, and also the wonderful +page of Job containing the verse: +<p><br><blockquote><i> +Out of whose womb came the ice?<br> +And the hoary frost of Heaven, who hath gendered it?<br> +The waters are hid as with a stone,<br> +And the face of the deep is frozen.</i> [Job 38:29–30]</blockquote> +<p><br> +The other Bible, which Queen Alexandra had given for the use of the +shore party, was down below in the lower hold in one of the cases +when the ship received her death-blow. Suitcases were thrown away; +these were retrieved later as material for making boots, and some +of them, marked “solid leather,” proved, to our disappointment, +to contain a large percentage of cardboard. The manufacturer would +have had difficulty in convincing us at the time that the deception +was anything short of criminal. +<p> +The pioneer sledge party, consisting of Wordie, Hussey, Hudson, +and myself, carrying picks and shovels, started to break a +road through the pressure-ridges for the sledges carrying the +boats. The boats, with their gear and the sledges beneath them, +weighed each more than a ton. The cutter was smaller than the +whaler, but weighed more and was a much more strongly built boat. +The whaler was mounted on the sledge part of the Girling tractor +forward and two sledges amidships and aft. These sledges were +strengthened with cross-timbers and shortened oars fore and aft. +The cutter was mounted on the aero-sledge. The sledges were the +point of weakness. It appeared almost hopeless to prevent them +smashing under their heavy loads when travelling over rough +pressure-ice which stretched ahead of us for probably 300 miles. +After the pioneer sledge had started the seven dog teams got off. +They took their sledges forward for half a mile, then went back +for the other sledges. Worsley took charge of the two boats, with +fifteen men hauling, and these also had to be relayed. It was +heavy work for dogs and men, but there were intervals of +comparative rest on the backward journey, after the first portion +of the load had been taken forward. We passed over two opening +cracks, through which killers were pushing their ugly snouts, and +by 5 p.m. had covered a mile in a north-north-westerly direction. +The condition of the ice ahead was chaotic, for since the morning +increased pressure had developed and the pack was moving and +crushing in all directions. So I gave the order to pitch camp for +the night on flat ice, which, unfortunately, proved to be young and +salty. The older pack was too rough and too deeply laden with +snow to offer a suitable camping-ground. Although we had gained +only one mile in a direct line, the necessary deviations made the +distance travelled at least two miles, and the relays brought the +distance marched up to six miles. Some of the dog teams had +covered at least ten miles. I set the watch from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m., +one hour for each man in each tent in rotation. +<p> +During the night snow fell heavily, and the floor-cloths of the +tents got wet through, as the temperature had risen to +25° +Fahr. One of the things we hoped for in those days was a temperature +in the neighbourhood of zero, for then the snow surface would be hard, +we would not be troubled by damp, and our gear would not become +covered in soft snow. The killers were blowing all night, and +a crack appeared about 20 ft. from the camp at 2 a.m. The ice +below us was quite thin enough for the killers to break through +if they took a fancy to do so, but there was no other camping-ground +within our reach and we had to take the risk. When morning came +the snow was falling so heavily that we could not see more than +a few score yards ahead, and I decided not to strike camp. +A path over the shattered floes would be hard to find, and to +get the boats into a position of peril might be disastrous. +Rickenson and Worsley started back for Dump Camp at 7 a.m. +to get some wood and blubber for the fire, and an hour later +we had hoosh, with one biscuit each. At 10 a.m. Hurley and +Hudson left for the old camp in order to bring some additional +dog-pemmican, since there were no seals to be found near us. +Then, as the weather cleared, Worsley and I made a prospect to +the west and tried to find a practicable road. A large floe +offered a fairly good road for at least another mile to the +north-west, and we went back prepared for another move. The +weather cleared a little, and after lunch we struck camp. +I took Rickenson, Kerr, Wordie, and Hudson as a breakdown gang +to pioneer a path among the pressure-ridges. Five dog teams +followed. Wild’s and Hurley’s teams were hitched on to the +cutter and they started off in splendid style. They needed +to be helped only once; indeed fourteen dogs did as well or +even better than eighteen men. The ice was moving beneath +and around us as we worked towards the big floe, and where +this floe met the smaller ones there was a mass of pressed-up +ice, still in motion, with water between the ridges. But it is +wonderful what a dozen men can do with picks and shovels. +We could cut a road through a pressure-ridge about 14 ft. high +in ten minutes and leave a smooth, or comparatively smooth, +path for the sledges and teams.<br><br> +<hr> +<center><h2><a name="5">CHAPTER V</a></h2><h2>OCEAN CAMP</h2></center> +<p><br> +In spite of the wet, deep snow and the halts occasioned by thus +having to cut our road through the pressure-ridges, we managed +to march the best part of a mile towards our goal, though the +relays and the deviations again made the actual distance +travelled nearer six miles. As I could see that the men were +all exhausted I gave the order to pitch the tents under the +lee of the two boats, which afforded some slight protection from +the wet snow now threatening to cover everything. While so +engaged one of the sailors discovered a small pool of water, +caused by the snow having thawed on a sail which was lying +in one of the boats. There was not much—just a sip each; +but, as one man wrote in his diary, “One has seen and tasted +cleaner, but seldom more opportunely found water.” +<p> +Next day broke cold and still with the same wet snow, and in the +clearing light I could see that with the present loose surface, +and considering how little result we had to show for all our +strenuous efforts of the past four days, it would be impossible +to proceed for any great distance. Taking into account also +the possibility of leads opening close to us, and so of our being +able to row north-west to where we might find land, I decided to +find a more solid floe and there camp until conditions were more +favourable for us to make a second attempt to escape from our icy +prison. To this end we moved our tents and all our gear to a thick, +heavy old floe about one and a half miles from the wreck and there +made our camp. We called this “Ocean Camp.” It was with the utmost +difficulty that we shifted our two boats. The surface was +terrible—like nothing that any of us had ever seen around us +before. We were sinking at times up to our hips, and everywhere +the snow was two feet deep. +<p> +I decided to conserve our valuable sledging rations, which would be +so necessary for the inevitable boat journey, as much as possible, +and to subsist almost entirely on seals and penguins. +<p> +A party was sent back to Dump Camp, near the ship, to collect as +much clothing, tobacco, etc., as they could find. The heavy snow +which had fallen in the last few days, combined with the thawing +and consequent sinking of the surface, resulted in the total +disappearance of a good many of the things left behind at this +dump. The remainder of the men made themselves as comfortable as +possible under the circumstances at Ocean Camp. This floating lump +of ice, about a mile square at first but later splitting into +smaller and smaller fragments, was to be our home for nearly two +months. During these two months we made frequent visits to the +vicinity of the ship and retrieved much valuable clothing and food +and some few articles of personal value which in our light-hearted +optimism we had thought to leave miles behind us on our dash across +the moving ice to safety. +<p> +The collection of food was now the all-important consideration. +As we were to subsist almost entirely on seals and penguins, which +were to provide fuel as well as food, some form of blubber-stove +was a necessity. This was eventually very ingeniously contrived +from the ship’s steel ash-shoot, as our first attempt with a large +iron oil-drum did not prove eminently successful. We could only +cook seal or penguin hooshes or stews on this stove, and so +uncertain was its action that the food was either burnt or only +partially cooked; and, hungry though we were, half-raw seal meat +was not very appetizing. On one occasion a wonderful stew made +from seal meat, with two or three tins of Irish stew that had been +salved from the ship, fell into the fire through the bottom of the +oil-drum that we used as a saucepan becoming burnt out on account +of the sudden intense heat of the fire below. We lunched that day +on one biscuit and a quarter of a tin of bully-beef each, frozen +hard. +<p> +This new stove, which was to last us during our stay at Ocean Camp, +was a great success. Two large holes were punched, with much +labour and few tools, opposite one another at the wider or top end +of the shoot. Into one of these an oil-drum was fixed, to be used +as the fireplace, the other hole serving to hold our saucepan. +Alongside this another hole was punched to enable two saucepans +to be boiled at a time; and farther along still a chimney made +from biscuit-tins completed a very efficient, if not a very elegant, +stove. Later on the cook found that he could bake a sort of flat +bannock or scone on this stove, but he was seriously hampered for +want of yeast or baking-powder. +<p> +An attempt was next made to erect some sort of a galley to protect +the cook against the inclemencies of the weather. The party which +I had sent back under Wild to the ship returned with, amongst other +things, the wheel-house practically complete. This, with the +addition of some sails and tarpaulins stretched on spars, made a +very comfortable storehouse and galley. Pieces of planking from +the deck were lashed across some spars stuck upright into the snow, +and this, with the ship’s binnacle, formed an excellent look-out +from which to look for seals and penguins. On this platform, too, +a mast was erected from which flew the King’s flag and the Royal +Clyde Yacht Club burgee. +<p> +I made a strict inventory of all the food in our possession, +weights being roughly determined with a simple balance made from +a piece of wood and some string, the counter-weight being a 60-lb. +box of provisions. +<p> +The dog teams went off to the wreck early each morning under Wild, +and the men made every effort to rescue as much as possible from +the ship. This was an extremely difficult task as the whole of +the deck forward was under a foot of water on the port side, and +nearly three feet on the starboard side. However, they managed +to collect large quantities of wood and ropes and some few cases +of provisions. Although the galley was under water, Bakewell +managed to secure three or four saucepans, which later proved +invaluable acquisitions. Quite a number of boxes of flour, etc., +had been stowed in a cabin in the hold, and these we had been +unable to get out before we left the ship. Having, therefore, +determined as nearly as possible that portion of the deck +immediately above these cases, we proceeded to cut a hole with +large ice-chisels through the 3-in. planking of which it was +formed. As the ship at this spot was under 5 ft. of water and +ice, it was not an easy job. However, we succeeded in making +the hole sufficiently large to allow of some few cases to come +floating up. These were greeted with great satisfaction, and +later on, as we warmed to our work, other cases, whose upward +progress was assisted with a boat-hook, were greeted with either +cheers or groans according to whether they contained farinaceous +food or merely luxuries such as jellies. For each man by now +had a good idea of the calorific value and nutritive and +sustaining qualities of the various foods. It had a personal +interest for us all. In this way we added to our scanty +stock between two and three tons of provisions, about half of +which was farinaceous food, such as flour and peas, of which we +were so short. This sounds a great deal, but at one pound per day +it would only last twenty-eight men for three months. Previous to +this I had reduced the food allowance to nine and a half ounces per +man per day. Now, however, it could be increased, and “this +afternoon, for the first time for ten days, we knew what it was to +be really satisfied.” +<p> +I had the sledges packed in readiness with the special sledging +rations in case of a sudden move, and with the other food, allowing +also for prospective seals and penguins, I calculated a dietary +to give the utmost possible variety and yet to use our precious +stock of flour in the most economical manner. All seals and +penguins that appeared anywhere within the vicinity of the camp +were killed to provide food and fuel. The dog-pemmican we also +added to our own larder, feeding the dogs on the seals which we +caught, after removing such portions as were necessary for our +own needs. We were rather short of crockery, but small pieces +of venesta-wood served admirably as plates for seal steaks; stews +and liquids of all sorts were served in the aluminium sledging-mugs, +of which each man had one. Later on, jelly-tins and +biscuit-tin lids were pressed into service. +<p> +Monotony in the meals, even considering the circumstances in +which we found ourselves, was what I was striving to avoid, so +our little stock of luxuries, such as fish-paste, tinned herrings, +etc., was carefully husbanded and so distributed as to last as +long as possible. My efforts were not in vain, as one man states +in his diary: “It must be admitted that we are feeding very well +indeed, considering our position. Each meal consists of one course +and a beverage. The dried vegetables, if any, all go into the same +pot as the meat, and every dish is a sort of hash or stew, be it +ham or seal meat or half and half. The fact that we only have two +pots available places restrictions upon the number of things that +can be cooked at one time, but in spite of the limitation of +facilities, we always seem to manage to get just enough. The +milk-powder and sugar are necessarily boiled with the tea or cocoa. +<p> +“We are, of course, very short of the farinaceous element in our +diet, and consequently have a mild craving for more of it. Bread +is out of the question, and as we are husbanding the remaining +cases of our biscuits for our prospective boat journey, we are +eking out the supply of flour by making bannocks, of which we +have from three to four each day. These bannocks are made from +flour, fat, water, salt, and a little baking-powder, the dough +being rolled out into flat rounds and baked in about ten minutes on +a hot sheet of iron over the fire. Each bannock weighs about one +and a half to two ounces, and we are indeed lucky to be able to +produce them.” +<p> +A few boxes of army biscuits soaked with sea-water were +distributed at one meal. They were in such a state that they +would not have been looked at a second time under ordinary +circumstances, but to us on a floating lump of ice, over three +hundred miles from land, and that quite hypothetical, and with the +unplumbed sea beneath us, they were luxuries indeed. Wild’s tent +made a pudding of theirs with some dripping. +<p> +Although keeping in mind the necessity for strict economy with +our scanty store of food, I knew how important it was to keep the +men cheerful, and that the depression occasioned by our +surroundings and our precarious position could to some extent be +alleviated by increasing the rations, at least until we were more +accustomed to our new mode of life. That this was successful is +shown in their diaries. +<p> +“Day by day goes by much the same as one another. We work; we +talk; we eat. Ah, how we eat! No longer on short rations, we are +a trifle more exacting than we were when we first commenced our +‘simple life,’ but by comparison with home standards we are +positive barbarians, and our gastronomic rapacity knows no bounds. +<p> +“All is eaten that comes to each tent, and everything is most +carefully and accurately divided into as many equal portions as +there are men in the tent. One member then closes his eyes or +turns his head away and calls out the names at random, as the cook +for the day points to each portion, saying at the same +time, ‘Whose?’ +<p> +“Partiality, however unintentional it may be, is thus entirely +obviated and every one feels satisfied that all is fair, even +though one may look a little enviously at the next man’s helping, +which differs in some especially appreciated detail from one’s +own. We break the Tenth Commandment energetically, but as we are +all in the same boat in this respect, no one says a word. We +understand each other’s feelings quite sympathetically. +<p> +“It is just like school-days over again, and very jolly it is too, +for the time being!” +<p> +Later on, as the prospect of wintering in the pack became more +apparent, the rations had to be considerably reduced. By that +time, however, everybody had become more accustomed to the idea +and took it quite as a matter of course. +<p> +Our meals now consisted in the main of a fairly generous helping +of seal or penguin, either boiled or fried. As one man wrote: +<p> +“We are now having enough to eat, but not by any means too much; +and every one is always hungry enough to eat every scrap he can +get. Meals are invariably taken very seriously, and little +talking is done till the hoosh is finished.” +<p> +Our tents made somewhat cramped quarters, especially during +meal-times. +<p> +“Living in a tent without any furniture requires a little getting +used to. For our meals we have to sit on the floor, and it is +surprising how awkward it is to eat in such a position; it is +better by far to kneel and sit back on one’s heels, as do the +Japanese.” +<p> +Each man took it in turn to be the tent “cook” for one day, +and one writes: +<p> +“The word ‘cook’ is at present rather a misnomer, for whilst we +have a permanent galley no cooking need be done in the tent. +<p> +“Really, all that the tent cook has to do is to take his two +hoosh-pots over to the galley and convey the hoosh and the +beverage to the tent, clearing up after each meal and washing up +the two pots and the mugs. There are no spoons, etc., to wash, for +we each keep our own spoon and pocket-knife in our pockets. We +just lick them as clean as possible and replace them in our pockets +after each meal. +<p> +“Our spoons are one of our indispensable possessions here. +To lose one’s spoon would be almost as serious as it is for an +edentate person to lose his set of false teeth.” +<p> +During all this time the supply of seals and penguins, if not +inexhaustible, was always sufficient for our needs. +<p> +Seal- and penguin-hunting was our daily occupation, and parties +were sent out in different directions to search among the hummocks +and the pressure-ridges for them. When one was found a signal was +hoisted, usually in the form of a scarf or a sock on a pole, and +an answering signal was hoisted at the camp. +<p> +Then Wild went out with a dog team to shoot and bring in the +game. To feed ourselves and the dogs, at least one seal a day was +required. The seals were mostly crab-eaters, and emperor penguins +were the general rule. On November 5, however, an adelie was +caught, and this was the cause of much discussion, as the following +extract shows: “The man on watch from 3 a.m. to 4 a.m. caught +an adelie penguin. This is the first of its kind that we have seen +since January last, and it may mean a lot. It may signify that +there is land somewhere near us, or else that great leads are +opening up, but it is impossible to form more than a mere +conjecture at present.” +<p> +No skuas, Antarctic petrels, or sea-leopards were seen during our +two months’ stay at Ocean Camp. +<p> +In addition to the daily hunt for food, our time was passed in +reading the few books that we had managed to save from the ship. +The greatest treasure in the library was a portion of the +“Encyclopaedia Britannica.” This was being continually used +to settle the inevitable arguments that would arise. The sailors +were discovered one day engaged in a very heated discussion on +the subject of <i>Money and Exchange</i>. They finally came to the +conclusion that the Encyclopaedia, since it did not coincide with +their views, must be wrong. +<p> +“For descriptions of every American town that ever has been, is, +or ever will be, and for full and complete biographies of every +American statesman since the time of George Washington and long +before, the Encyclopaedia would be hard to beat. Owing to our +shortage of matches we have been driven to use it for purposes +other than the purely literary ones though; and one genius +having discovered that the paper, used for its pages had been +impregnated with saltpetre, we can now thoroughly recommend it +as a very efficient pipe-lighter.” +<p> +We also possessed a few books on Antarctic exploration, a copy of +Browning and one of “The Ancient Mariner.” On reading the latter, +we sympathized with him and wondered what he had done with the +albatross; it would have made a very welcome addition to our +larder. +<p> +The two subjects of most interest to us were our rate of drift +and the weather. Worsley took observations of the sun whenever +possible, and his results showed conclusively that the drift of +our floe was almost entirely dependent upon the winds and not much +affected by currents. Our hope, of course, was to drift +northwards to the edge of the pack and then, when the ice was +loose enough, to take to the boats and row to the nearest land. +We started off in fine style, drifting north about twenty miles +in two or three days in a howling south-westerly blizzard. +Gradually, however, we slowed up, as successive observations showed, +until we began to drift back to the south. An increasing north-easterly +wind, which commenced on November 7 and lasted for twelve +days, damped our spirits for a time, until we found that we had +only drifted back to the south three miles, so that we were now +seventeen miles to the good. This tended to reassure us in our +theories that the ice of the Weddell Sea was drifting round in +a clockwise direction, and that if we could stay on our piece +long enough we must eventually be taken up to the north, where +lay the open sea and the path to comparative safety. +<p> +The ice was not moving fast enough to be noticeable. In fact, +the only way in which we could prove that we were moving at all +was by noting the change of relative positions of the bergs around +us, and, more definitely, by fixing our absolute latitude and +longitude by observations of the sun. Otherwise, as far as +actual visible drift was concerned, we might have been on dry +land. +<p> +For the next few days we made good progress, drifting seven miles +to the north on November 24 and another seven miles in the next +forty-eight hours. We were all very pleased to know that although +the wind was mainly south-west all this time, yet we had made very +little easting. The land lay to the west, so had we drifted to +the east we should have been taken right away to the centre of the +entrance to the Weddell Sea, and our chances of finally reaching +land would have been considerably lessened. +<p> +Our average rate of drift was slow, and many and varied were the +calculations as to when we should reach the pack-edge. On December +12, 1915, one man wrote: “Once across the Antarctic Circle, it +will seem as if we are practically halfway home again; and it is +just possible that with favourable winds we may cross the circle +before the New Year. A drift of only three miles a day would do +it, and we have often done that and more for periods of three or +four weeks. +<p> +“We are now only 250 miles from Paulet Island, but too much to +the east of it. We are approaching the latitudes in which we were +at this time last year, on our way down. The ship left South +Georgia just a year and a week ago, and reached this latitude four +or five miles to the eastward of our present position on January +3, 1915, crossing the circle on New Year’s Eve.” +<p> +Thus, after a year’s incessant battle with the ice, we had +returned, by many strange turns of fortune’s wheel, to almost +identically the same latitude that we had left with such high +hopes and aspirations twelve months previously; but under what +different conditions now! Our ship crushed and lost, and we +ourselves drifting on a piece of ice at the mercy of the winds. +However, in spite of occasional setbacks due to unfavourable winds, +our drift was in the main very satisfactory, and this went a long +way towards keeping the men cheerful. +<p> +As the drift was mostly affected by the winds, the weather was +closely watched by all, and Hussey, the meteorologist, was called +upon to make forecasts every four hours, and some times more +frequently than that. A meteorological screen, containing +thermometers and a barograph, had been erected on a post frozen +into the ice, and observations were taken every four hours. When +we first left the ship the weather was cold and miserable, and +altogether as unpropitious as it could possibly have been for our +attempted march. Our first few days at Ocean Camp were passed +under much the same conditions. At nights the temperature dropped +to zero, with blinding snow and drift. One-hour watches were +instituted, all hands taking their turn, and in such weather +this job was no sinecure. The watchman had to be continually +on the alert for cracks in the ice, or any sudden changes in +the ice conditions, and also had to keep his eye on the dogs, +who often became restless, fretful, and quarrelsome in the +early hours of the morning. At the end of his hour he was +very glad to crawl back into the comparative warmth of +his frozen sleeping-bag. +<p> +On November 6 a dull, overcast day developed into a howling +blizzard from the south-west, with snow and low drift. Only those +who were compelled left the shelter of their tent. Deep drifts +formed everywhere, burying sledges and provisions to a depth of +two feet, and the snow piling up round the tents threatened to +burst the thin fabric. The fine drift found its way in through +the ventilator of the tent, which was accordingly plugged up with +a spare sock. +<p> +This lasted for two days, when one man wrote: “The blizzard +continued through the morning, but cleared towards noon, and it +was a beautiful evening; but we would far rather have the screeching +blizzard with its searching drift and cold damp wind, for we +drifted about eleven miles to the north during the night.” +<p> +For four days the fine weather continued, with gloriously warm, +bright sun, but cold when standing still or in the shade. The +temperature usually dropped below zero, but every opportunity +was taken during these fine, sunny days to partially dry +our sleeping-bags and other gear, which had become sodden through +our body-heat having thawed the snow which had drifted in on to +them during the blizzard. The bright sun seemed to put new heart +into all. +<p> +The next day brought a north-easterly wind with the very high +temperature of 27° Fahr.—only 5° below freezing. +“These high temperatures do not always represent the warmth which +might be assumed from the thermometrical readings. They usually +bring dull, overcast skies, with a raw, muggy, moisture-laden wind. +The winds from the south, though colder, are nearly always coincident +with sunny days and clear blue skies.” +<p> +The temperature still continued to rise, reaching 33° Fahr. +on November 14. The thaw consequent upon these high temperatures +was having a disastrous effect upon the surface of our camp. “The +surface is awful!—not slushy, but elusive. You step out +gingerly. All is well for a few paces, then your foot suddenly +sinks a couple of feet until it comes to a hard layer. You wade +along in this way step by step, like a mudlark at Portsmouth +Hard, hoping gradually to regain the surface. Soon you do, only +to repeat the exasperating performance <i>ad lib</i>., to the +accompaniment of all the expletives that you can bring to bear on +the subject. What actually happens is that the warm air melts the +surface sufficiently to cause drops of water to trickle down +slightly, where, on meeting colder layers of snow, they freeze +again, forming a honeycomb of icy nodules instead of the soft, +powdery, granular snow that we are accustomed to.” +<p> +These high temperatures persisted for some days, and when, as +occasionally happened, the sky was clear and the sun was shining +it was unbearably hot. Five men who were sent to fetch some gear +from the vicinity of the ship with a sledge marched in nothing but +trousers and singlet, and even then were very hot; in fact they +were afraid of getting sunstroke, so let down flaps from their caps +to cover their necks. Their sleeves were rolled up over their +elbows, and their arms were red and sunburnt in consequence. +The temperature on this occasion was 26° Fahr., or 6° +below freezing. For five or six days more the sun continued, and +most of our clothes and sleeping-bags were now comparatively dry. +A wretched day with rainy sleet set in on November 21, but one +could put up with this discomfort as the wind was now from the +south. +<p> +The wind veered later to the west, and the sun came out at 9 p.m. +For at this time, near the end of November, we had the midnight +sun. “A thrice-blessed southerly wind” soon arrived to cheer us +all, occasioning the following remarks in one of the diaries: +<p> +“To-day is the most beautiful day we have had in the Antarctic—a +clear sky, a gentle, warm breeze from the south, and the most +brilliant sunshine. We all took advantage of it to strike tents, +clean out, and generally dry and air ground-sheets and sleeping-bags.” +<p> +I was up early—4 a.m.—to keep watch, and the sight was indeed +magnificent. Spread out before one was an extensive panorama of +ice-fields, intersected here and there by small broken leads, +and dotted with numerous noble bergs, partly bathed in sunshine +and partly tinged with the grey shadows of an overcast sky. +<p> +As one watched one observed a distinct line of demarcation between +the sunshine and the shade, and this line gradually approached +nearer and nearer, lighting up the hummocky relief of the ice-field +bit by bit, until at last it reached us, and threw the whole camp +into a blaze of glorious sunshine which lasted nearly all day. +<p> +“This afternoon we were treated to one or two showers of hail-like +snow. Yesterday we also had a rare form of snow, or, rather, +precipitation of ice-spicules, exactly like little hairs, about a +third of an inch long. +<p> +“The warmth in the tents at lunch-time was so great that we had +all the side-flaps up for ventilation, but it is a treat to get +warm occasionally, and one can put up with a little stuffy +atmosphere now and again for the sake of it. The wind has +gone to the best quarter this evening, the south-east, and +is freshening.” +<p> +On these fine, clear, sunny days wonderful mirage effects could be +observed, just as occur over the desert. Huge bergs were +apparently resting on nothing, with a distinct gap between their +bases and the horizon; others were curiously distorted into all +sorts of weird and fantastic shapes, appearing to be many times +their proper height. Added to this, the pure glistening white of +the snow and ice made a picture which it is impossible adequately +to describe. +<p> +Later on, the freshening south-westerly wind brought mild, +overcast weather, probably due to the opening up of the pack in +that direction. +<p> +I had already made arrangements for a quick move in case of a +sudden break-up of the ice. Emergency orders were issued; each +man had his post allotted and his duty detailed; and the whole +was so organized that in less than five minutes from the sounding +of the alarm on my whistle, tents were struck, gear and provisions +packed, and the whole party was ready to move off. I now took a +final survey of the men to note their condition, both mental and +physical. For our time at Ocean Camp had not been one of unalloyed +bliss. The loss of the ship meant more to us than we could ever +put into words. After we had settled at Ocean Camp she still +remained nipped by the ice, only her stern showing and her bows +overridden and buried by the relentless pack. The tangled mass of +ropes, rigging, and spars made the scene even more desolate and +depressing. +<p> +It was with a feeling almost of relief that the end came. +<p> +“<i>November</i> 21, 1915.—This evening, as we were lying in our tents +we heard the Boss call out, ‘She’s going, boys!’ We were out in a +second and up on the look-out station and other points of vantage, +and, sure enough, there was our poor ship a mile and a half away +struggling in her death-agony. She went down bows first, her stern +raised in the air. She then gave one quick dive and the ice closed +over her for ever. It gave one a sickening sensation to see it, +for, mastless and useless as she was, she seemed to be a link with +the outer world. Without her our destitution seems more +emphasized, our desolation more complete. The loss of the ship +sent a slight wave of depression over the camp. No one said much, +but we cannot be blamed for feeling it in a sentimental way. It +seemed as if the moment of severance from many cherished associations, +many happy moments, even stirring incidents, had come as she silently +up-ended to find a last resting-place beneath the ice on which we +now stand. When one knows every little nook and corner of one’s +ship as we did, and has helped her time and again in the fight +that she made so well, the actual parting was not without its +pathos, quite apart from one’s own desolation, and I doubt if there +was one amongst us who did not feel some personal emotion when Sir +Ernest, standing on the top of the look-out, said somewhat sadly +and quietly, ‘She’s gone, boys.’ +<p> +“It must, however, be said that we did not give way to depression +for long, for soon every one was as cheery as usual. Laughter +rang out from the tents, and even the Boss had a passage-at-arms +with the storekeeper over the inadequacy of the sausage ration, +insisting that there should be two each ‘because they were such +little ones,’ instead of the one and a half that the latter +proposed.” +<p> +The psychological effect of a slight increase in the rations soon +neutralized any tendency to downheartedness, but with the high +temperatures surface-thaw set in, and our bags and clothes were +soaked and sodden. Our boots squelched as we walked, and we lived +in a state of perpetual wet feet. At nights, before the +temperature had fallen, clouds of steam could be seen rising from +our soaking bags and boots. During the night, as it grew colder, +this all condensed as rime on the inside of the tent, and showered +down upon us if one happened to touch the side inadvertently. One +had to be careful how one walked, too, as often only a thin crust +of ice and snow covered a hole in the floe, through which many an +unwary member went in up to his waist. These perpetual soakings, +however, seemed to have had little lasting effect, or perhaps it +was not apparent owing to the excitement of the prospect of an +early release. +<p> +A north-westerly wind on December 7 and 8 retarded our progress +somewhat, but I had reason to believe that it would help to open +the ice and form leads through which we might escape to open water. +So I ordered a practice launching of the boats and stowage of food +and stores in them. This was very satisfactory. We cut a slipway +from our floe into a lead which ran alongside, and the boats took +the water “like a bird,” as one sailor remarked. Our hopes were +high in anticipation of an early release. A blizzard sprang up, +increasing the next day and burying tents and packing-cases in the +drift. On December 12 it had moderated somewhat and veered to the +south-east, and the next day the blizzard had ceased, but a good +steady wind from south and south-west continued to blow us north. +<p> +“<i>December</i> 15, 1915.—The continuance of southerly winds is +exceeding our best hopes, and raising our spirits in proportion. +Prospects could not be brighter than they are just now. The +environs of our floe are continually changing. Some days we are +almost surrounded by small open leads, preventing us from crossing +over to the adjacent floes.” +<p> +After two more days our fortune changed, and a strong north-easterly +wind brought “a beastly cold, windy day” and drove us back three +and a quarter miles. Soon, however, the wind once more veered to +the south and south-west. These high temperatures, combined with +the strong changeable winds that we had had of late, led me to +conclude that the ice all around us was rotting and breaking up +and that the moment of our deliverance from the icy maw of the +Antarctic was at hand. +<p> +On December 20, after discussing the question with Wild, I +informed all hands that I intended to try and make a march to +the west to reduce the distance between us and Paulet Island. +A buzz of pleasurable anticipation went round the camp, and every +one was anxious to get on the move. So the next day I set off +with Wild, Crean, and Hurley, with dog teams, to the westward to +survey the route. After travelling about seven miles we mounted +a small berg, and there as far as we could see stretched a series +of immense flat floes from half a mile to a mile across, separated +from each other by pressure-ridges which seemed easily negotiable +with pick and shovel. The only place that appeared likely to be +formidable was a very much cracked-up area between the old floe +that we were on and the first of the series of young flat floes +about half a mile away. +<p> +December 22 was therefore kept as Christmas Day, and most of our +small remaining stock of luxuries was consumed at the Christmas +feast. We could not carry it all with us, so for the last time +for eight months we had a really good meal—as much as we could +eat. Anchovies in oil, baked beans, and jugged hare made a +glorious mixture such as we have not dreamed of since our +school-days. Everybody was working at high pressure, packing and +repacking sledges and stowing what provisions we were going to take +with us in the various sacks and boxes. As I looked round at the +eager faces of the men I could not but hope that this time the +fates would be kinder to us than in our last attempt to march +across the ice to safety.<br><br> +<hr> +<center><h2><a name="6">CHAPTER VI</a></h2><h2>THE MARCH BETWEEN</h2></center> +<p><br> +With the exception of the night-watchman we turned in at 11 p.m., +and at 3 a.m. on December 23 all hands were roused for the purpose +of sledging the two boats, the <i>James Caird</i> and the <i>Dudley Docker</i>, +over the dangerously cracked portion to the first of the young +floes, whilst the surface still held its night crust. A thick +sea-fog came up from the west, so we started off finally at +4.30 a.m., after a drink of hot coffee. +<p> +Practically all hands had to be harnessed to each boat in +succession, and by dint of much careful manipulation and +tortuous courses amongst the broken ice we got both safely +over the danger-zone. +<p> +We then returned to Ocean Camp for the tents and the rest of the +sledges, and pitched camp by the boats about one and a quarter +miles off. On the way back a big seal was caught which provided +fresh food for ourselves and for the dogs. On arrival at the camp +a supper of cold tinned mutton and tea was served, and everybody +turned in at 2 p.m. It was my intention to sleep by day and +march by night, so as to take advantage of the slightly lower +temperatures and consequent harder surfaces. +<p> +At 8 p.m. the men were roused, and after a meal of cold mutton and +tea, the march was resumed. A large open lead brought us to a halt +at 11 p.m., whereupon we camped and turned in without a meal. +Fortunately just at this time the weather was fine and warm. +Several men slept out in the open at the beginning of the march. +One night, however, a slight snow-shower came on, succeeded +immediately by a lowering of the temperature. Worsley, who had +hung up his trousers and socks on a boat, found them iced-up and +stiff; and it was quite a painful process for him to dress +quickly that morning. I was anxious, now that we had started, +that we should make every effort to extricate ourselves, and +this temporary check so early was rather annoying. So that +afternoon Wild and I ski-ed out to the crack and found that +it had closed up again. We marked out the track with small +flags as we returned. Each day, after all hands had turned +in, Wild and I would go ahead for two miles or so to reconnoitre +the next day’s route, marking it with pieces of wood, tins, +and small flags. We had to pick the road which though it +might be somewhat devious, was flattest and had least hummocks. +Pressure-ridges had to be skirted, and where this was not +possible the best place to make a bridge of ice-blocks +across the lead or over the ridge had to be found and marked. +It was the duty of the dog-drivers to thus prepare the track +for those who were toiling behind with the heavy boats. +These boats were hauled in relays, about sixty yards at a +time. I did not wish them to be separated by too great a +distance in case the ice should crack between them, and we +should be unable to reach the one that was in rear. Every +twenty yards or so they had to stop for a rest and to take +breath, and it was a welcome sight to them to see the canvas +screen go up on some oars, which denoted the fact that the +cook had started preparing a meal, and that a temporary +halt, at any rate, was going to be made. Thus the ground +had to be traversed three times by the boat-hauling party. +The dog-sledges all made two, and some of them three, relays. +The dogs were wonderful. Without them we could never have +transported half the food and gear that we did. +<p> +We turned in at 7 p.m. that night, and at 1 a.m. next day, the +25th, and the third day of our march, a breakfast of sledging +ration was served. By 2 a.m. we were on the march again. We +wished one another a merry Christmas, and our thoughts went back +to those at home. We wondered, too, that day, as we sat down to +our “lunch” of stale, thin bannock and a mug of thin cocoa, +what they were having at home. +<p> +All hands were very cheerful. The prospect of a relief from the +monotony of life on the floe raised all our spirits. One man +wrote in his diary: “It’s a hard, rough, jolly life, this +marching and camping; no washing of self or dishes, no undressing, +no changing of clothes. We have our food anyhow, and always +impregnated with blubber-smoke; sleeping almost on the bare snow +and working as hard as the human physique is capable of doing +on a minimum of food.” +<p> +We marched on, with one halt at 6 a.m., till half-past eleven. +After a supper of seal steaks and tea we turned in. The surface +now was pretty bad. High temperatures during the day made the +upper layers of snow very soft, and the thin crust which formed at +night was not sufficient to support a man. Consequently, at each +step we went in over our knees in the soft wet snow. Sometimes a +man would step into a hole in the ice which was hidden by the +covering of snow, and be pulled up with a jerk by his harness. +The sun was very hot and many were suffering from cracked lips. +<p> +Two seals were killed to-day. Wild and McIlroy, who went out +to secure them, had rather an exciting time on some very loose, +rotten ice, three killer-whales in a lead a few yards away poking +up their ugly heads as if in anticipation of a feast. +<p> +Next day, December 26, we started off again at 1 a.m. “The +surface was much better than it has been for the last few days, +and this is the principal thing that matters. The route, however, +lay over very hummocky floes, and required much work with pick and +shovel to make it passable for the boat-sledges. These are +handled in relays by eighteen men under Worsley. It is killing +work on soft surfaces.” +<p> +At 5 a.m. we were brought up by a wide open lead after an +unsatisfactorily short march. While we waited, a meal of tea and +two small bannocks was served, but as 10 a.m. came and there were +no signs of the lead closing we all turned in. +<p> +It snowed a little during the day and those who were sleeping +outside got their sleeping-bags pretty wet. +<p> +At 9.30 p.m. that night we were off again. I was, as usual, +pioneering in front, followed by the cook and his mate pulling +a small sledge with the stove and all the cooking gear on. These +two, black as two Mohawk Minstrels with the blubber-soot, were +dubbed “Potash and Perlmutter.” Next come the dog teams, who +soon overtake the cook, and the two boats bring up the rear. +Were it not for these cumbrous boats we should get along at a +great rate, but we dare not abandon them on any account. As it +is we left one boat, the <i>Stancomb Wills</i>, behind at Ocean Camp, +and the remaining two will barely accommodate the whole party +when we leave the floe. +<p> +We did a good march of one and a half miles that night before we +halted for “lunch” at 1 a.m., and then on for another mile, when +at 5 a.m. we camped by a little sloping berg. +<p> +Blackie, one of Wild’s dogs, fell lame and could neither pull nor +keep up with the party even when relieved of his harness, so had +to be shot. +<p> +Nine p.m. that night, the 27th, saw us on the march again. The +first 200 yds. took us about five hours to cross, owing to the +amount of breaking down of pressure-ridges and filling in of leads +that was required. The surface, too, was now very soft, so our +progress was slow and tiring. We managed to get another three-quarters +of a mile before lunch, and a further mile due west +over a very hummocky floe before we camped at 5.30 a.m. +Greenstreet and Macklin killed and brought in a huge Weddell seal +weighing about 800 lbs., and two emperor penguins made a welcome +addition to our larder. +<p> +I climbed a small tilted berg nearby. The country immediately +ahead was much broken up. Great open leads intersected the floes +at all angles, and it all looked very unpromising. Wild and I +went out prospecting as usual, but it seemed too broken to travel +over. +<p> +“<i>December</i> 29.—After a further reconnaissance the ice ahead proved +quite un-negotiable, so at 8.30 p.m. last night, to the intense +disappointment of all, instead of forging ahead, we had to retire +half a mile so as to get on a stronger floe, and by 10 p.m. we +had camped and all hands turned in again. The extra sleep was much +needed, however disheartening the check may be.” +<p> +During the night a crack formed right across the floe, so we +hurriedly shifted to a strong old floe about a mile and a half to +the east of our present position. The ice all around was now too +broken and soft to sledge over, and yet there was not sufficient +open water to allow us to launch the boats with any degree of +safety. We had been on the march for seven days; rations were +short and the men were weak. They were worn out with the hard +pulling over soft surfaces, and our stock of sledging food was +very small. We had marched seven and a half miles in a direct +line and at this rate it would take us over three hundred days +to reach the land away to the west. As we only had food for +forty-two days there was no alternative, therefore, but to camp +once more on the floe and to possess our souls with what patience +we could till conditions should appear more favourable for a +renewal of the attempt to escape. To this end, we stacked our +surplus provisions, the reserve sledging rations being kept lashed +on the sledges, and brought what gear we could from our but lately +deserted Ocean Camp. +<p> +Our new home, which we were to occupy for nearly three and a half +months, we called “Patience Camp.”<br><br> +<hr> +<center><h2><a name="7">CHAPTER VII</a></h2><h2>PATIENCE CAMP</h2></center> +<p><br> +The apathy which seemed to take possession of some of the men at +the frustration of their hopes was soon dispelled. Parties were +sent out daily in different directions to look for seals and +penguins. We had left, other than reserve sledging rations, +about 110 lbs. of pemmican, including the dog-pemmican, and 300 lbs. +of flour. In addition there was a little tea, sugar, dried +vegetables, and suet. I sent Hurley and Macklin to Ocean Camp +to bring back the food that we had had to leave there. They +returned with quite a good load, including 130 lbs. of dry milk, +about 50 lbs. each of dog-pemmican and jam, and a few tins of +potted meats. When they were about a mile and a half away +their voices were quite audible to us at Ocean Camp, so still +was the air. +<p> +We were, of course, very short of the farinaceous element in +our diet. The flour would last ten weeks. After that our +sledging rations would last us less than three months. Our +meals had to consist mainly of seal and penguin; and though this +was valuable as an anti-scorbutic, so much so that not a single +case of scurvy occurred amongst the party, yet it was a badly +adjusted diet, and we felt rather weak and enervated in consequence. +<p> +“The cook deserves much praise for the way he has stuck to +his job through all this severe blizzard. His galley consists +of nothing but a few boxes arranged as a table, with a canvas +screen erected around them on four oars and the two blubber-stoves +within. The protection afforded by the screen is only partial, +and the eddies drive the pungent blubber-smoke in all directions.” +<p> +After a few days we were able to build him an igloo of ice-blocks, +with a tarpaulin over the top as a roof. +<p> +“Our rations are just sufficient to keep us alive, but we all +feel that we could eat twice as much as we get. An average day’s +food at present consists of ½ lb. of seal with ¾ pint of tea for +breakfast, a 4-oz. bannock with milk for lunch, and ¾ pint of seal +stew for supper. That is barely enough, even doing very little +work as we are, for of course we are completely destitute of bread +or potatoes or anything of that sort. Some seem to feel it more +than others and are continually talking of food; but most of us +find that the continual conversation about food only whets an +appetite that cannot be satisfied. Our craving for bread and +butter is very real, not because we cannot get it, but because +the system feels the need of it.” +<p> +Owing to this shortage of food and the fact that we needed all that +we could get for ourselves, I had to order all the dogs except two +teams to be shot. It was the worst job that we had had throughout +the Expedition, and we felt their loss keenly. +<p> +I had to be continually rearranging the weekly menu. The +possible number of permutations of seal meat were decidedly +limited. The fact that the men did not know what was coming gave +them a sort of mental speculation, and the slightest variation was +of great value. +<p> +“We caught an adelie to-day (January 26) and another whale was +seen at close quarters, but no seals. +<p> +“We are now very short of blubber, and in consequence one stove +has to be shut down. We only get one hot beverage a day, the tea +at breakfast. For the rest we have iced water. Sometimes we are +short even of this, so we take a few chips of ice in a tobacco-tin +to bed with us. In the morning there is about a spoonful of water +in the tin, and one has to lie very still all night so as not to +spill it.” +<p> +To provide some variety in the food, I commenced to use the +sledging ration at half strength twice a week. +<p> +The ice between us and Ocean Camp, now only about five miles away and +actually to the south-west of us, was very broken, but I decided to +send Macklin and Hurley back with their dogs to see if there was any +more food that could be added to our scanty stock. I gave them +written instructions to take no undue risk or cross any wide-open +leads, and said that they were to return by midday the next day. +Although they both fell through the thin ice up to their waists more +than once, they managed to reach the camp. They found the surface +soft and sunk about two feet. Ocean Camp, they said, “looked like a +village that had been razed to the ground and deserted by its +inhabitants.” The floor-boards forming the old tent-bottoms had +prevented the sun from thawing the snow directly underneath them, and +were in consequence raised about two feet above the level of the +surrounding floe. +<p> +The storehouse next the galley had taken on a list of several +degrees to starboard, and pools of water had formed everywhere. +They collected what food they could find and packed a few books +in a venesta sledging-case, returning to Patience Camp by about +8 p.m. I was pleased at their quick return, and as their report +seemed to show that the road was favourable, on February 2 I sent +back eighteen men under Wild to bring all the remainder of the food +and the third boat, the <i>Stancomb Wills</i>. They started off at +1 a.m., towing the empty boat-sledge on which the <i>James Caird</i> had +rested, and reached Ocean Camp about 3.30 a.m. +<p> +“We stayed about three hours at the Camp, mounting the boat on the +sledge, collecting eatables, clothing, and books. We left at 6 +a.m., arriving back at Patience Camp with the boat at 12.30 p.m., +taking exactly three times as long to return with the boat as it +did to pull in the empty sledge to fetch it. On the return +journey we had numerous halts while the pioneer party of four +were busy breaking down pressure-ridges and filling in open +cracks with ice-blocks, as the leads were opening up. The sun +had softened the surface a good deal, and in places it was +terribly hard pulling. Every one was a bit exhausted by the +time we got back, as we are not now in good training and are +on short rations. Every now and then the heavy sledge broke +through the ice altogether and was practically afloat. We +had an awful job to extricate it, exhausted as we were. +The longest distance which we managed to make without stopping +for leads or pressure-ridges was about three quarters of a mile. +<p> +“About a mile from Patience Camp we had a welcome surprise. +Sir Ernest and Hussey sledged out to meet us with dixies of hot +tea, well wrapped up to keep them warm. +<p> +“One or two of the men left behind had cut a moderately good track +for us into the camp, and they harnessed themselves up with us, +and we got in in fine style. +<p> +“One excellent result of our trip was the recovery of two cases +of lentils weighing 42 lbs. each.” +<p> +The next day I sent Macklin and Crean back to make a further +selection of the gear, but they found that several leads had +opened up during the night, and they had to return when within +a mile and a half of their destination. We were never able to +reach Ocean Camp again. Still, there was very little left +there that would have been of use to us. +<p> +By the middle of February the blubber question was a serious one. +I had all the discarded seals’ heads and flippers dug up and +stripped of every vestige of blubber. Meat was very short too. +We still had our three months’ supply of sledging food +practically untouched; we were only to use this as a last +resort. We had a small supply of dog-pemmican, the dogs that +were left being fed on those parts of the seals that we could not +use. This dog-pemmican we fried in suet with a little flour and +made excellent bannocks. +<p> +Our meat supply was now very low indeed; we were reduced to just +a few scraps. Fortunately, however, we caught two seals and four +emperor penguins, and next day forty adelies. We had now only +forty days’ food left, and the lack of blubber was being keenly +felt. All our suet was used up, so we used seal-blubber to fry +the meat in. Once we were used to its fishy taste we enjoyed it; +in fact, like Oliver Twist, we wanted more. +<p> +On Leap Year day, February 29, we held a special celebration, +more to cheer the men up than for anything else. Some of the +cynics of the party held that it was to celebrate their escape +from woman’s wiles for another four years. The last of our +cocoa was used to-day. Henceforth water, with an occasional +drink of weak milk, is to be our only beverage. Three lumps +of sugar were now issued to each man daily. +<p> +One night one of the dogs broke loose and played havoc +with our precious stock of bannocks. He ate four and half of +a fifth before he could be stopped. The remaining half, with +the marks of the dog’s teeth on it, I gave to Worsley, who divided +it up amongst his seven tent-mates; they each received about half +a square inch. +<p> +Lees, who was in charge of the food and responsible for its +safe keeping, wrote in his diary: “The shorter the provisions the +more there is to do in the commissariat department, contriving to +eke out our slender stores as the weeks pass by. No housewife +ever had more to do than we have in making a little go a long way. +<p> +“Writing about the bannock that Peter bit makes one wish now that +one could have many a meal that one has given to the dog at home. +When one is hungry, fastidiousness goes to the winds and one is +only too glad to eat up any scraps regardless of their +antecedents. One is almost ashamed to write of all the titbits +one has picked up here, but it is enough to say that when the +cook upset some pemmican on to an old sooty cloth and threw it +outside his galley, one man subsequently made a point of acquiring +it and scraping off the palatable but dirty compound.” +<p> +Another man searched for over an hour in the snow where he had +dropped a piece of cheese some days before, in the hopes of +finding a few crumbs. He was rewarded by coming across a piece +as big as his thumb-nail, and considered it well worth the trouble. +<p> +By this time blubber was a regular article of our diet—either raw, +boiled, or fried. “It is remarkable how our appetites have +changed in this respect. Until quite recently almost the thought +of it was nauseating. Now, however, we positively demand it. +The thick black oil which is rendered down from it, rather like +train-oil in appearance and cod-liver oil in taste, we drink with +avidity.” +<p> +We had now about enough farinaceous food for two meals all round, +and sufficient seal to last for a month. Our forty days’ reserve +sledging rations, packed on the sledges, we wished to keep till +the last. +<p> +But, as one man philosophically remarked in his diary: +<p> +“It will do us all good to be hungry like this, for we will +appreciate so much more the good things when we get home.” +<p> +Seals and penguins now seemed to studiously avoid us, and on +taking stock of our provisions on March 21 I found that we had +only sufficient meat to last us for ten days, and the blubber +would not last that time even, so one biscuit had to be our +midday meal. +<p> +Our meals were now practically all seal meat, with one biscuit at +midday; and I calculated that at this rate, allowing for a certain +number of seals and penguins being caught, we could last for +nearly six months. We were all very weak though, and as soon as +it appeared likely that we should leave our floe and take to the +boats I should have to considerably increase the ration. One day +a huge sea-leopard climbed on to the floe and attacked one of the +men. Wild, hearing the shouting, ran out and shot it. When it was +cut up, we found in its stomach several undigested fish. These we +fried in some of its blubber, and so had our only “fresh” fish +meal during the whole of our drift on the ice. +<p> +“As fuel is so scarce we have had to resort to melting ice for +drinking-water in tins against our bodies, and we treat the tins +of dog-pemmican for breakfast similarly by keeping them in our +sleeping-bags all night. +<p> +“The last two teams of dogs were shot to-day (April 2) the +carcasses being dressed for food. We had some of the dog-meat +cooked, and it was not at all bad—just like beef, but, of course, +very tough.” +<p> +On April 5 we killed two seals, and this, with the sea-leopard +of a few days before, enabled us to slightly increase our ration. +Everybody now felt much happier; such is the psychological +effect of hunger appeased. +<p> +On cold days a few strips of raw blubber were served out to all +hands, and it is wonderful how it fortified us against the cold. +<p> +Our stock of forty days’ sledging rations remained practically +untouched, but once in the boats they were used at full strength. +<p> +When we first settled down at Patience Camp the weather was very +mild. New Year’s Eve, however, was foggy and overcast, with some +snow, and next day, though the temperature rose to 38° +Fahr., it was “abominably cold and wet underfoot.” As a rule, +during the first half of January the weather was comparatively +warm, so much so that we could dispense with our mitts and work +outside for quite long periods with bare hands. Up till the 13th +it was exasperatingly warm and calm. This meant that our drift +northwards, which was almost entirely dependent on the wind, was +checked. A light southerly breeze on the 16th raised all our +hopes, and as the temperature was dropping we were looking forward +to a period of favourable winds and a long drift north. +<p> +On the 18th it had developed into a howling south-westerly gale, +rising next day to a regular blizzard with much drift. No one +left the shelter of his tent except to feed the dogs, fetch the +meals from the galley for his tent, or when his turn as watchman +came round. For six days this lasted, when the drift subsided +somewhat, though the southerly wind continued, and we were able +to get a glimpse of the sun. This showed us to have drifted 84 +miles north in six days, the longest drift we had made. For weeks +we had remained on the 67th parallel, and it seemed as though some +obstruction was preventing us from passing it. By this amazing +leap, however, we had crossed the Antarctic Circle, and were now +146 miles from the nearest land to the west of us—Snow Hill—and +357 miles from the South Orkneys, the first land directly +to the north of us. +<p> +As if to make up for this, an equally strong north-easterly +wind sprang up next day, and not only stopped our northward +drift but set us back three miles to the south. As usual, +high temperatures and wet fog accompanied these northerly winds, +though the fog disappeared on the afternoon of January 25, and +we had the unusual spectacle of bright hot sun with a north-easterly +wind. It was as hot a day as we had ever had. +The temperature was 36° Fahr. in the shade and nearly +80° Fahr. inside the tents. This had an awful effect +on the surface, covering it with pools and making it very +treacherous to walk upon. Ten days of northerly winds rather +damped our spirits, but a strong southerly wind on February 4, +backing later, to south-east, carried us north again. High +temperatures and northerly winds soon succeeded this, so that +our average rate of northerly drift was about a mile a day +in February. Throughout the month the diaries record alternately +“a wet day, overcast and mild,” and “bright and cold with +light southerly winds.” The wind was now the vital factor +with us and the one topic of any real interest. +<p> +The beginning of March brought cold, damp, calm weather, with +much wet snow and overcast skies. The effect of the weather on +our mental state was very marked. All hands felt much more cheerful +on a bright sunny day, and looked forward with much more hope to +the future, than when it was dull and overcast. This had a much +greater effect than an increase in rations. +<p> +A south-easterly gale on the 13th lasting for five days sent us +twenty miles north, and from now our good fortune, as far as the +wind was concerned, never left us for any length of time. On the +20th we experienced the worst blizzard we had had up to that time, +though worse were to come after landing on Elephant Island. Thick +snow fell, making it impossible to see the camp from thirty yards +off. To go outside for a moment entailed getting covered all over +with fine powdery snow, which required a great deal of brushing +off before one could enter again. +<p> +As the blizzard eased up, the temperature dropped and it became +bitterly cold. In our weak condition, with torn, greasy clothes, +we felt these sudden variations in temperature much more than we +otherwise would have done. A calm, clear, magnificently warm day +followed, and next day came a strong southerly blizzard. Drifts +four feet deep covered everything, and we had to be continually +digging up our scanty stock of meat to prevent its being lost +altogether. We had taken advantage of the previous fine day to +attempt to thaw out our blankets, which were frozen stiff and could +be held out like pieces of sheet-iron; but on this day, and for +the next two or three also, it was impossible to do anything but +get right inside one’s frozen sleeping-bag to try and get warm. +Too cold to read or sew, we had to keep our hands well inside, +and pass the time in conversation with each other. +<p> +“The temperature was not strikingly low as temperatures go down +here, but the terrific winds penetrate the flimsy fabric of our +fragile tents and create so much draught that it is impossible +to keep warm within. At supper last night our drinking-water +froze over in the tin in the tent before we could drink it. +It is curious how thirsty we all are.” +<p> +Two days of brilliant warm sunshine succeeded these cold times, +and on March 29 we experienced, to us, the most amazing weather. +It began to rain hard, and it was the first rain that we had seen +since we left South Georgia sixteen months ago. We regarded, it +as our first touch with civilization, and many of the men longed +for the rain and fogs of London. +<p> +Strong south winds with dull, overcast skies and occasional high +temperatures were now our lot till April 7, when the mist lifted +and we could make out what appeared to be land to the north. +<p> +Although the general drift of our ice-floe had indicated to us that +we must eventually drift north, our progress in that direction was +not by any means uninterrupted. We were at the mercy of the wind, +and could no more control our drift than we could control the +weather. +<p> +A long spell of calm, still weather at the beginning of January +caused us some anxiety by keeping us at about the latitude that +we were in at the beginning of December. Towards the end of +January, however, a long drift of eighty-four miles in a blizzard +cheered us all up. This soon stopped and we began a slight drift +to the east. Our general drift now slowed up considerably, and by +February 22 we were still eighty miles from Paulet Island, +which now was our objective. There was a hut there and some stores +which had been taken down by the ship which went to the rescue of +Nordenskjold’s Expedition in 1904, and whose fitting out and +equipment I had charge of. We remarked amongst ourselves what a +strange turn of fate it would be if the very cases of provisions +which I had ordered and sent out so many years before were now to +support us during the coming winter. But this was not to be. +March 5 found us about forty miles south of the longitude of Paulet +Island, but well to the east of it; and as the ice was still too much +broken up to sledge over, it appeared as if we should be carried +past it. By March 17 we were exactly on a level with Paulet +Island but sixty miles to the east. It might have been six +hundred for all the chance that we had of reaching it by sledging +across the broken sea-ice in its present condition. +<p> +Our thoughts now turned to the Danger Islands, thirty-five miles +away. “It seems that we are likely to drift up and down this +coast from south-west to north-east and back again for some time +yet before we finally clear the point of Joinville Island; until +we do we cannot hope for much opening up, as the ice must be very +congested against the south-east coast of the island, otherwise +our failure to respond to the recent south-easterly gale cannot be +well accounted for. In support of this there has been some very +heavy pressure on the north-east side, of our floe, one immense +block being up-ended to a height of 25 ft. We saw a Dominican +gull fly over to-day, the first we have seen since leaving South +Georgia; it is another sign of our proximity to land. We cut +steps in this 25-ft. slab, and it makes a fine look-out. When +the weather clears we confidently expect to see land.” +<p> +A heavy blizzard obscured our view till March 23. “‘Land in +sight’ was reported this morning. We were sceptical, but this +afternoon it showed up unmistakably to the west, and there can be +no further doubt about it. It is Joinville Island, and its +serrated mountain ranges, all snow-clad, are just visible on the +horizon. This barren, inhospitable-looking land would be a haven +of refuge to us if we could but reach it. It would be ridiculous +to make the attempt though, with the ice all broken up as it is. +It is too loose and broken to march over, yet not open enough to +be able to launch the boats.” For the next two or three +days we saw ourselves slowly drifting past the land, longing to +reach it yet prevented from doing so by the ice between, and +towards the end of March we saw Mount Haddington fade away into +the distance. +<p> +Our hopes were now centred on Elephant Island or Clarence Island, +which lay 100 miles almost due north of us. +<p> +If we failed to reach either of them we might try for South +Georgia, but our chances of reaching it would be very small.<br><br> +<hr> +<center><h2><a name="8">CHAPTER VIII</a></h2><h2>ESCAPE FROM THE ICE</h2></center> +<p><br> +On April 7 at daylight the long-desired peak of Clarence Island +came into view, bearing nearly north from our camp. At first it +had the appearance of a huge berg, but with the growing light we +could see plainly the black lines of scree and the high, +precipitous cliffs of the island, which were miraged up to some +extent. The dark rocks in the white snow were a pleasant sight. +So long had our eyes looked on icebergs that apparently grew or +dwindled according to the angles at which the shadows were cast +by the sun; so often had we discovered rocky islands and brought +in sight the peaks of Joinville Land, only to find them, after +some change of wind or temperature, floating away as nebulous +cloud or ordinary berg; that not until Worsley, Wild, and Hurley +had unanimously confirmed my observation was I satisfied that +I was really looking at Clarence Island. The land was still +more than sixty miles away, but it had to our eyes something +of the appearance of home, since we expected to find there +our first solid footing after all the long months of drifting +on the unstable ice. We had adjusted ourselves to the life on +the floe, but our hopes had been fixed all the time on some +possible landing-place. As one hope failed to materialize, +our anticipations fed themselves on another. Our drifting home +had no rudder to guide it, no sail to give it speed. We were +dependent upon the caprice of wind and current; we went +whither those irresponsible forces listed. The longing to +feel solid earth under our feet filled our hearts. +<p> +In the full daylight Clarence Island ceased to look like land and +had the appearance of a berg of more than eight or ten miles away, +so deceptive are distances in the clear air of the Antarctic. +The sharp white peaks of Elephant Island showed to the west of +north a little later in the day. +<p> +“I have stopped issuing sugar now, and our meals consist of seal +meat and blubber only, with 7 ozs. of dried milk per day for the +party,” I wrote. “Each man receives a pinch of salt, and the +milk is boiled up to make hot drinks for all hands. The diet suits +us, since we cannot get much exercise on the floe and the blubber +supplies heat. Fried slices of blubber seem to our taste to +resemble crisp bacon. It certainly is no hardship to eat it, +though persons living under civilized conditions probably would +shudder at it. The hardship would come if we were unable to get +it.” +<p> +I think that the palate of the human animal can adjust itself to +anything. Some creatures will die before accepting a strange diet +if deprived of their natural food. The Yaks of the Himalayan +uplands must feed from the growing grass, scanty and dry though +it may be, and would starve even if allowed the best oats and corn. +<p> +“We still have the dark water-sky of the last week with us to the +south-west and west, round to the north-east. We are leaving all +the bergs to the west and there are few within our range of vision +now. The swell is more marked to-day, and I feel sure we are at +the verge of the floe-ice. One strong gale, followed by a calm +would scatter the pack, I think, and then we could push through. +I have been thinking much of our prospects. The appearance of +Clarence Island after our long drift seems, somehow, to convey an +ultimatum. The island is the last outpost of the south and our +final chance of a landing-place. Beyond it lies the broad Atlantic. +Our little boats may be compelled any day now to sail unsheltered +over the open sea with a thousand leagues of ocean separating +them from the land to the north and east. It seems vital that we +shall land on Clarence Island or its neighbour, Elephant Island. +The latter island has attraction for us, although as far as I +know nobody has ever landed there. Its name suggests the presence +of the plump and succulent sea-elephant. We have an increasing +desire in any case to get firm ground under our feet. The floe +has been a good friend to us, but it is reaching the end of its +journey, and it is liable at any time now to break up and fling +us into the unplumbed sea.” +<p> +A little later, after reviewing the whole situation in the +light of our circumstances, I made up my mind that we should try +to reach Deception Island. The relative positions of Clarence, +Elephant, and Deception Islands can be seen on the chart. The two +islands first named lay comparatively near to us and were separated +by some eighty miles of water from Prince George Island, which was +about 150 miles away from our camp on the berg. From this island +a chain of similar islands extends westward, terminating in +Deception Island. The channels separating these desolate patches +of rock and ice are from ten to fifteen miles wide. But we knew +from the Admiralty sailing directions that there were stores for +the use of shipwrecked mariners on Deception Island, and it was +possible that the summer whalers had not yet deserted its harbour. +Also we had learned from our scanty records that a small church +had been erected there for the benefit of the transient whalers. +The existence of this building would mean to us a supply of timber, +from which, if dire necessity urged us, we could construct a +reasonably seaworthy boat. We had discussed this point during our +drift on the floe. Two of our boats were fairly strong, but the +third, the <i>James Caird</i>, was light, although a little longer than +the others. All of them were small for the navigation of these +notoriously stormy seas, and they would be heavily loaded, so a +voyage in open water would be a serious undertaking. I fear +that the carpenter’s fingers were already itching to convert pews +into topsides and decks. In any case, the worst that could befall +us when we had reached Deception Island would be a wait until +the whalers returned about the middle of November. +<p> +Another bit of information gathered from the records of the west +side of the Weddell Sea related to Prince George Island. The +Admiralty “Sailing Directions,” referring to the South Shetlands, +mentioned a cave on this island. None of us had seen that cave +or could say if it was large or small, wet or dry; but as we +drifted on our floe and later, when navigating the treacherous +leads and making our uneasy night camps, that cave seemed to my +fancy to be a palace which in contrast would dim the splendours +of Versailles. +<p> +The swell increased that night and the movement of the ice +became more pronounced. Occasionally a neighbouring floe would +hammer against the ice on which we were camped, and the lesson +of these blows was plain to read. We must get solid ground +under our feet quickly. When the vibration ceased after a heavy +surge, my thoughts flew round to the problem ahead. If the party +had not numbered more than six men a solution would not have been +so hard to find; but obviously the transportation of the whole +party to a place of safety, with the limited means at our +disposal, was going to be a matter of extreme difficulty. +There were twenty-eight men on our floating cake of ice, which was +steadily dwindling under the influence of wind, weather, charging +floes, and heavy swell. I confess that I felt the burden of +responsibility sit heavily on my shoulders; but, on the other +hand, I was stimulated and cheered by the attitude of the men. +Loneliness is the penalty of leadership, but the man who has to +make the decisions is assisted greatly if he feels that there is +no uncertainty in the minds of those who follow him, and that +his orders will be carried out confidently and in expectation of +success. +<p> +The sun was shining in the blue sky on the following morning +(April 8). Clarence Island showed clearly on the horizon, and +Elephant Island could also be distinguished. The single snow-clad +peak of Clarence Island stood up as a beacon of safety, though +the most optimistic imagination could not make an easy path of the +ice and ocean that separated us from that giant, white and austere. +<p> +“The pack was much looser this morning, and the long rolling swell +from the north-east is more pronounced than it was yesterday. The +floes rise and fall with the surge of the sea. We evidently are +drifting with the surface current, for all the heavier masses of +floe, bergs, and hummocks are being left behind. There has been +some discussion in the camp as to the advisability of making one +of the bergs our home for the time being and drifting with it to +the west. The idea is not sound. I cannot be sure that the berg +would drift in the right direction. If it did move west and +carried us into the open water, what would be our fate when we +tried to launch the boats down the steep sides of the berg in +the sea-swell after the surrounding floes had left us? One must +reckon, too, the chance of the berg splitting or even overturning +during our stay. It is not possible to gauge the condition of a +big mass of ice by surface appearance. The ice may have a fault, +and when the wind, current, and swell set up strains and tensions, +the line of weakness may reveal itself suddenly and disastrously. +No, I do not like the idea of drifting on a berg. We must stay +on our floe till conditions improve and then make another attempt +to advance towards the land.” +<p> +At 6.30 p.m. a particularly heavy shock went through our floe. +The watchman and other members of the party made an immediate +inspection and found a crack right under the <i>James Caird</i> and +between the other two boats and the main camp. Within five minutes +the boats were over the crack and close to the tents. The trouble +was not caused by a blow from another floe. We could see that the +piece of ice we occupied had slewed and now presented its long axis +towards the oncoming swell. The floe, therefore, was pitching in +the manner of a ship, and it had cracked across when the swell +lifted the centre, leaving the two ends comparatively unsupported. +We were now on a triangular raft of ice, the three sides measuring, +roughly, 90, 100, and 120 yds. Night came down dull and overcast, +and before midnight the wind had freshened from the west. We could +see that the pack was opening under the influence of wind, wave, +and current, and I felt that the time for launching the boats was +near at hand. Indeed, it was obvious that even if the conditions +were unfavourable for a start during the coming day, we could not +safely stay on the floe many hours longer. The movement of the ice +in the swell was increasing, and the floe might split right under +our camp. We had made preparations for quick action if anything +of the kind occurred. Our case would be desperate if the ice +broke into small pieces not large enough to support our party +and not loose enough to permit the use of the boats. +<p> +The following day was Sunday (April 9), but it proved no day +of rest for us. Many of the important events of our Expedition +occurred on Sundays, and this particular day was to see our +forced departure from the floe on which we had lived for nearly +six months, and the start of our journeyings in the boats. +<p> +“This has been an eventful day. The morning was fine, though +somewhat overcast by stratus and cumulus clouds; moderate +south-south-westerly and south-easterly breezes. We hoped that +with this wind the ice would drift nearer to Clarence Island. +At 7 a.m. lanes of water and leads could be seen on the horizon +to the west. The ice separating us from the lanes was loose, but +did not appear to be workable for the boats. The long swell from +the north-west was coming in more freely than on the previous day +and was driving the floes together in the utmost confusion. +The loose brash between the masses of ice was being churned to +mudlike consistency, and no boat could have lived in the channels +that opened and closed around us. Our own floe was suffering in +the general disturbance, and after breakfast I ordered the tents +to be struck and everything prepared for an immediate start when +the boats could be launched.” +<p> +I had decided to take the <i>James Caird</i> myself, with Wild and eleven +men. This was the largest of our boats, and in addition to her +human complement she carried the major portion of the stores. +Worsley had charge of the <i>Dudley Docker</i> with nine men, and +Hudson and Crean were the senior men on the <i>Stancomb Wills</i>. +<p> +Soon after breakfast the ice closed again. We were standing by, +with our preparations as complete as they could be made, when at +11 a.m. our floe suddenly split right across under the boats. We +rushed our gear on to the larger of the two pieces and watched with +strained attention for the next development. The crack had cut +through the site of my tent. I stood on the edge of the new +fracture, and, looking across the widening channel of water, +could see the spot where for many months my head and shoulders +had rested when I was in my sleeping-bag. The depression formed +by my body and legs was on our side of the crack. The ice had +sunk under my weight during the months of waiting in the tent, +and I had many times put snow under the bag to fill the hollow. +The lines of stratification showed clearly the different layers +of snow. How fragile and precarious had been our resting-place! +Yet usage had dulled our sense of danger. The floe had become +our home, and during the early months of the drift we had almost +ceased to realize that it was but a sheet of ice floating on +unfathomed seas. Now our home was being shattered under our feet, +and we had a sense of loss and incompleteness hard to describe. +<p> +The fragments of our floe came together again a little later, +and we had our lunch of seal meat, all hands eating their fill. +I thought that a good meal would be the best possible preparation +for the journey that now seemed imminent, and as we would not +be able to take all our meat with us when we finally moved, we +could regard every pound eaten as a pound rescued. The call to +action came at 1 p.m. The pack opened well and the channels became +navigable. The conditions were not all one could have desired, but +it was best not to wait any longer. The <i>Dudley Docker</i> and the +<i>Stancomb Wills</i> were launched quickly. Stores were thrown in, +and the two boats were pulled clear of the immediate floes towards +a pool of open water three miles broad, in which floated a lone and +mighty berg. The <i>James Caird</i> was the last boat to leave, heavily +loaded with stores and odds and ends of camp equipment. Many things +regarded by us as essentials at that time were to be discarded a +little later as the pressure of the primitive became more severe. +Man can sustain life with very scanty means. The trappings of +civilization are soon cast aside in the face of stern realities, +and given the barest opportunity of winning food and shelter, +man can live and even find his laughter ringing true. +<p> +The three boats were a mile away from our floe home at 2 p.m. We +had made our way through the channels and had entered the big pool +when we saw a rush of foam-clad water and tossing ice approaching +us, like the tidal bore of a river. The pack was being impelled to +the east by a tide-rip, and two huge masses of ice were driving +down upon us on converging courses. The <i>James Caird</i> was leading. +Starboarding the helm and bending strongly to the oars, we managed +to get clear. The two other boats followed us, though from their +position astern at first they had not realized the immediate +danger. The <i>Stancomb Wills</i> was the last boat and she was very +nearly caught, but by great exertion she was kept just ahead of +the driving ice. It was an unusual and startling experience. +The effect of tidal action on ice is not often as marked as it +was that day. The advancing ice, accompanied by a large wave, +appeared to be travelling at about three knots; and if we had +not succeeded in pulling clear we would certainly have been +swamped. +<p> +We pulled hard for an hour to windward of the berg that lay in +the open water. The swell was crashing on its perpendicular +sides and throwing spray to a height of sixty feet. Evidently +there was an ice-foot at the east end, for the swell broke before +it reached the berg-face and flung its white spray on to the blue +ice-wall. We might have paused to have admired the spectacle under +other conditions; but night was coming on apace, and we needed a +camping-place. As we steered north-west, still amid the ice-floes, +the <i>Dudley Docker</i> got jammed between two masses while attempting +to make a short cut. The old adage about a short cut being the +longest way round is often as true in the Antarctic as it is in +the peaceful countryside. The <i>James Caird</i> got a line aboard the +<i>Dudley Docker</i>, and after some hauling the boat was brought clear +of the ice again. We hastened forward in the twilight in search +of a flat, old floe, and presently found a fairly large piece +rocking in the swell. It was not an ideal camping-place by any +means, but darkness had overtaken us. We hauled the boats up, +and by 8 p.m. had the tents pitched and the blubber-stove burning +cheerily. Soon all hands were well fed and happy in their tents, +and snatches of song came to me as I wrote up my log. +<p> +Some intangible feeling of uneasiness made me leave my tent about +11 p.m. that night and glance around the quiet camp. The stars +between the snow-flurries showed that the floe had swung round +and was end on to the swell, a position exposing it to sudden +strains. I started to walk across the floe in order to warn the +watchman to look carefully for cracks, and as I was passing the +men’s tent the floe lifted on the crest of a swell and cracked +right under my feet. The men were in one of the dome-shaped +tents, and it began to stretch apart as the ice opened. A +muffled sound, suggestive of suffocation, came from beneath +the stretching tent. I rushed forward, helped some emerging +men from under the canvas, and called out, +“Are you all right?” +<p> +“There are two in the water,” somebody answered. The crack +had widened to about four feet, and as I threw myself down at +the edge, I saw a whitish object floating in the water. It +was a sleeping-bag with a man inside. I was able to grasp it, +and with a heave lifted man and bag on to the floe. A few +seconds later the ice-edges came together again with tremendous +force. Fortunately, there had been but one man in the water, or +the incident might have been a tragedy. The rescued bag contained +Holness, who was wet down to the waist but otherwise unscathed. +The crack was now opening again. The <i>James Caird</i> and my tent were +on one side of the opening and the remaining two boats and the rest +of the camp on the other side. With two or three men to help me I +struck my tent; then all hands manned the painter and rushed the +<i>James Caird</i> across the opening crack. We held to the rope while, +one by one, the men left on our side of the floe jumped the +channel or scrambled over by means of the boat. Finally I was +left alone. The night had swallowed all the others and the rapid +movement of the ice forced me to let go the painter. For a moment +I felt that my piece of rocking floe was the loneliest place in +the world. Peering into the darkness; I could just see the dark +figures on the other floe. I hailed Wild, ordering him to launch +the <i>Stancomb Wills</i>, but I need not have troubled. His quick +brain had anticipated the order and already the boat was being +manned and hauled to the ice-edge. Two or three minutes +later she reached me, and I was ferried across to the Camp. +<p> +We were now on a piece of flat ice about 200 ft. long and 100 ft. +wide. There was no more sleep for any of us that night. The killers +were blowing in the lanes around, and we waited for daylight and +watched for signs of another crack in the ice. The hours passed with +laggard feet as we stood huddled together or walked to and fro in the +effort to keep some warmth in our bodies. We lit the blubber-stove at +3 a.m., and with pipes going and a cup of hot milk for each man, we +were able to discover some bright spots in our outlook. At any rate, +we were on the move at last, and if dangers and difficulties lay ahead +we could meet and overcome them. No longer were we drifting +helplessly at the mercy of wind and current. +<p> +The first glimmerings of dawn came at 6 a.m., and I waited +anxiously for the full daylight. The swell was growing, and at +times our ice was surrounded closely by similar pieces. At 6.30 +a.m. we had hot hoosh, and then stood by waiting for the pack to +open. Our chance came at 8, when we launched the boats, loaded +them, and started to make our way through the lanes in a +northerly direction. The <i>James Caird</i> was in the lead, with the +<i>Stancomb Wills</i> next and the <i>Dudley Docker</i> bringing up the +rear. In order to make the boats more seaworthy we had left some +of our shovels, picks, and dried vegetables on the floe, and for +a long time we could see the abandoned stores forming a dark spot +on the ice. The boats were still heavily loaded. We got out +of the lanes, and entered a stretch of open water at 11 a.m. A +strong easterly breeze was blowing, but the fringe of pack lying +outside protected us from the full force of the swell, just as the +coral-reef of a tropical island checks the rollers of the Pacific. +Our way was across the open sea, and soon after noon we swung +round the north end of the pack and laid a course to the westward, +the <i>James Caird</i> still in the lead. Immediately our deeply laden +boats began to make heavy weather. They shipped sprays, which, +freezing as they fell, covered men and gear with ice, and soon it +was clear that we could not safely proceed. I put the <i>James Caird</i> +round and ran for the shelter of the pack again, the other boats +following. Back inside the outer line of ice the sea was not +breaking. This was at 3 p.m., and all hands were tired and cold. +A big floeberg resting peacefully ahead caught my eye, and half +an hour later we had hauled up the boats and pitched camp for the +night. It was a fine, big, blue berg with an attractively solid +appearance, and from our camp we could get a good view of the +surrounding sea and ice. The highest point was about 15 ft. +above sea-level. After a hot meal all hands, except the watchman, +turned in. Every one was in need of rest after the troubles of the +previous night and the unaccustomed strain of the last thirty-six +hours at the oars. The berg appeared well able to withstand the +battering of the sea, and too deep and massive to be seriously +affected by the swell; but it was not as safe as it looked. +About midnight the watchman called me and showed me that the +heavy north-westerly swell was undermining the ice. A great +piece had broken off within eight feet of my tent. We made what +inspection was possible in the darkness, and found that on the +westward side of the berg the thick snow covering was yielding +rapidly to the attacks of the sea. An ice-foot had formed just +under the surface of the water. I decided that there was no +immediate danger and did not call the men. The north-westerly +wind strengthened during the night. +<p> +The morning of April 11 was overcast and misty. There was a haze +on the horizon, and daylight showed that the pack had closed round +our berg, making it impossible in the heavy swell to launch the boats. +We could see no sign of the water. Numerous whales and killers were +blowing between the floes, and Cape pigeons, petrels, and fulmars +were circling round our berg. The scene from our camp as the +daylight brightened was magnificent beyond description, though I +must admit that we viewed it with anxiety. Heaving hills of pack +and floe were sweeping towards us in long undulations, later to be +broken here and there by the dark lines that indicated open water. +As each swell lifted around our rapidly dissolving berg it drove +floe-ice on to the ice-foot, shearing off more of the top snow-covering +and reducing the size of our camp. When the floes +retreated to attack again the water swirled over the ice-foot, +which was rapidly increasing in width. The launching of the +boats under such conditions would be difficult. Time after time, +so often that a track was formed, Worsley, Wild, and I, climbed +to the highest point of the berg and stared out to the horizon +in search of a break in the pack. After long hours had dragged +past, far away on the lift of the swell there appeared a dark +break in the tossing field of ice. Aeons seemed to pass, so +slowly it approached. I noticed enviously the calm peaceful +attitudes of two seals which lolled lazily on a rocking floe. +They were at home and had no reason for worry or cause for fear. +If they thought at all, I suppose they counted it an ideal day +for a joyous journey on the tumbling ice. To us it was a day +that seemed likely to lead to no more days. I do not think +I had ever before felt the anxiety that belongs leadership +quite so keenly. When I looked down at the camp to rest my +eyes from the strain of watching the wide white expanse +broken by that one black ribbon of open water, I could see that +my companions were waiting with more than ordinary interest to +learn what I thought about it all. After one particularly heavy +collision somebody shouted sharply, “She has cracked in the +middle.” I jumped off the look-out station and ran to the place +the men were examining. There was a crack, but investigation showed +it to be a mere surface break in the snow with no indication of a +split in the berg itself. The carpenter mentioned calmly that +earlier in the day he had actually gone adrift on a fragment of ice. +He was standing near the edge of our camping-ground when the ice +under his feet parted from the parent mass. A quick jump over +the widening gap saved him. +<p> +The hours dragged on. One of the anxieties in my mind was the +possibility that we would be driven by the current through the +eighty-mile gap between Clarence Island and Prince George Island +into the open Atlantic; but slowly the open water came nearer, +and at noon it had almost reached us. A long lane, narrow but +navigable, stretched out to the south-west horizon. Our chance +came a little later. We rushed our boats over the edge of the +reeling berg and swung them clear of the ice-foot as it rose +beneath them. The <i>James Caird</i> was nearly capsized by a blow +from below as the berg rolled away, but she got into deep water. +We flung stores and gear aboard and within a few minutes were away. +The <i>James Caird</i> and <i>Dudley Docker</i> had good sails and with a +favourable breeze could make progress along the lane, with the +rolling fields of ice on either side. The swell was heavy and +spray was breaking over the ice-floes. An attempt to set a little +rag of sail on the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> resulted in serious delay. The +area of sail was too small to be of much assistance, and while the +men were engaged in this work the boat drifted down towards the +ice-floe, where her position was likely to be perilous. Seeing +her plight, I sent the <i>Dudley Docker</i> back for her and tied the +<i>James Caird</i> up to a piece of ice. The <i>Dudley Docker</i> had to +tow the <i>Stancomb Wills</i>, and the delay cost us two hours of +valuable daylight. When I had the three boats together again +we continued down the lane, and soon saw a wider stretch +of water to the west; it appeared to offer us release from the +grip of the pack. At the head of an ice-tongue that nearly closed +the gap through which we might enter the open space was a wave-worn +berg shaped like some curious antediluvian monster, an icy Cerberus +guarding the way. It had head and eyes and rolled so heavily that +it almost overturned. Its sides dipped deep in the sea, and as it +rose again the water seemed to be streaming from its eyes, as +though it were weeping at our escape from the clutch of the floes. +This may seem fanciful to the reader, but the impression was real +to us at the time. People living under civilized conditions, +surrounded by Nature’s varied forms of life and by all the +familiar work of their own hands, may scarcely realize how +quickly the mind, influenced by the eyes, responds to the unusual +and weaves about it curious imaginings like the firelight fancies +of our childhood days. We had lived long amid the ice, and we +half-unconsciously strove to see resemblances to human faces and +living forms in the fantastic contours and massively uncouth +shapes of berg and floe. +<p> +At dusk we made fast to a heavy floe, each boat having its painter +fastened to a separate hummock in order to avoid collisions in the +swell. We landed the blubber-stove, boiled some water in order to +provide hot milk, and served cold rations. I also landed the dome +tents and stripped the coverings from the hoops. Our experience +of the previous day in the open sea had shown us that the tents +must be packed tightly. The spray had dashed over the bows and +turned to ice on the cloth, which had soon grown dangerously +heavy. Other articles off our scanty equipment had to go that +night. We were carrying only the things that had seemed +essential, but we stripped now to the barest limit of safety. +We had hoped for a quiet night, but presently we were forced to +cast off, since pieces of loose ice began to work round the floe. +Drift-ice is always attracted to the lee side of a heavy floe, +where it bumps and presses under the influence of the current. +I had determined not to risk a repetition of the last night’s +experience and so had not pulled the boats up. We spent the +hours of darkness keeping an offing from the main line of pack + under the lee of the smaller pieces. Constant rain and snow +squalls blotted out the stars and soaked us through, and at +times it was only by shouting to each other that we managed +to keep the boats together. There was no sleep for anybody +owing to the severe cold, and we dare not pull fast enough +to keep ourselves warm since we were unable to see more than +a few yards ahead. Occasionally the ghostly shadows of silver, +snow, and fulmar petrels flashed close to us, and all around +we could hear the killers blowing, their short, sharp hisses +sounding like sudden escapes of steam. The killers were a source +of anxiety, for a boat could easily have been capsized by one of +them coming up to blow. They would throw aside in a nonchalant +fashion pieces of ice much bigger than our boats when they rose +to the surface, and we had an uneasy feeling that the white bottoms +of the boats would look like ice from below. Shipwrecked mariners +drifting in the Antarctic seas would be things not dreamed of in +the killers’ philosophy, and might appear on closer examination to +be tasty substitutes for seal and penguin. We certainly regarded +the killers with misgivings. +<p> +Early in the morning of April 12 the weather improved and the wind +dropped. Dawn came with a clear sky, cold and fearless. I looked +around at the faces of my companions in the <i>James Caird</i> and saw +pinched and drawn features. The strain was beginning to tell. +Wild sat at the rudder with the same calm, confident expression +that he would have worn under happier conditions; his steel-blue +eyes looked out to the day ahead. All the people, though +evidently suffering, were doing their best to be cheerful, and the +prospect of a hot breakfast was inspiriting. I told all the boats +that immediately we could find a suitable floe the cooker would be +started and hot milk and Bovril would soon fix everybody up. Away +we rowed to the westward through open pack, floes of all shapes and +sizes on every side of us, and every man not engaged in pulling +looking eagerly for a suitable camping-place. I could gauge the +desire for food of the different members by the eagerness they +displayed in pointing out to me the floes they considered exactly +suited to our purpose. The temperature was about 10° Fahr., +and the Burberry suits of the rowers crackled as the men bent to +the oars. I noticed little fragments of ice and frost falling +from arms and bodies. At eight o’clock a decent floe appeared +ahead and we pulled up to it. The galley was landed, and soon +the welcome steam rose from the cooking food as the blubber-stove +flared and smoked. Never did a cook work under more anxious +scrutiny. Worsley, Crean, and I stayed in our respective boats +to keep them steady and prevent collisions with the floe, since +the swell was still running strong, but the other men were able +to stretch their cramped limbs and run to and fro “in the kitchen,” +as somebody put it. The sun was now rising gloriously. The +Burberry suits were drying and the ice was melting off our beards. +The steaming food gave us new vigour, and within three-quarters +of an hour we were off again to the west with all sails set. We +had given an additional sail to the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> and she was +able to keep up pretty well. We could see that we were on the +true pack-edge, with the blue, rolling sea just outside the fringe +of ice to the north. White-capped waves vied with the glittering +floes in the setting of blue water, and countless seals basked +and rolled on every piece of ice big enough to form a raft. +<p> +We had been making westward with oars and sails since April 9, +and fair easterly winds had prevailed. Hopes were running high as +to the noon observation for position. The optimists thought that +we had done sixty miles towards our goal, and the most cautious +guess gave us at least thirty miles. The bright sunshine and the +brilliant scene around us may have influenced our anticipations. +As noon approached I saw Worsley, as navigating officer, balancing +himself on the gunwale of the <i>Dudley Docker</i> with his arm around +the mast, ready to snap the sun. He got his observation and we +waited eagerly while he worked out the sight. Then the <i>Dudley +Docker</i> ranged up alongside the <i>James Caird</i> and I jumped into +Worsley’s boat in order to see the result. It was a grievous +disappointment. Instead of making a good run to the westward we +had made a big drift to the south-east. We were actually thirty +miles to the east of the position we had occupied when we left the +floe on the 9th. It has been noted by sealers operating in this +area that there are often heavy sets to the east in the Belgica +Straits, and no doubt it was one of these sets that we had +experienced. The originating cause would be a north-westerly gale +off Cape Horn, producing the swell that had already caused us so +much trouble. After a whispered consultation with Worsley and +Wild, I announced that we had not made as much progress as we +expected, but I did not inform the hands of our retrograde movement. +<p> +The question of our course now demanded further consideration. +Deception Island seemed to be beyond our reach. The wind was foul +for Elephant Island, and as the sea was clear to the south-west; I +discussed with Worsley and Wild the advisability of proceeding to +Hope Bay on the mainland of the Antarctic Continent, now only +eighty miles distant. Elephant Island was the nearest land, but +it lay outside the main body of pack, and even if the wind had +been fair we would have hesitated at that particular time to face +the high sea that was running in the open. We laid a course +roughly for Hope Bay, and the boats moved on again. I gave +Worsley a line for a berg ahead and told him, if possible, to make +fast before darkness set in. This was about three o’clock in the +afternoon. We had set sail, and as the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> could not +keep up with the other two boats I took her in tow, not being +anxious to repeat the experience of the day we left the reeling +berg. The <i>Dudley Docker</i> went ahead, but came beating down towards +us at dusk. Worsley had been close to the berg, and he reported +that it was unapproachable. It was rolling in the swell and +displaying an ugly ice-foot. The news was bad. In the failing +light we turned towards a line of pack, and found it so tossed +and churned by the sea that no fragment remained big enough to +give us an anchorage and shelter. Two miles away we could see a +larger piece of ice, and to it we managed, after some trouble, to +secure the boats. I brought my boat bow on to the floe, whilst +Howe, with the painter in his hand, stood ready to jump. Standing +up to watch our chance, while the oars were held ready to back the +moment Howe had made his leap, I could see that there would be no +possibility of getting the galley ashore that night. Howe just +managed to get a footing on the edge of the floe, and then +made the painter fast to a hummock. The other two boats were +fastened alongside the <i>James Caird</i>. They could not lie astern +of us in a line, since cakes of ice came drifting round the floe +and gathering under its lee. As it was we spent the next two hours +poling off the drifting ice that surged towards us. The blubber-stove +could not be used, so we started the Primus lamps. There +was a rough, choppy sea, and the <i>Dudley Docker</i> could not get her +Primus under way, something being adrift. The men in that boat +had to wait until the cook on the <i>James Caird</i> had boiled up +the first pot of milk. +<p> +The boats were bumping so heavily that I had to slack away the +painter of the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> and put her astern. Much ice was +coming round the floe and had to be poled off. Then the <i>Dudley +Docker</i>, being the heavier boat, began to damage the <i>James Caird</i>, +and I slacked the <i>Dudley Docker</i> away. The <i>James Caird</i> remained +moored to the ice, with the <i>Dudley Docker</i> and the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> +in line behind her. The darkness had become complete, and we +strained our eye to see the fragments of ice that threatened us. +Presently we thought we saw a great berg bearing down upon us, its +form outlined against the sky, but this startling spectacle +resolved itself into a low-lying cloud in front of the rising moon. +The moon appeared in a clear sky. The wind shifted to the south-east +as the light improved and drove the boats broadside on towards +the jagged edge of the floe. We had to cut the painter of the <i>James +Caird</i> and pole her off, thus losing much valuable rope. There was +no time to cast off. Then we pushed away from the floe, and all +night long we lay in the open, freezing sea, the <i>Dudley Docker</i> now +ahead, the <i>James Caird</i> astern of her, and the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> third +in the line. The boats were attached to one another by their +painters. Most of the time the <i>Dudley Docker</i> kept the <i>James Caird</i> +and the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> up to the swell, and the men who were +rowing were in better pass than those in the other boats, waiting +inactive for the dawn. The temperature was down to 4° below +zero, and a film of ice formed on the surface of the sea. When we +were not on watch we lay in each other’s arms for warmth. Our +frozen suits thawed where our bodies met, and as the slightest +movement exposed these comparatively warm spots to the biting +air, we clung motionless, whispering each to his companion our +hopes and thoughts. Occasionally from an almost clear sky came +snow-showers, falling silently on the sea and laying a thin shroud +of white over our bodies and our boats. +<p> +The dawn of April 13 came clear and bright, with occasional +passing clouds. Most of the men were now looking seriously worn +and strained. Their lips were cracked and their eyes and eyelids +showed red in their salt-encrusted faces. The beards even of the +younger men might have been those of patriarchs, for the frost +and the salt spray had made them white. I called the <i>Dudley +Docker</i> alongside and found the condition of the people there +was no better than in the <i>James Caird</i>. Obviously we must make +land quickly, and I decided to run for Elephant Island. +The wind had shifted fair for that rocky isle, then about one +hundred miles away, and the pack that separated us from Hope Bay +had closed up during the night from the south. At 6 p.m. we +made a distribution of stores among the three boats, in view of +the possibility of their being separated. The preparation of +a hot breakfast was out of the question. The breeze was strong +and the sea was running high in the loose pack around us. We +had a cold meal, and I gave orders that all hands might eat as +much as they pleased, this concession being due partly to a +realization that we would have to jettison some of our stores +when we reached open sea in order to lighten the boats. I +hoped, moreover, that a full meal of cold rations would +compensate to some extent for the lack of warm food and shelter. +Unfortunately, some of the men were unable to take advantage +of the extra food owing to seasickness. Poor fellows, it was +bad enough to be huddled in the deeply laden, spray-swept boats, +frost-bitten and half-frozen, without having the pangs of seasickness +added to the list of their woes. But some smiles were +caused even then by the plight of one man, who had a habit of +accumulating bits of food against the day of starvation that +he seemed always to think was at hand, and who was condemned +now to watch impotently while hungry comrades with undisturbed +stomachs made biscuits, rations, and sugar disappear with +extraordinary rapidity. +<p> +We ran before the wind through the loose pack, a man in the bow +of each boat trying to pole off with a broken oar the lumps of ice +that could not be avoided. I regarded speed as essential. +Sometimes collisions were not averted. The <i>James Caird</i> was in +the lead, where she bore the brunt of the encounter with lurking +fragments, and she was holed above the water-line by a sharp spur +of ice, but this mishap did not stay us. Later the wind became +stronger and we had to reef sails, so as not to strike the ice too +heavily. The <i>Dudley Docker</i> came next to the <i>James Caird</i> and +the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> followed. I had given order that the boats +should keep 30 or 40 yds. apart, so as to reduce the danger of a +collision if one boat was checked by the ice. The pack was +thinning, and we came to occasional open areas where thin ice had +formed during the night. When we encountered this new ice we had +to shake the reef out of the sails in order to force a way through. +Outside of the pack the wind must have been of hurricane force. +Thousands of small dead fish were to be seen, killed probably by +a cold current and the heavy weather. They floated in the water +and lay on the ice, where they had been cast by the waves. The +petrels and skua-gulls were swooping down and picking them up +like sardines off toast. +<p> +We made our way through the lanes till at noon we were suddenly +spewed out of the pack into the open ocean. Dark blue and sapphire +green ran the seas. Our sails were soon up, and with a fair wind +we moved over the waves like three Viking ships on the quest of +a lost Atlantis. With the sheet well out and the sun shining +bright above, we enjoyed for a few hours a sense of the freedom +and magic of the sea, compensating us for pain and trouble in the +days that had passed. At last we were free from the ice, in water +that our boats could navigate. Thoughts of home, stifled by the +deadening weight of anxious days and nights, came to birth once +more, and the difficulties that had still to be overcome dwindled +in fancy almost to nothing. +<p> +During the afternoon we had to take a second reef in the sails, +for the wind freshened and the deeply laden boats were shipping +much water and steering badly in the rising sea. I had laid the +course for Elephant Island and we were making good progress. +The <i>Dudley Docker</i> ran down to me at dusk and Worsley suggested +that we should stand on all night; but already the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> +was barely discernible among the rollers in the gathering dusk, +and I decided that it would be safer to heave to and wait for the +daylight. It would never have done for the boats to have become +separated from one another during the night. The party must be +kept together, and, moreover, I thought it possible that we might +overrun our goal in the darkness and not be able to return. So we +made a sea-anchor of oars and hove to, the <i>Dudley Docker</i> in the +lead, since she had the longest painter. The <i>James Caird</i> swung +astern of the <i>Dudley Docker</i> and the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> again had +the third place. We ate a cold meal and did what little we could +to make things comfortable for the hours of darkness. Rest was +not for us. During the greater part of the night the sprays broke +over the boats and froze in masses of ice, especially at the stern +and bows. This ice had to be broken away in order to prevent the +boats growing too heavy. The temperature was below zero and the +wind penetrated our clothes and chilled us almost unbearably. +I doubted if all the men would survive that night. One of our +troubles was lack of water. We had emerged so suddenly from the +pack into the open sea that we had not had time to take aboard ice +for melting in the cookers, and without ice we could not have hot +food. The <i>Dudley Docker</i> had one lump of ice weighing about ten +pounds, and this was shared out among all hands. We sucked small +pieces and got a little relief from thirst engendered by the salt +spray, but at the same time we reduced our bodily heat. The condition +of most of the men was pitiable. All of us had swollen mouths and +we could hardly touch the food. I longed intensely for the dawn. +I called out to the other boats at intervals during the night, +asking how things were with them. The men always managed to reply +cheerfully. One of the people on the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> shouted, +“We are doing all right, but I would like some dry mitts.” The +jest brought a smile to cracked lips. He might as well have asked +for the moon. The only dry things aboard the boats were swollen +mouths and burning tongues. Thirst is one of the troubles that +confront the traveller in polar regions. Ice may be plentiful +on every hand, but it does not become drinkable until it is melted, +and the amount that may be dissolved in the mouth is limited. We +had been thirsty during the days of heavy pulling in the pack, +and our condition was aggravated quickly by the salt spray. Our +sleeping-bags would have given us some warmth, but they were not +within our reach. They were packed under the tents in the bows, +where a mail-like coating of ice enclosed them, and we were so +cramped that we could not pull them out. +<p> +At last daylight came, and with the dawn the weather cleared and +the wind fell to a gentle south-westerly breeze. A magnificent +sunrise heralded in what we hoped would be our last day in the +boats. Rose-pink in the growing light, the lofty peak of Clarence +Island told of the coming glory of the sun. The sky grew blue +above us and the crests of the waves sparkled cheerfully. As +soon as it was light enough we chipped and scraped the ice off +the bows and sterns. The rudders had been unshipped during the +night in order to avoid the painters catching them. We cast off +our ice-anchor and pulled the oars aboard. They +had grown during the night to the thickness of telegraph-poles +while rising and falling in the freezing seas, and had to be chipped +clear before they could be brought inboard. +<p> +We were dreadfully thirsty now. We found that we could get +momentary relief by chewing pieces of raw seal meat and swallowing +the blood, but thirst came back with redoubled force owing to the +saltness of the flesh. I gave orders, therefore, that meat was +to be served out only at stated intervals during the day or when +thirst seemed to threaten the reason of any particular individual. +In the full daylight Elephant Island showed cold and severe to the +north-north-west. The island was on the bearings that Worsley had +laid down, and I congratulated him on the accuracy of his navigation +under difficult circumstances, with two days dead reckoning while +following a devious course through the pack-ice and after drifting +during two nights at the mercy of wind and waves. The <i>Stancomb +Wills</i> came up and McIlroy reported that Blackborrow’s feet were +very badly frost-bitten. This was unfortunate, but nothing could +be done. Most of the people were frost-bitten to some extent, and +it was interesting to notice that the “oldtimers,” Wild, Crean, +Hurley, and I, were all right. Apparently we were acclimatized to +ordinary Antarctic temperature, though we learned later that we were +not immune. +<p> +All day, with a gentle breeze on our port bow, we sailed and pulled +through a clear sea. We would have given all the tea in China for +a lump of ice to melt into water, but no ice was within our reach. +Three bergs were in sight and we pulled towards them, hoping that +a trail of brash would be floating on the sea to leeward; but they +were hard and blue, devoid of any sign of cleavage, and the swell +that surged around them as they rose and fell made it impossible +for us to approach closely. The wind was gradually hauling ahead, +and as the day wore on the rays of the sun beat fiercely down +from a cloudless sky on pain-racked men. Progress was slow, but +gradually Elephant Island came nearer. Always while I attended to +the other boats, signalling and ordering, Wild sat at the tiller of +the <i>James Caird</i>. He seemed unmoved by fatigue and unshaken by +privation. About four o’clock in the afternoon a stiff breeze came +up ahead and, blowing against the current, soon produced a choppy +sea. During the next hour of hard pulling we seemed to make no +progress at all. The <i>James Caird</i> and the <i>Dudley Docker</i> had been +towing the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> in turn, but my boat now took the +<i>Stancomb Wills</i> in tow permanently, as the <i>James Caird</i> could carry +more sail than the <i>Dudley Docker</i> in the freshening wind. +<p> +We were making up for the south-east side of Elephant Island, the +wind being between north-west and west. The boats, held as close +to the wind as possible, moved slowly, and when darkness set in +our goal was still some miles away. A heavy sea was running. We +soon lost sight of the <i>Stancomb Wills</i>, astern of the <i>James Caird</i> +at the length of the painter, but occasionally the white gleam of +broken water revealed her presence. When the darkness was complete +I sat in the stern with my hand on the painter, so that I might +know if the other boat broke away, and I kept that position during +the night. The rope grew heavy with the ice as the unseen seas +surged past us and our little craft tossed to the motion of the +waters. Just at dusk I had told the men on the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> +that if their boat broke away during the night and they were unable +to pull against the wind, they could run for the east side of +Clarence Island and await our coming there. Even though we could +not land on Elephant Island, it would not do to have the third boat +adrift. +<p> +It was a stern night. The men, except the watch, crouched and +huddled in the bottom of the boat, getting what little warmth they +could from the soaking sleeping-bags and each other’s bodies. +Harder and harder blew the wind and fiercer and fiercer grew the +sea. The boat plunged heavily through the squalls and came up to +the wind, the sail shaking in the stiffest gusts. Every now and +then, as the night wore on, the moon would shine down through a +rift in the driving clouds, and in the momentary light I could see +the ghostly faces of men, sitting up to trim the boat as she +heeled over to the wind. When the moon was hidden its presence was +revealed still by the light reflected on the streaming glaciers of +the island. The temperature had fallen very low, and it seemed +that the general discomfort of our situation could scarcely have +been increased; but the land looming ahead was a beacon of +safety, and I think we were all buoyed up by the hope that the +coming day would see the end of our immediate troubles. At least +we would get firm land under our feet. While the painter of the +<i>Stancomb Wills</i> tightened and drooped under my hand, my thoughts +were busy with plans for the future. +<p> +Towards midnight the wind shifted to the south-west, and this +change enabled us to bear up closer to the island. A little later +the <i>Dudley Docker</i> ran down to the <i>James Caird</i>, and Worsley +shouted a suggestion that he should go ahead and search for a +landing-place. His boat had the heels of the <i>James Caird</i>, with +the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> in tow. I told him he could try, but he must +not lose sight of the <i>James Caird</i>. Just as he left me a heavy +snow-squall came down, and in the darkness the boats parted. I +saw the <i>Dudley Docker</i> no more. This separation caused me some +anxiety during the remaining hours of the night. A cross-sea was +running and I could not feel sure that all was well with the missing +boat. The waves could not be seen in the darkness, though the +direction and force of the wind could be felt, and under such +conditions, in an open boat, disaster might overtake the most +experienced navigator. I flashed our compass-lamp on the sail +in the hope that the signal would be visible on board the <i>Dudley +Docker</i>, but could see no reply. We strained our eyes to windward +in the darkness in the hope of catching a return signal and +repeated our flashes at intervals. +<p> +My anxiety, as a matter of fact, was groundless. I will quote +Worsley’s own account of what happened to the <i>Dudley Docker:</i> +<p> +“About midnight we lost sight of the <i>James Caird</i> with the +<i>Stancomb Wills</i> in tow, but not long after saw the light of the +<i>James Caird’s</i> compass-lamp, which Sir Ernest was flashing on +their sail as a guide to us. We answered by lighting our candle +under the tent and letting the light shine through. At the same +time we got the direction of the wind and how we were hauling from +my little pocket-compass, the boat’s compass being smashed. With +this candle our poor fellows lit their pipes, their only solace, +as our raging thirst prevented us from eating anything. By this +time we had got into a bad tide-rip, which, combined with the heavy, +lumpy sea, made it almost impossible to keep the <i>Dudley Docker</i> +from swamping. As it was we shipped several bad seas over the +stern as well as abeam and over the bows, although we were ‘on +a wind.’ Lees, who owned himself to be a rotten oarsman, made +good here by strenuous baling, in which he was well seconded by +Cheetham. Greenstreet, a splendid fellow, relieved me at the +tiller and helped generally. He and Macklin were my right and left +bowers as stroke-oars throughout. McLeod and Cheetham were two good +sailors and oars, the former a typical old deep-sea salt and growler, +the latter a pirate to his finger-tips. In the height of the gale +that night Cheetham was buying matches from me for bottles of +champagne, one bottle per match (too cheap; I should have charged +him two bottles). The champagne is to be paid when he opens his +pub in Hull and I am able to call that way. . . . We had now had +one hundred and eight hours of toil, tumbling, freezing, and +soaking, with little or no sleep. I think Sir Ernest, Wild, +Greenstreet, and I could say that we had no sleep at all. +Although it was sixteen months since we had been in a rough sea, +only four men were actually seasick, but several others were +off colour. +<p> +“The temperature was 20° below freezing-point; fortunately, +we were spared the bitterly low temperature of the previous night. +Greenstreet’s right foot got badly frost-bitten, but Lees restored +it by holding it in his sweater against his stomach. Other men +had minor frost-bites, due principally to the fact that their +clothes were soaked through with salt water. . . . We were close to +the land as the morning approached, but could see nothing of it +through the snow and spindrift. My eyes began to fail me. +Constant peering to windward, watching for seas to strike us, +appeared to have given me a cold in the eyes. I could not see +or judge distance properly, and found myself falling asleep +momentarily at the tiller. At 3 a.m. Greenstreet relieved me +there. I was so cramped from long hours, cold, and wet, in the +constrained position one was forced to assume on top of the gear +and stores at the tiller, that the other men had to pull me +amidships and straighten me out like a jack-knife, first rubbing +my thighs, groin, and stomach. +<p> +“At daylight we found ourselves close alongside the land, but the +weather was so thick that we could not see where to make for a +landing. Having taken the tiller again after an hour’s rest under +the shelter (save the mark!) of the dripping tent, I ran the <i>Dudley +Docker</i> off before the gale, following the coast around to the +north. This course for the first hour was fairly risky, the heavy +sea before which we were running threatening to swamp the boat, but +by 8 a.m. we had obtained a slight lee from the land. Then I was +able to keep her very close in, along a glacier front, with +the object of picking up lumps of fresh-water ice as we sailed +through them. Our thirst was intense. We soon had some ice +aboard, and for the next hour and a half we sucked and chewed +fragments of ice with greedy relish. +<p> +“All this time we were coasting along beneath towering rocky +cliffs and sheer glacier-faces, which offered not the slightest +possibility of landing anywhere. At 9.30 a.m. we spied a narrow, +rocky beach at the base of some very high crags and cliff, and +made for it. To our joy, we sighted the <i>James Caird</i> and the +<i>Stancomb Wills</i> sailing into the same haven just ahead of us. +We were so delighted that we gave three cheers, which were not +heard aboard the other boats owing to the roar of the surf. +However, we soon joined them and were able to exchange experiences +on the beach.” +<p> +Our experiences on the <i>James Caird</i> had been similar, although +we had not been able to keep up to windward as well as the +<i>Dudley Docker</i> had done. This was fortunate as events proved, +for the <i>James Caird</i> and <i>Stancomb Wills</i> went to leeward of the +big bight the <i>Dudley Docker</i> entered and from which she had to +turn out with the sea astern. We thus avoided the risk of having +the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> swamped in the following sea. The weather +was very thick in the morning. Indeed at 7 a.m. we were right +under the cliffs, which plunged sheer into the sea, before we saw +them. We followed the coast towards the north, and ever the +precipitous cliffs and glacier-faces presented themselves to our +searching eyes. The sea broke heavily against these walls and +a landing would have been impossible under any conditions. We +picked up pieces of ice and sucked them eagerly. At 9 a.m. at +the north-west end of the island we saw a narrow beach at the foot +of the cliffs. Outside lay a fringe of rocks heavily beaten by +the surf but with a narrow channel showing as a break in the +foaming water. I decided that we must face the hazards of this +unattractive landing-place. Two days and nights without drink or +hot food had played havoc with most of the men, and we could not +assume that any safer haven lay within our reach. The <i>Stancomb +Wills</i> was the lighter and handier boat—and I called her +alongside with the intention of taking her through the gap first and +ascertaining the possibilities of a landing before the <i>James Caird</i> +made the venture. I was just climbing into the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> when +I saw the <i>Dudley Docker</i> coming up astern under sail. The sight +took a great load off my mind. +<p> +Rowing carefully and avoiding the blind rollers which showed where +sunken rocks lay, we brought the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> towards the opening +in the reef. Then, with a few strong strokes we shot through +on the top of a swell and ran the boat on to a stony beach. The +next swell lifted her a little farther. This was the first landing +ever made on Elephant Island, and a thought came to me that the +honour should belong to the youngest member of the Expedition, so +I told Blackborrow to jump over. He seemed to be in a state almost +of coma, and in order to avoid delay I helped him, perhaps a +little roughly, over the side of the boat. He promptly sat down +in the surf and did not move. Then I suddenly realized what I had +forgotten, that both his feet were frost-bitten badly. Some of +us jumped over and pulled him into a dry place. It was a rather +rough experience for Blackborrow, but, anyhow, he is now able to +say that he was the first man to sit on Elephant Island. Possibly +at the time he would have been willing to forgo any distinction of +the kind. We landed the cook with his blubber-stove, a supply of +fuel and some packets of dried milk, and also several of the men. +Then the rest of us pulled out again to pilot the other boats +through the channel. The <i>James Caird</i> was too heavy to be beached +directly, so after landing most of the men from the <i>Dudley Docker</i> +and the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> I superintended the transhipment of the +<i>James Caird’s</i> gear outside the reef. Then we all made the passage, +and within a few minutes the three boats were aground. A curious +spectacle met my eyes when I landed the second time. Some of the +men were reeling about the beach as if they had found an unlimited +supply of alcoholic liquor on the desolate shore. They were +laughing uproariously, picking up stones and letting handfuls of +pebbles trickle between their fingers like misers gloating over +hoarded gold. The smiles and laughter, which caused cracked lips +to bleed afresh, and the gleeful exclamations at the sight of two +live seals on the beach made me think for a moment of that glittering +hour of childhood when the door is open at last and the Christmas-tree +in all its wonder bursts upon the vision. I remember that +Wild, who always rose superior to fortune, bad and good, came +ashore as I was looking at the men and stood beside me as easy +and unconcerned as if he had stepped out of his car for a stroll +in the park. +<p> +Soon half a dozen of us had the stores ashore. Our strength was +nearly exhausted and it was heavy work carrying our goods over the +rough pebbles and rocks to the foot of the cliff, but we dare not +leave anything within reach of the tide. We had to wade knee-deep +in the icy water in order to lift the gear from the boats. When the +work was done we pulled the three boats a little higher on the beach +and turned gratefully to enjoy the hot drink the cook had prepared. +Those of us who were comparatively fit had to wait until the weaker +members of the party had been supplied; but every man had his pannikin +of hot milk in the end, and never did anything taste better. Seal +steak and blubber followed, for the seals that had been careless +enough to await our arrival on the beach had already given up their +lives. There was no rest for the cook. The blubber-stove flared +and spluttered fiercely as he cooked, not one meal, but many meals, +which merged into a day-long bout of eating. We drank water and +ate seal meat until every man had reached the limit of his capacity. +<p> +The tents were pitched with oars for supports, and by 3 p.m. our +camp was in order. The original framework of the tents had been +cast adrift on one of the floes in order to save weight. Most of +the men turned in early for a safe and glorious sleep, to be broken +only by the call to take a turn on watch. The chief duty of the +watchman was to keep the blubber-stove alight, and each man on duty +appeared to find it necessary to cook himself a meal during his +watch, and a supper before he turned in again. +<p> +Wild, Worsley, and Hurley accompanied me on an inspection of our +beach before getting into the tents. I almost wished then that +I had postponed the examination until after sleep, but the sense +of caution that the uncertainties of polar travel implant in one’s +mind had made me uneasy. The outlook we found to be anything but +cheering. Obvious signs showed that at spring tides the little +beach would be covered by the water right up to the foot of the +cliffs. In a strong north-easterly gale, such as we might expect +to experience at any time, the waves would pound over the scant +barrier of the reef and break against the sheer sides of the rocky +wall behind us. Well-marked terraces showed the effect of other +gales, and right at the back of the beach was a small bit of +wreckage not more than three feet long, rounded by the constant +chafing it had endured. Obviously we must find some better +resting-place. I decided not to share with the men the knowledge +of the uncertainties of our situation until they had enjoyed the +full sweetness of rest untroubled by the thought that at any +minute they might be called to face peril again. The threat of +the sea had been our portion during many, many days, and a respite +meant much to weary bodies and jaded minds. +<p> +The accompanying plan will indicate our exact position more +clearly than I can describe it. The cliffs at the back of the +beach were inaccessible except at two points where there were +steep snow-slopes. We were not worried now about food, for, +apart from our own rations, there were seals on the beach +and we could see others in the water outside the reef. Every now +and then one of the animals would rise in the shallows and crawl up +on the beach, which evidently was a recognized place of resort for +its kind. A small rocky island which protected us to some extent +from the north-westerly wind carried a ringed-penguin rookery. +These birds were of migratory habit and might be expected to leave +us before the winter set in fully, but in the meantime they were +within our reach. These attractions, however, were overridden by +the fact that the beach was open to the attack of wind and sea from +the north-east and east. Easterly gales are more prevalent than +western in that area of the Antarctic during the winter. Before +turning in that night I studied the whole position and weighed every +chance of getting the boats and our stores into a place of safety +out of reach of the water. We ourselves might have clambered a +little way up the snow-slopes, but we could not have taken the +boats with us. The interior of the island was quite inaccessible. +We climbed up one of the slopes and found ourselves stopped soon by +overhanging cliffs. The rocks behind the camp were much weathered, +and we noticed the sharp, unworn boulders that had fallen from above. +Clearly there was a danger from overhead if we camped at the back +of the beach. We must move on. With that thought in mind I reached +my tent and fell asleep on the rubbly ground, which gave a comforting +sense of stability. The fairy princess who would not rest on her +seven downy mattresses because a pea lay underneath the pile might +not have understood the pleasure we all derived from the +irregularities of the stones, which could not possibly break beneath +us or drift away; the very searching lumps were sweet reminders of +our safety. +<p> +Early next morning (April 15) all hands were astir. The sun soon +shone brightly and we spread out our wet gear to dry, till the +beach looked like a particularly disreputable gipsy camp. The +boots and clothing had suffered considerably during our travels. +I had decided to send Wild along the coast in the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> +to look for a new camping-ground, and he and I discussed the details +of the journey while eating our breakfast of hot seal steak and +blubber. The camp I wished to find was one where the party could +live for weeks or even months in safety, without danger from sea +or wind in the heaviest winter gale. Wild was to proceed westwards +along the coast and was to take with him four of the fittest men, +Marston, Crean, Vincent, and McCarthy. If he did not return before +dark we were to light a flare, which would serve him as a guide to +the entrance of the channel. The <i>Stancomb Wills</i> pushed off at +11 a.m. and quickly passed out of sight around the island. Then +Hurley and I walked along the beach towards the west, climbing +through a gap between the cliff and a great detached pillar of +basalt. The narrow strip of beach was cumbered with masses of +rock that had fallen from the cliffs. We struggled along for +two miles or more in the search for a place where we could get +the boats ashore and make a permanent camp in the event of Wild’s +search proving fruitless, but after three hours’ vain toil we had +to turn back. We had found on the far side of the pillar of +basalt a crevice in the rocks beyond the reach of all but +the heaviest gales. Rounded pebbles showed that the seas +reached the spot on occasions. Here I decided to depot ten +cases of Bovril sledging ration in case of our having to move +away quickly. We could come back for the food at a later date +if opportunity offered. +<p> +Returning to the camp, we found the men resting or attending to +their gear. Clark had tried angling in the shallows off the rocks +and had secured one or two small fish. The day passed quietly. +Rusty needles were rubbed bright on the rocks and clothes were +mended and darned. A feeling of tiredness—due, I suppose, to +reaction after the strain of the preceding days—overtook us, but +the rising tide, coming farther up the beach than it had done on +the day before, forced us to labour at the boats, which we hauled +slowly to a higher ledge. We found it necessary to move our +makeshift camp nearer the cliff. I portioned out the available +ground for the tents, the galley, and other purposes, as every +foot was of value. When night arrived the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> was +still away, so I had a blubber-flare lit at the head of the channel. +<p> +About 8 p.m. we heard a hail in the distance. We could see +nothing, but soon like a pale ghost out of the darkness came the +boat, the faces of the men showing white in the glare of the fire. +Wild ran her on the beach with the swell, and within a couple of +minutes we had dragged her to a place of safety. I was waiting +Wild’s report with keen anxiety, and my relief was great when he +told me that he had discovered a sandy spit seven miles to the +west, about 200 yds. long, running out at right angles to the +coast and terminating at the seaward end in a mass of rock. A +long snow-slope joined the spit at the shore end, and it seemed +possible that a “dugout” could be made in the snow. The spit, +in any case, would be a great improvement on our narrow beach. +Wild added that the place he described was the only possible +camping-ground he had seen. Beyond, to the west and south-west, +lay a frowning line of cliffs and glaciers, sheer to the water’s +edge. He thought that in very heavy gales either from the south-west +or east the spit would be spray-blown, but that the seas +would not actually break over it. The boats could be run up on +a shelving beach. +<p> +After hearing this good news I was eager to get away from the +beach camp. The wind when blowing was favourable for the run +along the coast. The weather had been fine for two days and a +change might come at any hour. I told all hands that we would +make a start early on the following morning. A newly killed seal +provided a luxurious supper of steak and blubber, and then we slept +comfortably till the dawn. +<p> +The morning of April 17 came fine and clear. The sea was smooth, +but in the offing we could see a line of pack, which seemed to be +approaching. We had noticed already pack and bergs being driven +by the current to the east and then sometimes coming back with a +rush to the west. The current ran as fast as five miles an hour, +and it was a set of this kind that had delayed Wild on his return +from the spit. The rise and fall of the tide was only about five +feet at this time, but the moon was making for full and the tides +were increasing. The appearance of ice emphasized the importance +of getting away promptly. It would be a serious matter to be +prisoned on the beach by the pack. The boats were soon afloat in +the shallows, and after a hurried breakfast all hands worked hard +getting our gear and stores aboard. A mishap befell us when we were +launching the boats. We were using oars as rollers, and three of +these were broken, leaving us short for the journey that had still +to be undertaken. The preparations took longer than I had +expected; indeed, there seemed to be some reluctance on the part +of several men to leave the barren safety of the little beach and +venture once more on the ocean. But the move was imperative, and +by 11 a.m. we were away, the <i>James Caird</i> leading. Just as we +rounded the small island occupied by the ringed penguins the +“willywaw” swooped down from the 2000-ft. cliffs behind us, a +herald of the southerly gale that was to spring up within half an +hour. +<p> +Soon we were straining at the oars with the gale on our bows. +Never had we found a more severe task. The wind shifted from the +south to the south-west, and the shortage of oars became a serious +matter. The <i>James Caird</i>, being the heaviest boat, had to keep a +full complement of rowers, while the <i>Dudley Docker</i> and the +<i>Stancomb Wills</i> went short and took turns using the odd oar. A big +swell was thundering against the cliffs and at times we were almost +driven on to the rocks by swirling green waters. We had to keep +close inshore in order to avoid being embroiled in the raging sea, +which was lashed snow-white and quickened by the furious squalls +into a living mass of sprays. After two hours of strenuous labour +we were almost exhausted, but we were fortunate enough to find +comparative shelter behind a point of rock. Overhead towered the +sheer cliffs for hundreds of feet, the sea-birds that fluttered +from the crannies of the rock dwarfed by the height. The boats +rose and fell in the big swell, but the sea was not breaking in +our little haven, and we rested there while we ate our cold ration. +Some of the men had to stand by the oars in order to pole the +boats off the cliff-face. +<p> +After half an hour’s pause I gave the order to start again. The +<i>Dudley Docker</i> was pulling with three oars, as the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> +had the odd one, and she fell away to leeward in a particularly +heavy squall. I anxiously watched her battling up against wind and +sea. It would have been useless to take the <i>James Caird</i> back to +the assistance of the <i>Dudley Docker</i> since we were hard pressed +to make any progress ourselves in the heavier boat. The only +thing was to go ahead and hope for the best. All hands were wet +to the skin again and many men were feeling the cold severely. +We forged on slowly and passed inside a great pillar of rock +standing out to sea and towering to a height of about 2400 ft. +A line of reef stretched between the shore and this pillar, and +I thought as we approached that we would have to face the raging +sea outside; but a break in the white surf revealed a gap in the +reef and we laboured through, with the wind driving clouds of +spray on our port beam. The <i>Stancomb Wills</i> followed safely. +In the stinging spray I lost sight of the <i>Dudley Docker</i> +altogether. It was obvious she would have to go outside the +pillar as she was making so much leeway, but I could not see what +happened to her and I dared not pause. It was a bad time. At +last, about 5 p.m., the <i>James Caird</i> and the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> +reached comparatively calm water and we saw Wild’s beach just +ahead of us. I looked back vainly for the <i>Dudley Docker</i>. +<p> +Rocks studded the shallow water round the spit and the sea surged +amongst them. I ordered the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> to run on to the +beach at the place that looked smoothest, and in a few moments the +first boat was ashore, the men jumping out and holding her against +the receding wave. Immediately I saw she was safe I ran the <i>James +Caird</i> in. Some of us scrambled up the beach through the fringe of +the surf and slipped the painter round a rock, so as to hold the +boat against the backwash. Then we began to get the stores and +gear out, working like men possessed, for the boats could not be +pulled up till they had been emptied. The blubber-stove was +quickly alight and the cook began to prepare a hot drink. We were +labouring at the boats when I noticed Rickenson turn white and +stagger in the surf. I pulled him out of reach of the water and +sent him up to the stove, which had been placed in the shelter of +some rocks. McIlroy went to him and found that his heart had been +temporarily unequal to the strain placed upon it. He was in a bad +way and needed prompt medical attention. There are some men who +will do more than their share of work and who will attempt more +than they are physically able to accomplish. Rickenson was one +of these eager souls. He was suffering, like many other members +of the Expedition, from bad salt-water boils. Our wrists, arms, +and legs were attacked. Apparently this infliction was due to +constant soaking with sea-water, the chafing of wet clothes, +and exposure. +<p> +I was very anxious about the <i>Dudley Docker</i>, and my eyes as +well as my thoughts were turned eastward as we carried the stores +ashore; but within half an hour the missing boat appeared, +labouring through the spume-white sea, and presently she reached +the comparative calm of the bay. We watched her coming with that +sense of relief that the mariner feels when he crosses the +harbour-bar. The tide was going out rapidly, and Worsley +lightened the <i>Dudley Docker</i> by placing some cases on an outer +rock, where they were retrieved subsequently. Then he beached +his boat, and with many hands at work we soon had our belongings +ashore and our three craft above high-water mark. The spit was +by no means an ideal camping-ground; it was rough, bleak, and +inhospitable—just an acre or two of rock and shingle, with the +sea foaming around it except where the snow-slope, running up to +a glacier, formed the landward boundary. But some of the larger +rocks provided a measure of shelter from the wind, and as we +clustered round the blubber-stove, with the acrid smoke blowing +into our faces, we were quite a cheerful company. After all, +another stage of the homeward journey had been accomplished and +we could afford to forget for an hour the problems of the future. +Life was not so bad. We ate our evening meal while the snow drifted +down from the surface of the glacier, and our chilled bodies grew warm. +Then we dried a little tobacco at the stove and enjoyed our pipes +before we crawled into our tents. The snow had made it impossible +for us to find the tide-line and we were uncertain how far the sea +was going to encroach upon our beach. I pitched my tent on +the seaward side of the camp so that I might have early warning +of danger, and, sure enough, about 2 a.m. a little wave forced its +way under the tent-cloth. This was a practical demonstration that +we had not gone far enough back from the sea, but in the semi-darkness +it was difficult to see where we could find safety. Perhaps it was +fortunate that experience had inured us to the unpleasantness of +sudden forced changes of camp. We took down the tents and re-pitched +them close against the high rocks at the seaward end of +the spit, where large boulders made an uncomfortable resting-place. +Snow was falling heavily. Then all hands had to assist in pulling +the boats farther up the beach, and at this task we suffered a +serious misfortune. Two of our four bags of clothing had been +placed under the bilge of the <i>James Caird</i>, and before we realized +the danger a wave had lifted the boat and carried the two bags back +into the surf. We had no chance of recovering them. This accident +did not complete the tale of the night’s misfortunes. The big eight-man +tent was blown to pieces in the early morning. Some of the men +who had occupied it took refuge in other tents, but several remained +in their sleeping-bags under the fragments of cloth until it was time +to turn out. +<p> +A southerly gale was blowing on the morning of April 18 and the +drifting snow was covering everything. The outlook was cheerless +indeed, but much work had to be done and we could not yield to the +desire to remain in the sleeping-bags. Some sea-elephants were +lying about the beach above high-water mark, and we killed several +of the younger ones for their meat and blubber. The big tent could +not be replaced, and in order to provide shelter for the men we +turned the <i>Dudley Docker</i> upside down and wedged up the weather +side with boulders. We also lashed the painter and stern-rope +round the heaviest rocks we could find, so as to guard against the +danger of the boat being moved by the wind. The two bags of +clothing were bobbing about amid the brash and glacier-ice to the +windward side of the spit, and it did not seem possible to reach +them. The gale continued all day, and the fine drift from the +surface of the glacier was added to the big flakes of snow falling +from the sky. I made a careful examination of the spit with the +object of ascertaining its possibilities as a camping-ground. +Apparently, some of the beach lay above high-water mark and the +rocks that stood above the shingle gave a measure of shelter. +It would be possible to mount the snow-slope towards the glacier +in fine weather, but I did not push my exploration in that +direction during the gale. At the seaward end of the spit was +the mass of rock already mentioned. A few thousand ringed +penguins, with some gentoos, were on these rocks, and we had noted +this fact with a great deal of satisfaction at the time of our +landing. The ringed penguin is by no means the best of the +penguins from the point of view of the hungry traveller, but it +represents food. At 8 a.m. that morning I noticed the ringed +penguins mustering in orderly fashion close to the water’s edge, +and thought that they were preparing for the daily fishing +excursion; but presently it became apparent that some important +move was on foot. They were going to migrate, and with their +departure much valuable food would pass beyond our reach. +Hurriedly we armed ourselves with pieces of sledge-runner and other +improvised clubs, and started towards the rookery. We were too +late. The leaders gave their squawk of command and the columns +took to the sea in unbroken ranks. Following their leaders, the +penguins dived through the surf and reappeared in the heaving water +beyond. A very few of the weaker birds took fright and made their +way back to the beach, where they fell victims later to our +needs; but the main army went northwards and we saw them no more. +We feared that the gentoo penguins might follow the example of +their ringed cousins, but they stayed with us; apparently they +had not the migratory habit. They were comparatively few in +number, but from time to time they would come in from the sea and +walk up our beach. The gentoo is the most strongly marked of all +the smaller varieties of penguins as far as colouring is concerned, +and it far surpasses the adelie in weight of legs and breast, the +points that particularly appealed to us. +<p> +The deserted rookery was sure to be above high-water mark at all +times; and we mounted the rocky ledge in search of a place to +pitch our tents. The penguins knew better than to rest where the +sea could reach them even when the highest tide was supported by +the strongest gale. The disadvantages of a camp on the rookery +were obvious. The smell was strong, to put it mildly, and was not +likely to grow less pronounced when the warmth of our bodies thawed +the surface. But our choice of places was not wide, and that +afternoon we dug out a site for two tents in the debris of the +rookery, levelling it off with snow and rocks. My tent, No. 1, +was pitched close under the cliff, and there during my stay on +Elephant Island I lived. Crean’s tent was close by, and the other +three tents, which had fairly clean snow under them, were some yards +away. The fifth tent was a ramshackle affair. The material of +the torn eight-man tent had been drawn over a rough framework of +oars, and shelter of a kind provided for the men who occupied it. +<p> +The arrangement of our camp, the checking of our gear, the killing +and skinning of seals and sea-elephants occupied us during the day, +and we took to our sleeping-bags early. I and my companions in +No. 1 tent were not destined to spend a pleasant night. The heat of +our bodies soon melted the snow and refuse beneath us and the floor +of the tent became an evil smelling yellow mud. The snow drifting +from the cliff above us weighted the sides of the tent, and during +the night a particularly stormy gust brought our little home down +on top of us. We stayed underneath the snow-laden cloth till the +morning, for it seemed a hopeless business to set about re-pitching +the tent amid the storm that was raging in the darkness of the night. +<p> +The weather was still bad on the morning of April 19. Some of the +men were showing signs of demoralization. They were disinclined +to leave the tents when the hour came for turning out, and it was +apparent they were thinking more of the discomforts of the moment +than of the good fortune that had brought us to sound ground and +comparative safety. The condition of the gloves and headgear shown +me by some discouraged men illustrated the proverbial carelessness +of the sailor. The articles had frozen stiff during the night, +and the owners considered, it appeared, that this state of affairs +provided them with a grievance, or at any rate gave them the right +to grumble. They said they wanted dry clothes and that their health +would not admit of their doing any work. Only by rather drastic +methods were they induced to turn to. Frozen gloves and helmets +undoubtedly are very uncomfortable, and the proper thing is to keep +these articles thawed by placing them inside one’s shirt during +the night. +<p> +The southerly gale, bringing with it much snow, was so severe that +as I went along the beach to kill a seal I was blown down by a +gust. The cooking-pots from No. 2 tent took a flying run into the +sea at the same moment. A case of provisions which had been placed +on them to keep them safe had been capsized by a squall. These +pots, fortunately, were not essential, since nearly all our +cooking was done over the blubber-stove. The galley was set up by +the rocks close to my tent, in a hole we had dug through the +debris of the penguin rookery. Cases of stores gave some shelter +from the wind and a spread sail kept some of the snow off the cook +when he was at work. He had not much idle time. The amount of +seal and sea-elephant steak and blubber consumed by our hungry +party was almost incredible. He did not lack assistance—the +neighbourhood of the blubber-stove had attractions for every +member of the party; but he earned everybody’s gratitude by his +unflagging energy in preparing meals that to us at least were +savoury and satisfying. Frankly, we needed all the comfort that +the hot food could give us. The icy fingers of the gale searched +every cranny of our beach and pushed relentlessly through our +worn garments and tattered tents. The snow, drifting from the +glacier and falling from the skies, swathed us and our gear and +set traps for our stumbling feet. The rising sea beat against +the rocks and shingle and tossed fragments of floe-ice within a +few feet of our boats. Once during the morning the sun shone +through the racing clouds and we had a glimpse of blue sky; but +the promise of fair weather was not redeemed. The consoling feature +of the situation was that our camp was safe. We could endure the +discomforts, and I felt that all hands would be benefited by the +opportunity for rest and recuperation.<br><br> +<hr> +<center><h2><a name="9">CHAPTER IX</a></h2><h2>THE BOAT JOURNEY</h2></center> +<p><br> +The increasing sea made it necessary for us to drag the boats +farther up the beach. This was a task for all hands, and after +much labour we got the boats into safe positions among the rocks +and made fast the painters to big boulders. Then I discussed with +Wild and Worsley the chances of reaching South Georgia before the +winter locked the seas against us. Some effort had to be made to +secure relief. Privation and exposure had left their mark on the +party, and the health and mental condition of several men were +causing me serious anxiety. Blackborrow’s feet, which had been +frost-bitten during the boat journey, were in a bad way, and the +two doctors feared that an operation would be necessary. They +told me that the toes would have to be amputated unless animation +could be restored within a short period. Then the food-supply was +a vital consideration. We had left ten cases of provisions in +the crevice of the rocks at our first camping-place on the island. +An examination of our stores showed that we had full rations for +the whole party for a period of five weeks. The rations could be +spread over three months on a reduced allowance and probably would +be supplemented by seals and sea-elephants to some extent. I did +not dare to count with full confidence on supplies of meat and +blubber, for the animals seemed to have deserted the beach and the +winter was near. Our stocks included three seals and two and a +half skins (with blubber attached). We were mainly dependent on +the blubber for fuel, and, after making a preliminary survey of +the situation, I decided that the party must be limited to one hot +meal a day. +<p> +A boat journey in search of relief was necessary and must not be +delayed. That conclusion was forced upon me. The nearest port +where assistance could certainly be secured was Port Stanley, in +the Falkland Islands, 540 miles away, but we could scarcely hope +to beat up against the prevailing north-westerly wind in a frail +and weakened boat with a small sail area. South Georgia was over +800 miles away, but lay in the area of the west winds, and I could +count upon finding whalers at any of the whaling-stations on the +east coast. A boat party might make the voyage and be back with +relief within a month, provided that the sea was clear of ice and +the boat survive the great seas. It was not difficult to decide +that South Georgia must be the objective, and I proceeded to plan +ways and means. The hazards of a boat journey across 800 miles of +stormy sub-Antarctic ocean were obvious, but I calculated that at +worst the venture would add nothing to the risks of the men left +on the island. There would be fewer mouths to feed during the +winter and the boat would not require to take more than one month’s +provisions for six men, for if we did not make South Georgia in +that time we were sure to go under. A consideration that had +weight with me was that there was no chance at all of any search +being made for us on Elephant Island. +<p> +The case required to be argued in some detail, since all hands +knew that the perils of the proposed journey were extreme. The +risk was justified solely by our urgent need of assistance. The +ocean south of Cape Horn in the middle of May is known to be the +most tempestuous storm-swept area of water in the world. The +weather then is unsettled, the skies are dull and overcast, and +the gales are almost unceasing. We had to face these conditions +in a small and weather-beaten boat, already strained by the work +of the months that had passed. Worsley and Wild realized that +the attempt must be made, and they both asked to be allowed to +accompany me on the voyage. I told Wild at once that he would +have to stay behind. I relied upon him to hold the party together +while I was away and to make the best of his way to Deception +Island with the men in the spring in the event of our failure to +bring help. Worsley I would take with me, for I had a very high +opinion of his accuracy and quickness as a navigator, and +especially in the snapping and working out of positions in +difficult circumstances—an opinion that was only enhanced during +the actual journey. Four other men would be required, and I +decided to call for volunteers, although, as a matter of fact, +I pretty well knew which of the people I would select. Crean +I proposed to leave on the island as a right-hand man for Wild, +but he begged so hard to be allowed to come in the boat that, +after consultation with Wild, I promised to take him. I called +the men together, explained my plan, and asked for volunteers. +Many came forward at once. Some were not fit enough for the +work that would have to be done, and others would not have been +much use in the boat since they were not seasoned sailors, though +the experiences of recent months entitled them to some consideration +as seafaring men. McIlroy and Macklin were both anxious to go +but realized that their duty lay on the island with the sick men. +They suggested that I should take Blackborrow in order that he +might have shelter and warmth as quickly as possible, but I had +to veto this idea. It would be hard enough for fit men to live +in the boat. Indeed, I did not see how a sick man, lying helpless +in the bottom of the boat, could possibly survive in the heavy +weather we were sure to encounter. I finally selected McNeish, +McCarthy, and Vincent in addition to Worsley and Crean. The crew +seemed a strong one, and as I looked at the men I felt confidence +increasing. +<p> +The decision made, I walked through the blizzard with Worsley and +Wild to examine the <i>James Caird</i>. The 20-ft. boat had never +looked big; she appeared to have shrunk in some mysterious way +when I viewed her in the light of our new undertaking. She was +an ordinary ship’s whaler, fairly strong, but showing signs of the +strains she had endured since the crushing of the <i>Endurance</i>. Where +she was holed in leaving the pack was, fortunately, about the +water-line and easily patched. Standing beside her, we glanced at +the fringe of the storm-swept, tumultuous sea that formed our path. +Clearly, our voyage would be a big adventure. I called the +carpenter and asked him if he could do anything to make the boat +more seaworthy. He first inquired if he was to go with me, and +seemed quite pleased when I said “Yes.” He was over fifty years +of age and not altogether fit, but he had a good knowledge of +sailing-boats and was very quick. McCarthy said that he could +contrive some sort of covering for the <i>James Caird</i> if he might use +the lids of the cases and the four sledge-runners that we had +lashed inside the boat for use in the event of a landing on Graham +Land at Wilhelmina Bay. This bay, at one time the goal of our +desire, had been left behind in the course of our drift, but we +had retained the runners. The carpenter proposed to complete the +covering with some of our canvas; and he set about making his +plans at once. +<p> +Noon had passed and the gale was more severe than ever. We could +not proceed with our preparations that day. The tents were +suffering in the wind and the sea was rising. We made our way to +the snow-slope at the shoreward end of the spit, with the intention +of digging a hole in the snow large enough to provide shelter for +the party. I had an idea that Wild and his men might camp there +during my absence, since it seemed impossible that the tents could +hold together for many more days against the attacks of the wind; +but an examination of the spot indicated that any hole we could +dig probably would be filled quickly by the drift. At dark, +about 5 p.m., we all turned in, after a supper consisting of a +pannikin of hot milk, one of our precious biscuits, and a cold +penguin leg each. +<p> +The gale was stronger than ever on the following morning (April +20). No work could be done. Blizzard and snow, snow and blizzard, +sudden lulls and fierce returns. During the lulls we could see on +the far horizon to the north-east bergs of all shapes and sizes +driving along before the gale, and the sinister appearance of +the swift-moving masses made us thankful indeed that, instead of +battling with the storm amid the ice, we were required only to +face the drift from the glaciers and the inland heights. +The gusts might throw us off our feet, but at least we fell on +solid ground and not on the rocking floes. Two seals came up on +the beach that day, one of them within ten yards of my tent. So +urgent was our need of food and blubber that I called all hands +and organized a line of beaters instead of simply walking up to +the seal and hitting it on the nose. We were prepared to fall upon +this seal <i>en masse</i> if it attempted to escape. The kill was made +with a pick-handle, and in a few minutes five days’ food and six +days’ fuel were stowed in a place of safety among the boulders +above high-water mark. During this day the cook, who had worked +well on the floe and throughout the boat journey, suddenly +collapsed. I happened to be at the galley at the moment and saw +him fall. I pulled him down the slope to his tent and pushed him +into its shelter with orders to his tent-mates to keep him in his +sleeping-bag until I allowed him to come out or the doctors said +he was fit enough. Then I took out to replace the cook one of +the men who had expressed a desire to lie down and die. The +task of keeping the galley fire alight was both difficult and +strenuous, and it took his thoughts away from the chances of +immediate dissolution. In fact, I found him a little later +gravely concerned over the drying of a naturally not over-clean +pair of socks which were hung up in close proximity to our evening +milk. Occupation had brought his thoughts back to the ordinary +cares of life. +<p> +There was a lull in the bad weather on April 21, and the +carpenter started to collect material for the decking of the +<i>James Caird</i>. He fitted the mast of the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> fore +and aft inside the <i>James Caird</i> as a hog-back and thus strengthened +the keel with the object of preventing our boat “hogging”—that +is, buckling in heavy seas. He had not sufficient wood to provide +a deck, but by using the sledge-runners and box-lids he made a +framework extending from the forecastle aft to a well. It was a +patched-up affair, but it provided a base for a canvas covering. +We had a bolt of canvas frozen stiff, and this material had to be +cut and then thawed out over the blubber-stove, foot by foot, in +order that it might be sewn into the form of a cover. When it had +been nailed and screwed into position it certainly gave an appearance +of safety to the boat, though I had an uneasy feeling that it bore +a strong likeness to stage scenery, which may look like a granite +wall and is in fact nothing better than canvas and lath. As events +proved, the covering served its purpose well. We certainly could +not have lived through the voyage without it. +<p> +Another fierce gale was blowing on April 22, interfering with our +preparations for the voyage. The cooker from No. 5 tent came adrift +in a gust, and, although it was chased to the water’s edge, it +disappeared for good. Blackborrow’s feet were giving him much +pain, and McIlroy and Macklin thought it would be necessary for +them to operate soon. They were under the impression then that +they had no chloroform, but they found some subsequently in the +medicine-chest after we had left. Some cases of stores left on +a rock off the spit on the day of our arrival were retrieved during +this day. We were setting aside stores for the boat journey and +choosing the essential equipment from the scanty stock at our +disposal. Two ten-gallon casks had to be filled with water melted +down from ice collected at the foot of the glacier. This was a +rather slow business. The blubber-stove was kept going all night, +and the watchmen emptied the water into the casks from the pot +in which the ice was melted. A working party started to dig a +hole in the snow-slope about forty feet above sea-level with the +object of providing a site for a camp. They made fairly good +progress at first, but the snow drifted down unceasingly from +the inland ice, and in the end the party had to give up the +project. +<p> +The weather was fine on April 23, and we hurried forward our +preparations. It was on this day I decided finally that the crew +for the <i>James Caird</i> should consist of Worsley, Crean, McNeish, +McCarthy, Vincent, and myself. A storm came on about noon, with +driving snow and heavy squalls. Occasionally the air would clear +for a few minutes, and we could see a line of pack-ice, five miles +out, driving across from west to east. This sight increased my +anxiety to get away quickly. Winter was advancing, and soon the +pack might close completely round the island and stay our +departure for days or even for weeks, I did not think that ice +would remain around Elephant Island continuously during +the winter, since the strong winds and fast currents would keep it +in motion. We had noticed ice and bergs, going past at the rate +of four or five knots. A certain amount of ice was held up about +the end of our spit, but the sea was clear where the boat would +have to be launched. +<p> +Worsley, Wild, and I climbed to the summit of the seaward rocks +and examined the ice from a better vantage-point than the beach +offered. The belt of pack outside appeared to be sufficiently +broken for our purposes, and I decided that, unless the conditions +forbade it, we would make a start in the <i>James Caird</i> on the +following morning. Obviously the pack might close at any +time. This decision made, I spent the rest of the day looking +over the boat, gear, and stores, and discussing plans with Worsley +and Wild. +<p> +Our last night on the solid ground of Elephant Island was cold and +uncomfortable. We turned out at dawn and had breakfast. Then we +launched the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> and loaded her with stores, gear, and +ballast, which would be transferred to the <i>James Caird</i> when the +heavier boat had been launched. The ballast consisted of bags made +from blankets and filled with sand, making a total weight of about +1000 lbs. In addition we had gathered a number of round boulders +and about 250 lbs. of ice, which would supplement our two casks of +water. +<p> +The stores taken in the <i>James Caird</i>, which would last six men for +one month, were as follows: +<blockquote> + 30 boxes of matches.<br> + 6½ gallons paraffin.<br> + 1 tin methylated spirit.<br> + 10 boxes of flamers.<br> + 1 box of blue lights.<br> + 2 Primus stoves with spare parts and prickers.<br> + 1 Nansen aluminium cooker.<br> + 6 sleeping-bags.<br> + A few spare socks.<br> + A few candles and some blubber-oil in an oil-bag. </blockquote> +<p> +<i>Food</i>: +<blockquote> + 3 cases sledging rations = 300 rations.<br> + 2 cases nut food = 200 ”<br> + 2 cases biscuits = 600 biscuits.<br> + 1 case lump sugar.<br> + 30 packets of Trumilk.<br> + 1 tin. of Bovril cubes.<br> + 1 tin of Cerebos salt.<br> + 36 gallons of water.<br> +250 lbs. of ice.</blockquote> +<p> +<i>Instruments</i>: +<blockquote> +Sextant.<br> +Sea-anchor.<br> +Binoculars.<br> +Charts.<br> +Prismatic compass.<br> +Aneroid.</blockquote><br> +<p> +The swell was slight when the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> was launched and +the boat got under way without any difficulty; but half an hour +later, when we were pulling down the <i>James Caird</i>, the swell +increased suddenly. Apparently the movement of the ice outside +had made an opening and allowed the sea to run in without being +blanketed by the line of pack. The swell made things difficult. +Many of us got wet to the waist while dragging the boat out—a +serious matter in that climate. When the <i>James Caird</i> was afloat +in the surf she nearly capsized among the rocks before we could get +her clear, and Vincent and the carpenter, who were on the deck, +were thrown into the water. This was really bad luck, for the two +men would have small chance of drying their clothes after we had +got under way. Hurley, who had the eye of the professional +photographer for “incidents,” secured a picture of the upset, +and I firmly believe that he would have liked the two unfortunate +men to remain in the water until he could get a “snap” at close +quarters; but we hauled them out immediately, regardless of his +feelings. +<p> +The <i>James Caird</i> was soon clear of the breakers. We used all the +available ropes as a long painter to prevent her drifting away to +the north-east, and then the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> came alongside, +transferred her load, and went back to the shore for more. As she +was being beached this time the sea took her stern and half filled +her with water. She had to be turned over and emptied before the +return journey could be made. Every member of the crew of the +<i>Stancomb Wills</i> was wet to the skin. The water-casks were towed +behind the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> on this second journey, and the swell, +which was increasing rapidly, drove the boat on to the rocks, where +one of the casks was slightly stove in. This accident proved later +to be a serious one, since some sea-water had entered the cask and +the contents were now brackish. +<p> +By midday the <i>James Caird</i> was ready for the voyage. Vincent and +the carpenter had secured some dry clothes by exchange with +members of the shore party (I heard afterwards that it was a full +fortnight before the soaked garments were finally dried), and the +boat’s crew was standing by waiting for the order to cast off. +A moderate westerly breeze was blowing. I went ashore in the +<i>Stancomb Wills</i> and had a last word with Wild, who was remaining +in full command, with directions as to his course of action in the +event of our failure to bring relief, but I practically left the +whole situation and scope of action and decision to his own +judgment, secure in the knowledge that he would act wisely. I told +him that I trusted the party to him and said good-bye to the men. +Then we pushed off for the last time, and within a few minutes +I was aboard the <i>James Caird</i>. The crew of the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> +shook hands with us as the boats bumped together and offered us +the last good wishes. Then, setting our jib, we cut the painter +and moved away to the north-east. The men who were staying behind +made a pathetic little group on the beach, with the grim heights +of the island behind them and the sea seething at their feet, but +they waved to us and gave three hearty cheers. There was hope in +their hearts and they trusted us to bring the help that they needed. +<p> +I had all sails set, and the <i>James Caird</i> quickly dipped the beach +and its line of dark figures. The westerly wind took us rapidly +to the line of pack, and as we entered it I stood up with my arm +around the mast, directing the steering, so as to avoid the great +lumps of ice that were flung about in the heave of the sea. The +pack thickened and we were forced to turn almost due east, running +before the wind towards a gap I had seen in the morning from the +high ground. I could not see the gap now, but we had come out on +its bearing and I was prepared to find that it had been influenced +by the easterly drift. At four o’clock in the afternoon we found +the channel, much narrower than it had seemed in the morning but +still navigable. Dropping sail, we rowed through without touching +the ice anywhere, and by 5.30 p.m. we were clear of the pack with +open water before us. We passed one more piece of ice in the +darkness an hour later, but the pack lay behind, and with a fair +wind swelling the sails we steered our little craft through the +night, our hopes centred on our distant goal. The swell was very +heavy now, and when the time came for our first evening meal we +found great difficulty in keeping the Primus lamp alight and +preventing the hoosh splashing out of the pot. Three men were +needed to attend to the cooking, one man holding the lamp and two +men guarding the aluminium cooking-pot, which had to be lifted +clear of the Primus whenever the movement of the boat threatened +to cause a disaster. Then the lamp had to be protected from water, +for sprays were coming over the bows and our flimsy decking was by +no means water-tight. All these operations were conducted in the +confined space under the decking, where the men lay or knelt and +adjusted themselves as best they could to the angles of our cases +and ballast. It was uncomfortable, but we found consolation in the +reflection that without the decking we could not have used the +cooker at all. +<p> +The tale of the next sixteen days is one of supreme strife amid +heaving waters. The sub-Antarctic Ocean lived up to its evil +winter reputation. I decided to run north for at least two days +while the wind held and so get into warmer weather before turning +to the east and laying a course for South Georgia. We took +two-hourly spells at the tiller. The men who were not on watch +crawled into the sodden sleeping-bags and tried to forget their +troubles for a period; but there was no comfort in the boat. +The bags and cases seemed to be alive in the unfailing knack of +presenting their most uncomfortable angles to our rest-seeking +bodies. A man might imagine for a moment that he had found a +position of ease, but always discovered quickly that some +unyielding point was impinging on muscle or bone. The first night +aboard the boat was one of acute discomfort for us all, and we were +heartily glad when the dawn came and we could set about the +preparation of a hot breakfast. +<p> +This record of the voyage to South Georgia is based upon scanty +notes made day by day. The notes dealt usually with the bare +facts of distances, positions, and weather, but our memories +retained the incidents of the passing days in a period never to +be forgotten. By running north for the first two days I hoped to +get warmer weather and also to avoid lines of pack that might be +extending beyond the main body. We needed all the advantage that +we could obtain from the higher latitude for sailing on the great +circle, but we had to be cautious regarding possible ice-streams. +Cramped in our narrow quarters and continually wet by the spray, +we suffered severely from cold throughout the journey. We fought +the seas and the winds and at the same time had a daily struggle +to keep ourselves alive. At times we were in dire peril. Generally +we were upheld by the knowledge that we were making progress towards +the land where we would be, but there were days and nights when we +lay hove to, drifting across the storm-whitened seas and watching +with eyes interested rather than apprehensive the uprearing masses +of water, flung to and fro by Nature in the pride of her strength. +Deep seemed the valleys when we lay between the reeling seas. High +were the hills when we perched momentarily on the tops of giant +combers. Nearly always there were gales. So small was our boat and +so great were the seas that often our sail flapped idly in the calm +between the crests of two waves. Then we would climb the next slope +and catch the full fury of the gale where the wool-like whiteness +of the breaking water surged around us. We had our moments of +laughter—rare, it is true, but hearty enough. Even when cracked +lips and swollen mouths checked the outward and visible signs of +amusement we could see a joke of the primitive kind. Man’s sense +of humour is always most easily stirred by the petty misfortunes +of his neighbours, and I shall never forget Worsley’s efforts on +one occasion to place the hot aluminium stand on top of the Primus +stove after it had fallen off in an extra heavy roll. With his +frost-bitten fingers he picked it up, dropped it, picked it up +again, and toyed with it gingerly as though it were some fragile +article of lady’s wear. We laughed, or rather gurgled with laughter. +<p> +The wind came up strong and worked into a gale from the north-west +on the third day out. We stood away to the east. The increasing +seas discovered the weaknesses of our decking. The continuous blows +shifted the box-lids and sledge-runners so that the canvas sagged +down and accumulated water. Then icy trickles, distinct from the +driving sprays, poured fore and aft into the boat. The nails that +the carpenter had extracted from cases at Elephant Island and used +to fasten down the battens were too short to make firm the decking. +We did what we could to secure it, but our means were very limited, +and the water continued to enter the boat at a dozen points. Much +baling was necessary, and nothing that we could do prevented our +gear from becoming sodden. The searching runnels from the canvas +were really more unpleasant than the sudden definite douches of +the sprays. Lying under the thwarts during watches below, we tried +vainly to avoid them. There were no dry places in the boat, and at +last we simply covered our heads with our Burberrys and endured the +all-pervading water. The baling was work for the watch. Real rest +we had none. The perpetual motion of the boat made repose +impossible; we were cold, sore, and anxious. We moved on hands and +knees in the semi-darkness of the day under the decking. The +darkness was complete by 6 p.m., and not until 7 a.m. of the following +day could we see one another under the thwarts. We had a few scraps +of candle, and they were preserved carefully in order that we might +have light at meal-times. There was one fairly dry spot in the +boat, under the solid original decking at the bows, and we managed +to protect some of our biscuit from the salt water; but I do not +think any of us got the taste of salt out of our mouths during the +voyage. +<p> +The difficulty of movement in the boat would have had its humorous +side if it had not involved us in so many aches and pains. We had +to crawl under the thwarts in order to move along the boat, and our +knees suffered considerably. When watch turned out it was necessary +for me to direct each man by name when and where to move, since if +all hands had crawled about at the same time the result would have +been dire confusion and many bruises. Then there was the trim of +the boat to be considered. The order of the watch was four hours on +and four hours off, three men to the watch. One man had the tiller-ropes, +the second man attended to the sail, and the third baled for +all he was worth. Sometimes when the water in the boat had been +reduced to reasonable proportions, our pump could be used. This +pump, which Hurley had made from the Flinder’s bar case of our ship’s +standard compass, was quite effective, though its capacity was not +large. The man who was attending the sail could pump into the big +outer cooker, which was lifted and emptied overboard when filled. +We had a device by which the water could go direct from the pump +into the sea through a hole in the gunwale, but this hole had to +be blocked at an early stage of the voyage, since we found that +it admitted water when the boat rolled. +<p> +While a new watch was shivering in the wind and spray, the men who +had been relieved groped hurriedly among the soaked sleeping-bags +and tried to steal a little of the warmth created by the last +occupants; but it was not always possible for us to find even this +comfort when we went off watch. The boulders that we had taken +aboard for ballast had to be shifted continually in order to trim +the boat and give access to the pump, which became choked with +hairs from the moulting sleeping-bags and finneskoe. The four +reindeer-skin sleeping-bags shed their hair freely owing to the +continuous wetting, and soon became quite bald in appearance. +The moving of the boulders was weary and painful work. We came +to know every one of the stones by sight and touch, and I have +vivid memories of their angular peculiarities even to-day. They +might have been of considerable interest as geological specimens +to a scientific man under happier conditions. As ballast they +were useful. As weights to be moved about in cramped quarters +they were simply appalling. They spared no portion of our poor +bodies. Another of our troubles, worth mention here, was the +chafing of our legs by our wet clothes, which had not been changed +now for seven months. The insides of our thighs were rubbed raw, +and the one tube of Hazeline cream in our medicine-chest did not go +far in alleviating our pain, which was increased by the bite of +the salt water. We thought at the time that we never slept. +The fact was that we would doze off uncomfortably, to be aroused +quickly by some new ache or another call to effort. My own +share of the general unpleasantness was accentuated by a finely +developed bout of sciatica. I had become possessor of this +originally on the floe several months earlier. +<p> +Our meals were regular in spite of the gales. Attention to this +point was essential, since the conditions of the voyage made +increasing calls upon our vitality. Breakfast, at 8 a.m., +consisted of a pannikin of hot hoosh made from Bovril sledging +ration, two biscuits, and some lumps of sugar. Lunch came at +1 p.m., and comprised Bovril sledging ration, eaten raw, and +a pannikin of hot milk for each man. Tea, at 5 p.m., had the +same menu. Then during the night we had a hot drink, generally +of milk. The meals were the bright beacons in those cold and +stormy days. The glow of warmth and comfort produced by the food +and drink made optimists of us all. We had two tins of Virol, +which we were keeping for an emergency; but, finding ourselves +in need of an oil-lamp to eke out our supply of candles, we +emptied one of the tins in the manner that most appealed to us, +and fitted it with a wick made by shredding a bit of canvas. When +this lamp was filled with oil it gave a certain amount of light, +though it was easily blown out, and was of great assistance to us +at night. We were fairly well off as regarded fuel, since we had +6½ gallons of petroleum. +<p> +A severe south-westerly gale on the fourth day out forced us to +heave to. I would have liked to have run before the wind, but +the sea was very high and the <i>James Caird</i> was in danger of +broaching to and swamping. The delay was vexatious, since up to +that time we had been making sixty or seventy miles a day, good +going with our limited sail area. We hove to under double-reefed +mainsail and our little jigger, and waited for the gale to blow +itself out. During that afternoon we saw bits of wreckage, the +remains probably of some unfortunate vessel that had failed to +weather the strong gales south of Cape Horn. The weather +conditions did not improve, and on the fifth day out the gale was +so fierce that we were compelled to take in the double-reefed +mainsail and hoist our small jib instead. We put out a sea-anchor +to keep the <i>James Caird’s</i> head up to the sea. This anchor +consisted of a triangular canvas bag fastened to the end of the +painter and allowed to stream out from the bows. The boat +was high enough to catch the wind, and, as she drifted to leeward, +the drag of the anchor kept her head to windward. Thus our boat +took most of the seas more or less end on. Even then the crests +of the waves often would curl right over us and we shipped a great +deal of water, which necessitated unceasing baling and pumping. +Looking out abeam, we would see a hollow like a tunnel formed as +the crest of a big wave toppled over on to the swelling body of water. +A thousand times it appeared as though the <i>James Caird</i> must be +engulfed; but the boat lived. The south-westerly gale had its +birthplace above the Antarctic Continent, and its freezing breath +lowered the temperature far towards zero. The sprays froze upon +the boat and gave bows, sides, and decking a heavy coat of mail. +This accumulation of ice reduced the buoyancy of the boat, and to +that extent was an added peril; but it possessed a notable advantage +from one point of view. The water ceased to drop and trickle from +the canvas, and the spray came in solely at the well in the after +part of the boat. We could not allow the load of ice to grow beyond +a certain point, and in turns we crawled about the decking forward, +chipping and picking at it with the available tools. +<p> +When daylight came on the morning of the sixth day out we saw +and felt that the <i>James Caird</i> had lost her resiliency. She was not +rising to the oncoming seas. The weight of the ice that had formed +in her and upon her during the night was having its effect, and she +was becoming more like a log than a boat. The situation called for +immediate action. We first broke away the spare oars, which were +encased in ice and frozen to the sides of the boat, and threw them +overboard. We retained two oars for use when we got inshore. Two +of the fur sleeping-bags went over the side; they were thoroughly +wet, weighing probably 40 lbs. each, and they had frozen stiff +during the night. Three men constituted the watch below, and when +a man went down it was better to turn into the wet bag just vacated +by another man than to thaw out a frozen bag with the heat of his +unfortunate body. We now had four bags, three in use and one for +emergency use in case a member of the party should break down +permanently. The reduction of weight relieved the boat to some +extent, and vigorous chipping and scraping did more. We had to +be very careful not to put axe or knife through the frozen canvas +of the decking as we crawled over it, but gradually we got rid of +a lot of ice. The <i>James Caird</i> lifted to the endless waves as +though she lived again. +<p> +About 11 a.m. the boat suddenly fell off into the trough of the +sea. The painter had parted and the sea-anchor had gone. This +was serious. The <i>James Caird</i> went away to leeward, and we +had no chance at all of recovering the anchor and our valuable +rope, which had been our only means of keeping the boat’s head up +to the seas without the risk of hoisting sail in a gale. Now we +had to set the sail and trust to its holding. While the <i>James +Caird</i> rolled heavily in the trough, we beat the frozen canvas +until the bulk of the ice had cracked off it and then hoisted +it. The frozen gear worked protestingly, but after a struggle +our little craft came up to the wind again, and we breathed +more freely. Skin frost-bites were troubling us, and we had +developed large blisters on our fingers and hands. I shall +always carry the scar of one of these frost-bites on my left +hand, which became badly inflamed after the skin had burst and +the cold had bitten deeply. +<p> +We held the boat up to the gale during that day, enduring as +best we could discomforts that amounted to pain. The boat +tossed interminably on the big waves under grey, threatening +skies. Our thoughts did not embrace much more than the +necessities of the hour. Every surge of the sea was an enemy +to be watched and circumvented. We ate our scanty meals, +treated our frost-bites, and hoped for the improved conditions +that the morrow might bring. Night fell early, and in the +lagging hours of darkness we were cheered by a change for the +better in the weather. The wind dropped, the snow-squalls became +less frequent, and the sea moderated. When the morning of the +seventh day dawned there was not much wind. We shook the reef +out of the sail and laid our course once more for South Georgia. +The sun came out bright and clear, and presently Worsley got a +snap for longitude. We hoped that the sky would remain clear +until noon, so that we could get the latitude. We had been six +days out without an observation, and our dead reckoning naturally +was uncertain. The boat must have presented a strange appearance +that morning. All hands basked in the sun. We hung our sleeping-bags +to the mast and spread our socks and other gear all over the +deck. Some of the ice had melted off the <i>James Caird</i> in the +early morning after the gale began to slacken; and dry patches were +appearing in the decking. Porpoises came blowing round the boat, +and Cape pigeons wheeled and swooped within a few feet of us. +These little black-and-white birds have an air of friendliness that +is not possessed by the great circling albatross. They had looked +grey against the swaying sea during the storm as they darted about +over our heads and uttered their plaintive cries. The albatrosses, +of the black or sooty variety, had watched with hard, bright eyes, +and seemed to have a quite impersonal interest in our struggle to +keep afloat amid the battering seas. In addition to the Cape pigeons +an occasional stormy petrel flashed overhead. Then there was a +small bird, unknown to me, that appeared always to be in a fussy, +bustling state, quite out of keeping with the surroundings. It +irritated me. It had practically no tail, and it flitted about +vaguely as though in search of the lost member. I used to find +myself wishing it would find its tail and have done with the silly +fluttering. +<p> +We revelled in the warmth of the sun that day. Life was not so bad, +after all. We felt we were well on our way. Our gear was drying, +and we could have a hot meal in comparative comfort. The swell was +still heavy, but it was not breaking and the boat rode easily. At +noon Worsley balanced himself on the gunwale and clung with one hand +to the stay of the mainmast while he got a snap of the sun. The +result was more than encouraging. We had done over 380 miles and +were getting on for half-way to South Georgia. It looked as though +we were going to get through. +<p> +The wind freshened to a good stiff breeze during the afternoon, and +the <i>James Caird</i> made satisfactory progress. I had not realized +until the sunlight came how small our boat really was. There was +some influence in the light and warmth, some hint of happier days, +that made us revive memories of other voyages, when we had stout +decks beneath our feet, unlimited food at our command, and pleasant +cabins for our ease. Now we clung to a battered little boat, +“alone, alone—all, all alone; alone on a wide, wide sea.” So +low in the water were we that each succeeding swell cut off our +view of the sky-line. We were a tiny speck in the vast vista of +the sea—the ocean that is open to all and merciful to none, that +threatens even when it seems to yield, and that is pitiless always +to weakness. For a moment the consciousness of the forces arrayed +against us would be almost overwhelming. Then hope and confidence +would rise again as our boat rose to a wave and tossed aside the +crest in a sparkling shower like the play of prismatic colours at +the foot of a waterfall. My double-barrelled gun and some cartridges +had been stowed aboard the boat as an emergency precaution against a +shortage of food, but we were not disposed to destroy our little +neighbours, the Cape pigeons, even for the sake of fresh meat. We +might have shot an albatross, but the wandering king of the ocean +aroused in us something of the feeling that inspired, too late, +the Ancient Mariner. So the gun remained among the stores and +sleeping-bags in the narrow quarters beneath our leaking deck, +and the birds followed us unmolested. +<p> +The eighth, ninth, and tenth days of the voyage had few features +worthy of special note. The wind blew hard during those days, and +the strain of navigating the boat was unceasing, but always we made +some advance towards our goal. No bergs showed on our horizon, and +we knew that we were clear of the ice-fields. Each day brought +its little round of troubles, but also compensation in the form of +food and growing hope. We felt that we were going to succeed. +The odds against us had been great, but we were winning through. +We still suffered severely from the cold, for, though the +temperature was rising, our vitality was declining owing to shortage +of food, exposure, and the necessity of maintaining our cramped +positions day and night. I found that it was now absolutely +necessary to prepare hot milk for all hands during the night, in +order to sustain life till dawn. This meant lighting the Primus +lamp in the darkness and involved an increased drain on our small +store of matches. It was the rule that one match must serve +when the Primus was being lit. We had no lamp for the compass and +during the early days of the voyage we would strike a match when +the steersman wanted to see the course at night; but later the +necessity for strict economy impressed itself upon us, and the +practice of striking matches at night was stopped. We had one +water-tight tin of matches. I had stowed away in a pocket, in +readiness for a sunny day, a lens from one of the telescopes, +but this was of no use during the voyage. The sun seldom shone +upon us. The glass of the compass got broken one night, and we +contrived to mend it with adhesive tape from the medicine-chest. +One of the memories that comes to me from those days is of Crean +singing at the tiller. He always sang while he was steering, and +nobody ever discovered what the song was. It was devoid of tune +and as monotonous as the chanting of a Buddhist monk at his prayers; +yet somehow it was cheerful. In moments of inspiration Crean would +attempt “The Wearing of the Green.” +<p> +On the tenth night Worsley could not straighten his body after +his spell at the tiller. He was thoroughly cramped, and we had to +drag him beneath the decking and massage him before he could unbend +himself and get into a sleeping-bag. A hard north-westerly gale +came up on the eleventh day (May 5) and shifted to the south-west +in the late afternoon. The sky was overcast and occasional snow-squalls +added to the discomfort produced by a tremendous cross-sea—the worst, +I thought, that we had experienced. At midnight I +was at the tiller and suddenly noticed a line of clear sky between +the south and south-west. I called to the other men that the sky +was clearing, and then a moment later I realized that what I had +seen was not a rift in the clouds but the white crest of an enormous +wave. During twenty-six years’ experience of the ocean in all its +moods I had not encountered a wave so gigantic. It was a mighty +upheaval of the ocean, a thing quite apart from the big white-capped +seas that had been our tireless enemies for many days. I shouted, +“For God’s sake, hold on! It’s got us!” Then came a moment of +suspense that seemed drawn out into hours. White surged the foam +of the breaking sea around us. We felt our boat lifted and flung +forward like a cork in breaking surf. We were in a seething chaos +of tortured water; but somehow the boat lived through it, half-full +of water, sagging to the dead weight and shuddering under the blow. +We baled with the energy of men fighting for life, flinging the +water over the sides with every receptacle that came to our hands, +and after ten minutes of uncertainty we felt the boat renew her +life beneath us. She floated again and ceased to lurch drunkenly +as though dazed by the attack of the sea. Earnestly we hoped that +never again would we encounter such a wave. +<p> +The conditions in the boat, uncomfortable before, had been made +worse by the deluge of water. All our gear was thoroughly wet again. +Our cooking-stove had been floating about in the bottom of the boat, +and portions of our last hoosh seemed to have permeated everything. +Not until 3 a.m., when we were all chilled almost to the limit of +endurance, did we manage to get the stove alight and make ourselves +hot drinks. The carpenter was suffering particularly, but he showed +grit and spirit. Vincent had for the past week ceased to be an active +member of the crew, and I could not easily account for his collapse. +Physically he was one of the strongest men in the boat. He was a +young man, he had served on North Sea trawlers, and he should have +been able to bear hardships better than McCarthy, who, not so strong, +was always happy. +<p> +The weather was better on the following day (May 6), and we got a +glimpse of the sun. Worsley’s observation showed that we were not +more than a hundred miles from the north-west corner of South +Georgia. Two more days with a favourable wind and we would sight +the promised land. I hoped that there would be no delay, for our +supply of water was running very low. The hot drink at night was +essential, but I decided that the daily allowance of water must be +cut down to half a pint per man. The lumps of ice we had taken +aboard had gone long ago. We were dependent upon the water we had +brought from Elephant Island, and our thirst was increased by the +fact that we were now using the brackish water in the breaker that +had been slightly stove in in the surf when the boat was being +loaded. Some sea-water had entered at that time. Thirst took +possession of us. I dared not permit the allowance of water to be +increased since an unfavourable wind might drive us away from the +island and lengthen our voyage by many days. Lack of water is +always the most severe privation that men can be condemned to endure, +and we found, as during our earlier boat voyage, that the salt water +in our clothing and the salt spray that lashed our faces made our +thirst grow quickly to a burning pain. I had to be very firm in +refusing to allow any one to anticipate the morrow’s allowance, +which I was sometimes begged to do. We did the necessary work +dully and hoped for the land. I had altered the course to the east +so as to make sure of our striking the island, which would have been +impossible to regain if we had run past the northern end. The +course was laid on our scrap of chart for a point some thirty miles +down the coast. That day and the following day passed for us in a +sort of nightmare. Our mouths were dry and our tongues were +swollen. The wind was still strong and the heavy sea forced us to +navigate carefully, but any thought of our peril from the waves was +buried beneath the consciousness of our raging thirst. The bright +moments were those when we each received our one mug of hot milk +during the long, bitter watches of the night. Things were bad for +us in those days, but the end was coming. The morning of May 8 +broke thick and stormy, with squalls from the north-west. We +searched the waters ahead for a sign of land, and though we could +see nothing more than had met our eyes for many days, we were +cheered by a sense that the goal was near at hand. About +ten o’clock that morning we passed a little bit of kelp, a glad +signal of the proximity of land. An hour later we saw two shags +sitting on a big mass of kelp, and knew then that we must be within +ten or fifteen miles of the shore. These birds are as sure an +indication of the proximity of land as a lighthouse is, for they +never venture far to sea. We gazed ahead with increasing eagerness, +and at 12.30 p.m., through a rift in the clouds, McCarthy caught +a glimpse of the black cliffs of South Georgia, just fourteen days +after our departure from Elephant Island. It was a glad moment. +Thirst-ridden, chilled, and weak as we were, happiness irradiated us. +The job was nearly done. +<p> +We stood in towards the shore to look for a landing-place, and +presently we could see the green tussock-grass on the ledges above +the surf-beaten rocks. Ahead of us and to the south, blind rollers +showed the presence of uncharted reefs along the coast. Here and +there the hungry rocks were close to the surface, and over them +the great waves broke, swirling viciously and spouting thirty and +forty feet into the air. The rocky coast appeared to descend sheer +to the sea. Our need of water and rest was well-nigh desperate, but +to have attempted a landing at that time would have been suicidal. +Night was drawing near, and the weather indications were not +favourable. There was nothing for it but to haul off till the +following morning, so we stood away on the starboard tack until we +had made what appeared to be a safe offing. Then we hove to in +the high westerly swell. The hours passed slowly as we waited +the dawn, which would herald, we fondly hoped, the last stage +of our journey. Our thirst was a torment and we could scarcely +touch our food; the cold seemed to strike right through our weakened +bodies. At 5 a.m. the wind shifted to the north-west and quickly +increased to one of the worst hurricanes any of us had ever +experienced. A great cross-sea was running and the wind simply +shrieked as it tore the tops off the waves and converted the whole +seascape into a haze of driving spray. Down into valleys, up to +tossing heights, straining until her seams opened, swung our little +boat, brave still but labouring heavily. We knew that the wind +and set of the sea was driving us ashore, but we could do nothing. +The dawn showed us a storm-torn ocean, and the morning passed +without bringing us a sight of the land; but at 1 p.m., through +a rift in the flying mists, we got a glimpse of the huge crags +of the island and realized that our position had become desperate. +We were on a dead lee shore, and we could gauge our approach to +the unseen cliffs by the roar of the breakers against the sheer +walls of rock. I ordered the double-reefed mainsail to be set +in the hope that we might claw off, and this attempt increased +the strain upon the boat. The <i>James Caird</i> was bumping heavily, +and the water was pouring in everywhere. Our thirst was forgotten +in the realization of our imminent danger, as we baled unceasingly, +and adjusted our weights from time to time; occasional glimpses showed +that the shore was nearer. I knew that Annewkow Island lay to the +south of us, but our small and badly marked chart showed uncertain +reefs in the passage between the island and the mainland, and I +dared not trust it, though as a last resort we could try to lie +under the lee of the island. The afternoon wore away as we edged +down the coast, with the thunder of the breakers in our ears. The +approach of evening found us still some distance from Annewkow Island, +and, dimly in the twilight, we could see a snow-capped mountain +looming above us. The chance of surviving the night, with the +driving gale and the implacable sea forcing us on to the lee shore, +seemed small. I think most of us had a feeling that the end +was very near. Just after 6 p.m., in the dark, as the boat was +in the yeasty backwash from the seas flung from this iron-bound +coast, then, just when things looked their worst, they changed for +the best. I have marvelled often at the thin line that divides +success from failure and the sudden turn that leads from apparently +certain disaster to comparative safety. The wind suddenly shifted, +and we were free once more to make an offing. Almost as soon as +the gale eased, the pin that locked the mast to the thwart fell out. +It must have been on the point of doing this throughout the hurricane, +and if it had gone nothing could have saved us; the mast would have +snapped like a carrot. Our backstays had carried away once before +when iced up and were not too strongly fastened now. We were +thankful indeed for the mercy that had held that pin in its place +throughout the hurricane. +<p> +We stood off shore again, tired almost to the point of apathy. Our +water had long been finished. The last was about a pint of hairy +liquid, which we strained through a bit of gauze from the medicine-chest. +The pangs of thirst attacked us with redoubled intensity, +and I felt that we must make a landing on the following day at almost +any hazard. The night wore on. We were very tired. We longed for +day. When at last the dawn came on the morning of May 10 there was +practically no wind, but a high cross-sea was running. We made +slow progress towards the shore. About 8 a.m. the wind backed to +the north-west and threatened another blow. We had sighted in +the meantime a big indentation which I thought must be King Haakon +Bay, and I decided that we must land there. We set the bows of the +boat towards the bay and ran before the freshening gale. Soon we +had angry reefs on either side. Great glaciers came down to the sea +and offered no landing-place. The sea spouted on the reefs and +thundered against the shore. About noon we sighted a line of jagged +reef, like blackened teeth, that seemed to bar the entrance to the +bay. Inside, comparatively smooth water stretched eight or nine +miles to the head of the bay. A gap in the reef appeared, and we +made for it. But the fates had another rebuff for us. The wind +shifted and blew from the east right out of the bay. We could +see the way through the reef, but we could not approach it directly. +That afternoon we bore up, tacking five times in the strong wind. +The last tack enabled us to get through, and at last we were in +the wide mouth of the bay. Dusk was approaching. A small cove, +with a boulder-strewn beach guarded by a reef, made a break in +the cliffs on the south side of the bay, and we turned in that +direction. I stood in the bows directing the steering as we ran +through the kelp and made the passage of the reef. The entrance +was so narrow that we had to take in the oars, and the swell was +piling itself right over the reef into the cove; but in a minute +or two we were inside, and in the gathering darkness the <i>James +Caird</i> ran in on a swell and touched the beach. I sprang ashore +with the short painter and held on when the boat went out with +the backward surge. When the <i>James Caird</i> came in again three +of the men got ashore, and they held the painter while I climbed +some rocks with another line. A slip on the wet rocks twenty +feet up nearly closed my part of the story just at the moment +when we were achieving safety. A jagged piece of rock held me +and at the same time bruised me sorely. However, I made fast +the line, and in a few minutes we were all safe on the beach, +with the boat floating in the surging water just off the shore. +We heard a gurgling sound that was sweet music in our ears, and, +peering around, found a stream of fresh water almost at our feet. +A moment later we were down on our knees drinking the pure, ice-cold +water in long draughts that put new life into us. It was +a splendid moment. +<p> +The next thing was to get the stores and ballast out of the boat, +in order that we might secure her for the night. We carried the +stores and gear above high-water mark and threw out the bags of +sand and the boulders that we knew so well. Then we attempted +to pull the empty boat up the beach, and discovered by this effort +how weak we had become. Our united strength was not sufficient to +get the <i>James Caird</i> clear of the water. Time after time we pulled +together, but without avail. I saw that it would be necessary to +have food and rest before we beached the boat. We made fast a line +to a heavy boulder and set a watch to fend the <i>James Caird</i> off +the rocks of the beach. Then I sent Crean round to the left side +of the cove, about thirty yards away, where I had noticed a little +cave as we were running in. He could not see much in the darkness, +but reported that the place certainly promised some shelter. We +carried the sleeping-bags round and found a mere hollow in the rock-face, +with a shingle floor sloping at a steep angle to the sea. +There we prepared a hot meal, and when the food was finished I +ordered the men to turn in. The time was now about 8 p.m., and +I took the first watch beside the <i>James Caird</i>, which was still +afloat in the tossing water just off the beach. +<p> +Fending the <i>James Caird</i> off the rocks in the darkness was awkward +work. The boat would have bumped dangerously if allowed to ride +in with the waves that drove into the cove. I found a flat rock +for my feet, which were in a bad way owing to cold, wetness, and +lack of exercise in the boat, and during the next few hours I +laboured to keep the <i>James Caird</i> clear of the beach. Occasionally +I had to rush into the seething water. Then, as a wave receded, +I let the boat out on the alpine rope so as to avoid a sudden jerk. +The heavy painter had been lost when the sea-anchor went adrift. +The <i>James Caird</i> could be seen but dimly in the cove, where the +high black cliffs made the darkness almost complete, and the +strain upon one’s attention was great. After several hours had +passed I found that my desire for sleep was becoming irresistible, +and at 1 a.m. I called Crean. I could hear him groaning as he +stumbled over the sharp rocks on his way down the beach. While he +was taking charge of the <i>James Caird</i> she got adrift, and we had +some anxious moments. Fortunately, she went across towards the +cave and we secured her, unharmed. The loss or destruction of the +boat at this stage would have been a very serious matter, since we +probably would have found it impossible to leave the cove except by +sea. The cliffs and glaciers around offered no practicable path +towards the head of the bay. I arranged for one-hour watches during +the remainder of the night and then took Crean’s place among the +sleeping men and got some sleep before the dawn came. +<p> +The sea went down in the early hours of the morning (May 11), and +after sunrise we were able to set about getting the boat ashore, +first bracing ourselves for the task with another meal. We were +all weak still. We cut off the topsides and took out all the movable +gear. Then we waited for Byron’s “great ninth wave,” and when it +lifted the <i>James Caird</i> in we held her and, by dint of great +exertion, worked her round broadside to the sea. Inch by inch we +dragged her up until we reached the fringe of the tussock-grass +and knew that the boat was above high-water mark. The rise of +the tide was about five feet, and at spring tide the water must +have reached almost to the edge of the tussock-grass. The +completion of this job removed our immediate anxieties, and we +were free to examine our surroundings and plan the next move. +The day was bright and clear. +<p> +King Haakon Bay is an eight-mile sound penetrating the coast of +South Georgia in an easterly direction. We had noticed that the +northern and southern sides of the sound were formed by steep +mountain-ranges, their flanks furrowed by mighty glaciers, the +outlets of the great ice-sheet of the interior. It was obvious +that these glaciers and the precipitous slopes of the mountains +barred our way inland from the cove. We must sail to the head of +the sound. Swirling clouds and mist-wreaths had obscured our view +of the sound when we were entering, but glimpses of snow-slopes had +given us hope that an overland journey could be begun from that +point. A few patches of very rough, tussocky land, dotted with +little tarns, lay between the glaciers along the foot of the +mountains, which were heavily scarred with scree-slopes. Several +magnificent peaks and crags gazed out across their snowy domains +to the sparkling waters of the sound. +<p> +Our cove lay a little inside the southern headland of King Haakon +Bay. A narrow break in the cliffs, which were about a hundred feet +high at this point, formed the entrance to the cove. The cliffs +continued inside the cove on each side and merged into a hill which +descended at a steep slope to the boulder beach. The slope, which +carried tussock-grass, was not continuous. It eased at two points +into little peaty swamp terraces dotted with frozen pools and drained +by two small streams. Our cave was a recess in the cliff on the +left-hand end of the beach. The rocky face of the cliff was undercut +at this point, and the shingle thrown up by the waves formed a steep +slope, which we reduced to about one in six by scraping the stones +away from the inside. Later we strewed the rough floor with the dead, +nearly dry underleaves of the tussock-grass, so as to form a slightly +soft bed for our sleeping-bags. Water had trickled down the face +of the cliff and formed long icicles, which hung down in front of +the cave to the length of about fifteen feet. These icicles +provided shelter, and when we had spread our sails below them, +with the assistance of oars, we had quarters that, in the +circumstances, had to be regarded as reasonably comfortable. +The camp at least was dry, and we moved our gear there with +confidence. We built a fireplace and arranged our sleeping-bags +and blankets around it. The cave was about 8 ft. deep and 12 ft. +wide at the entrance. +<p> +While the camp was being arranged Crean and I climbed the tussock +slope behind the beach and reached the top of a headland overlooking +the sound. There we found the nests of albatrosses, and, much to +our delight, the nests contained young birds. The fledgelings were +fat and lusty, and we had no hesitation about deciding that they were +destined to die at an early age. Our most pressing anxiety at this +stage was a shortage of fuel for the cooker. We had rations for ten +more days, and we knew now that we could get birds for food; but if +we were to have hot meals we must secure fuel. The store of +petroleum carried in the boat was running very low, and it seemed +necessary to keep some quantity for use on the overland journey that +lay ahead of us. A sea-elephant or a seal would have provided fuel +as well as food, but we could see none in the neighbourhood. During +the morning we started a fire in the cave with wood from the top-sides +of the boat, and though the dense smoke from the damp sticks +inflamed our tired eyes, the warmth and the prospect of hot food were +ample compensation. Crean was cook that day, and I suggested to him +that he should wear his goggles, which he happened to have brought +with him. The goggles helped him a great deal as he bent over the fire +and tended the stew. And what a stew it was! The young albatrosses +weighed about fourteen pounds each fresh killed, and we estimated that +they weighed at least six pounds each when cleaned and dressed for +the pot. Four birds went into the pot for six men, with a Bovril +ration for thickening. The flesh was white and succulent, and +the bones, not fully formed, almost melted in our mouths. That +was a memorable meal. When we had eaten our fill, we dried our +tobacco in the embers of the fire and smoked contentedly. We +made an attempt to dry our clothes, which were soaked with salt +water, but did not meet with much success. We could not afford +to have a fire except for cooking purposes until blubber or +driftwood had come our way. +<p> +The final stage of the journey had still to be attempted. +I realized that the condition of the party generally, and +particularly of McNeish and Vincent, would prevent us putting +to sea again except under pressure of dire necessity. Our boat, +moreover, had been weakened by the cutting away of the topsides, +and I doubted if we could weather the island. We were still 150 +miles away from Stromness whaling-station by sea. The alternative +was to attempt the crossing of the island. If we could not get +over, then we must try to secure enough food and fuel to keep us +alive through the winter, but this possibility was scarcely +thinkable. Over on Elephant Island twenty-two men were waiting +for the relief that we alone could secure for them. Their plight +was worse than ours. We must push on somehow. Several days must +elapse before our strength would be sufficiently recovered to +allow us to row or sail the last nine miles up to the head of the +bay. In the meantime we could make what preparations were possible +and dry our clothes by taking advantage of every scrap of heat from +the fires we lit for the cooking of our meals. We turned in early +that night, and I remember that I dreamed of the great wave and +aroused my companions with a shout of warning as I saw with half-awakened +eyes the towering cliff on the opposite side of the cove. +Shortly before midnight a gale sprang up suddenly from the north-east +with rain and sleet showers. It brought quantities of glacier-ice +into the cove, and by 2 a.m. (May 12) our little harbour was +filled with ice, which surged to and fro in the swell and pushed +its way on to the beach. We had solid rock beneath our feet and +could watch without anxiety. When daylight came rain was falling +heavily, and the temperature was the highest we had experienced +for many months. The icicles overhanging our cave were melting +down in streams and we had to move smartly when passing in and out +lest we should be struck by falling lumps. A fragment weighing +fifteen or twenty pounds crashed down while we were having +breakfast. We found that a big hole had been burned in the bottom +of Worsley’s reindeer sleeping-bag during the night. Worsley had +been awakened by a burning sensation in his feet, and had asked +the men near him if his bag was all right; they looked and could +see nothing wrong. We were all superficially frostbitten about +the feet, and this condition caused the extremities to burn +painfully, while at the same time sensation was lost in the skin. +Worsley thought that the uncomfortable heat of his feet was due to +the frost-bites, and he stayed in his bag and presently went to +sleep again. He discovered when he turned out in the morning that +the tussock-grass which we had laid on the floor of the cave had +smouldered outwards from the fire and had actually burned a large +hole in the bag beneath his feet. Fortunately, his feet were not +harmed. +<p> +Our party spent a quiet day, attending to clothing and gear, +checking stores, eating and resting. Some more of the young +albatrosses made a noble end in our pot. The birds were nesting +on a small plateau above the right-hand end of our beach. We had +previously discovered that when we were landing from the boat on +the night of May 10 we had lost the rudder. The <i>James Caird</i> had +been bumping heavily astern as we were scrambling ashore, and +evidently the rudder was then knocked off. A careful search of +the beach and the rocks within our reach failed to reveal the +missing article. This was a serious loss, even if the voyage to +the head of the sound could be made in good weather. At dusk the +ice in the cove was rearing and crashing on the beach. It had +forced up a ridge of stones close to where the <i>James Caird</i> lay +at the edge of the tussock-grass. Some pieces of ice were driven +right up to the canvas wall at the front of our cave. Fragments +lodged within two feet of Vincent, who had the lowest sleeping-place, +and within four feet of our fire. Crean and McCarthy had brought +down six more of the young albatrosses in the afternoon, so we were +well supplied with fresh food. The air temperature that night +probably was not lower than 38° or 40° Fahr., and we were +rendered uncomfortable in our cramped sleeping quarters by the +unaccustomed warmth. Our feelings towards our neighbours underwent +a change. When the temperature was below 20° Fahr, we could not +get too close to one another—every man wanted to cuddle against +his neighbour; but let the temperature rise a few degrees and the +warmth of another man’s body ceased to be a blessing. The ice +and the waves had a voice of menace that night, but I heard it +only in my dreams. +<p> +The bay was still filled with ice on the morning of Saturday, +May 13, but the tide took it all away in the afternoon. Then a +strange thing happened. The rudder, with all the broad Atlantic +to sail in and the coasts of two continents to search for a +resting-place, came bobbing back into our cove. With anxious eyes +we watched it as it advanced, receded again, and then advanced +once more under the capricious influence of wind and wave. Nearer +and nearer it came as we waited on the shore, oars in hand, and at +last we were able to seize it. Surely a remarkable salvage! +The day was bright and clear; our clothes were drying and our +strength was returning. Running water made a musical sound down +the tussock slope and among the boulders. We carried our blankets +up the hill and tried to dry them in the breeze 300 ft. above sea-level. +In the afternoon we began to prepare the <i>James Caird</i> for +the journey to the head of King Haakon Bay. A noon observation on +this day gave our latitude as 54° 10´ 47´´ S., but according +to the German chart the position should have been 54° 12´ S. +Probably Worsley’s observation was the more accurate. We were able +to keep the fire alight until we went to sleep that night, for while +climbing the rocks above the cove I had seen at the foot of a cliff +a broken spar, which had been thrown up by the waves. We could reach +this spar by climbing down the cliff, and with a reserve supply of +fuel thus in sight we could afford to burn the fragments of the +<i>James Caird’s</i> topsides more freely. +<p> +During the morning of this day (May 13) Worsley and I tramped +across the hills in a north-easterly direction with the object +of getting a view of the sound and possibly gathering some +information that would be useful to us in the next stage of our +journey. It was exhausting work, but after covering about 2½ +miles in two hours, we were able to look east, up the bay. We +could not see very much of the country that we would have to +cross in order to reach the whaling-station on the other side of +the island. We had passed several brooks and frozen tarns, and +at a point where we had to take to the beach on the shore of the +sound we found some wreckage—an 18-ft. pine-spar (probably part +of a ship’s topmast), several pieces of timber, and a little model +of a ship’s hull, evidently a child’s toy. We wondered what +tragedy that pitiful little plaything indicated. We encountered +also some gentoo penguins and a young sea-elephant, which Worsley +killed. +<p> +When we got back to the cave at 3 p.m., tired, hungry, but rather +pleased with ourselves, we found a splendid meal of stewed albatross +chicken waiting for us. We had carried a quantity of blubber and +the sea-elephant’s liver in our blouses, and we produced our +treasures as a surprise for the men. Rough climbing on the way back +to camp had nearly persuaded us to throw the stuff away, but we had +held on (regardless of the condition of our already sorely tried +clothing), and had our reward at the camp. The long bay had been +a magnificent sight, even to eyes that had dwelt on grandeur long +enough and were hungry for the simple, familiar things of everyday +life. Its green-blue waters were being beaten to fury by the north-westerly +gale. The mountains, “stern peaks that dared the stars,” +peered through the mists, and between them huge glaciers poured down +from the great ice-slopes and fields that lay behind. We counted +twelve glaciers and heard every few minutes the reverberating roar +caused by masses of ice calving from the parent streams. +<p> +On May 14 we made our preparations for an early start on the +following day if the weather held fair. We expected to be able +to pick up the remains of the sea-elephant on our way up the sound. +All hands were recovering from the chafing caused by our wet clothes +during the boat journey. The insides of our legs had suffered severely, +and for some time after landing in the cove we found movement extremely +uncomfortable. We paid our last visit to the nests of the albatrosses, +which were situated on a little undulating plateau above the cave +amid tussocks, snow-patches, and little frozen tarns. Each nest +consisted of a mound over a foot high of tussock-grass, roots, +and a little earth. The albatross lays one egg and very rarely two. +The chicks, which are hatched in January, are fed on the nest by +the parent birds for almost seven months before they take to the sea +and fend for themselves. Up to four months of age the chicks are +beautiful white masses of downy fluff, but when we arrived on the +scene their plumage was almost complete. Very often one of the parent +birds was on guard near the nest. We did not enjoy attacking these +birds, but our hunger knew no law. They tasted so very good and +assisted our recuperation to such an extent that each time we +killed one of them we felt a little less remorseful. +<p> +May 15 was a great day. We made our hoosh at 7.30 a.m. Then we +loaded up the boat and gave her a flying launch down the steep +beach into the surf. Heavy rain had fallen in the night and a +gusty north-westerly wind was now blowing, with misty showers. +The <i>James Caird</i> headed to the sea as if anxious to face the battle +of the waves once more. We passed through the narrow mouth of the +cove with the ugly rocks and waving kelp close on either side, +turned to the east, and sailed merrily up the bay as the sun broke +through the mists and made the tossing waters sparkle around us. +We were a curious-looking party on that bright morning, but we were +feeling happy. We even broke into song, and, but for our Robinson +Crusoe appearance, a casual observer might have taken us for a +picnic party sailing in a Norwegian fiord or one of the beautiful +sounds of the west coast of New Zealand. The wind blew fresh and +strong, and a small sea broke on the coast as we advanced. The +surf was sufficient to have endangered the boat if we had attempted +to land where the carcass of the sea-elephant was lying, so we +decided to go on to the head of the bay without risking anything, +particularly as we were likely to find sea-elephants on the upper +beaches. The big creatures have a habit of seeking peaceful +quarters protected from the waves. We had hopes, too, of finding +penguins. Our expectation as far as the sea-elephants were +concerned was not at fault. We heard the roar of the bulls as we +neared the head of the bay, and soon afterwards saw the great +unwieldy forms of the beasts lying on a shelving beach towards the +bay-head. We rounded a high, glacier-worn bluff on the north side, +and at 12.30 p.m. we ran the boat ashore on a low beach of sand and +pebbles, with tussock growing above high-water mark. There were +hundreds of sea-elephants lying about, and our anxieties with +regard to food disappeared. Meat and blubber enough to feed +our party for years was in sight. Our landing-place was about +a mile and a half west of the north-east corner of the bay. Just +east of us was a glacier-snout ending on the beach but giving a +passage towards the head of the bay, except at high water or when +a very heavy surf was running. A cold, drizzling rain had begun +to fall, and we provided ourselves with shelter as quickly as +possible. We hauled the <i>James Caird</i> up above highwater +mark and turned her over just to the lee or east side of +the bluff. The spot was separated from the mountain-side by +a low morainic bank, rising twenty or thirty feet above sea-level. +Soon we had converted the boat into a very comfortable cabin <i>à la</i> +Peggotty, turfing it round with tussocks, which we dug up with knives. +One side of the <i>James Caird</i> rested on stones so as to afford a +low entrance, and when we had finished she looked as though she had +grown there. McCarthy entered into this work with great spirit. +A sea-elephant provided us with fuel and meat, and that evening found +a well-fed and fairly contented party at rest in Peggotty Camp. +<p> +Our camp, as I have said, lay on the north side of King Haakon Bay +near the head. Our path towards the whaling-stations led round the +seaward end of the snouted glacier on the east side of the camp +and up a snow-slope that appeared to lead to a pass in the great +Allardyce Range, which runs north-west and south-east and forms the +main backbone of South Georgia. The range dipped opposite the bay +into a well-defined pass from east to west. An ice-sheet covered +most of the interior, filling the valleys and disguising the +configurations of the land, which, indeed, showed only in big +rocky ridges, peaks, and nunataks. When we looked up the pass +from Peggotty Camp the country to the left appeared to offer two +easy paths through to the opposite coast, but we knew that the +island was uninhabited at that point (Possession Bay). We had to +turn our attention farther east, and it was impossible from the +camp to learn much of the conditions that would confront us on the +overland journey. I planned to climb to the pass and then be +guided by the configuration of the country in the selection of a +route eastward to Stromness Bay, where the whaling-stations were +established in the minor bays, Leith, Husvik, and Stromness. A +range of mountains with precipitous slopes, forbidding peaks, +and large glaciers lay immediately to the south of King Haakon Bay +and seemed to form a continuation of the main range. Between this +secondary range and the pass above our camp a great snow-upland +sloped up to the inland ice-sheet and reached a rocky ridge that +stretched athwart our path and seemed to bar the way. This ridge +was a right-angled offshoot from the main ridge. Its chief features +were four rocky peaks with spaces between that looked from a distance +as though they might prove to be passes. +<p> +The weather was bad on Tuesday, May 16, and we stayed under the +boat nearly all day. The quarters were cramped but gave full +protection from the weather, and we regarded our little cabin with +a great deal of satisfaction. Abundant meals of sea-elephant steak +and liver increased our contentment. McNeish reported during the day +that he had seen rats feeding on the scraps, but this interesting +statement was not verified. One would not expect to find rats at +such a spot, but there was a bare possibility that they had landed +from a wreck and managed to survive the very rigorous conditions. +<p> +A fresh west-south-westerly breeze was blowing on the following +morning (Wednesday, May 17), with misty squalls, sleet, and rain. +I took Worsley with me on a pioneer journey to the west with the +object of examining the country to be traversed at the beginning +of the overland journey. We went round the seaward end of the +snouted glacier, and after tramping about a mile over stony ground +and snow-coated debris, we crossed some big ridges of scree and +moraines. We found that there was good going for a sledge as far +as the north-east corner of the bay, but did not get much +information regarding the conditions farther on owing to the view +becoming obscured by a snow-squall. We waited a quarter of an hour +for the weather to clear but were forced to turn back without having +seen more of the country. I had satisfied myself, however, that we +could reach a good snow-slope leading apparently to the inland ice. +Worsley reckoned from the chart that the distance from our camp to +Husvik, on an east magnetic course, was seventeen geographical miles, +but we could not expect to follow a direct line. The carpenter +started making a sledge for use on the overland journey. The +materials at his disposal were limited in quantity and scarcely +suitable in quality. +<p> +We overhauled our gear on Thursday, May 18; and hauled our sledge +to the lower edge of the snouted glacier. The vehicle proved heavy +and cumbrous. We had to lift it empty over bare patches of rock +along the shore, and I realized that it would be too heavy for three +men to manage amid the snow-plains, glaciers, and peaks of the +interior. Worsley and Crean were coming with me, and after +consultation we decided to leave the sleeping-bags behind us and +make the journey in very light marching order. We would take three +days’ provisions for each man in the form of sledging ration and +biscuit. The food was to be packed in three sacks, so that each +member of the party could carry his own supply. Then we were to +take the Primus lamp filled with oil, the small cooker, the +carpenter’s adze (for use as an ice-axe), and the alpine rope, +which made a total length of fifty feet when knotted. We might +have to lower ourselves down steep slopes or cross crevassed +glaciers. The filled lamp would provide six hot meals, which would +consist of sledging ration boiled up with biscuit. There were two +boxes of matches left, one full and the other partially used. We +left the full box with the men at the camp and took the second box, +which contained forty-eight matches. I was unfortunate as regarded +footgear, since I had given away my heavy Burberry boots on the floe, +and had now a comparatively light pair in poor condition. The +carpenter assisted me by putting several screws in the sole of each +boot with the object of providing a grip on the ice. The screws +came out of the <i>James Caird</i>. +<p> +We turned in early that night, but sleep did not come to me. My +mind was busy with the task of the following day. The weather +was clear and the outlook for an early start in the morning was good. +We were going to leave a weak party behind us in the camp. Vincent +was still in the same condition, and he could not march. McNeish was +pretty well broken up. The two men were not capable of managing for +themselves and McCarthy must stay to look after them. He might +have a difficult task if we failed to reach the whaling station. +The distance to Husvik, according to the chart, was no more than +seventeen geographical miles in a direct line, but we had very +scanty knowledge of the conditions of the interior. No man had +ever penetrated a mile from the coast of South Georgia at any point, +and the whalers I knew regarded the country as inaccessible. During +that day, while we were walking to the snouted glacier, we had seen +three wild duck flying towards the head of the bay from the eastward. +I hoped that the presence of these birds indicated tussock-land and +not snow-fields and glaciers in the interior, but the hope was not +a very bright one. +<p> +We turned out at 2 a.m. on the Friday morning and had our hoosh +ready an hour later. The full moon was shining in a practically +cloudless sky, its rays reflected gloriously from the pinnacles +and crevassed ice of the adjacent glaciers. The huge peaks of +the mountains stood in bold relief against the sky and threw dark +shadows on the waters of the sound. There was no need for delay, +and we made a start as soon as we had eaten our meal. McNeish +walked about 200 yds with us; he could do no more. Then we said +good-bye and he turned back to the camp. The first task was to +get round the edge of the snouted glacier, which had points like +fingers projecting towards the sea. The waves were reaching the +points of these fingers, and we had to rush from one recess to +another when the waters receded. We soon reached the east side +of the glacier and noticed its great activity at this point. +Changes had occurred within the preceding twenty-four hours. +Some huge pieces had broken off, and the masses of mud and stone +that were being driven before the advancing ice showed movement. +The glacier was like a gigantic plough driving irresistibly +towards the sea. +<p> +Lying on the beach beyond the glacier was wreckage that told of +many ill-fated ships. We noticed stanchions of teakwood, +liberally carved, that must have came from ships of the older +type; iron-bound timbers with the iron almost rusted through; +battered barrels and all the usual debris of the ocean. We had +difficulties and anxieties of our own, but as we passed that +graveyard of the sea we thought of the many tragedies written in +the wave-worn fragments of lost vessels. We did not pause, and +soon we were ascending a snow-slope heading due east on the last +lap of our long trail. +<p> +The snow-surface was disappointing. Two days before we had been +able to move rapidly on hard, packed snow; now we sank over our +ankles at each step and progress was slow. After two hours’ +steady climbing we were 2500 ft. above sea-level. The weather +continued fine and calm, and as the ridges drew nearer and the +western coast of the island spread out below, the bright moonlight +showed us that the interior was broken tremendously. High peaks, +impassable cliffs, steep snow-slopes, and sharply descending +glaciers were prominent features in all directions, with stretches +of snow-plain over laying the ice-sheet of the interior. The slope +we were ascending mounted to a ridge and our course lay direct to +the top. The moon, which proved a good friend during this journey, +threw a long shadow at one point and told us that the surface was +broken in our path. Warned in time, we avoided a huge hole capable +of swallowing an army. The bay was now about three miles away, +and the continued roaring of a big glacier at the head of the bay +came to our ears. This glacier, which we had noticed during the stay +at Peggotty Camp, seemed to be calving almost continuously. +<p> +I had hoped to get a view of the country ahead of us from the top +of the slope, but as the surface became more level beneath our +feet, a thick fog drifted down. The moon became obscured and +produced a diffused light that was more trying than darkness, +since it illuminated the fog without guiding our steps. We roped +ourselves together as a precaution against holes, crevasses, and +precipices, and I broke trail through the soft snow. With almost +the full length of the rope between myself and the last man we were +able to steer an approximately straight course, since, if I veered +to the right or the left when marching into the blank wall of the +fog, the last man on the rope could shout a direction. So, like a +ship with its “port,” “starboard,” “steady,” we tramped through +the fog for the next two hours. +<p> +Then, as daylight came, the fog thinned and lifted, and from an +elevation of about 3000 ft. we looked down on what seemed to be +a huge frozen lake with its farther shores still obscured by the +fog. We halted there to eat a bit of biscuit while we discussed +whether we would go down and cross the flat surface of the lake, +or keep on the ridge we had already reached. I decided to go down, +since the lake lay on our course. After an hour of comparatively +easy travel through the snow we noticed the thin beginnings of +crevasses. Soon they were increasing in size and showing fractures, +indicating that we were travelling on a glacier. As the daylight +brightened the fog dissipated; the lake could be seen more clearly, +but still we could not discover its east shore. A little later +the fog lifted completely, and then we saw that our lake stretched +to the horizon, and realized suddenly that we were looking down +upon the open sea on the east coast of the island. The slight +pulsation at the shore showed that the sea was not even frozen; +it was the bad light that had deceived us. Evidently we were at +the top of Possession Bay, and the island at that point could not +be more than five miles across from the head of King Haakon Bay. +Our rough chart was inaccurate. There was nothing for it but to +start up the glacier again. That was about seven o’clock in +the morning, and by nine o’clock we had more than recovered our +lost ground. We regained the ridge and then struck south-east, +for the chart showed that two more bays indented the coast +before Stromness. It was comforting to realize that we would +have the eastern water in sight during our journey, although we +could see there was no way around the shore line owing to steep +cliffs and glaciers. Men lived in houses lit by electric light +on the east coast. News of the outside world waited us there, and, +above all, the east coast meant for us the means of rescuing the +twenty-two men we had left on Elephant Island.<br><br> +<hr> +<center><h2><a name="10">CHAPTER X</a></h2><h2>ACROSS SOUTH GEORGIA</h2></center> +<p><br> +The sun rose in the sky with every appearance of a fine day, and we +grew warmer as we toiled through the soft snow. Ahead of us lay the +ridges and spurs of a range of mountains, the transverse range that +we had noticed from the bay. We were travelling over a gently rising +plateau, and at the end of an hour we found ourselves growing +uncomfortably hot. Years before, on an earlier expedition, I had +declared that I would never again growl at the heat of the sun, and +my resolution had been strengthened during the boat journey. I +called it to mind as the sun beat fiercely on the blinding white +snow-slope. After passing an area of crevasses we paused for our +first meal. We dug a hole in the snow about three feet deep with +the adze and put the Primus into it. There was no wind at the moment, +but a gust might come suddenly. A hot hoosh was soon eaten and we +plodded on towards a sharp ridge between two of the peaks already +mentioned. By 11 a.m. we were almost at the crest. The slope +had become precipitous and it was necessary to cut steps as we +advanced. The adze proved an excellent instrument for this +purpose, a blow sufficing to provide a foothold. Anxiously but +hopefully I cut the last few steps and stood upon the razor-back, +while the other men held the rope and waited for my news. The +outlook was disappointing. I looked down a sheer precipice to a +chaos of crumpled ice 1500 ft. below. There was no way down for +us. The country to the east was a great snow upland, sloping +upwards for a distance of seven or eight miles to a height of over +4000 ft. To the north it fell away steeply in glaciers into the +bays, and to the south it was broken by huge outfalls from the +inland ice-sheet. Our path lay between the glaciers and the +outfalls, but first we had to descend from the ridge on which +we stood. Cutting steps with the adze, we moved in a lateral +direction round the base of a dolomite, which blocked our view +to the north. The same precipice confronted us. Away to the +north-east there appeared to be a snow-slope that might give a +path to the lower country, and so we retraced our steps down +the long slope that had taken us three hours to climb. We were +at the bottom in an hour. We were now feeling the strain of +the unaccustomed marching. We had done little walking since +January and our muscles were out of tune. Skirting the base +of the mountain above us, we came to a gigantic bergschrund, +a mile and a half long and 1000 ft. deep. This tremendous gully, +cut in the snow and ice by the fierce winds blowing round the +mountain, was semicircular in form, and it ended in a gentle +incline. We passed through it, under the towering precipice of +ice, and at the far end we had another meal and a short rest. +This was at 12:30 p.m. Half a pot of steaming Bovril ration +warmed us up, and when we marched again ice-inclines at angles +of 45 degrees did not look quite as formidable as before. +<p> +Once more we started for the crest. After another weary climb +we reached the top. The snow lay thinly on blue ice at the +ridge, and we had to cut steps over the last fifty yards. The +same precipice lay below, and my eyes searched vainly for a way +down. The hot sun had loosened the snow, which was now in a +treacherous condition, and we had to pick our way carefully. +Looking back, we could see that a fog was rolling up behind us +and meeting in the valleys a fog that was coming up from the east. +The creeping grey clouds were a plain warning that we must get +down to lower levels before becoming enveloped. +<p> +The ridge was studded with peaks, which prevented us getting a +clear view either to the right or to the left. The situation in +this respect seemed no better at other points within our reach, +and I had to decide that our course lay back the way we had come. +The afternoon was wearing on and the fog was rolling up ominously +from the west. It was of the utmost importance for us to get down +into the next valley before dark. We were now up 4500 ft. and +the night temperature at that elevation would be very low. We had +no tent and no sleeping-bags, and our clothes had endured much rough +usage and had weathered many storms during the last ten months. +In the distance, down the valley below us, we could see tussock-grass +close to the shore, and if we could get down it might be possible +to dig out a hole in one of the lower snow-banks, line it with dry +grass, and make ourselves fairly comfortable for the night. Back +we went, and after a detour we reached the top of another ridge in +the fading light. After a glance over the top I turned to the +anxious faces of the two men behind me and said, “Come on, boys.” +Within a minute they stood beside me on the ice-ridge. The +surface fell away at a sharp incline in front of us, but it merged +into a snow-slope. We could not see the bottom clearly owing to +mist and bad light, and the possibility of the slope ending in a +sheer fall occurred to us; but the fog that was creeping up behind +allowed no time for hesitation. We descended slowly at first, +cutting steps in the snow; then the surface became softer, +indicating that the gradient was less severe. There could be no +turning back now, so we unroped and slid in the fashion of youthful +days. When we stopped on a snow-bank at the foot of the slope we +found that we had descended at least 900 ft. in two or three +minutes. We looked back and saw the grey fingers of the fog +appearing on the ridge, as though reaching after the intruders into +untrodden wilds. But we had escaped. +<p> +The country to the east was an ascending snow upland dividing +the glaciers of the north coast from the outfalls of the south. +We had seen from the top that our course lay between two huge +masses of crevasses, and we thought that the road ahead lay clear. +This belief and the increasing cold made us abandon the idea of +camping. We had another meal at 6 p.m. A little breeze made +cooking difficult in spite of the shelter provided for the cooker +by a hole. Crean was the cook, and Worsley and I lay on the snow +to windward of the lamp so as to break the wind with our bodies. +The meal over, we started up the long, gentle ascent. Night was +upon us, and for an hour we plodded along in almost complete darkness, +watching warily for signs of crevasses. Then about 8 p.m. a glow +which we had seen behind the jagged peaks resolved itself into the +full moon, which rose ahead of us and made a silver pathway for +our feet. Along that pathway in the wake of the moon we advanced +in safety, with the shadows cast by the edges of crevasses showing +black on either side of us. Onwards and upwards through soft snow +we marched, resting now and then on hard patches which had revealed +themselves by glittering ahead of us in the white light. By midnight +we were again at an elevation of about 4000 ft. Still we were +following the light, for as the moon swung round towards the north-east, +our path curved in that direction. The friendly moon seemed +to pilot our weary feet. We could have had no better guide. If +in bright daylight we had made that march we would have followed +the course that was traced for us that night. +<p> +Midnight found us approaching the edge of a great snowfield, +pierced by isolated nunataks which cast long shadows like black +rivers across the white expanse. A gentle slope to the north-east +lured our all-too-willing feet in that direction. We thought that +at the base of the slope lay Stromness Bay. After we had descended +about 300 ft. a thin wind began to attack us. We had now been on +the march for over twenty hours, only halting for our occasional +meals. Wisps of cloud drove over the high peaks to the southward, +warning us that wind and snow were likely to come. After 1 a.m. +we cut a pit in the snow, piled up loose snow around it, and +started the Primus again. The hot food gave us another renewal +of energy. Worsley and Crean sang their old songs when the Primus +was going merrily. Laughter was in our hearts, though not on our +parched and cracked lips. +<p> +We were up and away again within half an hour, still downward to +the coast. We felt almost sure now that we were above Stromness +Bay. A dark object down at the foot of the slope looked like +Mutton Island, which lies off Husvik. I suppose our desires were +giving wings to our fancies, for we pointed out joyfully various +landmarks revealed by the now vagrant light of the moon, whose +friendly face was cloud-swept. Our high hopes were soon shattered. +Crevasses warned us that we were on another glacier, and soon we +looked down almost to the seaward edge of the great riven ice-mass. +I knew there was no glacier in Stromness and realized that this +must be Fortuna Glacier. The disappointment was severe. Back +we turned and tramped up the glacier again, not directly tracing +our steps but working at a tangent to the south-east. +We were very tired. +<p> +At 5 a.m. we were at the foot of the rocky spurs of the range. +We were tired, and the wind that blew down from the heights was +chilling us. We decided to get down under the lee of a rock for a +rest. We put our sticks and the adze on the snow, sat down on them +as close to one another as possible, and put our arms round each +other. The wind was bringing a little drift with it and the white +dust lay on our clothes. I thought that we might be able to keep +warm and have half an hour’s rest this way. Within a minute my +two companions were fast asleep. I realized that it would be +disastrous if we all slumbered together, for sleep under such +conditions merges into death. After five minutes I shook them +into consciousness again, told them that they had slept for half +an hour, and gave the word for a fresh start. We were so stiff +that for the first two or three hundred yards we marched with our +knees bent. A jagged line of peaks with a gap like a broken tooth +confronted us. This was the ridge that runs in a southerly +direction from Fortuna Bay, and our course eastward to Stromness +lay across it. A very steep slope led up to the ridge and an icy +wind burst through the gap. +<p> +We went through the gap at 6 a.m. with anxious hearts as well +as weary bodies. If the farther slope had proved impassable +our situation would have been almost desperate; but the worst +was turning to the best for us. The twisted, wave-like rock formations +of Husvik Harbour appeared right ahead in the opening +of dawn. Without a word we shook hands with one another. +To our minds the journey was over, though as a matter of fact +twelve miles of difficult country had still to be traversed. +A gentle snow-slope descended at our feet towards a valley that +separated our ridge from the hills immediately behind Husvik, +and as we stood gazing Worsley said solemnly, “Boss, it looks +too good to be true!” Down we went, to be checked presently +by the sight of water 2500 ft. below. We could see the little +wave-ripples on the black beach, penguins strutting to and fro, +and dark objects that looked like seals lolling lazily on the sand. +This was an eastern arm of Fortuna Bay, separated by the ridge +from the arm we had seen below us during the night. The slope +we were traversing appeared to end in a precipice above this beach. +But our revived spirits were not to be damped by difficulties on +the last stage of the journey, and we camped cheerfully for breakfast. +Whilst Worsley and Crean were digging a hole for the lamp and starting +the cooker I climbed a ridge above us, cutting steps with the adze, +in order to secure an extended view of the country below. At 6.30 +a.m. I thought I heard the sound of a steam-whistle. I dared not +be certain, but I knew that the men at the whaling-station would be +called from their beds about that time. Descending to the camp +I told the others, and in intense excitement we watched the +chronometer for seven o’clock, when the whalers would be summoned +to work. Right to the minute the steam-whistle came to us, borne +clearly on the wind across the intervening miles of rock and snow. +Never had any one of us heard sweeter music. It was the first +sound created by outside human agency that had come to our ears +since we left Stromness Bay in December 1914. That whistle told +us that men were living near, that ships were ready, and that +within a few hours we should be on our way back to Elephant Island +to the rescue of the men waiting there under the watch and ward +of Wild. It was a moment hard to describe. Pain and ache, boat +journeys, marches, hunger and fatigue seemed to belong to the +limbo of forgotten things, and there remained only the perfect +contentment that comes of work accomplished. +<p> +My examination of the country from a higher point had not +provided definite information, and after descending I put the +situation before Worsley and Crean. Our obvious course lay +down a snow-slope in the direction of Husvik. “Boys,” I said, +“this snow-slope seems to end in a precipice, but perhaps +there is no precipice. If we don’t go down we shall have to +make a detour of at least five miles before we reach level going +What shall it be?” They both replied at once, “Try the +slope.” So we started away again downwards. We abandoned the +Primus lamp, now empty, at the breakfast camp and carried with us +one ration and a biscuit each. The deepest snow we had yet +encountered clogged our feet, but we plodded downward, and after +descending about 500 ft., reducing our altitude to 2000 ft. above +sea-level, we thought we saw the way clear ahead. A steep +gradient of blue ice was the next obstacle. Worsley and Crean got +a firm footing in a hole excavated with the adze and then lowered +me as I cut steps until the full 50 ft. of our alpine rope was +out. Then I made a hole big enough for the three of us, and the +other two men came down the steps. My end of the rope was +anchored to the adze and I had settled myself in the hole braced +for a strain in case they slipped. When we all stood in the +second hole I went down again to make more steps, and in this +laborious fashion we spent two hours descending about 500 ft. +Halfway down we had to strike away diagonally to the left, for +we noticed that the fragments of ice loosened by the adze were +taking a leap into space at the bottom of the slope. Eventually +we got off the steep ice, very gratefully, at a point where some +rocks protruded, and we could see then that there was a perilous +precipice directly below the point where we had started to cut +steps. A slide down a slippery slope, with the adze and our +cooker going ahead, completed this descent, and incidentally did +considerable damage to our much-tried trousers. +<p> +When we picked ourselves up at the bottom we were not more than +1500 ft. above the sea. The slope was comparatively easy. Water +was running beneath the snow, making “pockets” between the rocks +that protruded above the white surface. The shells of snow over +these pockets were traps for our feet; but we scrambled down, and +presently came to patches of tussock. A few minutes later we +reached the sandy beach. The tracks of some animals were to be +seen, and we were puzzled until I remembered that reindeer, brought +from Norway, had been placed on the island and now ranged along +the lower land of the eastern coast. We did not pause to +investigate. Our minds were set upon reaching the haunts of +man, and at our best speed we went along the beach to another +rising ridge of tussock. Here we saw the first evidence of the +proximity of man, whose work, as is so often the ease, was one +of destruction. A recently killed seal was lying there, and +presently we saw several other bodies bearing the marks of +bullet-wounds. I learned later that men from the whaling-station +at Stromness sometimes go round to Fortuna Bay by boat to shoot +seals. +<p> +Noon found us well up the slope on the other side of the bay +working east-south-east, and half an hour later we were on a flat +plateau, with one more ridge to cross before we descended into +Husvik. I was leading the way over this plateau when I suddenly +found myself up to my knees in water and quickly sinking deeper +through the snow-crust. I flung myself down and called to the +others to do the same, so as to distribute our weight on the +treacherous surface. We were on top of a small lake, snow-covered. +After lying still for a few moments we got to our feet and walked +delicately, like Agag, for 200 yds., until a rise in the surface +showed us that we were clear of the lake. +<p> +At 1.30 p.m. we climbed round a final ridge and saw a little +steamer, a whaling-boat, entering the bay 2500 ft, below. A few +moments later, as we hurried forward, the masts of a sailing-ship +lying at a wharf came in sight. Minute figures moving to and fro +about the boats caught our gaze, and then we saw the sheds and +factory of Stromness whaling-station. We paused and shook hands, +a form of mutual congratulation that had seemed necessary on four +other occasions in the course of the expedition. The first time +was when we landed on Elephant Island, the second when we reached +South Georgia, and the third when we reached the ridge and saw the +snow-slope stretching below on the first day of the overland +journey, then when we saw Husvik rocks. +<p> +Cautiously we started down the slope that led to warmth and +comfort. The last lap of the journey proved extraordinarily +difficult. Vainly we searched for a safe, or a reasonably safe, +way down the steep ice-clad mountain-side. The sole possible +pathway seemed to be a channel cut by water running from the +upland. Down through icy water we followed the course of this +stream. We were wet to the waist, shivering, cold, and tired. +Presently our ears detected an unwelcome sound that might have +been musical under other conditions. It was the splashing of +a waterfall, and we were at the wrong end. When we reached the +top of this fall we peered over cautiously and discovered that +there was a drop of 25 or 30 ft., with impassable ice-cliffs on +both sides. To go up again was scarcely thinkable in our utterly +wearied condition. The way down was through the waterfall itself. +We made fast one end of our rope to a boulder with some difficulty, +due to the fact that the rocks had been worn smooth by the running +water. Then Worsley and I lowered Crean, who was the heaviest man. +He disappeared altogether in the falling water and came out gasping +at the bottom. I went next, sliding down the rope, and Worsley, +who was the lightest and most nimble member of the party, came last. +At the bottom of the fall we were able to stand again on dry land. +The rope could not be recovered. We had flung down the adze from the +top of the fall and also the logbook and the cooker wrapped in one +of our blouses. That was all, except our wet clothes, that we +brought out of the Antarctic, which we had entered a year and a +half before with well-found ship, full equipment, and high hopes. +That was all of tangible things; but in memories we were rich. +We had pierced the veneer of outside things. We had “suffered, +starved, and triumphed, grovelled down yet grasped at glory, grown +bigger in the bigness of the whole.” We had seen God in His +splendours, heard the text that Nature renders. We had reached +the naked soul of man. +<p> +Shivering with cold, yet with hearts light and happy, we set off +towards the whaling-station, now not more than a mile and a half +distant. The difficulties of the journey lay behind us. We +tried to straighten ourselves up a bit, for the thought that there +might be women at the station made us painfully conscious of our +uncivilized appearance. Our beards were long and our hair was +matted. We were unwashed and the garments that we had worn for +nearly a year without a change were tattered and stained. Three +more unpleasant-looking ruffians could hardly have been imagined. +Worsley produced several safety-pins from some corner of his +garments and effected some temporary repairs that really emphasized +his general disrepair. Down we hurried, and when quite close to +the station we met two small boys ten or twelve years of age. +I asked these lads where the manager’s house was situated. They +did not answer. They gave us one look—a comprehensive look +that did not need to be repeated. Then they ran from us as fast +as their legs would carry them. We reached the outskirts of the +station and passed through the “digesting-house,” which was dark +inside. Emerging at the other end, we met an old man, who started +as if he had seen the Devil himself and gave us no time to ask any +question. He hurried away. This greeting was not friendly. Then +we came to the wharf, where the man in charge stuck to his station. +I asked him if Mr. Sorlle (the manager) was in the house. +<p> +“Yes,” he said as he stared at us. +<p> +“We would like to see him,” said I. +<p> +“Who are you?” he asked. +<p> +“We have lost our ship and come over the island,” I replied. +<p> +“You have come over the island?” he said in a tone of entire +disbelief. +<p> +The man went towards the manager’s house and we followed him. I +learned afterwards that he said to Mr. Sorlle: “There are three +funny-looking men outside, who say they have come over the +island and they know you. I have left them outside.” A very +necessary precaution from his point of view. +<p> +Mr. Sorlle came out to the door and said, “Well?” +<p> +“Don’t you know me?” I said. +<p> +“I know your voice,” he replied doubtfully. “You’re the mate of +the <i>Daisy</i>.” +<p> +“My name is Shackleton,” I said. +<p> +Immediately he put out his hand and said, “Come in. Come in.” +<p> +“Tell me, when was the war over?” I asked. +<p> +“The war is not over,” he answered. “Millions are being killed. +Europe is mad. The world is mad.” +<p> +Mr. Sorlle’s hospitality had no bounds. He would scarcely let us +wait to remove our freezing boots before he took us into his house +and gave us seats in a warm and comfortable room. We were in no +condition to sit in anybody’s house until we had washed and got +into clean clothes, but the kindness of the station-manager was +proof even against the unpleasantness of being in a room with us. +He gave us coffee and cakes in the Norwegian fashion, and then +showed us upstairs to the bathroom, where we shed our rags and +scrubbed ourselves luxuriously. +<p> +Mr. Sorlle’s kindness did not end with his personal care for the +three wayfarers who had come to his door. While we were washing +he gave orders for one of the whaling-vessels to be prepared at +once in order that it might leave that night for the other side +of the island and pick up the three men there. The whalers knew +King Haakon Bay, though they never worked on that side of the island. +Soon we were clean again. Then we put on delightful new clothes +supplied from the station stores and got rid of our superfluous hair. +Within an hour or two we had ceased to be savages and had become +civilized men again. Then came a splendid meal, while Mr. Sorlle +told us of the arrangements he had made and we discussed plans for +the rescue of the main party on Elephant Island. +<p> +I arranged that Worsley should go with the relief ship to show the +exact spot where the carpenter and his two companions were camped, +while I started to prepare for the relief of the party on Elephant +Island. The whaling-vessel that was going round to King Haakon Bay +was expected back on the Monday morning, and was to call at +Grytviken Harbour, the port from which we had sailed in December +1914, in order that the magistrate resident there might be informed +of the fate of the <i>Endurance</i>. It was possible that letters were +awaiting us there. Worsley went aboard the whaler at ten o’clock +that night and turned in. The next day the relief ship entered +King Haakon Bay and he reached Peggotty Camp in a boat. The +three men were delighted beyond measure to know that we had made +the crossing in safety and that their wait under the upturned +<i>James Caird</i> was ended. Curiously enough, they did not recognize +Worsley, who had left them a hairy, dirty ruffian and had returned +his spruce and shaven self. They thought he was one of the whalers. +When one of them asked why no member of the party had come round +with the relief, Worsley said, “What do you mean?” “We thought +the Boss or one of the others would come round,” they explained. +“What’s the matter with you?” said Worsley. Then it suddenly +dawned upon them that they were talking to the man who had been +their close companion for a year and a half. Within a few minutes +the whalers had moved our bits of gear into their boat. They +towed off the <i>James Caird</i> and hoisted her to the deck of their +ship. Then they started on the return voyage. Just at dusk on +Monday afternoon they entered Stromness Bay, where the men of +the whaling-station mustered on the beach to receive the rescued +party and to examine with professional interest the boat we had +navigated across 800 miles of the stormy ocean they knew so well. +<p> +When I look back at those days I have no doubt that Providence +guided us, not only across those snowfields, but across the +storm-white sea that separated Elephant Island from our landing-place +on South Georgia. I know that during that long and racking +march of thirty-six hours over the unnamed mountains and glaciers +of South Georgia it seemed to me often that we were four, not three. +I said nothing to my companions on the point, but afterwards +Worsley said to me, “Boss, I had a curious feeling on the march +that there was another person with us.” Crean confessed to +the same idea. One feels “the dearth of human words, the +roughness of mortal speech” in trying to describe things +intangible, but a record of our journeys would be incomplete +without a reference to a subject very near to our hearts.<br><br> +<hr> +<center><h2><a name="11">CHAPTER XI</a></h2><h2>THE RESCUE</h2></center> +<p><br> +Our first night at the whaling-station was blissful. Crean and I +shared a beautiful room in Mr. Sorlle’s house, with electric light +and two beds, warm and soft. We were so comfortable that we were +unable to sleep. Late at night a steward brought us tea, bread +and butter and cakes, and we lay in bed, revelling in the luxury +of it all. Outside a dense snow-storm, which started two hours +after our arrival and lasted until the following day, was swirling +and driving about the mountain-slopes. We were thankful indeed +that we had made a place of safety, for it would have gone hard +with us if we had been out on the mountains that night. Deep +snow lay everywhere when we got up the following morning. +<p> +After breakfast Mr. Sorlle took us round to Husvik in a motor-launch. +We were listening avidly to his account of the war +and of all that had happened while we were out of the world of men. +We were like men arisen from the dead to a world gone mad. Our +minds accustomed themselves gradually to the tales of nations in +arms, of deathless courage and unimagined slaughter, of a world-conflict +that had grown beyond all conceptions, of vast red +battlefields in grimmest contrast with the frigid whiteness we +had left behind us. The reader may not realize quite how +difficult it was for us to envisage nearly two years of the most +stupendous war of history. The locking of the armies in the +trenches, the sinking of the <i>Lusitania</i>, the murder of Nurse Cavell, +the use of poison-gas and liquid fire, the submarine warfare, +the Gallipoli campaign, the hundred other incidents of the war, +almost stunned us at first, and then our minds began to compass +the train of events and develop a perspective. I suppose our +experience was unique. No other civilized men could have been +as blankly ignorant of world-shaking happenings as we were when +we reached Stromness Whaling Station. +<p> +I heard the first rumour of the <i>Aurora’s</i> misadventures in the Ross +Sea from Mr. Sorlle. Our host could tell me very little. He had +been informed that the <i>Aurora</i> had broken away from winter quarters +in McMurdo Sound and reached New Zealand after a long drift, and +that there was no news of the shore party. His information was +indefinite as to details, and I had to wait until I reached the +Falkland Islands some time later before getting a definite report +concerning the <i>Aurora</i>. The rumour that had reached South Georgia, +however, made it more than ever important that I should bring out +the rest of the Weddell Sea party quickly, so as to free myself +for whatever effort was required on the Ross Sea side. +<p> +When we reached Husvik that Sunday morning we were warmly greeted +by the magistrate (Mr. Bernsten), whom I knew of old, and the +other members of the little community. Moored in the harbour was +one of the largest of the whalers, the <i>Southern Sky</i>, owned by an +English company but now laid up for the winter. I had no means of +getting into communication with the owners without dangerous delay, +and on my accepting all responsibility Mr. Bernsten made +arrangements for me to take this ship down to Elephant Island. +I wrote out an agreement with Lloyd’s for the insurance of the ship. +Captain Thom, an old friend of the Expedition, happened to be in +Husvik with his ship, the <i>Orwell</i>, loading oil for use in Britain’s +munition works, and he at once volunteered to come with us in any +capacity. I asked him to come as captain of the <i>Southern Sky</i>. +There was no difficulty about getting a crew. The whalers were +eager to assist in the rescue of men in distress. They started +work that Sunday to prepare and stow the ship. Parts of the +engines were ashore, but willing hands made light labour. I +purchased from the station stores all the stores and equipment +required, including special comforts for the men we hoped to +rescue, and by Tuesday morning the <i>Southern Sky</i> was ready to +sail. I feel it is my duty as well as my pleasure to thank here +the Norwegian whalers of South Georgia for the sympathetic hands +they stretched out to us in our need. Among memories of kindness +received in many lands sundered by the seas, the recollection of +the hospitality and help given to me in South Georgia ranks high. +There is a brotherhood of the sea. The men who go down to the sea +in ships, serving and suffering, fighting their endless battle +against the caprice of wind and ocean, bring into their own +horizons the perils and troubles of their brother sailormen. +<p> +The <i>Southern Sky</i> was ready on Tuesday morning, and at nine +o’clock we steamed out of the bay, while the whistles of the +whaling-station sounded a friendly farewell. We had forgathered +aboard Captain Thom’s ship on the Monday night with several +whaling captains who were bringing up their sons to their +own profession. They were “old stagers” with faces lined and +seamed by the storms of half a century, and they were even more +interested in the story of our voyage from Elephant Island than +the younger generation was. They congratulated us on having +accomplished a remarkable boat journey. I do not wish to belittle +our success with the pride that apes humility. Under Providence +we had overcome great difficulties and dangers, and it was +pleasant to tell the tale to men who knew those sullen and +treacherous southern seas. +<p> +McCarthy, McNeish, and Vincent had been landed on the Monday +afternoon. They were already showing some signs of increasing +strength under a regime of warm quarters and abundant food. +The carpenter looked woefully thin after he had emerged from a bath. +He must have worn a lot of clothes when he landed from the boat, +and I did not realize how he had wasted till I saw him washed and +changed. He was a man over fifty years of age, and the strain had +told upon him more than upon the rest of us. The rescue came just +in time for him. +<p> +The early part of the voyage down to Elephant Island in the +<i>Southern Sky</i> was uneventful. At noon on Tuesday, May 23, we were +at sea and steaming at ten knots on a south-westerly course. We +made good progress, but the temperature fell very low, and the signs +gave me some cause for anxiety as to the probability of encountering +ice. On the third night out the sea seemed to grow silent. I +looked over the side and saw a thin film of ice. The sea was +freezing around us and the ice gradually grew thicker, reducing +our speed to about five knots. Then lumps of old pack began to +appear among the new ice. I realized that an advance through pack-ice +was out of the question. The <i>Southern Sky</i> was a steel-built +steamer, and her structure, while strong to resist the waves, would +not endure the blows of masses of ice. So I took the ship north, +and at daylight on Friday we got clear of the pancake-ice. We +skirted westward, awaiting favourable conditions. The morning +of the 28th was dull and overcast, with little wind. Again the +ship’s head was turned to the south-west, but at 3 p.m. a definite +line of pack showed up on the horizon. We were about 70 miles from +Elephant Island, but there was no possibility of taking the +steamer through the ice that barred the way. North-west again +we turned. We were directly north of the island on the +following day, and I made another move south. Heavy pack formed +an impenetrable barrier. +<p> +To admit failure at this stage was hard, but the facts had to be +faced. The <i>Southern Sky</i> could not enter ice of even moderate +thickness. The season was late, and we could not be sure that the +ice would open for many months, though my opinion was that the +pack would not become fast in that quarter even in the winter, +owing to the strong winds and currents. The <i>Southern Sky</i> could +carry coal for ten days only, and we had been out six days. We +were 500 miles from the Falkland Islands and about 600 miles from +South Georgia. So I determined that, since we could not wait about +for an opening, I would proceed to the Falklands, get a more +suitable vessel either locally or from England, and make a second +attempt to reach Elephant Island from that point. +<p> +We encountered very bad weather on the way up, but in the early +afternoon of May 31 we arrived at Port Stanley, where the cable +provided a link with the outer world. The harbour-master came out +to meet us, and after we had dropped anchor I went ashore and met +the Governor, Mr. Douglas Young. He offered me his assistance at +once. He telephoned to Mr. Harding, the manager of the Falkland +Islands station, and I learned, to my keen regret, that no ship +of the type required was available at the islands. That evening +I cabled to London a message to His Majesty the King, the first +account of the loss of the <i>Endurance</i> and the subsequent adventures +of the Expedition. The next day I received the following message +from the King: +<p><br> +“Rejoice to hear of your safe arrival in the Falkland Islands and +trust your comrades on Elephant Island may soon be rescued. +<p align="right">“GEORGE R.I.” +<p><br> +The events of the days that followed our arrival at the +Falkland Islands I will not attempt to describe in detail. My +mind was bent upon the rescue of the party on Elephant Island at +the earliest possible moment. Winter was advancing, and I was +fully conscious that the lives of some of my comrades might be +the price of unnecessary delay. A proposal had been made to send +a relief ship from England, but she could not reach the southern +seas for many weeks. In the meantime I got into communication +with the Governments of the South American Republics by wireless +and cable and asked if they had any suitable ship I could use for +a rescue. I wanted a wooden ship capable of pushing into loose +ice, with fair speed and a reasonable coal capacity. Messages of +congratulation and goodwill were reaching me from all parts of the +world, and the kindness of hundreds of friends in many lands was +a very real comfort in a time of anxiety and stress. +<p> +The British Admiralty informed me that no suitable vessel was +available in England and that no relief could be expected before +October. I replied that October would be too late. Then the +British Minister in Montevideo telegraphed me regarding a trawler +named <i>Instituto de Pesca No. 1</i>, belonging to the Uruguayan +Government. She was a stout little vessel, and the Government had +generously offered to equip her with coal, provisions, clothing, +etc., and send her across to the Falkland Islands for me to take +down to Elephant Island. I accepted this offer gladly, and the +trawler was in Port Stanley on June 10. We started south at +once. +<p> +The weather was bad but the trawler made good progress, steaming +steadily at about six knots, and in the bright, clear dawn of the +third day we sighted the peaks of Elephant Island. Hope ran high; +but our ancient enemy the pack was lying in wait, and within twenty +miles of the island the trawler was stopped by an impenetrable barrier +of ice. The pack lay in the form of a crescent, with a horn to the +west of the ship stretching north. Steaming north-east, we reached +another horn and saw that the pack, heavy and dense, then trended +away to the east. We made an attempt to push into the ice, but it +was so heavy that the trawler was held up at once and began to grind +in the small thick floes, so we cautiously backed out. The propeller, +going slowly, was not damaged, though any moment I feared we might +strip the blades. The island lay on our starboard quarter, but there +was no possibility of approaching it. The Uruguayan engineer +reported to me that he had three days’ coal left, and I had to give +the order to turn back. A screen of fog hid the lower slopes of the +island, and the men watching from the camp on the beach could not +have seen the ship. Northward we steamed again, with the engines +knocking badly, and after encountering a new gale, made Port Stanley +with the bunkers nearly empty and the engines almost broken down. +H.M.S. <i>Glasgow</i> was in the port, and the British sailors gave us a +hearty welcome as we steamed in. +<p> +The Uruguayan Government offered to send the trawler to Punta +Arenas and have her dry-docked there and made ready for another +effort. One of the troubles on the voyage was that according to +estimate the trawler could do ten knots on six tons of coal a day, +which would have given us a good margin to allow for lying off the +ice; but in reality, owing to the fact that she had not been in +dock for a year, she only developed a speed of six knots on a +consumption of ten tons a day. Time was precious and these +preparations would have taken too long. I thanked the Government +then for its very generous offer, and I want to say now that the +kindness of the Uruguayans at this time earned my warmest gratitude. +I ought to mention also the assistance given me by Lieut. Ryan, a +Naval Reserve officer who navigated the trawler to the Falklands +and came south on the attempt at relief. The <i>Instituto de Pesca</i> +went off to Montevideo and I looked around for another ship. +<p> +A British mail-boat, the <i>Orita</i> called at Port Stanley opportunely, +and I boarded her with Worsley and Crean and crossed to Punta +Arenas in the Magellan Straits. The reception we received there +was heartening. The members of the British Association of +Magellanes took us to their hearts. Mr. Allan McDonald was +especially prominent in his untiring efforts to assist in the +rescue of our twenty-two companions on Elephant Island. He +worked day and night, and it was mainly due to him that within +three days they had raised a sum of £1500 amongst themselves, +chartered the schooner <i>Emma</i> and equipped her for our use. +She was a forty-year-old oak schooner, strong and seaworthy, +with an auxiliary oil-engine. +<p> +Out of the complement of ten men all told who were manning the ship, +there were eight different nationalities; but they were all good +fellows and understood perfectly what was wanted. The Chilian +Government lent us a small steamer, the <i>Yelcho</i>, to tow us part of +the way. She could not touch ice, though, as she was built of steel. +However, on July 12 we passed her our tow-rope and proceeded on our +way. In bad weather we anchored next day, and although the wind +increased to a gale I could delay no longer, so we hove up anchor +in the early morning of the 14th. The strain on the tow-rope was +too great. With the crack of a gun the rope broke. Next day +the gale continued, and I will quote from the log of the <i>Emma</i>, +which Worsley kept as navigating officer. +<p> +“9 a.m.—Fresh, increasing gale; very rough, lumpy sea. + 10 a.m.—Tow-rope parted. + 12 noon. Similar weather. + 1 p.m.—Tow-rope parted again. Set foresail and forestay-sail +and steered south-east by south. + 3 p.m.—<i>Yelcho</i> hailed us and said that the ship’s bilges were +full of water (so were our decks) and they were short of coal. +Sir Ernest told them that they could return to harbour. +After this the <i>Yelcho</i> steamed into San Sebastian Bay.” +<p> +After three days of continuous bad weather we were left alone to +attempt once more to rescue the twenty-two men on Elephant Island, +for whom by this time I entertained very grave fears. +<p> +At dawn of Friday, July 21, we were within a hundred miles of +the island, and we encountered the ice in the half-light. +I waited for the full day and then tried to push through. The +little craft was tossing in the heavy swell, and before she had +been in the pack for ten minutes she came down on a cake of ice and +broke the bobstay. Then the water-inlet of the motor choked with +ice. The schooner was tossing like a cork in the swell, and I saw +after a few bumps that she was actually lighter than the fragments +of ice around her. Progress under such conditions was out of the +question. I worked the schooner out of the pack and stood to the +east. I ran her through a line of pack towards the south that night, +but was forced to turn to the north-east, for the ice trended in that +direction as far as I could see. We hove to for the night, which was +now sixteen hours long. The winter was well advanced and the weather +conditions were thoroughly bad. The ice to the southward was moving +north rapidly. The motor-engine had broken down and we were entirely +dependent on the sails. We managed to make a little southing during +the next day, but noon found us 108 miles from the island. That +night we lay off the ice in a gale, hove to, and morning found the +schooner iced up. The ropes, cased in frozen spray, were as thick +as a man’s arm, and if the wind had increased much we would have had +to cut away the sails, since there was no possibility of lowering them. +Some members of the scratch crew were played out by the cold and the +violent tossing. The schooner was about seventy feet long, and +she responded to the motions of the storm-racked sea in a manner +that might have disconcerted the most seasoned sailors. +<p> +I took the schooner south at every chance, but always the line of +ice blocked the way. The engineer, who happened to be an American, +did things to the engines occasionally, but he could not keep them +running, and, the persistent south winds were dead ahead. It was +hard to turn back a third time, but I realized we could not reach +the island under those conditions, and we must turn north in order +to clear the ship of heavy masses of ice. So we set a northerly +course, and after a tempestuous passage reached Port Stanley once +more. This was the third reverse, but I did not abandon my belief +that the ice would not remain fast around Elephant Island during +the winter, whatever the arm-chair experts at home might say. We +reached Port Stanley in the schooner on August 8, and I learned +there that the ship <i>Discovery</i> was to leave England at once and +would be at the Falkland Islands about the middle of September. +My good friend the Governor said I could settle down at Port Stanley +and take things quietly for a few weeks. The street of that port +is about a mile and a half long. It has the slaughter-house at one +end and the graveyard at the other. The chief distraction is to +walk from the slaughter-house to the graveyard. For a change one +may walk from the graveyard to the slaughter-house. Ellaline +Terriss was born at Port Stanley—a fact not forgotten by the +residents, but she has not lived there much since. I could not +content myself to wait for six or seven weeks, knowing that six +hundred miles away my comrades were in dire need. I asked the +Chilian Government to send the <i>Yelcho</i>, the steamer that had towed +us before, to take the schooner across to Punta Arenas, and they +consented promptly, as they had done to every other request of +mine. So in a north-west gale we went across, narrowly escaping +disaster on the way, and reached Punta Arenas on August 14. +<p> +There was no suitable ship to be obtained. The weather was showing +some signs of improvement, and I begged the Chilian Government to +let me have the <i>Yelcho</i> for a last attempt to reach the island. +She was a small steel-built steamer, quite unsuitable for work in +the pack, but I promised that I would not touch the ice. The +Government was willing to give me another chance, and on August 25 I +started south on the fourth attempt at relief. This time +Providence favoured us. The little steamer made a quick run down +in comparatively fine weather, and I found as we neared Elephant +Island that the ice was open. A southerly gale had sent it +northward temporarily, and the <i>Yelcho</i> had her chance to slip +through. We approached the island in a thick fog. I did not dare +to wait for this to clear, and at 10 a.m. on August 30 we passed some +stranded bergs. Then we saw the sea breaking on a reef, and I +knew that we were just outside the island. It was an anxious moment, +for we had still to locate the camp and the pack could not be trusted +to allow time for a prolonged search in thick weather; but presently +the fog lifted and revealed the cliffs and glaciers of Elephant Island. +I proceeded to the east, and at 11.40 a.m. Worsley’s keen eyes +detected the camp, almost invisible under its covering of snow. +The men ashore saw us at the same time, and we saw tiny black figures +hurry to the beach and wave signals to us. We were about a mile and +a half away from the camp. I turned the <i>Yelcho</i> in, and within half +an hour reached the beach with Crean and some of the Chilian sailors. +I saw a little figure on a surf-beaten rock and recognized Wild. +As I came nearer I called out, “Are you all well?” and he answered, +“We are all well, boss,” and then I heard three cheers. As I +drew close to the rock I flung packets of cigarettes ashore; they +fell on them like hungry tigers, for well I knew that for months +tobacco was dreamed of and talked of. Some of the hands were in +a rather bad way, but Wild had held the party together and kept hope +alive in their hearts. There was no time then to exchange news or +congratulations. I did not even go up the beach to see the camp, +which Wild assured me had been much improved. A heavy sea was running +and a change of wind might bring the ice back at any time. I hurried +the party aboard with all possible speed, taking also the records of +the Expedition and essential portions of equipment. Everybody was +aboard the <i>Yelcho</i> within an hour, and we steamed north at the +little steamer’s best speed. The ice was open still, and nothing +worse than an expanse of stormy ocean separated us from the +South American coast. +<p> +During the run up to Punta Arenas I heard Wild’s story, and +blessed again the cheerfulness and resource that had served the +party so well during four and a half months of privation. The +twenty-two men on Elephant Island were just at the end of their +resources when the <i>Yelcho</i> reached them. Wild had husbanded the +scanty stock of food as far as possible and had fought off the +devils of despondency and despair on that little sand-spit, where +the party had a precarious foothold between the grim ice-fields +and the treacherous, ice-strewn sea. The pack had opened +occasionally, but much of the time the way to the north had been +barred. The <i>Yelcho</i> had arrived at the right moment. +Two days earlier she could not have reached the island, and a few +hours later the pack may have been impenetrable again. Wild had +reckoned that help would come in August, and every morning he had +packed his kit, in cheerful anticipation that proved infectious, +as I have no doubt it was meant to be. One of the party to whom +I had said “Well, you all were packed up ready,” replied, +“You see, boss, Wild never gave up hope, and whenever the sea was +at all clear of ice he rolled up his sleeping-bag and said to all +hands, ‘Roll up your sleeping-bags, boys; the boss may come to-day.’ ” +And so it came to pass that we suddenly came out of the fog, and, +from a black outlook, in an hour all were in safety homeward +bound. The food was eked out with seal and penguin meat, limpets, +and seaweed. Seals had been scarce, but the supply of penguins +had held out fairly well during the first three months. The men +were down to the last Bovril ration, the only form of hot drink +they had, and had scarcely four days’ food in hand at the time +of the rescue. The camp was in constant danger of being buried +by the snow, which drifted heavily from the heights behind, and +the men moved the accumulations with what implements they could +provide. There was danger that the camp would become completely +invisible from the sea, so that a rescue party might look for it +in vain. +<p> +“It had been arranged that a gun should be fired from the relief +ship when she got near the island,” said Wild. “Many times when +the glaciers were ‘calving,’ and chunks fell off with a report +like a gun, we thought that it was the real thing, and after a time +we got to distrust these signals. As a matter of fact, we saw the +<i>Yelcho</i> before we heard any gun. It was an occasion one will not +easily forget. We were just assembling for lunch to the call of +‘Lunch O!’ and I was serving out the soup, which was particularly +good that day, consisting of boiled seal’s backbone, limpets, and +seaweed, when there was another hail from Marston of ‘Ship O!’ +Some of the men thought it was ‘Lunch O!’ over again, but when there +was another yell from Marston lunch had no further attractions. +The ship was about a mile and a half away and steaming past us. +A smoke-signal was the agreed sign from the shore, and, catching up +somebody’s coat that was lying about, I struck a pick into a tin of +kerosene kept for the purpose, poured it over the coat, and set it +alight. It flared instead of smoking; but that didn’t matter, for +you had already recognized the spot where you had left us and the +<i>Yelcho</i> was turning in.” +<p> +We encountered bad weather on the way back to Punta Arenas, and +the little <i>Yelcho</i> laboured heavily; but she had light hearts +aboard. We entered the Straits of Magellan on September 3 and +reached Rio Secco at 8 a.m. I went ashore, found a telephone, +and told the Governor and my friends at Punta Arenas that the men +were safe. Two hours later we were at Punta Arenas, where we were +given a welcome none of us is likely to forget. The Chilian people +were no less enthusiastic than the British residents. The police +had been instructed to spread the news that the <i>Yelcho</i> was coming +with the rescued men, and lest the message should fail to reach some +people, the fire-alarm had been rung. The whole populace appeared +to be in the streets. It was a great reception, and with the strain +of long, anxious months lifted at last, we were in a mood to enjoy +it. +<p> +The next few weeks were crowded ones, but I will not attempt here to +record their history in detail. I received congratulations and +messages of friendship and good cheer from all over the world, and my +heart went out to the good people who had remembered my men and myself +in the press of terrible events on the battlefields. The Chilian +Government placed the <i>Yelcho</i> at my disposal to take the men up to +Valparaiso and Santiago. We reached Valparaiso on September 27. +Everything that could swim in the way of a boat was out to meet us, +the crews of Chilian warships were lined up, and at least thirty +thousand thronged the streets. I lectured in Santiago on the +following evening for the British Red Cross and a Chilian naval +charity. The Chilian flag and the Union Jack were draped together, +the band played the Chilian national anthem, “God Save the King,” +and the “Marseillaise,” and the Chilian Minister for Foreign Affairs +spoke from the platform and pinned an Order on my coat. I saw the +President and thanked him for the help that he had given a British +expedition. His Government had spent £4000 on coal alone. In +reply he recalled the part that British sailors had taken in the +making of the Chilian Navy. +<p> +The Chilian Railway Department provided a special train to take us +across the Andes, and I proceeded to Montevideo in order to thank +personally the President and Government of Uruguay for the help they +had given generously in the earlier relief voyages. We were +entertained royally at various spots <i>en route</i>. We went also to +Buenos Ayres on a brief call. Then we crossed the Andes again. +I had made arrangements by this time for the men and the staff to go +to England. All hands were keen to take their places in the Empire’s +fighting forces. My own immediate task was the relief of the +marooned Ross Sea party, for news had come to me of the <i>Aurora’s</i> +long drift in the Ross Sea and of her return in a damaged condition +to New Zealand. Worsley was to come with me. We hurried northwards +via Panama, steamship and train companies giving us everywhere the +most cordial and generous assistance, and caught at San Francisco +a steamer that would get us to New Zealand at the end of November. +I had been informed that the New Zealand Government was making +arrangements for the relief of the Ross Sea party, but my +information was incomplete, and I was very anxious to be on the spot +myself as quickly as possible.<br><br> +<hr> +<center><h2><a name="12">CHAPTER XII</a></h2><h2>ELEPHANT ISLAND</h2></center> +<p><br> +The twenty-two men who had been left behind on Elephant Island were +under the command of Wild, in whom I had absolute confidence, and +the account of their experiences during the long four and a half +months’ wait while I was trying to get help to them, I have +secured from their various diaries, supplemented by details which +I obtained in conversation on the voyage back to civilization. +<p> +The first consideration, which was even more important than that +of food, was to provide shelter. The semi-starvation during the +drift on the ice-floe, added to the exposure in the boats, and +the inclemencies of the weather encountered after our landing on +Elephant Island, had left its mark on a good many of them. +Rickenson, who bore up gamely to the last, collapsed from heart-failure. +Blackborrow and Hudson could not move. All were frost-bitten +in varying degrees and their clothes, which had been worn +continuously for six months, were much the worse for wear. The +blizzard which sprang up the day that we landed at Cape Wild +lasted for a fortnight, often blowing at the rate of seventy to +ninety miles an hour, and occasionally reaching even higher figures. +The tents which had lasted so well and endured so much were torn +to ribbons, with the exception of the square tent occupied by +Hurley, James, and Hudson. Sleeping-bags and clothes were wringing +wet, and the physical discomforts were tending to produce acute +mental depression. The two remaining boats had been turned upside +down with one gunwale resting on the snow, and the other raised +about two feet on rocks and cases, and under these the sailors +and some of the scientists, with the two invalids, Rickenson +and Blackborrow, found head-cover at least. Shelter from the +weather and warmth to dry their clothes was imperative, so Wild +hastened the excavation of the ice-cave in the slope which had +been started before I left. +<p> +The high temperature, however, caused a continuous stream of water +to drip from the roof and sides of the ice-cave, and as with twenty-two +men living in it the temperature would be practically always +above freezing, there would have been no hope of dry quarters for +them there. Under the direction of Wild they, therefore, collected +some big flat stones, having in many cases to dig down under the +snow which was covering the beach, and with these they erected two +substantial walls four feet high and nineteen feet apart. +<p> +“We are all ridiculously weak, and this part of the work was +exceedingly laborious and took us more than twice as long as it +would have done had we been in normal health. Stones that we could +easily have lifted at other times we found quite beyond our +capacity, and it needed two or three of us to carry some that +would otherwise have been one man’s load. Our difficulties were +added to by the fact that most of the more suitable stones lay at +the farther end of the spit, some one hundred and fifty yards +away. Our weakness is best compared with that which one +experiences on getting up from a long illness; one ‘feels’ well, +but physically enervated. +<p> +“The site chosen for the hut was the spot where the stove had been +originally erected on the night of our arrival. It lay between +two large boulders, which, if they would not actually form the +walls of the hut, would at least provide a valuable protection from +the wind. Further protection was provided to the north by a hill +called Penguin Hill at the end of the spit. As soon as the walls +were completed and squared off, the two boats were laid upside down +on them side by side. The exact adjustment of the boats took some +time, but was of paramount importance if our structure was to be +the permanent affair that we hoped it would be. Once in place they +were securely chocked up and lashed down to the rocks. The few +pieces of wood that we had were laid across from keel to keel, and +over this the material of one of the torn tents was spread and +secured with guys to the rocks. The walls were ingeniously +contrived and fixed up by Marston. First he cut the now useless +tents into suitable lengths; then he cut the legs of a pair of +seaboots into narrow strips, and using these in much the same way +that the leather binding is put round the edge of upholstered chairs, +he nailed the tent-cloth all round the insides of the outer gunwales +of the two boats in such a way that it hung down like a valance to +the ground, where it was secured with spars and oars. A couple of +overlapping blankets made the door, superseded later by a sack-mouth +door cut from one of the tents. This consisted of a sort of +tube of canvas sewn on to the tent-cloth, through which the men +crawled in or out, tying it up as one would the mouth of a sack +as soon as the man had passed through. It is certainly the most +convenient and efficient door for these conditions that has ever +been invented. +<p> +“Whilst the side walls of the hut were being fixed, others proceeded +to fill the interstices between the stones of the end walls with +snow. As this was very powdery and would not bind well, we +eventually had to supplement it with the only spare blanket and +an overcoat. All this work was very hard on our frost-bitten +fingers, and materials were very limited. +<p> +“At last all was completed and we were invited to bring in our +sodden bags, which had been lying out in the drizzling rain for +several hours; for the tents and boats that had previously +sheltered them had all been requisitioned to form our new +residence. +<p> +“We took our places under Wild’s direction. There was no +squabbling for best places, but it was noticeable that there was +something in the nature of a rush for the billets up on the thwarts +of the boats. +<p> +“Rickenson, who was still very weak and ill, but very cheery, +obtained a place in the boat directly above the stove, and the +sailors having lived under the <i>Stancomb Wills</i> for a few days while +she was upside down on the beach, tacitly claimed it as their own, +and flocked up on to its thwarts as one man. There was one ‘upstair’ +billet left in this boat, which Wild offered to Hussey and Lees +simultaneously, saying that the first man that got his bag up could +have the billet. Whilst Lees was calculating the pros and cons +Hussey got his bag, and had it up just as Lees had determined that +the pros had it. There were now four men up on the thwarts of the +<i>Dudley Docker</i>, and the five sailors and Hussey on those of the +<i>Stancomb Wills</i>, the remainder disposing themselves on the floor.” +<p> +The floor was at first covered with snow and ice, frozen in amongst +the pebbles. This was cleared out, and the remainder of the tents +spread out over the stones. Within the shelter of these cramped +but comparatively palatial quarters cheerfulness once more reigned +amongst the party. The blizzard, however, soon discovered the flaws +in the architecture of their hut, and the fine drift-snow forced +its way through the crevices between the stones forming the end +walls. Jaeger sleeping-bags and coats were spread over the +outside of these walls, packed over with snow and securely frozen +up, effectively keeping out this drift. +<p> +At first all the cooking was done outside under the lee of some +rocks, further protection being provided by a wall of provision-cases. +There were two blubber-stoves made from old oil-drums, +and one day, when the blizzard was unusually severe, an attempt +was made to cook the meals inside the hut. There being no means +of escape for the pungent blubber-smoke, the inmates had rather +a bad time, some being affected with a form of smoke-blindness +similar to snow-blindness, very painful and requiring medical +attention. +<p> +A chimney was soon fitted, made by Kerr out of the tin lining of +one of the biscuit-cases, and passed through a close-fitting tin +grummet sewn into the canvas of the roof just between the keels of +the two boats, and the smoke nuisance was soon a thing of the past. +Later on, another old oil-drum was made to surround this chimney, +so that two pots could be cooked at once on the one stove. Those +whose billets were near the stove suffered from the effects of the +local thaw caused by its heat, but they were repaid by being +able to warm up portions of steak and hooshes left over from +previous meals, and even to warm up those of the less fortunate +ones, for a consideration. This consisted generally of part of +the hoosh or one or two pieces of sugar. +<p> +The cook and his assistant, which latter job was taken by each man +in turn, were called about 7 a.m., and breakfast was generally +ready by about 10 a.m. +<p> +Provision-cases were then arranged in a wide circle round the stove, +and those who were fortunate enough to be next to it could dry +their gear. So that all should benefit equally by this, a sort of +“General Post” was carried out, each man occupying his place at +meal-times for one day only, moving up one the succeeding day. +In this way eventually every man managed to dry his clothes, +and life began to assume a much brighter aspect. +<p> +The great trouble in the hut was the absence of light. The canvas +walls were covered with blubber-soot, and with the snowdrifts +accumulating round the hut its inhabitants were living in a state +of perpetual night. Lamps were fashioned out of sardine-tins, +with bits of surgical bandage for wicks; but as the oil consisted +of seal-oil rendered down from the blubber, the remaining fibrous +tissue being issued very sparingly at lunch, by the by, and being +considered a great delicacy, they were more a means of conserving +the scanty store of matches than of serving as illuminants. +<p> +Wild was the first to overcome this difficulty by sewing into the +canvas wall the glass lid of a chronometer box. Later on three other +windows were added, the material in this case being some celluloid +panels from a photograph case of mine which I had left behind in a +bag. This enabled the occupants of the floor billets who were near +enough to read and sew, which relieved the monotony of the +situation considerably. +<p> +“Our reading material consisted at this time of two books of poetry, +one book of ‘Nordenskjold’s Expedition,’ one or two torn volumes +of the ‘Encyclopaedia Britannica,’ and a penny cookery book, owned +by Marston. Our clothes, though never presentable, as they bore +the scars of nearly ten months of rough usage, had to be continually +patched to keep them together at all.” +<p> +As the floor of the hut had been raised by the addition of loads +of clean pebbles, from which most of the snow had been removed, +during the cold weather it was kept comparatively dry. When, +however, the temperature rose to just above freezing-point, as +occasionally happened, the hut became the drainage-pool of all +the surrounding hills. Wild was the first to notice it by +remarking one morning that his sleeping-bag was practically afloat. +Other men examined theirs with a like result, so baling operations +commenced forthwith. Stones were removed from the floor and a +large hole dug, and in its gloomy depths the water could be seen +rapidly rising. Using a saucepan for a baler, they baled out over +100 gallons of dirty water. The next day 150 gallons were removed, +the men taking it in turns to bale at intervals during the night; +160 more gallons were baled out during the next twenty-four hours, +till one man rather pathetically remarked in his diary, “This is +what nice, mild, high temperatures mean to us: no wonder we prefer +the cold.” Eventually, by removing a portion of one wall a long +channel was dug nearly down to the sea, completely solving the +problem. Additional precautions were taken by digging away the +snow which surrounded the hut after each blizzard, sometimes +entirely obscuring it. +<p> +A huge glacier across the bay behind the hut nearly put an end to +the party. Enormous blocks of ice weighing many tons would break +off and fall into the sea, the disturbance thus caused giving rise +to great waves. One day Marston was outside the hut digging up +the frozen seal for lunch with a pick, when a noise “like an +artillery barrage” startled him. Looking up he saw that one +of these tremendous waves, over thirty feet high, was advancing +rapidly across the bay, threatening to sweep hut and inhabitants +into the sea. A hastily shouted warning brought the men tumbling +out, but fortunately the loose ice which filled the bay damped +the wave down so much that, though it flowed right under the hut, +nothing was carried away. It was a narrow escape, though, as had +they been washed into the sea nothing could have saved them. +<p> +Although they themselves gradually became accustomed to the +darkness and the dirt, some entries in their diaries show that +occasionally they could realize the conditions under which they +were living. +<p> +“The hut grows more grimy every day. Everything is a sooty black. +We have arrived at the limit where further increments from the +smoking stove, blubber-lamps, and cooking-gear are unnoticed. +It is at least comforting to feel that we can become no filthier. +Our shingle floor will scarcely bear examination by strong light +without causing even us to shudder and express our disapprobation +at its state. Oil mixed with reindeer hair, bits of meat, sennegrass, +and penguin feathers form a conglomeration which cements the stones +together. From time to time we have a spring cleaning, but a fresh +supply of flooring material is not always available, as all the +shingle is frozen up and buried by deep rifts. +Such is our Home Sweet Home.” +<p> +“All joints are aching through being compelled to lie on the +hard, rubbly floor which forms our bedsteads.” +<p> +Again, later on, one writes: “Now that Wild’s window allows a +shaft of light to enter our hut, one can begin to ‘see’ things +inside. Previously one relied upon one’s sense of touch, assisted +by the remarks from those whose faces were inadvertently trodden +on, to guide one to the door. Looking down in the semi-darkness +to the far end, one observes two very small smoky flares that dimly +illuminate a row of five, endeavouring to make time pass by reading +or argument. These are Macklin, Kerr, Wordie, Hudson, and +Blackborrow—the last two being invalids. +<p> +“The centre of the hut is filled with the cases which do duty for +the cook’s bed, the meat and blubber boxes, and a mummified-looking +object, which is Lees in his sleeping-bag. The near end of the +floor space is taken up with the stove, with Wild and McIlroy on +one side, and Hurley and James on the other. Marston occupies a +hammock most of the night—and day—which is slung across the +entrance. As he is large and the entrance very small, he +invariably gets bumped by those passing in and out. His +vocabulary at such times is interesting. +<p> +“In the attic, formed by the two upturned boats, live ten unkempt +and careless lodgers, who drop boots, mitts, and other articles +of apparel on to the men below. Reindeer hairs rain down +incessantly day and night, with every movement that they make +in their moulting bags. These, with penguin feathers and a +little grit from the floor, occasionally savour the hooshes. +Thank heaven man is an adaptable brute! If we dwell sufficiently +long in this hut, we are likely to alter our method of walking, +for our ceiling, which is but four feet six inches high at its +highest part, compels us to walk bent double or on all fours. +<p> +“Our doorway—Cheetham is just crawling in now, bringing a shower +of snow with him—was originally a tent entrance. When one wishes +to go out, one unties the cord securing the door, and crawls or +wriggles out, at the same time exclaiming ‘Thank goodness I’m in +the open air!’ This should suffice to describe the atmosphere +inside the hut, only pleasant when charged with the overpowering +yet appetizing smell of burning penguin steaks. +<p> +“From all parts there dangles an odd collection of blubbery +garments, hung up to dry, through which one crawls, much as a +chicken in an incubator. Our walls of tent-canvas admit as much +light as might be expected from a closed Venetian blind. It is +astonishing how we have grown accustomed to inconveniences, and +tolerate, at least, habits which a little time back were regarded +with repugnance. We have no forks, but each man has a sheath-knife +and a spoon, the latter in many cases having been fashioned from +a piece of box lid. The knife serves many purposes. With it we +kill, skin, and cut up seals and penguins, cut blubber into strips +for the fire, very carefully scrape the snow off our hut walls, +and then after a perfunctory rub with an oily penguin-skin, use +it at meals. We are as regardless of our grime and dirt as is the +Esquimaux. We have been unable to wash since we left the ship, +nearly ten months ago. For one thing we have no soap or towels, +only bare necessities being brought with us; and, again, had we +possessed these articles, our supply of fuel would only permit us +to melt enough ice for drinking purposes. Had one man washed, half +a dozen others would have had to go without a drink all day. One +cannot suck ice to relieve the thirst, as at these low temperatures +it cracks the lips and blisters the tongue. Still, we are all very +cheerful.” +<p> +During the whole of their stay on Elephant Island the weather was +described by Wild as “simply appalling.” Stranded as they were +on a narrow, sandy beach surrounded by high mountains, they saw +little of the scanty sunshine during the brief intervals of clear +sky. On most days the air was full of snowdrift blown from the +adjacent heights. Elephant Island being practically on the outside +edge of the pack, the winds which passed over the relatively warm +ocean before reaching it clothed it in a “constant pall of fog +and snow.” +<p> +On April 25, the day after I left for South Georgia, the island +was beset by heavy pack-ice, with snow and a wet mist. Next day +was calmer, but on the 27th, to quote one of the diaries, they +experienced “the most wretched weather conceivable. Raining all +night and day, and blowing hard. Wet to the skin.” The following +day brought heavy fog and sleet, and a continuance of the +blizzard. April ended with a terrific windstorm which nearly +destroyed the hut. The one remaining tent had to be dismantled, +the pole taken down, and the inhabitants had to lie flat all night +under the icy canvas. This lasted well into May, and a typical May +day is described as follows: “A day of terrific winds, threatening +to dislodge our shelter. The wind is a succession of hurricane +gusts that sweep down the glacier immediately south-south-west +of us. Each gust heralds its approach by a low rumbling which +increases to a thunderous roar. Snow, stones, and gravel are +flying about, and any gear left unweighted by very heavy stones +is carried away to sea.” +<p> +Heavy bales of sennegrass, and boxes of cooking-gear, were lifted +bodily in the air and carried away out of sight. Once the wind +carried off the floor-cloth of a tent which six men were holding on +to and shaking the snow off. These gusts often came with alarming +suddenness; and without any warning. Hussey was outside in the +blizzard digging up the day’s meat, which had frozen to the ground, +when a gust caught him and drove him down the spit towards the sea. +Fortunately, when he reached the softer sand and shingle below +high-water mark, he managed to stick his pick into the ground and +hold on with both hands till the squall had passed. +<p> +On one or two rare occasions they had fine, calm, clear days. +The glow of the dying sun on the mountains and glaciers filled +even the most materialistic of them with wonder and admiration. +These days were sometimes succeeded by calm, clear nights, when, +but for the cold, they would have stayed out on the sandy beach +all night. +<p> +About the middle of May a terrific blizzard sprang up, blowing +from sixty to ninety miles an hour, and Wild entertained grave +fears for their hut. One curious feature noted in this blizzard +was the fact that huge ice-sheets as big as window-panes, and about +a quarter of an inch thick, were being hurled about by the wind, +making it as dangerous to walk about outside as if one were in an +avalanche of splintered glass. Still, these winds from the south +and south-west, though invariably accompanied by snow and low +temperatures, were welcome in that they drove the pack-ice away +from the immediate vicinity of the island, and so gave rise on +each occasion to hopes of relief. North-east winds, on the other +hand, by filling the bays with ice and bringing thick misty +weather, made it impossible to hope for any ship to approach them. +<p> +Towards the end of May a period of dead calm set in, with ice +closely packed all round the island. This gave place to +north-east winds and mist, and at the beginning of June came +another south-west blizzard, with cold driving snow. “The +blizzard increased to terrific gusts during the night, causing us +much anxiety for the safety of our hut. There was little sleep, +all being apprehensive of the canvas roof ripping off, and the +boats being blown out to sea.” +<p> +Thus it continued, alternating between south-west blizzards, when +they were all confined to the hut, and north-east winds bringing +cold, damp, misty weather. +<p> +On June 25 a severe storm from north-west was recorded, +accompanied by strong winds and heavy seas, which encroached +upon their little sandy beach up to within four yards of their hut. +<p> +Towards the end of July and the beginning of August they had a +few fine, calm, clear days. Occasional glimpses of the sun, with +high temperatures, were experienced, after south-west winds had +blown all the ice away, and the party, their spirits cheered by +Wild’s unfailing optimism, again began to look eagerly for the +rescue ship. +<p> +The first three attempts at their rescue unfortunately coincided +with the times when the island was beset with ice, and though on +the second occasion we approached close enough to fire a gun, in +the hope that they would hear the sound and know that we were safe +and well, yet so accustomed were they to the noise made by the +calving of the adjacent glacier that either they did not hear or +the sound passed unnoticed. On August 16 pack was observed on +the horizon, and next day the bay was filled with loose ice, +which soon consolidated. Soon afterwards huge old floes and many +bergs drifted in. “The pack appears as dense as we have ever seen +it. No open water is visible, and ‘ice-blink’ girdles the horizon. +The weather is wretched—a stagnant calm of air and ocean alike, +the latter obscured by dense pack through which no swell can +penetrate, and a wet mist hangs like a pall over land and sea. +The silence is oppressive. There is nothing to do but to stay +in one’s sleeping-bag, or else wander in the soft snow and become +thoroughly wet.” Fifteen inches of snow fell in the next twenty-four +hours, making over two feet between August 18 and 21. A +slight swell next day from the north-east ground up the pack-ice, +but this soon subsided, and the pack became consolidated once more. +On August 27 a strong west-south-west wind sprang up and drove all +this ice out of the bay, and except for some stranded bergs left a +clear ice-free sea through which we finally made our way from Punta +Arenas to Elephant Island. +<p> +As soon as I had left the island to get help for the rest of the +Expedition, Wild set all hands to collect as many seals and +penguins as possible, in case their stay was longer than was at +first anticipated. A sudden rise in temperature caused a whole +lot to go bad and become unfit for food, so while a fair reserve +was kept in hand too much was not accumulated. +<p> +At first the meals, consisting mostly of seal meat with one hot +drink per day, were cooked on a stove in the open. The snow and +wind, besides making it very unpleasant for the cook, filled all +the cooking-pots with sand and grit, so during the winter the +cooking was done inside the hut. +<p> +A little Cerebos salt had been saved, and this was issued out at +the rate of three-quarters of an ounce per man per week. Some of +the packets containing the salt had broken, so that all did not get +the full ration. On the other hand, one man dropped his week’s +ration on the floor of the hut, amongst the stones and dirt. It +was quickly collected, and he found to his delight that he had +enough now to last him for three weeks. Of course it was not ALL +salt. The hot drink consisted at first of milk made from milk-powder +up to about one-quarter of its proper strength. This was +later on diluted still more, and sometimes replaced by a drink +made from a pea-soup-like packing from the Bovril sledging +rations. For midwinter’s day celebrations, a mixture of one +teaspoonful of methylated spirit in a pint of hot water, flavoured +with a little ginger and sugar, served to remind some of cock-tails +and <i>Veuve Cliquot</i>. +<p> +At breakfast each had a piece of seal or half a penguin breast. +Luncheon consisted of one biscuit on three days a week, nut-food +on Thursdays, bits of blubber, from which most of the oil had been +extracted for the lamps, on two days a week, and nothing on the +remaining day. On this day breakfast consisted of a half-strength +sledging ration. Supper was almost invariably seal and penguin, +cut up very finely and fried with a little seal blubber. +<p> +There were occasionally very welcome variations from this menu. +Some paddies—a little white bird not unlike a pigeon—were snared +with a loop of string, and fried, with one water-sodden biscuit, +for lunch. Enough barley and peas for one meal all round of each +had been saved, and when this was issued it was a day of great +celebration. Sometimes, by general consent, the luncheon biscuit +would be saved, and, with the next serving of biscuit, was crushed +in a canvas bag into a powder and boiled, with a little sugar, +making a very satisfying pudding. When blubber was fairly +plentiful there was always a saucepan of cold water, made from +melting down the pieces of ice which had broken off from the +glacier, fallen into the sea, and been washed ashore, for them +to quench their thirst in. As the experience of Arctic explorers +tended to show that sea-water produced a form of dysentery, Wild +was rather diffident about using it. Penguin carcasses boiled in +one part of sea-water to four of fresh were a great success, though, +and no ill-effects were felt by anybody. +<p> +The ringed penguins migrated north the day after we landed +at Cape Wild, and though every effort was made to secure as +large a stock of meat and blubber as possible, by the end of the +month the supply was so low that only one hot meal a day could +be served. Twice the usual number of penguin steaks were cooked +at breakfast, and the ones intended for supper were kept hot in +the pots by wrapping up in coats, etc. “Clark put our +saucepanful in his sleeping-bag to-day to keep it hot, and it +really was a great success in spite of the extra helping of +reindeer hairs that it contained. In this way we can make ten +penguin skins do for one day.” +<p> +Some who were fortunate enough to catch penguins with fairly large +undigested fish in their gullets used to warm these up in tins hung +on bits of wire round the stove. +<p> +“All the meat intended for hooshes is cut up inside the hut, as +it is too cold outside. As the boards which we use for the purpose +are also used for cutting up tobacco, when we still have it, +a definite flavour is sometimes imparted to the hoosh, which, +if anything, improves it.” +<p> +Their diet was now practically all meat, and not too much of that, +and all the diaries bear witness to their craving for carbohydrates, +such as flour, oatmeal, etc. One man longingly speaks of the +cabbages which grow on Kerguelen Island. By June 18 there were +only nine hundred lumps of sugar left, <i>i.e.</i>, just over forty pieces +each. Even my readers know what shortage of sugar means at this +very date, but from a different cause. Under these circumstances +it is not surprising that all their thoughts and conversation +should turn to food, past and future banquets, and second helpings +that had been once refused. +<p> +A census was taken, each man being asked to state just what he +would like to eat at that moment if he were allowed to have +anything that he wanted. All, with but one exception, desired a +suet pudding of some sort—the “duff” beloved of sailors. +Macklin asked for many returns of scrambled eggs on hot buttered +toast. Several voted for “a prodigious Devonshire dumpling,” +while Wild wished for “any old dumpling so long as it was a +large one.” The craving for carbohydrates, such as flour and +sugar, and for fats was very real. Marston had with him a small +penny cookery book. From this he would read out one recipe each +night, so as to make them last. This would be discussed very +seriously, and alterations and improvements suggested, and then +they would turn into their bags to dream of wonderful meals that +they could never reach. The following conversation was recorded +in one diary: +<p> +“WILD: ‘Do you like doughnuts?’ +<p> +“McILROY: ‘Rather!’ +<p> +“WILD: ‘Very easily made, too. I like them cold with a little +jam.’ +<p> +“McILROY: ‘Not bad; but how about a huge omelette?’ +<p> +“WILD: ‘Fine!’ (with a deep sigh). +<p> +“Overhead, two of the sailors are discussing, some extraordinary +mixture of hash, apple-sauce, beer, and cheese. Marston is in his +hammock reading from his penny cookery book. Farther down, some +one eulogizes Scotch shortbread. Several of the sailors are +talking of spotted dog, sea-pie, and Lockhart’s with great feeling. +Some one mentions nut-food, whereat the conversation becomes +general, and we all decide to buy one pound’s worth of it as soon +as we get to civilization, and retire to a country house to eat +it undisturbed. At present we really mean it, too!” +<p> +Midwinter’s day, the great Polar festival, was duly observed. A +“magnificent breakfast” of sledging ration hoosh, full strength +and well boiled to thicken it, with hot milk was served. Luncheon +consisted of a wonderful pudding, invented by Wild, made of powdered +biscuit boiled with twelve pieces of mouldy nut-food. Supper was +a very finely cut seal hoosh flavoured with sugar. +<p> +After supper they had a concert, accompanied by Hussey on his +“indispensable banjo.” This banjo was the last thing to be saved +off the ship before she sank, and I took it with us as a mental tonic. +It was carried all the way through with us, and landed on Elephant +Island practically unharmed, and did much to keep the men cheerful. +Nearly every Saturday night such a concert was held, when each one +sang a song about some other member of the party. If that other one +objected to some of the remarks, a worse one was written for the +next week. +<p> +The cook, who had carried on so well and for so long, was given a +rest on August 9, and each man took it in turns to be cook for one +week. As the cook and his “mate” had the privilege of scraping +out the saucepans, there was some anxiety to secure the job, +especially amongst those with the larger appetites. “The last of +the methylated spirit was drunk on August 12, and from then +onwards the King’s health, ‘sweethearts and wives,’ and ‘the Boss +and crew of the <i>Caird</i>,’ were drunk in hot water and ginger every +Saturday night.” +<p> +The penguins and seals which had migrated north at the beginning +of winter had not yet returned, or else the ice-foot, which surrounded +the spit to a thickness of six feet, prevented them from coming +ashore, so that food was getting short. Old seal-bones, that had +been used once for a meal and then thrown away, were dug up and +stewed down with sea-water. Penguin carcasses were treated +likewise. Limpets were gathered from the pools disclosed between +the rocks below high tide, after the pack-ice had been driven away. +It was a cold job gathering these little shell-fish, as for each +one the whole hand and arm had to be plunged into the icy water, +and many score of these small creatures had to be collected to +make anything of a meal. Seaweed boiled in sea-water was used to +eke out the rapidly diminishing stock of seal and penguin meat. +This did not agree with some of the party. Though it was +acknowledged to be very tasty it only served to increase their +appetite—a serious thing when there was nothing to satisfy it +with! One man remarked in his diary: “We had a sumptuous meal +to-day—nearly five ounces of solid food each.” +<p> +It is largely due to Wild, and to his energy, initiative, and +resource, that the whole party kept cheerful all along, and, +indeed, came out alive and so well. Assisted by the two surgeons, +Drs. McIlroy and Macklin, he had ever a watchful eye for the +health of each one. His cheery optimism never failed, even when +food was very short and the prospect of relief seemed remote. +Each one in his diary speaks with admiration of him. I think +without doubt that all the party who were stranded on Elephant +Island owe their lives to him. The demons of depression could +find no foothold when he was around; and, not content with merely +“telling,” he was “doing” as much as, and very often more than, +the rest. He showed wonderful capabilities of leadership and more +than justified the absolute confidence that I placed in him. +Hussey, with his cheeriness and his banjo, was another vital factor +in chasing away any tendency to downheartedness. +<p> +Once they were settled in their hut, the health of the party was +quite good. Of course, they were all a bit weak, some were light-headed, +all were frost-bitten, and others, later, had attacks +of heart failure. Blackborrow, whose toes were so badly frost-bitten +in the boats, had to have all five amputated while on +the island. With insufficient instruments and no proper means of +sterilizing them, the operation, carried out as it was in a dark, +grimy hut, with only a blubber-stove to keep up the temperature +and with an outside temperature well below freezing, speaks volumes +for the skill and initiative of the surgeons. I am glad to be able +to say that the operation was very successful, and after a little +treatment ashore, very kindly given by the Chilian doctors at +Punta Arenas, he has now completely recovered and walks with only +a slight limp. Hudson, who developed bronchitis and hip disease, +was practically well again when the party was rescued. All trace +of the severe frost-bites suffered in the boat journey had +disappeared, though traces of recent superficial ones remained on +some. All were naturally weak when rescued, owing to having been +on such scanty rations for so long, but all were alive and very +cheerful, thanks to Frank Wild. +<p> +August 30, 1916, is described in their diaries as a “day of +wonders.” Food was very short, only two days’ seal and penguin +meat being left, and no prospect of any more arriving. The whole +party had been collecting limpets and seaweed to eat with the +stewed seal bones. Lunch was being served by Wild, Hurley and +Marston waiting outside to take a last long look at the direction +from which they expected the ship to arrive. From a fortnight +after I had left, Wild would roll up his sleeping-bag each day +with the remark, “Get your things ready, boys, the Boss may come +to-day.” And sure enough, one day the mist opened and revealed +the ship for which they had been waiting and longing and hoping +for over four months. “Marston was the first to notice it, and +immediately yelled out ‘Ship O!’ The inmates of the hut mistook +it for a call of ‘Lunch O!’ so took no notice at first. Soon, +however, we heard him pattering along the snow as fast as he +could run, and in a gasping, anxious voice, hoarse with excitement, +he shouted, ‘Wild, there’s a ship! Hadn’t we better light a flare?’ +We all made one dive for our narrow door. Those who could not get +through tore down the canvas walls in their hurry and excitement. +The hoosh-pot with our precious limpets and seaweed was kicked over +in the rush. There, just rounding the island which had previously +hidden her from our sight, we saw a little ship flying the Chilian +flag. +<p> +“We tried to cheer, but excitement had gripped our vocal chords. +Macklin had made a rush for the flagstaff, previously placed in +the most conspicuous position on the ice-slope. The running-gear +would not work, and the flag was frozen into a solid, compact mass +so he tied his jersey to the top of the pole for a signal. +<p> +“Wild put a pick through our last remaining tin of petrol, and +soaking coats, mitts, and socks with it, carried them to the top +of Penguin Hill at the end of our spit, and soon, they were ablaze. +<p> +“Meanwhile most of us had gathered on the foreshore watching with +anxious eyes for any signs that the ship had seen us, or for any +answering signals. As we stood and gazed she seemed to turn away +as if she had not seen us. Again and again we cheered, though our +feeble cries could certainly not have carried so far. Suddenly she +stopped, a boat was lowered, and we could recognize Sir Ernest’s +figure as he climbed down the ladder. Simultaneously we burst into +a cheer, and then one said to the other, ‘Thank God, the Boss is +safe.’ For I think that his safety was of more concern to us than +was our own. +<p> +“Soon the boat approached near enough for the Boss, who was +standing up in the bows, to shout to Wild, ‘Are you all well?’ +To which he replied, ‘All safe, all well,’ and we could see +a smile light up the Boss’s face as he said, ‘Thank God!’ +<p> +“Before he could land he threw ashore handsful of cigarettes +and tobacco; and these the smokers, who for two months had been +trying to find solace in such substitutes as seaweed, finely +chopped pipe-bowls, seal meat, and sennegrass, grasped greedily. +<p> +“Blackborrow, who could not walk, had been carried to a high rock +and propped up in his sleeping-bag, so that he could view the +wonderful scene. +<p> +“Soon we were tumbling into the boat, and the Chilian sailors, +laughing up at us, seemed as pleased at our rescue as we were. +Twice more the boat returned, and within an hour of our first +having sighted the boat we were heading northwards to the outer +world from which we had had no news since October 1914, over +twenty-two months before. We are like men awakened from a long +sleep. We are trying to acquire suddenly the perspective which +the rest of the world has acquired gradually through two years of +war. There are many events which have happened of which we shall +never know. +<p> +“Our first meal, owing to our weakness and the atrophied state +of our stomachs, proved disastrous to a good many. They soon +recovered though. Our beds were just shake-downs on cushions and +settees, though the officer on watch very generously gave up his +bunk to two of us. I think we got very little sleep that night. +It was just heavenly to lie and listen to the throb of the engines, +instead of to the crack of the breaking floe, the beat of the surf +on the ice-strewn shore, or the howling of the blizzard. +<p> +“We intend to keep August 30 as a festival for the rest of our +lives.” +<p> +You readers can imagine my feelings as I stood in the little cabin +watching my rescued comrades feeding.<br><br> +<hr> +<center><h2><a name="13">CHAPTER XIII</a></h2><h2>THE ROSS SEA PARTY</h2></center> +<p><br> +I now turn to the fortunes and misfortunes of the Ross Sea Party +and the <i>Aurora</i>. In spite of extraordinary difficulties occasioned +by the breaking out of the <i>Aurora</i> from her winter quarters before +sufficient stores and equipment had been landed, Captain Æneas +Mackintosh and the party under his command achieved the object +of this side of the Expedition. For the depot that was the main +object of the Expedition was laid in the spot that I had indicated, +and if the transcontinental party had been fortunate enough to +have crossed they would have found the assistance, in the shape +of stores, that would have been vital to the success of their +undertaking. Owing to the dearth of stores, clothing, and sledging +equipment, the depot party was forced to travel more slowly and +with greater difficulty than would have otherwise been the case. +The result was that in making this journey the greatest qualities +of endurance, self-sacrifice, and patience were called for, and +the call was not in vain, as you reading the following pages will +realize. It is more than regrettable that after having gone +through those many months of hardship and toil, Mackintosh and +Hayward should have been lost. Spencer-Smith during those long +days, dragged by his comrades on the sledge, suffering but never +complaining, became an example to all men. Mackintosh and +Hayward owed their lives on that journey to the unremitting care +and strenuous endeavours of Joyce, Wild, and Richards, who, also +scurvy-stricken but fitter than their comrades, dragged them +through the deep snow and blizzards on the sledges. I think that +no more remarkable story of human endeavour has been revealed than +the tale of that long march which I have collated from various +diaries. Unfortunately, the diary of the leader of this side +of the Expedition was lost with him. The outstanding feature +of the Ross Sea side was the journey made by these six men. +The earlier journeys for the first year did not produce any sign +of the qualities of leadership amongst the others. Mackintosh +was fortunate for the long journey in that he had these three men +with him: Ernest Wild, Richards, and Joyce. +<p> +Before proceeding with the adventures of this party I want to make +clear in these pages how much I appreciate the assistance I received +both in Australia and New Zealand, especially in the latter +dominion. And amongst the many friends there it is not invidious +on my part to lay special stress on the name of Leonard Tripp, +who has been my mentor, counsellor, and friend for many years, +and who, when the Expedition was in precarious and difficult +circumstances, devoted his energy, thought, and gave his whole time +and advice to the best interests of our cause. I also must thank +Edward Saunders, who for the second time has greatly helped me in +preparing an Expedition record for publication. +<p> +To the Dominion Government I tender my warmest thanks. To the +people of New Zealand, and especially to those many friends—too +numerous to mention here—who helped us when our fortunes were +at a low ebb, I wish to say that their kindness is an ever-green +memory to me. If ever a man had cause to be grateful for +assistance in dark days, I am he. +<p> +The <i>Aurora</i>, under the command of Captain Æneas Mackintosh, +sailed from Hobart for the Ross Sea on December 24, 1914. +The ship had refitted in Sydney, where the State and Federal +Governments had given generous assistance, and would be able, +if necessary, to spend two years in the Antarctic. My instructions +to Captain Mackintosh, in brief, were to proceed to the Ross Sea, +make a base at some convenient point in or near McMurdo Sound, land +stores and equipment, and lay depots on the Great Ice Barrier in the +direction of the Beardmore Glacier for the use of the party that I +expected to bring overland from the Weddell Sea coast. This +programme would involve some heavy sledging, but the ground to be +covered was familiar, and I had not anticipated that the work would +present any great difficulties. The <i>Aurora</i> carried materials for +a hut, equipment for landing and sledging parties, stores and +clothing of all the kinds required, and an ample supply of sledges. +There were also dog teams and one of the motor-tractors. I had +told Captain Mackintosh that it was possible the transcontinental +journey would be attempted in the 1914–15 season in the event of +the landing on the Weddell Sea coast proving unexpectedly easy, +and it would be his duty, therefore, to lay out depots to the +south immediately after his arrival at his base. I had directed +him to place a depot of food and fuel-oil at lat. 80° S. +in 1914–15, with cairns and flags as guides to a sledging party +approaching from the direction of the Pole. He would place depots +farther south in the 1915–16 season. +<p> +The <i>Aurora</i> had an uneventful voyage southwards. She anchored off +the sealing-huts at Macquarie Island on Christmas Day, December 25. +The wireless station erected by Sir Douglas Mawson’s Australian +Antarctic Expedition could be seen on a hill to the north-west with +the Expedition’s hut at the base of the hill. This hut was still +occupied by a meteorological staff, and later in the day the +meteorologist, Mr. Tulloch, came off to the ship and had dinner +aboard. The <i>Aurora</i> had some stores for the Macquarie Island +party, and these were sent ashore during succeeding days in the +boats. The landing-place was a rough, kelp-guarded beach, where +lay the remains of the New Zealand barque <i>Clyde</i>. Macquarie Island +anchorages are treacherous, and several ships engaged in the +sealing and whaling trade have left their bones on the rocky shores, +where bask great herds of seals and sea-elephants. The <i>Aurora</i> +sailed from the island on December 31, and three days later they +sighted the first iceberg, a tabular berg rising 250 ft. above the +sea. This was in lat. 62° 44´ S., long. 169° 58´ E. +The next day, in lat. 64° 27´ 38´´ S., the <i>Aurora</i> passed +through the first belt of pack-ice. At 9 a.m. on January 7, Mount +Sabine, a mighty peak of the Admiralty Range, South Victoria Land, +was sighted seventy-five miles distant. +<p> +It had been proposed that a party of three men should travel +to Cape Crozier from winter quarters during the winter months +in order to secure emperor penguins’ eggs. The ship was to call +at Cape Crozier, land provisions, and erect a small hut of fibro-concrete +sheets for the use of this party. The ship was off the +Cape on the afternoon of January 9, and a boat put off with +Stenhouse, Cope, Joyce, Ninnis, Mauger, and Aitken to search for +a landing-place. “We steered in towards the Barrier,” wrote +Stenhouse, “and found an opening leading into a large bight which +jutted back to eastward into the Barrier. We endeavoured without +success to scale the steep ice-foot under the cliffs, and then +proceeded up the bay. Pulling along the edge of perpendicular ice, +we turned into a bay in the ice-cliff and came to a cul-de-sac, at +the head of which was a grotto. At the head of the grotto and on +a ledge of snow were perched some adelie penguins. The beautiful +green and blue tints in the ice-colouring made a picture as unreal +as a stage setting. Coming back along the edge of the bight +towards the land, we caught and killed one penguin, much to the +surprise of another, which ducked into a niche in the ice and, +after much squawking, was extracted with a boat-hook and captured. +We returned to our original landing, and were fortunate in our +time, for no sooner had we cleared the ledge where Ninnis had been +hanging in his endeavour to catch the penguin than the barrier +calved and a piece weighing hundreds of tons toppled over into the +sea. +<p> +“Since we left the ship a mist had blown up from the south, and +when we arrived back at the entrance to the bay the ship could be +but dimly seen. We found a slope on the ice-foot, and Joyce and +I managed, by cutting steps, to climb up to a ledge of debris +between the cliffs and the ice, which we thought might lead to the +vicinity of the emperor penguin rookery. I sent the boat back to +the ship to tell the captain of our failure to find a spot where we +could depot the hut and stores, and then, with Joyce, set out to +walk along the narrow land between the cliffs and the ice to the +southward in hopes of finding the rookery. We walked for about a +mile along the foot of the cliffs, over undulating paths, sometimes +crawling carefully down a gully and then over rocks and debris +which had fallen from the steep cliffs which towered above us, +but we saw no signs of a rookery or any place where a rookery could +be. Close to the cliffs and separated from them by the path on +which we travelled, the Barrier in its movement towards the sea +had broken and showed signs of pressure. Seeing a turn in the +cliffs ahead, which we thought might lead to better prospects, +we trudged on, and were rewarded by a sight which Joyce admitted +as being the grandest he had ever witnessed. The Barrier had come +into contact with the cliffs and, from where we viewed it, it +looked as if icebergs had fallen into a tremendous cavern and +lay jumbled together in wild disorder. Looking down into that +wonderful picture one realized a little the ‘eternalness’ of +things. +<p> +“We had not long to wait, and, much as we wished to go ahead, had +to turn back. I went into a small crevasse; no damage. Arriving +back at the place where we left the boat we found it had not +returned, so sat down under an overhang and smoked and enjoyed the +sense of loneliness. Soon the boat appeared out of the mist, and +the crew had much news for us. After we left the ship the captain +manoeuvred her in order to get close to the Barrier, but, +unfortunately, the engines were loath to be reversed when required +to go astern and the ship hit the Barrier end on. The Barrier here +is about twenty feet high, and her jib-boom took the weight and +snapped at the cap. When I returned Thompson was busy getting the +broken boom and gear aboard. Luckily the cap was not broken and +no damage was done aloft, but it was rather a bad introduction to +the Antarctic. There is no place to land the Cape Crozier hut and +stores, so we must build a hut in the winter here, which will mean +so much extra sledging from winter quarters. Bad start, good +finish! Joyce and I went aloft to the crow’s-nest, but could see +no opening in the Barrier to eastward where a ship might enter +and get farther south.” +<p> +Mackintosh proceeded into McMurdo Sound. Heavy pack delayed the +ship for three days, and it was not until January 16 that she +reached a point off Cape Evans, where he landed ten tons of coal +and ninety-eight cases of oil. During succeeding days Captain +Mackintosh worked the <i>Aurora</i> southward, and by January 24 he +was within nine miles of Hut Point. There he made the ship fast +to sea-ice, then breaking up rapidly, and proceeded to arrange +sledging parties. It was his intention to direct the laying of +the depots himself and to leave his first officer, Lieut. +J. R. Stenhouse, in command of the <i>Aurora</i>, with instructions to +select a base and land a party. +<p> +The first objective was Hut Point, where stands the hut erected by +the <i>Discovery</i> expedition in 1902. An advance party, consisting +of Joyce (in charge), Jack, and Gaze, with dogs and fully loaded +sledges, left the ship on January 24; Mackintosh, with Wild and +Smith, followed the next day; and a supporting party, consisting +of Cope (in charge), Stevens, Ninnis, Haywood, Hooke, and Richards, +left the ship on January 30. The first two parties had dog teams. +The third party took with it the motor-tractor, which does not +appear to have given the good service that I had hoped to get from +it. These parties had a strenuous time during the weeks that +followed. The men, fresh from shipboard, were not in the best of +training, and the same was true of the dogs. It was unfortunate +that the dogs had to be worked so early after their arrival in +the Antarctic. They were in poor condition and they had not +learned to work together as teams. The result was the loss of +many of the dogs, and this proved a serious matter in the following +season. Captain Mackintosh’s record of the sledging in the early +months of 1915 is fairly full. It will not be necessary here to +follow the fortunes of the various parties in detail, for although +the men were facing difficulties and dangers, they were on well-travelled +ground, which has been made familiar to most readers +by the histories of earlier Expeditions. +<p> +Captain Mackintosh and his party left the <i>Aurora</i> on the evening +of January 25. They had nine dogs and one heavily loaded sledge, +and started off briskly to the accompaniment of a cheer from their +shipmates. The dogs were so eager for exercise after their +prolonged confinement aboard the ship that they dashed forward at +their best speed, and it was necessary for one man to sit upon the +sledge in order to moderate the pace. Mackintosh had hoped to get +to Hut Point that night, but luck was against him. The weather +broke after he had travelled about five miles, and snow, which +completely obscured all landmarks, sent him into camp on the sea-ice. +The weather was still thick on the following morning, and the party, +making a start after breakfast, missed its way. “We shaped a +course where I imagined Hut Point to be,” wrote Captain Mackintosh +in his diary, “but when the sledge-meter showed thirteen miles +fifty yards, which is four miles in excess of the distance from the +slip to Hut Point, I decided to halt again. The surface was +changing considerably and the land was still obscured. We have +been travelling over a thick snow surface, in which we sink deeply, +and the dogs are not too cheerful about it.” They started again at +noon on January 27, when the weather had cleared sufficiently to +reveal the land, and reached Hut Point at 4 p.m. The sledge-meter +showed that the total distance travelled had been over seventeen +miles. Mackintosh found in the hut a note from Joyce, who had been +there on the 25th, and who reported that one of his dogs had been +killed in a fight with its companions. The hut contained some stores +left there by earlier Expeditions. The party stayed there for the +night. Mackintosh left a note for Stenhouse directing him to place +provisions in the hut in case the sledging parties did not return in +time to be taken off by the ship. Early next morning Joyce reached +the hut. He had encountered bad ice and had come back to consult +with Mackintosh regarding the route to be followed. Mackintosh +directed him to steer out towards Black Island in crossing the head +of the Sound beyond Hut Point. +<p> +Mackintosh left Hut Point on January 28. He had taken some +additional stores, and he mentions that the sledge now weighed 1200 +lbs. This was a heavy load, but the dogs were pulling well and he +thought it practicable. He encountered difficulty almost at once +after descending the slope from the point to the sea-ice, for the +sledge stuck in soft snow and the party had to lighten the load +and relay until they reached a better surface. They were having +trouble with the dogs, which did not pull cheerfully, and the total +distance covered in the day was under four miles. The weather was +warm and the snow consequently was soft. Mackintosh had decided +that it would be best to travel at night. A fall of snow held up +the party throughout the following day, and they did not get away +from their camp until shortly before midnight. “The surface was +abominably soft,” wrote Mackintosh. “We harnessed ourselves on +to the sledge and with the dogs made a start, but we had a struggle +to get off. We had not gone very far when in deeper snow we stopped +dead. Try as we would, no movement could be produced. Reluctantly +we unloaded and began the tedious task of relaying. The work, in +spite of the lighter load on the sledge, proved terrific for ourselves +and for the dogs. We struggled for four hours, and then set camp to +await the evening, when the sun would not be so fierce and the +surface might be better. I must say I feel somewhat despondent, as +we are not getting on as well as I expected, nor do we find it as +easy as one would gather from reading.” +<p> +The two parties met again that day. Joyce also had been compelled +to relay his load, and all hands laboured strenuously and advanced +slowly. They reached the edge of the Barrier on the night of +January 30 and climbed an easy slope to the Barrier surface, about +thirty feet above the sea-ice. The dogs were showing signs of +fatigue, and when Mackintosh camped at 6.30 a.m. on January 31, +he reckoned that the distance covered in twelve and a half hours +had been about two and a half miles. The men had killed a seal +at the edge of the sea-ice and placed the meat on a cairn for +future use. One dog, having refused to pull, had been left behind +with a good feed of meat, and Mackintosh hoped the animal would +follow. The experiences of the party during the days that followed +can be indicated by some extracts from Mackintosh’s diary. +<p> +“<i>Sunday, January</i> 31.—Started off this afternoon at 3 p.m. +Surface too dreadful for words. We sink into snow at times up +to our knees, the dogs struggling out of it panting and making +great efforts. I think the soft snow must be accounted for by +a phenomenally fine summer without much wind. After proceeding +about 1000 yds. I spotted some poles on our starboard side. +We shaped course for these and found Captain Scott’s Safety Camp. +We unloaded a relay here and went back with empty sledge for the +second relay. It took us four hours to do just this short distance. +It is exasperating. After we had got the second load up we had +lunch. Then we dug round the poles, while snow fell, and after +getting down about three feet we came across, first, a bag of oats, +lower down two cases of dog-biscuit—one with a complete week’s +ration, the other with seal meat. A good find. About forty paces +away we found a venesta-lid sticking out of the snow. Smith +scraped round this with his ice-axe and presently discovered one +of the motor-sledges Captain Scott used. Everything was just as +it had been left, the petrol-tank partly filled and apparently +undeteriorated. We marked the spot with a pole. The snow +clearing, we proceeded with a relay. We got only half a mile, +still struggling in deep snow, and then went back for the second +load. We can still see the cairn erected at the Barrier edge and +a black spot which we take to be the dog. +<p> +“<i>February</i> 1.—We turned out at 7.30 p.m., and after a meal broke +camp. We made a relay of two and a half miles. The sledge-meter +stopped during this relay. Perhaps that is the cause of our +mileage not showing. We covered seven and a half miles in order to +bring the load two and a half miles. After lunch we decided, as +the surface was getting better, to make a shot at travelling with +the whole load. It was a back-breaking job. Wild led the team, +while Smith and I pulled in harness. The great trouble is to get +the sledge started after the many unavoidable stops. We managed to +cover one mile. This even is better than relaying. We then camped—the +dogs being entirely done up, poor brutes. +<p> +“<i>February</i> 2.—We were awakened this afternoon, while in our bags, +by hearing Joyce’s dogs barking. They have done well and have caught +us up. Joyce’s voice was heard presently, asking us the time. He is +managing the full load. We issued a challenge to race him to the +Bluff, which he accepted. When we turned out at 6.30 p.m. his camp +was seen about three miles ahead. About 8 p.m., after our hoosh, +we made a start, and reached Joyce’s camp at 1 a.m. The dogs had +been pulling well, seeing the camp ahead, but when we arrived off +it they were not inclined to go on. After a little persuasion +and struggle we got off, but not for long. This starting business +is terrible work. We have to shake the sledge and its big load +while we shout to the dogs to start. If they do not pull together +it is useless. When we get the sledge going we are on tenter-hooks +lest it stop again on the next soft slope, and this often occurs. +Sledging is real hard work; but we are getting along.” +<p> +The surface was better on February 2, and the party covered six +miles without relaying. They camped in soft snow, and when they +started the next day they were two hours relaying over one +hundred and fifty yards. Then they got into Joyce’s track and +found the going better. Mackintosh overtook Joyce on the morning +of February 4 and went ahead, his party breaking trail during the +next march. They covered ten miles on the night of the 4th. One +dog had “chucked his hand in” on the march, and Mackintosh +mentions that he intended to increase the dogs’ allowance of food. +The surface was harder, and during the night of February 5 +Mackintosh covered eleven miles twenty-five yards, but he finished +with two dogs on the sledge. Joyce was travelling by day, so that +the parties passed one another daily on the march. +<p> +A blizzard came from the south on February 10 and the parties were +confined to their tents for over twenty-four hours. The weather +moderated on the morning of the next day, and at 11 a.m. Mackintosh +camped beside Joyce and proceeded to rearrange the parties. One of +his dogs had died on the 9th, and several others had ceased to be +worth much for pulling. He had decided to take the best dogs from +the two teams and continue the march with Joyce and Wild, while +Smith, Jack, and Gaze went back to Hut Point with the remaining +dogs. This involved the adjustment of sledge-loads in order that +the proper supplies might be available for the depots. He had +eight dogs and Smith had five. A depot of oil and fuel was laid +at this point and marked by a cairn with a bamboo pole rising ten +feet above it. The change made for better progress. Smith turned +back at once, and the other party went ahead fairly rapidly, the +dogs being able to haul the sledge without much assistance from +the men. The party built a cairn of snow after each hour’s +travelling to serve as guides to the depot and as marks for the +return journey. Another blizzard held the men up on February 13, +and they had an uncomfortable time in their sleeping-bags owing +to low temperature. +<p> +During succeeding days the party plodded forward. They were able +to cover from five to twelve miles a day, according to the surface +and weather. They built the cairns regularly and checked their +route by taking bearings of the mountains to the west. They were +able to cover from five to twelve miles a day, the dogs pulling +fairly well. They reached lat. 80° S. on the afternoon +of February 20. Mackintosh had hoped to find a depot laid in +that neighbourhood by Captain Scott, but no trace of it was seen. +The surface had been very rough during the afternoon, and for that +reason the depot to be laid there was named Rocky Mountain Depot. +The stores were to be placed on a substantial cairn, and smaller +cairns were to be built at right angles to the depot as a guide +to the overland party. “As soon as breakfast was over,” wrote +Mackintosh the next day, “Joyce and Wild went off with a light +sledge and the dogs to lay out the cairns and place flags to the +eastward, building them at every mile. The outer cairn had a +large flag and a note indicating the position of the depot. +I remained behind to get angles and fix our position with the +theodolite. The temperature was very low this morning, and handling +the theodolite was not too warm a job for the fingers. My whiskers +froze to the metal while I was taking a sight. After five hours +the others arrived back. They had covered ten miles, five +miles out and five miles back. During the afternoon we finished +the cairn, which we have built to a height of eight feet. It is +a solid square erection which ought to stand a good deal of +weathering, and on top we have placed a bamboo pole with a flag, +making the total height twenty-five feet. Building the cairn was +a fine warming jab, but the ice on our whiskers often took some ten +minutes thawing out. To-morrow we hope to lay out the cairns to +the westward, and then to shape our course for the Bluff.” +<p> +The weather, became bad again during the night. A blizzard kept +the men in their sleeping-bags on February 21, and it was not +until the afternoon of the 23rd that Mackintosh and Joyce made an +attempt to lay out the cairns to the west. They found that two +of the dogs had died during the storm, leaving seven dogs to haul +the sledge. They marched a mile and a half to the westward and +built a cairn, but the weather was very thick and they did not +think it wise to proceed farther. They could not see more than +a hundred yards and the tent was soon out of sight. They returned +to the camp, and stayed there until the morning of February 24, +when they started the return march with snow still falling. +“We did get off from our camp,” says Mackintosh, “but had only +proceeded about four hundred yards when the fog came on so thick +that we could scarcely see a yard ahead, so we had to pitch the +tent again, and are now sitting inside hoping the weather will +clear. We are going back with only ten days’ provisions, so +it means pushing on for all we are worth. These stoppages are +truly annoying. The poor dogs are feeling hungry; they eat their +harness or any straps that may be about. We can give them +nothing beyond their allowance of three biscuits each as we are +on bare rations ourselves; but I feel sure they require more than +one pound a day. That is what they are getting now. . . . +After lunch we found it a little clearer, but a very bad light. +We decided to push on. It is weird travelling in this light. +There is no contrast or outline; the sky and the surface are one, +and we cannot discern undulations, which we encounter with +disastrous results. We picked up the first of our outward cairns. +This was most fortunate. After passing a second cairn everything +became blotted out, and so we were forced to camp, after covering +4 miles 703 yds. The dogs are feeling the pangs of hunger and +devouring everything they see. They will eat anything except +rope. If we had not wasted those three days we might have been +able to give them a good feed at the Bluff depot, but now that +is impossible. It is snowing hard.” +<p> +The experiences of the next few days were unhappy. Another +blizzard brought heavy snow and held the party up throughout +the 25th and 26th. “Outside is a scene of chaos. The snow, +whirling along with the wind, obliterates everything. The dogs +are completely buried, and only a mound with a ski sticking up +indicates where the sledge is. We long to be off, but the howl +of the wind shows how impossible it is. The sleeping-bags are +damp and sticky, so are our clothes. Fortunately, the temperature +is fairly high and they do not freeze. One of the dogs gave a +bark and Joyce went out to investigate. He found that Major, +feeling hungry, had dragged his way to Joyce’s ski and eaten off +the leather binding. Another dog has eaten all his harness, +canvas, rope, leather, brass, and rivets. I am afraid the dogs +will not pull through; they all look thin and these blizzards +do not improve matters. . . . We have a week’s provisions and +one hundred and sixty miles to travel. It appears that we will +have to get another week’s provisions from the depot, but don’t +wish it. Will see what luck to-morrow. Of course, at Bluff +we can replenish.” +<p> +“We are now reduced to one meal in the twenty-four hours,” wrote +Mackintosh a day later. “This going without food keeps us colder. +It is a rotten, miserable time. It is bad enough having this wait, +but we have also the wretched thought of having to use the +provisions already depot-ed, for which we have had all this +hard struggle.” The weather cleared on the 27th, and in the +afternoon Mackintosh and Joyce went back to the depot, while Wild +remained behind to build a cairn and attempt to dry the sleeping-bags +in the sun. The stores left at the depot had been two and +a quarter tins of biscuit (42 lbs. to the tin), rations for +three men for three weeks in bags, each intended to last one +week, and three tins of oil. Mackintosh took one of the weekly +bags from the depot and returned to the camp. The party resumed +the homeward journey the next morning, and with a sail on the +sledge to take advantage of the southerly breeze, covered nine +miles and a half during the day. But the dogs had reached almost +the limit of their endurance; three of them fell out, unable to +work longer, while on the march. That evening, for the first time +since leaving the <i>Aurora</i>, the men saw the sun dip to the horizon +in the south, a reminder that the Antarctic summer was nearing its +close. +<p> +The remaining four dogs collapsed on March 2. “After lunch we +went off fairly well for half an hour. Then Nigger commenced +to wobble about, his legs eventually giving under him. We took +him out of his harness and let him travel along with us, but he +has given us all he can, and now can only lie down. After Nigger, +my friend Pompey collapsed. The drift, I think, accounts a good +deal for this. Pompey has been splendid of late, pulling steadily +and well. Then Scotty, the last dog but one, gave up. They are +all lying down in our tracks. They have a painless death, for +they curl up in the snow and fall into a sleep from which they +will never wake. We are left with one dog, Pinkey. He has +not been one of the pullers, but he is not despised. We can +afford to give him plenty of biscuit. We must nurse him and +see if we cannot return with one dog at least. We are now +pulling ourselves, with the sail (the floor-cloth of the tent) +set and Pinkey giving a hand. At one stage a terrific gust +came along and capsized the sledge. The sail was blown off +the sledge, out of its guys, and we prepared to camp, but +the wind fell again to a moderate breeze, so we repaired +the sledge and proceeded. +<p> +“It is blowing hard this evening, cold too. Another wonderful +sunset. Golden colours illuminate the sky. The moon casts +beautiful rays in combination with the more vivid ones from the +dipping sun. If all was as beautiful as the scene we could +consider ourselves in some paradise, but it is dark and cold in +the tent and I shiver in a frozen sleeping-bag. The inside fur +is a mass of ice, congealed from my breath. One creeps into the +bag, toggles up with half-frozen fingers, and hears the crackling +of the ice. Presently drops of thawing ice are falling on one’s +head. Then comes a fit of shivers. You rub yourself and turn over +to warm the side of the bag which has been uppermost. A puddle of +water forms under the body. After about two hours you may doze +off, but I always wake with the feeling that I have not slept a wink.” +<p> +The party made only three and a half miles on March 3. They +were finding the sledge exceedingly heavy to pull, and Mackintosh +decided to remove the outer runners and scrape the bottom. These +runners should have been taken off before the party started, and +the lower runners polished smooth. He also left behind all spare +gear, including dog-harness in order to reduce weight, and found +the lighter sledge easier to pull. The temperature that night +was —28° Fahr., the lowest recorded during the journey up to that +time. “We are struggling along at a mile an hour,” wrote +Mackintosh on the 5th. “It is a very hard pull, the surface being +very sticky. Pinkey still accompanies us. We hope we can get him +in. He is getting all he wants to eat. So he ought.” +The conditions of travel changed the next day. A southerly wind +made possible the use of the sail, and the trouble was to prevent +the sledge bounding ahead over rough sastrugi and capsizing. +The handling of ropes and the sail caused many frost-bites, and +occasionally the men were dragged along the surface by the sledge. +The remaining dog collapsed during the afternoon and had to be left +behind. Mackintosh did not feel that he could afford to reduce the +pace. The sledge-meter, had got out of order, so the distance +covered in the day was not recorded. The wind increased during +the night, and by the morning of the 7th was blowing with blizzard +force. The party did not move again until the morning of the 8th. +They were still finding the sledge very heavy and were disappointed +at their slow progress, their marches being six to eight miles a day. +On the 10th they got the Bluff Peak in line with Mount Discovery. +My instructions had been that the Bluff depot should be laid on this +line, and as the depot had been placed north of the line on the +outward journey, owing to thick weather making it impossible to pick +up the landmarks, Mackintosh intended now to move the stores to the +proper place. He sighted the depot flag about four miles away, and +after pitching camp at the new depot site, he went across with Joyce +and Wild and found the stores as he had left them. +<p> +“We loaded the sledge with the stores, placed the large mark +flag on the sledge, and proceeded back to our tent, which was now +out of sight. Indeed it was not wise to come out as we did without +tent or bag. We had taken the chance, as the weather had promised +fine. As we proceeded it grew darker and darker, and eventually +we were travelling by only the light of stars, the sun having dipped. +After four and a half hours we sighted the little green tent. +It was hard pulling the last two hours and weird travelling in the +dark. We have put in a good day, having had fourteen hours’ solid +marching. We are now sitting in here enjoying a very excellent +thick hoosh. A light has been improvised out of an old tin with +methylated spirit.” +<p> +The party spent the next day in their sleeping-bags, while a +blizzard raged outside. The weather was fine again on March 12, +and they built a cairn for the depot. The stores placed on +this cairn comprised a six weeks’ supply of biscuit and three +weeks’ full ration for three men, and three tins of oil. Early +in the afternoon the men resumed their march northwards and made +three miles before camping. “Our bags are getting into a bad +state,” wrote Mackintosh, “as it is some time now since we have +had an opportunity of drying them. We use our bodies for drying +socks and such-like clothing, which we place inside our jerseys +and produce when required. Wild carries a regular wardrobe in +this position, and it is amusing to see him searching round the +back of his clothes for a pair of socks. Getting away in the +mornings is our bitterest time. The putting on of the finneskoe +is a nightmare, for they are always frozen stiff, and we have a +great struggle to force our feet into them. The icy sennegrass +round one’s fingers is another punishment that causes much pain. +We are miserable until we are actually on the move, then warmth +returns with the work. Our conversation now is principally +conjecture as to what can have happened to the other parties. +We have various ideas.” +<p> +Saturday, March 13, was another day spent in the sleeping-bags. +A blizzard was raging and everything was obscured. The men +saved food by taking only one meal during the day, and they felt +the effect of the short rations in lowered vitality. Both Joyce +and Wild had toes frost-bitten while in their bags and found +difficulty in getting the circulation restored. Wild suffered +particularly in this way and his feet were very sore. The +weather cleared a little the next morning, but the drift began +again before the party could break camp, and another day had to +be spent in the frozen bags. +<p> +The march was resumed on March 15. “About 11 p.m. last night the +temperature commenced to get lower and the gale also diminished. +The lower temperature caused the bags, which were moist, to freeze +hard. We had no sleep and spent the night twisting and turning. +The morning brought sunshine and pleasure, for the hot hoosh warmed +our bodies and gave a glow that was most comforting. The sun was +out, the weather fine and clear but cold. At 8.30 a.m. we made a +start. We take a long time putting on our finneskoe, although we +get up earlier to allow for this. This morning we were over +four hours’ getting away. We had a fine surface this morning for +marching, but we did not make much headway. We did the usual four +miles before lunch. The temperature was —23° Fahr. A mirage +made the sastrugi appear to be dancing like some ice-goblins. +Joyce calls them ‘dancing jimmies.’ After lunch we travelled well, +but the distance for the day was only 7 miles 400 yds. We are +blaming our sledge-meter for the slow rate of progress. It is +extraordinary that on the days when we consider we are making good +speed we do no more than on days when we have a tussle.” +<p> +“<i>March</i> 15.—The air temperature this morning was —35° Fahr. +Last night was one of the worst I have ever experienced. To cap +everything, I developed toothache, presumably as a result of +frost-bitten cheek. I was in positive agony. I groaned and +moaned, got the medicine-chest, but could find nothing there to +stop the pain. Joyce, who had wakened up, suggested methylated +spirit, so I damped some cotton-wool, then placed it in the tooth, +with the result that I burnt the inside of my mouth. All this +time my fingers, being exposed (it must have been at least 50° +below zero), were continually having to be brought back. After +putting on the methylated spirit I went back to the bag, which, +of course, was frozen stiff. I wriggled and moaned till morning +brought relief by enabling me to turn out. Joyce and Wild both +had a bad night, their feet giving them trouble. My feet do not +affect me so much as theirs. The skin has peeled off the inside +of my mouth, exposing a raw sore, as the result of the methylated +spirit. My tooth is better though. We have had to reduce our +daily ration. Frost-bites are frequent in consequence. The surface +became very rough in the afternoon, and the light, too, was bad +owing to cumulus clouds being massed over the sun. We are +continually falling, for we are unable to distinguish the high +and low parts of the sastrugi surface. We are travelling on our +ski. We camped at 6 p.m. after travelling 6 miles 100 yds. +I am writing this sitting up in the bag. This is the first +occasion I have been able to do thus for some time, for usually +the cold has penetrated through everything should one have the bag +open. The temperature is a little higher to-night, but still it is +—21° Fahr. (53° of frost). Our matches, among other things, +are running short, and we have given up using any except for +lighting the Primus.” +<p> +The party found the light bad again the next day. After stumbling +on ski among the sastrugi for two hours, the men discarded the ski +and made better progress; but they still had many falls, owing to +the impossibility of distinguishing slopes and irregularities in +the grey, shadowless surface of the snow. They made over nine +and a half miles that day, and managed to cover ten miles on the +following day, March 18, one of the best marches of the journey. +“I look forward to seeing the ship. All of us bear marks of our +tramp. Wild takes first place. His nose is a picture for <i>Punch</i> +to be jealous of; his ears, too, are sore, and one big toe is a +black sore. Joyce has a good nose and many minor sores. My jaw +is swollen from the frost-bite I got on the cheek, and I also +have a bit of nose. . . . We have discarded the ski, which we +hitherto used, and travel in the finneskoe. This makes the +sledge go better but it is not so comfortable travelling as on +ski. We encountered a very high, rough sastrugi surface, most +remarkably high, and had a cold breeze in our faces during the +march. Our beards and moustaches are masses of ice. I will +take care I am clean-shaven next time I come out. The frozen +moustache makes the lobes of the nose freeze more easily than +they would if there was no ice alongside them. . . . I ask myself +why on earth one comes to these parts of the earth. Here we are, +frostbitten in the day, frozen at night. What a life!” +The temperature at 1 p.m. that day was —23° Fahr., <i>i.e.</i> 55° +of frost. +<p> +The men camped abreast of “Corner Camp,” where they had been on +February 1, on the evening of March 19. The next day, after being +delayed for some hours by bad weather, they turned towards Castle +Rock and proceeded across the disturbed area where the Barrier +impinges upon the land. Joyce put his foot through the snow-covering +of a fairly large crevasse, and the course had to be changed to +avoid this danger. The march for the day was only 2 miles 900 yds. +Mackintosh felt that the pace was too slow, but was unable to quicken +it owing to the bad surfaces. The food had been cut down to close +upon half-rations, and at this reduced rate the supply still in +hand would be finished in two days. The party covered 7 miles +570 yds. on the 21st, and the hoosh that night was “no thicker +than tea.” +<p> +“The first thought this morning was that we must do a good march,” +wrote Mackintosh on March 22. “Once we can get to Safety Camp +(at the junction of the Barrier with the sea-ice) we are right. +Of course, we can as a last resort abandon the sledge and take a run +into Hut Point, about twenty-two miles away. . . . We have managed +quite a respectable forenoon march. The surface was hard, so we +took full advantage of it. With our low food the cold is +penetrating. We had lunch at 1 p.m., and then had left over one +meal at full rations and a small quantity of biscuits. The +temperature at lunch-time was —6° Fahr. Erebus is emitting large +volumes of smoke, travelling in a south-easterly direction, and +a red glare is also discernible. After lunch we again accomplished +a good march, the wind favouring us for two hours. We are anxiously +looking out for Safety Camp.” The distance for the day was 8 miles +1525 yds. +<p> +“<i>March</i> 23, 1915.—No sooner had we camped last night than a +blizzard with drift came on and has continued ever since. This +morning finds us prisoners. The drift is lashing into the sides +of the tent and everything outside is obscured. This weather is +rather alarming, for if it continues we are in a bad way. We have +just made a meal of cocoa mixed with biscuit-crumbs. This has +warmed us up a little, but on empty stomachs the cold is +penetrating.” +<p> +The weather cleared in the afternoon, but too late for the men to +move that day. They made a start at 7 a.m. on the 24th after a +meal of cocoa and biscuit-crumbs. +<p> +“We have some biscuit-crumbs in the bag and that is all. Our +start was made under most bitter circumstances, all of us being +attacked by frost-bites. It was an effort to bare hands for an +instant. After much rubbing and ‘bringing back’ of extremities +we started. Wild is a mass of bites, and we are all in a bad way. +We plugged on, but warmth would not come into our bodies. We had +been pulling about two hours when Joyce’s smart eyes picked up a +flag. We shoved on for all we were worth, and as we got closer, +sure enough, the cases of provisions loomed up. Then what feeds we +promised to give ourselves. It was not long before we were putting +our gastronomic capabilities to the test. Pemmican was brought +down from the depot, with oatmeal to thicken it, as well as sugar. +While Wild was getting the Primus lighted he called out to us that +he believed his ear had gone. This was the last piece of his face +left whole—nose, cheeks, and neck all having bites. I went into +the tent and had a look. The ear was a pale green. I quickly put +the palm of my hand to it and brought it round. Then his fingers +went, and to stop this and bring back the circulation he put them +over the lighted Primus, a terrible thing to do. As a result he +was in agony. His ear was brought round all right, and soon the +hot hoosh sent warmth tingling through us. We felt like new beings. +We simply ate till we were full, mug after mug. After we had been +well satisfied, we replaced the cases we had pulled down from the +depot and proceeded towards the Gap. Just before leaving Joyce +discovered a note left by Spencer-Smith and Richards. This told +us that both the other parties had returned to the Hut and +apparently all was well. So that is good. When we got to the +Barrier-edge we found the ice-cliff on to the newly formed sea-ice +not safe enough to bear us, so we had to make a detour along +the Barrier-edge and, if the sea ice was not negotiable, find a +way up by Castle Rock. At 7 p.m., not having found any suitable +place to descend to the sea-ice we camped. To-night we have the +Primus going and warming our frozen selves. I hope to make Hut +Point to-morrow.” +<p> +Mackintosh and his companions broke camp on the morning of March +25, with the thermometer recording 55° of frost, and, +after another futile search for a way down the ice-cliff to the +sea-ice, they proceeded towards Castle Rock. While in this course +they picked up sledge-tracks, and, following these, they found a +route down to the sea-ice. Mackintosh decided to depot the sledge +on top of a well-marked undulation and proceed without gear. A +short time later the three men, after a scramble over the cliffs +of Hut Point, reached the door of the hut. +<p> +“We shouted. No sound. Shouted again, and presently a dark object +appeared. This turned out to be Cope, who was by himself. The other +members of the party had gone out to fetch the gear off their sledge, +which they also had left. Cope had been laid up, so did not go with +them. We soon were telling each other’s adventures, and we heard +then how the ship had called here on March 11 and picked up +Spencer-Smith, Richards, Ninnis, Hooke, and Gaze, the present members +here being Cope, Hayward, and Jack. A meal was soon prepared. We +found here even a blubber-fire, luxurious, but what a state of dirt +and grease! However, warmth and food are at present our principal +objects. While we were having our meal Jack and Hayward appeared. . . . +Late in the evening we turned into dry bags. As there are only three +bags here, we take it in turns to use them. Our party have the +privilege. . . . I got a letter here from Stenhouse giving a summary +of his doings since we left him. The ship’s party also have not had +a rosy time.” +<p> +Mackintosh learned here that Spencer-Smith, Jack, and Gaze, who had +turned back on February 10, had reached Hut Point without +difficulty. The third party, headed by Cope, had also been out on +the Barrier but had not done much. This party had attempted to +use the motor-tractor, but had failed to get effective service from +the machine and had not proceeded far afield. The motor was now +lying at Hut Point. Spencer-Smith’s party and Cope’s party had +both returned to Hut Point before the end of February. +<p> +The six men now at Hut Point were cut off from the winter quarters +of the Expedition at Cape Evans by the open water of McMurdo +Sound. Mackintosh naturally was anxious to make the crossing +and get in touch with the ship and the other members of the shore +party; but he could not make a move until the sea-ice became firm, +and, as events occurred, he did not reach Cape Evans until the +beginning of June. He went out with Cope and Hayward on March 29 +to get his sledge and brought it as far as Pram Point, on the south +side of Hut Point. He had to leave the sledge there owing to the +condition of the sea-ice. He and his companions lived an uneventful +life under primitive conditions at the hut. The weather was bad, +and though the temperatures recorded were low, the young sea-ice +continually broke away. The blubber-stove in use at the hut seemed +to have produced soot and grease in the usual large quantities, and +the men and their clothing suffered accordingly. The whites of their +eyes contrasted vividly with the dense blackness of their skins. +Wild and Joyce had a great deal of trouble with their frost-bites. +Joyce had both feet blistered, his knees were swollen, and his hands +also were blistered. Jack devised some blubber-lamps, which +produced an uncertain light and much additional smoke. Mackintosh +records that the members of the party were contented enough but +“unspeakably dirty,” and he writes longingly of baths and clean +clothing. The store of seal-blubber ran low early in April, +and all hands kept a sharp look-out for seals. On April 15 +several seals were seen and killed. The operations of killing +and skinning made worse the greasy and blackened clothes of the +men. It is to be regretted that though there was a good deal of +literature available, especially on this particular district, +the leaders of the various parties had not taken advantage of +it and so supplemented their knowledge. Joyce and Mackintosh +of course had had previous Antarctic experience: but it was open +to all to have carefully studied the detailed instructions +published in the books of the three last Expeditions in this +quarter.<br><br> +<hr> +<center><h2><a name="14">CHAPTER XIV</a></h2><h2>WINTERING IN McMURDO SOUND</h2></center> +<p><br> +The <i>Aurora</i>, after picking up six men at Hut Point on March 11, +had gone back to Cape Evans. The position chosen for the winter +quarters of the <i>Aurora</i> was at Cape Evans, immediately off the +hut erected by Captain Scott on his last Expedition. The ship +on March 14 lay about forty yards off shore, bows seaward. Two +anchors had been taken ashore and embedded in heavy stone rubble, +and to these anchors were attached six steel hawsers. The hawsers +held the stern, while the bow was secured by the ordinary ship’s +anchors. Later, when the new ice had formed round the <i>Aurora</i>, +the cable was dragged ashore over the smooth surface and made fast. +The final moorings thus were six hawsers and one cable astern, made +fast to the shore anchors, and two anchors with about seventy fathoms +of cable out forward. On March 23 Mr. Stenhouse landed a party +consisting of Stevens, Spencer-Smith, Gaze, and Richards in order +that they might carry out routine observations ashore. These four +men took up their quarters in Captain Scott’s hut. They had been +instructed to kill seals for meat and blubber. The landing of +stores, gear, and coal did not proceed at all rapidly, it being +assumed that the ship would remain at her moorings throughout the +winter. Some tons of coal were taken ashore during April, but +most of it stayed on the beach, and much of it was lost later +when the sea-ice went out. This shore party was in the charge +of Stevens, and his report, handed to me much later, gives a +succinct account of what occurred, from the point of view of +the men at the hut: +<p align="right"><br> +“CAPE EVANS, Ross Island, <i>July</i> 30, 1915. +<p> +“On the 23rd March, 1915, a party consisting of Spencer-Smith, +Richards, and Gaze was landed at Cape Evans Hut in my charge. +Spencer-Smith received independent instructions to devote his time +exclusively to photography. I was verbally instructed that the +main duty of the party was to obtain a supply of seals for food +and fuel. Scientific work was also to be carried on. +<p> +“Meteorological instruments were at once installed, and +experiments were instituted on copper electrical thermometers +in order to supplement our meagre supply of instruments and +enable observations of earth, ice, and sea temperatures to be made. +Other experimental work was carried on, and the whole of the time +of the scientific members of the party was occupied. All seals +seen were secured. On one or two occasions the members of the +shore party were summoned to work on board ship. +<p> +“In general the weather was unsettled, blizzards occurring +frequently and interrupting communication with the ship across +the ice. Only small, indispensable supplies of stores and no +clothes were issued to the party on shore. Only part of the +scientific equipment was able to be transferred to the shore, +and the necessity to obtain that prevented some members of the +party landing all their personal gear. +<p> +“The ship was moored stern on to the shore, at first well over one +hundred yards from it. There were two anchors out ahead and the +vessel was made fast to two others sunk in the ground ashore by +seven wires. The strain on the wires was kept constant by +tightening up from time to time such as became slack, and easing +cables forward, and in this way the ship was brought much closer +inshore. A cable was now run out to the south anchor ashore, +passed onboard through a fair-lead under the port end of the +bridge, and made fast to bollards forward. Subsequent strain due +to ice and wind pressure on the ship broke three of the wires. +Though I believe it was considered on board that the ship was +secure, there was still considerable anxiety felt. The anchors +had held badly before, and the power of the ice-pressure on the +ship was uncomfortably obvious. +<p> +“Since the ship had been moored the bay had frequently frozen over, +and the ice had as frequently gone out on account of blizzards. +The ice does not always go out before the wind has passed its maximum. +It depends on the state of tides and currents; for the sea-ice has +been seen more than once to go out bodily when a blizzard had almost +completely calmed down. +<p> +“On the 6th May the ice was in and people passed freely between +the shore and the ship. At 11 p.m. the wind was south, backing +to south-east, and blew at forty miles per hour. The ship was +still in her place. At 3 a.m. on the 7th the wind had not increased +to any extent, but ice and ship had gone. As she was not seen to +go we are unable to say whether the vessel was damaged. The shore +end of the cable was bent twice sharply, and the wires were loose. +On the afternoon of the 7th the weather cleared somewhat, but +nothing was seen of the ship. The blizzard only lasted some twelve +hours. Next day the wind became northerly, but on the 10th there +was blowing the fiercest blizzard we have so far experienced from +the south-east. Nothing has since been seen or heard of the ship, +though a look-out was kept. +<p> +“Immediately the ship went as accurate an inventory as possible +of all stores ashore was made, and the rate of consumption of +food-stuffs so regulated that they would last ten men for not +less than one hundred weeks. Coal had already been used with the +utmost economy. Little could be done to cut down the consumption, +but the transference to the neighbourhood of the hut of such of the +coal landed previously by the ship as was not lost was pushed on. +Meat also was found to be very short; it was obvious that neither +it nor coal could be made to last two years, but an evidently +necessary step in the ensuing summer would be the ensuring of an +adequate supply of meat and blubber, for obtaining which the winter +presented little opportunity. Meat and coal were, therefore, used +with this consideration in mind, as required but as carefully as +possible. +<p align="right"> +“A. STEVENS.” +<p><br> +The men ashore did not at once abandon hope of the ship returning +before the Sound froze firmly. New ice formed on the sea whenever +the weather was calm, and it had been broken up and taken out many +times by the blizzards. During the next few days eager eyes looked +seaward through the dim twilight of noon, but the sea was covered +with a dense black mist and nothing was visible. A northerly wind +sprang up on May 8 and continued for a few hours, but it brought no +sign of the ship, and when on May 10 the most violent blizzard yet +experienced by the party commenced, hope grew slender. The gale +continued for three days, the wind attaining a velocity of seventy +miles an hour. The snowdrift was very thick and the temperature +fell to —20° Fahr. The shore party took a gloomy view of +the ship’s chances of safety among the ice-floes of the Ross Sea +under such conditions. +<p> +Stevens and his companions made a careful survey of their position +and realized that they had serious difficulties to face. No general +provisions and no clothing of the kind required for sledging had been +landed from the ship. Much of the sledging gear was also aboard. +Fortunately, the hut contained both food and clothing, left there +by Captain Scott’s Expedition. The men killed as many seals as +possible and stored the meat and blubber. June 2 brought a welcome +addition to the party in the form of the men who had been forced to +remain at Hut Point until the sea-ice became firm. Mackintosh and +those with him had incurred some risk in making the crossing, since +open water had been seen on their route by the Cape Evans party only +a short time before. There were now ten men at Cape Evans—namely, +Mackintosh, Spencer-Smith, Joyce, Wild, Cope, Stevens, Hayward, Gaze, +Jack, and Richards. The winter had closed down upon the Antarctic +and the party would not be able to make any move before the beginning +of September. In the meantime they overhauled the available stores +and gear, made plans for the work of the forthcoming spring and summer, +and lived the severe but not altogether unhappy life of the polar +explorer in winter quarters. Mackintosh, writing on June 5, surveyed +his position: +<p> +“The decision of Stenhouse to make this bay the wintering place +of the ship was not reached without much thought and consideration +of all eventualities. Stenhouse had already tried the Glacier Tongue and +other places, but at each of them the ship had been in an exposed +and dangerous position. When this bay was tried the ship withstood +several severe blizzards, in which the ice remained in on several +occasions. When the ice did go out the moorings held. The ship was +moored bows north. She had both anchors down forward and two anchors +buried astern, to which the stern moorings were attached with seven +lengths of wire. Taking all this into account, it was quite a fair +judgment on his part to assume that the ship would be secure here. +The blizzard that took the ship and the ice out of the bay was by no +means as severe as others she had weathered. The accident proves +again the uncertainty of conditions in these regions. I only pray +and trust that the ship and those aboard are safe. I am sure they +will have a thrilling story to tell when we see them.” +<p> +The <i>Aurora</i> could have found safe winter quarters farther up +McMurdo Sound, towards Hut Point, but would have run the risk of +being frozen in over the following summer, and I had given instructions +to Mackintosh before he went south that this danger must be avoided. +<p> +“Meanwhile we are making all preparations here for a prolonged stay. +The shortage of clothing is our principal hardship. The members of +the party from Hut Point have the clothes we wore when we left the +ship on January 25. We have been without a wash all that time, and +I cannot imagine a dirtier set of people. We have been attempting to +get a wash ever since we came back, but owing to the blow during the +last two days no opportunity has offered. All is working smoothly +here, and every one is taking the situation very philosophically. +Stevens is in charge of the scientific staff and is now the senior +officer ashore. Joyce is in charge of the equipment and has undertaken +to improvise clothes out of what canvas can be found here. Wild is +working with Joyce. He is a cheerful, willing soul. Nothing ever +worries or upsets him, and he is ever singing or making some joke +or performing some amusing prank. Richards has taken over the +keeping of the meteorological log. He is a young Australian, a hard, +conscientious worker, and I look forward to good results from his +endeavours. Jack, another young Australian, is his assistant. +Hayward is the handy man, being responsible for the supply of +blubber. Gaze, another Australian, is working in conjunction with +Hayward. Spencer-Smith, the <i>padre</i>, is in charge of photography, and, +of course, assists in the general routine work. Cope is the medical +officer. +<p> +“The routine here is as follows: Four of us, myself, Stevens, +Richards, and Spencer-Smith, have breakfast at 7 a.m. The others +are called at 9 a.m., and their breakfast is served. Then the +table is cleared, the floor is swept, and the ordinary work of the +day is commenced. At 1 p.m. we have what we call ‘a counter lunch,’ +that is, cold food and cocoa. We work from 2 p.m. till 5 p.m. +After 5 p.m. people can do what they like. Dinner is at 7. The men +play games, read, write up diaries. We turn in early, since we have +to economize fuel and light. Night-watches are kept by the scientific +men, who have the privilege of turning in during the day. The day +after my arrival here I gave an outline of our situation and explained +the necessity for economy in the use of fuel, light, and stores, in +view of the possibility that we may have to stay here for two years. . . . +We are not going to commence work for the sledging operations until we +know more definitely the fate of the <i>Aurora</i>. I dare not think any +disaster has occurred.” +<p> +During the remaining days of June the men washed and mended +clothes, killed seals, made minor excursions in the neighbourhood +of the hut, and discussed plans for the future. They had six +dogs, two being bitches without experience of sledging. One of +these bitches had given birth to a litter of pups, but she proved +a poor mother and the young ones died. The animals had plenty of +seal meat and were tended carefully. +<p> +Mackintosh called a meeting of all hands on June 26 for the +discussion of the plans he had made for the depot-laying expedition +to be undertaken during the following spring and summer. +<p> +“I gave an outline of the position and invited discussion from the +members. Several points were brought up. I had suggested that one +of our party should remain behind for the purpose of keeping the +meteorological records and laying in a supply of meat and blubber. +This man would be able to hand my instructions to the ship and pilot +a party to the Bluff. It had been arranged that Richards should do +this. Several objected on the ground that the whole complement would +be necessary, and, after the matter had been put to the vote, it was +agreed that we should delay the decision until the parties had some +practical work and we had seen how they fared. The shortage of +clothing was discussed, and Joyce and Wild have agreed to do their +best in this matter. October sledging (on the Barrier) was mentioned +as being too early, but is to be given a trial. These were the most +important points brought up, and it was mutually and unanimously +agreed that we could do no more. . . . I know we are doing our best.” +<p> +The party was anxious to visit Cape Royds, north of Cape Evans, +but at the end of June open water remained right across the Sound +and a crossing was impossible. At Cape Royds is the hut used by +the Shackleton Expedition of 1907–1909, and the stores and supplies +it contains might have proved very useful. Joyce and Wild made +finneskoe (fur boots) from spare sleeping-bags. Mackintosh +mentions that the necessity of economizing clothing and footgear +prevented the men taking as much exercise as they would otherwise +have done. A fair supply of canvas and leather had been found in +the hut, and some men tried their hands at making shoes. Many +seals had been killed and brought in, and the supply of meat and +blubber was ample for present needs. +<p> +During July Mackintosh made several trips northwards on the sea-ice, +but found always that he could not get far. A crack stretched +roughly from Inaccessible Island to the Barne Glacier, and the ice +beyond looked weak and loose. The improving light told of the +returning sun. Richards and Jack were weighing out stores in +readiness for the sledging expeditions. Mackintosh, from the hill +behind the hut, saw open water stretching westward from Inaccessible +Island on August 1, and noted that probably McMurdo Sound was never +completely frozen over. A week later the extent of the open water +appeared to have increased, and the men began to despair of getting +to Cape Royds. Blizzards were frequent and persistent. A few +useful articles were found in the neighbourhood of the hut as the +light improved, including some discarded socks and underwear, left +by members of the Scott Expedition, and a case of candied peel, +which was used for cakes. A small fire broke out in the hut on +August 12. The acetylene-gas lighting plant installed in the hut +by Captain Scott had been rigged, and one day it developed a leak. +A member of the party searched for the leak with a lighted candle, +and the explosion that resulted fired some woodwork. Fortunately +the outbreak was extinguished quickly. The loss of the hut at this +stage would have been a tragic incident. +<p> +Mackintosh and Stevens paid a visit to Cape Royds on August 13. +They had decided to attempt the journey over the Barne Glacier, +and after crossing a crevassed area they got to the slopes of Cape +Barne and thence down to the sea-ice. They found this ice to be +newly formed, but sufficiently strong for their purpose, and soon +reached the Cape Royds hut. +<p> +“The outer door of the hut we found to be off,” wrote Mackintosh. +“A little snow had drifted into the porch, but with a shovel, +which we found outside, this was soon cleared away. We then +entered, and in the centre of the hut found a pile of snow and ice, +which had come through the open ventilator in the roof of the hut. +We soon closed this. Stevens prepared a meal while I cleared the +ice and snow away from the middle of the hut. After our meal we +commenced taking an inventory of the stores inside. Tobacco was +our first thought. Of this we found one tin of Navy Cut and a box +of cigars. Soap, too, which now ensures us a wash and clean clothes +when we get back. We then began to look round for a sleeping-bag. +No bags were here, however, but on the improvised beds of cases we +found two mattresses, an old canvas screen, and two blankets. We +took it in turns to turn in. Stevens started first, while I kept +the fire going. No coal or blubber was here, so we had to use wood, +which, while keeping the person alongside it warm, did not raise +the temperature of the hut over freezing-point. Over the +stove in a conspicuous place we found a notice by Scott’s party that +parties using the hut should leave the dishes clean.” +<p> +Mackintosh and Stevens stayed at the Cape Royds over the next day and +made a thorough examination of the stores there. They found outside +the hut a pile of cases containing meats, flour, dried vegetables, and +sundries, at least a year’s supply for a party of six. They found no +new clothing, but made a collection of worn garments, which could be +mended and made serviceable. Carrying loads of their spoils, they set +out for Cape Evans on the morning of August 15 across the sea-ice. +Very weak ice barred the way and they had to travel round the coast. +They got back to Cape Evans in two hours. During their absence Wild +and Gaze had climbed Inaccessible Island, Gaze having an ear badly +frost-bitten on the journey. The tobacco was divided among the +members of the party. A blizzard was raging the next day, and +Mackintosh congratulated himself on having chosen the time for his +trip fortunately. +<p> +The record of the remaining part of August is not eventful. All +hands were making preparations for the sledging, and were rejoicing +in the increasing daylight. The party tried the special sledging +ration prepared under my own direction, and “all agreed it was +excellent both in bulk and taste.” Three emperor penguins, the +first seen since the landing, were caught on August 19. By that +time the returning sun was touching with gold the peaks of the +Western Mountains and throwing into bold relief the massive form +of Erebus. The volcano was emitting a great deal of smoke, and +the glow of its internal fires showed occasionally against the +smoke-clouds above the crater. Stevens, Spencer-Smith, and Cope +went to Cape Royds on the 20th, and were still there when the sun +made its first appearance over Erebus on the 26th. Preceding days +had been cloudy, and the sun, although above the horizon, had not +been visible. +<p> +“The morning broke clear and fine,” wrote Mackintosh. “Over +Erebus the sun’s rays peeped through the massed cumulus and +produced the most gorgeous cloud effects. The light made us all +blink and at the same time caused the greatest exuberance of spirits. +We felt like men released from prison. I stood outside the hut and +looked at the truly wonderful scenery all round. The West Mountains +were superb in their wild grandeur. The whole outline of peaks, some +eighty or ninety distant, showed up, stencilled in delicate contrast +to the sky-line. The immense ice-slopes shone white as alabaster +against dark shadows. The sky to the west over the mountains was +clear, except for low-lying banks at the foot of the slopes round +about Mount Discovery. To the south hard streaks of stratus lay +heaped up to 30 degrees above the horizon. . . . Then Erebus commenced +to emit volumes of smoke, which rose hundreds of feet and trailed +away in a north-westerly direction. The southern slopes of Erebus +were enveloped in a mass of cloud.” The party from Cape Royds +returned that afternoon, and there was disappointment at their +report that no more tobacco had been found. +<p> +The sledging of stores to Hut Point, in preparation for the depot-laying +journeys on the Barrier, was to begin on September 1. +Mackintosh, before that date, had discussed plans fully with the +members of his party. He considered that sufficient sledging +provisions were available at Cape Evans, the supply landed from +the ship being supplemented by the stores left by the Scott +Expedition of 1912–13 and the Shackleton Expedition of 1907–09. +The supply of clothing and tents was more difficult. Garments +brought from the ship could be supplemented by old clothing found +at Hut Point and Cape Evans. The Burberry wind-proof outer garments +were old and in poor order for the start of a season’s sledging. +Old sleeping-bags had been cut up to make finneskoe (fur boots) +and mend other sleeping-bags. Three tents were available, one +sound one landed from the <i>Aurora</i>, and two old ones left by +Captain Scott. Mackintosh had enough sledges, but the experience +of the first journey with the dogs had been unfortunate, and there +were now only four useful dogs left. They did not make a full team +and would have to be used merely as an auxiliary to man-haulage. +<p> +The scheme adopted by Mackintosh, after discussion with the +members of his party, was that nine men, divided into three +parties of three each, should undertake the sledging. One man +would be left at Cape Evans to continue the meteorological +observations during the summer. The motor-tractor, which had +been left at Hut Point, was to be brought to Cape Evans and, if +possible, put into working order. Mackintosh estimated that +the provisions required for the consumption of the depot parties, +and for the depots to be placed southward to the foot of the +Beardmore Glacier, would amount to 4000 lbs. The first depot +was to be placed off Minna Bluff, and from there southward a depot +was to be placed on each degree of latitude. The final depot would +be made at the foot of the Beardmore Glacier. The initial task +would be the haulage of stores from Cape Evans to Hut Point, a +distance of 13 miles. All the sledging stores had to be taken +across, and Mackintosh proposed to place additional supplies there +in case a party, returning late from the Barrier, had to spend +winter months at Hut Point. +<p> +The first party, consisting of Mackintosh, Richards, and +Spencer-Smith, left Cape Evans on September 1 with 600 lbs. +of stores on one sledge, and had an uneventful journey to Hut +Point. They pitched a tent half-way across the bay, on the +sea-ice, and left it there for the use of the various parties +during the month. At Hut Point they cleared the snow from the +motor-tractor and made some preliminary efforts to get it into +working order. They returned to Cape Evans on the 3rd. The +second trip to Hut Point was made by a party of nine, with three +sledges. Two sledges, man-hauled, were loaded with 1278 lbs. of +stores, and a smaller sledge, drawn by the dogs, carried the +sleeping-bags. This party encountered a stiff southerly breeze, +with low temperature, and, as the men were still in rather soft +condition, they suffered much from frost bites. Joyce and Gaze +both had their heels badly blistered. Mackintosh’s face suffered, +and other men had fingers and ears “bitten.” When they returned +Gaze had to travel on a sledge, since he could not set foot to the +ground. They tried to haul the motor to Cape Evans on this occasion, +but left it for another time after covering a mile or so. The motor +was not working and was heavy to pull. +<p> +Eight men made the third journey to Hut Point, Gaze and Jack +remaining behind. They took 660 lbs. of oil and 630 lbs. of stores. +From Hut Point the next day (September 14) the party proceeded with +loaded sledges to Safety Camp, on the edge of the Barrier. This +camp would be the starting-point for the march over the Barrier to +the Minna Bluff depot. They left the two sledges, with 660 lbs. of +oil and 500 lbs. of oatmeal, sugar, and sundries, at Safety Camp and +returned to Hut Point. The dogs shared the work on this journey. +The next day Mackintosh and his companions took the motor to Cape +Evans, hauling it with its grip-wheels mounted on a sledge. After +a pause due to bad weather, a party of eight men took another load +to Hut Point on September 24, and on to Safety Camp the next day. +They got back to Cape Evans on the 26th. Richards meanwhile had +overhauled the motor and given it some trial runs on the sea-ice. +But he reported that the machine was not working satisfactorily, +and Mackintosh decided not to persevere with it. +<p> +“Everybody is up to his eyes in work,” runs the last entry in +the journal left by Mackintosh at Cape Evans. “All gear is being +overhauled, and personal clothing is having the last stitches. We +have been improvising shoes to replace the finneskoe, of which we +are badly short. Wild has made an excellent shoe out of an old +horse-rug he found here, and this is being copied by other men. +I have made myself a pair of mitts out of an old sleeping-bag. +Last night I had a bath, the second since being here. . . . I close +this journal to-day (September 30) and am packing it with my papers +here. To-morrow we start for Hut Point. Nine of us are going on +the sledge party for laying depots—namely, Stevens, Spencer-Smith, +Joyce, Wild, Cope, Hayward, Jack, Richards, and myself. Gaze, who +is still suffering from bad feet, is remaining behind and will +probably be relieved by Stevens after our first trip. With us +we take three months’ provisions to leave at Hut Point. I +continue this journal in another book, which I keep with me.” +<p> +The nine men reached Hut Point on October 1. They took the last +loads with them. Three sledges and three tents were to be taken +on to the Barrier, and the parties were as follows: +<p> +No. 1: Mackintosh, Spencer-Smith, and Wild; +No. 2: Joyce, Cope, and Richards; +No. 3: Jack, Hayward, and Gaze. +On October 3 and 4 some stores left at Half-Way Camp were brought in, +and other stores were moved on to Safety Camp. Bad weather delayed +the start of the depot-laying expedition from Hut Point until +October 9.<br><br> +<hr> +<center><h2><a name="15">CHAPTER XV</a></h2><h2>LAYING THE DEPOTS</h2></center> +<p><br> +Mackintosh’s account of the depot-laying journeys undertaken by +his parties in the summer of 1915–16 unfortunately is not +available. The leader of the parties kept a diary, but he had the +book with him when he was lost on the sea-ice in the following winter. +The narrative of the journeys has been compiled from the notes kept +by Joyce, Richards, and other members of the parties, and I may say +here that it is a record of dogged endeavour in the face of great +difficulties and serious dangers. It is always easy to be wise +after the event, and one may realize now that the use of the dogs, +untrained and soft from shipboard inactivity, on the comparatively +short journey undertaken immediately after the landing in 1915 was +a mistake. The result was the loss of nearly all the dogs before +the longer and more important journeys of 1915–16 were undertaken. +The men were sledging almost continuously during a period of six +months; they suffered from frost-bite, scurvy, snow-blindness, +and the utter weariness of overtaxed bodies. But the they placed +the depots in the required positions, and if the Weddell Sea party +had been able to make the crossing of the Antarctic continent, the +stores and fuel would have been waiting for us where we expected +to find them. +<p> +The position on October 9 was that the nine men at Hut Point had +with them the stores required for the depots and for their own +maintenance throughout the summer. The remaining dogs were at +Cape Evans with Gaze, who had a sore heel and had been replaced +temporarily by Stevens in the sledging party. A small quantity +of stores had been conveyed already to Safety Camp on the edge +of the Barrier beyond Hut Point. Mackintosh intended to form +a large depot off Minna Bluff, seventy miles out from Hut Point. +This would necessitate several trips with heavy loads. Then he +would use the Bluff depot as a base for the journey to Mount Hope, +at the foot of the Beardmore Glacier, where the final depot was +to be laid. +<p> +The party left Hut Point on the morning of October 9, the nine men +hauling on one rope and trailing three loaded sledges. They +reached Safety Camp in the early afternoon, and, after repacking +the sledges with a load of about 2000 lbs., they began the journey +over the Barrier. The pulling proved exceedingly heavy, and they +camped at the end of half a mile. It was decided next day to +separate the sledges, three men to haul each sledge. Mackintosh +hoped that better progress could be made in this way. The distance +for the day was only four miles, and the next day’s journey was no +better. Joyce mentions that he had never done harder pulling, the +surface being soft, and the load amounting to 220 lbs. per man. +The new arrangement was not a success, owing to differences in +hauling capacity and inequalities in the loading of the sledges; +and on the morning of the 12th, Mackintosh, after consultation, +decided to push forward with Wild and Spencer-Smith, hauling one +sledge and a relatively light load, and leave Joyce and the remaining +five men to bring two sledges and the rest of the stores at their +best pace. This arrangement was maintained on the later journeys. +The temperatures were falling below —30° Fahr. at some hours, +and, as the men perspired freely while hauling their heavy loads +in the sun, they suffered a great deal of discomfort in the damp +and freezing clothes at night. Joyce cut down his load on the 13th +by depot-ing some rations and spare clothing, and made better +progress. He was building snow-cairns as guide-posts for use on +the return journey. He mentions passing some large crevasses +during succeeding days. Persistent head winds with occasional +drift made the conditions unpleasant and caused many frost-bites. +When the surface was hard, and the pulling comparatively easy, +the men slipped and fell continually, “looking much like classical +dancers.” +<p> +On the 20th a northerly wind made possible the use of a sail, +and Joyce’s party made rapid progress. Jack sighted a bamboo +pole during the afternoon; and Joyce found that marked a depot +he had laid for my own “Farthest South” party in 1908. He dug +down in the hope of finding some stores, but the depot had been +cleared. The party reached the Bluff depot on the evening of the +21st and found that Mackintosh had been there on the 19th. +Mackintosh had left 178 lbs. of provisions, and Joyce left one sledge +and 273 lbs. of stores. The most interesting incident of the return +journey was the discovery of a note left by Mr. Cherry Garrard for +Captain Scott on March 19, 1912, only a few days before the latter +perished at his camp farther south. An upturned sledge at this +point was found to mark a depot of dog-biscuit and motor-oil, laid +by one of Captain Scott’s parties. Joyce reached Safety Camp on the +afternoon of the 27th, and, after dumping all spare gear, pushed on +to Hut Point in a blizzard. The sledges nearly went over a big drop +at the edge of the Barrier, and a few moments later Stevens dropped +down a crevasse to the length of his harness. +<p> +“Had a tough job getting him up, as we had no alpine rope and had +to use harness,” wrote Joyce. “Got over all right and had a very +hard pull against wind and snow, my face getting frost-bitten as I +had to keep looking up to steer. We arrived at the hut about 7.30 +p.m. after a very hard struggle. We found the Captain and his +party there. They had been in for three days. Gaze was also there +with the dogs. We soon had a good feed and forgot our hard day’s +work.” +<p> +Mackintosh decided to make use of the dogs on the second journey +to the Bluff depot. He thought that with the aid of the dogs +heavier loads might be hauled. This plan involved the dispatch of +a party to Cape Evans to get dog-pemmican. Mackintosh himself, +with Wild and Spencer-Smith, started south again on October 29. +Their sledge overturned on the slope down to the sea-ice, and the +rim of their tent-spread was broken. The damage did not appear +serious, and the party soon disappeared round Cape Armitage. +Joyce remained in charge at Hut Point, with instructions to get +dog food from Cape Evans and make a start south as soon as possible. +He sent Stevens, Hayward, and Cope to Cape Evans the next day, and +busied himself with the repair of sledging-gear. Cope, Hayward, +and Gaze arrived back from Cape Evans on November 1, Stevens having +stayed at the base. A blizzard delayed the start southward, and +the party did not get away until November 5. The men pulled in +harness with the four dogs, and, as the surface was soft and the +loads on the two sledges were heavy, the advance was slow. The +party covered 5 miles 700 yards on the 6th, 4 miles 300 yards on +the 7th, and 8 miles 1800 yards on the 9th, with the aid of a +light northerly wind. They passed on the 9th a huge bergstrom, +with a drop of about 70 feet from the flat surface of the Barrier. +Joyce thought that a big crevasse had caved in. “We took some +photographs,” wrote Joyce. “It is a really extraordinary fill-in +of ice, with cliffs of blue ice about 70 feet high, and heavily +crevassed, with overhanging snow-curtains. One could easily walk +over the edge coming from the north in thick weather.” Another +bergstrom, with crevassed ice around it, was encountered on the 11th. +Joyce reached the Bluff depot on the evening of the 14th and found +that he could leave 624 lbs. of provisions. Mackintosh had been +there several days earlier and had left 188 lbs. of stores. +<p> +Joyce made Hut Point again on November 20 after an adventurous +day. The surface was good in the morning and he pushed forward +rapidly. About 10.30 a.m. the party encountered heavy pressure-ice +with crevasses, and had many narrow escapes. “After lunch we +came on four crevasses quite suddenly. Jack fell through. We could +not alter course, or else we should have been steering among them, +so galloped right across. We were going so fast that the dogs that +went through were jerked out. It came on very thick at 2 p.m. +Every bit of land was obscured, and it was hard to steer. Decided +to make for Hut Point, and arrived at 6.30 p.m., after doing twenty-two +miles, a very good performance. I had a bad attack of snow-blindness +and had to use cocaine. Hayward also had a bad time. +I was laid up and had to keep my eyes bandaged for three days. +Hayward, too.” The two men were about again on November +24, and the party started south on its third journey to the Bluff +on the 25th. Mackintosh was some distance ahead, but the two +parties met on the 28th and had some discussion as to plans. +Mackintosh was proceeding to the Bluff depot with the intention +of taking a load of stores to the depot placed on lat. 80° S. +in the first season’s sledging. Joyce, after depositing his third +load at the Bluff, would return to Hut Point for a fourth and last +load, and the parties would then join forces for the journey +southward to Mount Hope. +<p> +Joyce left 729 lbs. at the Bluff depot on December 2, reached Hut +Point on December 7, and, after allowing dogs and men a good rest, +he moved southward again on December 13. This proved to be the +worst journey the party had made. The men had much trouble with +crevasses, and they were held up by blizzards on December 16, 18, +19, 22, 23, 26, and 27. They spent Christmas Day struggling through +soft snow against an icy wind and drift. The party reached the +Bluff depot on December 28, and found that Mackintosh, who had +been much delayed by the bad weather, had gone south two days +earlier on his way to the 80° S. depot. He had not made +much progress and his camp was in sight. He had left instructions +for Joyce to follow him. The Bluff depot was now well stocked. +Between 2800 and 2900 lbs. of provisions had been dragged to the +depot for the use of parties working to the south of this point. +This quantity was in addition to stores placed there earlier in +the year. +<p> +Joyce left the Bluff depot on December 29, and the parties were +together two days later. Mackintosh handed Joyce instructions to +proceed with his party to lat. 81° S and place a depot +there. He was then to send three men back to Hut Point and proceed +to lat. 82° S., where he would lay another depot. Then if +provisions permitted he would push south as far as lat. 83°. +Mackintosh himself was reinforcing the depot at lat. 80° S. +and would then carry on southward. Apparently his instructions to +Joyce were intended to guard against the contingency of the parties +failing to meet. The dogs were hauling well, and though their number +was small they were of very great assistance. The parties were now +ninety days out from Cape Evans, and “all hands were feeling fit.” +<p> +The next incident of importance was the appearance of a defect in one +of the two Primus lamps used by Joyce’s party. The lamps had all +seen service with one or other of Captain Scott’s parties, and they +had not been in first-class condition when the sledging commenced. +The threatened failure of a lamp was a matter of grave moment, since +a party could not travel without the means of melting snow and +preparing hot food. If Joyce took a faulty lamp past the 80° S. +depot, his whole party might have to turn back at lat. 81° S., +and this would imperil the success of the season’s sledging. He +decided, therefore, to send three men back from the 80° S. +depot, which he reached on January 6, 1916. Cope, Gaze, and Jack +were the men to return. They took the defective Primus and a light +load, and by dint of hard travelling, without the aid of dogs, they +reached Cape Evans on January 16. +<p> +Joyce, Richards, and Hayward went forward with a load of 1280 lbs., +comprising twelve weeks’ sledging rations, dog food and depot +supplies, in addition to the sledging-gear. They built cairns at +short intervals as guides to the depots. Joyce was feeding the +dogs well and giving them a hot hoosh every third night. “It is +worth it for the wonderful amount of work they are doing. If we +can keep them to 82° S. I can honestly say it is through their +work we have got through.” On January 8 Mackintosh joined Joyce, +and from that point the parties, six men strong, went forward +together. They marched in thick weather during January 10, 11, +and 12, keeping the course by means of cairns, with a scrap of +black cloth on top of each one. It was possible, by keeping the +cairns in line behind the sledges and building new ones as old ones +disappeared, to march on an approximately straight line. On the +evening of the 12th they reached lat. 81° S., and built a +large cairn for the depot. The stores left here were three weeks’ +rations for the ordinary sledging unit of three men. This quantity +would provide five days’ rations for twelve men, half for the use +of the overland party, and half for the depot party on its return +journey. +<p> +The party moved southwards again on January 13 in bad weather. +<p> +“After a little consultation we decided to get under way,” wrote +Joyce. “Although the weather is thick, and snow is falling, it +is worth while to make the effort. A little patience with the +direction and the cairns, even if one has to put them up 200 yds. +apart, enables us to advance, and it seems that this weather will +never break. We have cut up an old pair of trousers belonging to +Richards to place on the sides of the cairns, so as to make them +more prominent. It was really surprising to find how we got on in +spite of the snow and the pie-crust surface. We did 5 miles 75 yds. +before lunch. The dogs are doing splendidly. I really don’t know +how we should manage if it were not for them. . . . The distance for +the day was 10 miles 720 yds., a splendid performance considering +surface and weather.” +<p> +The weather cleared on the 14th; and the men were able to get +bearings from the mountains to the westward. They advanced fairly +rapidly during succeeding days, the daily distances being from +ten to twelve miles, and reached lat. 82° S. on the morning +of January 18. The depot here, like the depot at 81° S., +contained five days’ provisions for twelve men. Mackintosh was +having trouble with the Primus lamp in his tent, and this made it +inadvisable to divide the party again. It was decided, therefore, +that all should proceed, and that the next and last depot should +be placed on the base of Mount Hope, at the foot of the Beardmore +Glacier, in lat. 83° 30´ S. The party proceeded at once +and advanced five miles beyond the depot before camping on the +evening of the 18th. +<p> +The sledge loads were now comparatively light, and on the 19th the +party covered 13 miles 700 yds. A new trouble was developing, for +Spencer-Smith was suffering from swollen and painful legs, and was +unable to do much pulling. Joyce wrote on the 21st that Smith was +worse, and that Mackintosh was showing signs of exhaustion. A +mountain that he believed to be Mount Hope could be seen right ahead, +over thirty miles away. Spencer-Smith, who had struggled forward +gamely and made no unnecessary complaints, started with the party +the next morning and kept going until shortly before noon. Then +he reported his inability to proceed, and Mackintosh called a halt. +Spencer-Smith suggested that he should be left with provisions and +a tent while the other members of the party pushed on to Mount Hope, +and pluckily assured Mackintosh that the rest would put him right +and that he would be ready to march when they returned. The party +agreed, after a brief consultation, to adopt this plan. Mackintosh +felt that the depot must be laid, and that delay would be dangerous. +Spencer-Smith was left with a tent, one sledge, and provisions, and +told to expect the returning party in about a week. The tent was +made as comfortable as possible inside, and food was placed within +the sick man’s reach. Spencer-Smith bade his companions a cheery +good-bye after lunch, and the party was six or seven miles away +before evening. Five men had to squeeze into one tent that night, +but with a minus temperature they did not object to being crowded. +<p> +On January 23 a thick fog obscured all landmarks, and as bearings +of the mountains were now necessary the party had to camp at 11 +a.m., after travelling only four miles. The thick weather +continued over the 24th, and the men did not move again until the +morning of the 25th. They did 17¾ miles that day, and camped at +6 p.m. on the edge of “the biggest ice-pressure” Joyce had ever +seen. They were steering in towards the mountains and were +encountering the tremendous congestion created by the flow of the +Beardmore Glacier into the barrier ice. +<p> +“We decided to keep the camp up,” ran Joyce’s account of the +work done on January 26. “Skipper, Richards, and myself roped +ourselves together, I taking the lead, to try and find a course +through this pressure. We came across very wide crevasses, went +down several, came on top of a very high ridge, and such a scene! +Imagine thousands of tons of ice churned up to a depth of about 300 +ft. We took a couple of photographs, then carried on to the +east. At last we found a passage through, and carried on through +smaller crevasses to Mount Hope, or we hoped it was the mountain +by that name. We can see a great glacier ahead which we take for +the Beardmore, which this mountain is on, but the position on the +chart seems wrong. [It was not.—E.H.S.] We nearly arrived at +the ice-foot when Richards saw something to the right, which turned +out to be two of Captain Scott’s sledges, upright, but +three-quarters buried in snow. Then we knew for certain this was +the place we had struggled to get to. So we climbed the glacier on +the slope and went up about one and a quarter miles, and saw the +great Beardmore Glacier stretching to the south. It is about +twenty-five miles wide—a most wonderful sight. Then we returned +to our camp, which we found to be six miles away. We left at 8 a.m. +and arrived back at 3 p.m., a good morning’s work. We then had +lunch. About 4 p.m. we got under way and proceeded with the two +sledges and camped about 7 o’clock. Wild, Hayward and myself then +took the depot up the Glacier, a fortnight’s provisions. We left it +lashed to a broken sledge and put up a large flag. I took two +photographs of it. We did not arrive back until 10.30 p.m. It was +rather a heavy pull up. I was very pleased to see our work completed +at last. . . . Turned in 12 o’clock. The distance done during day +22 miles.” +<p> +The party remained in camp until 3.30 p.m. on the 27th, owing to a +blizzard with heavy snow. Then they made a start in clearer +weather and got through the crevassed area before camping at 7 p.m. +Joyce was suffering from snow-blindness. They were now homeward +bound, with 365 miles to go. They covered 16½ miles on the 28th, +with Joyce absolutely blind and hanging to the harness for +guidance, “but still pulling his whack.” They reached Spencer-Smith’s +camp the next afternoon and found him in his sleeping-bag, +quite unable to walk. Joyce’s diary of this date contains a rather +gloomy reference to the outlook, since he guessed that Mackintosh also +would be unable to make the homeward march. “The dogs are still +keeping fit,” he added. “If they will only last to 80° S. +we shall then have enough food to take them in, and then if the ship +is in I guarantee they will live in comfort the remainder of their +lives.” +<p> +No march could be made on the 30th, since a blizzard was raging. +The party made 8 miles on the 31st, with Spencer-Smith on one of the +sledges in his sleeping-bag. The sufferer was quite helpless, and +had to be lifted and carried about, but his courage did not fail +him. His words were cheerful even when his physical suffering and +weakness were most pronounced. The distance for February 1 was 13 +miles. The next morning the party abandoned one sledge in order to +lighten the load, and proceeded with a single sledge, Spencer-Smith +lying on top of the stores and gear. The distance for the day was +15½ miles. They picked up the 82° S. depot on February 3, +and took one week’s provisions, leaving two weeks’ rations for the +overland party. Joyce, Wild, Richards, and Hayward were feeling fit. +Mackintosh was lame and weak; Spencer-Smith’s condition was alarming. +The party was being helped by strong southerly winds, and the distances +covered were decidedly good. The sledge-meter recorded 15 miles 1700 +yds. on February 4, 17 miles 1400 yds. on the 5th, 18 miles 1200 yds. +on the 6th, and 13 miles 1000 yds. on the 7th, when the 81° S. +depot was picked up at 10.30 a.m., and one week’s stores taken, two +weeks’ rations being left. +<p> +The march to the next depot, at 80° S., was uneventful. The +party made good marches in spite of bad surfaces and thick weather, +and reached the depot late in the afternoon of February 12. The +supply of stores at this depot was ample, and the men took a +fortnight’s rations (calculated on a three-man basis), leaving +nearly four weeks’ rations. Spencer-Smith seemed a little better, +and all hands were cheered by the rapid advance. February 14, 15, +and 16 were bad days, the soft surface allowing the men to sink to +their knees at times. The dogs had a rough time, and the daily +distances fell to about eight miles. Mackintosh’s weakness was +increasing. Then on the 18th, when the party was within twelve +miles of the Bluff depot, a furious blizzard made travelling +impossible. This blizzard raged for five days. Rations were +reduced on the second day, and the party went on half-rations the +third day. +<p> +“Still blizzarding,” wrote Joyce on the 20th. “Things are +serious, what with our patient and provisions running short. +Dog provisions are nearly out, and we have to halve their rations. +We are now on one cup of hoosh among the three of us, with one +biscuit and six lumps of sugar. The most serious of calamities +is that our oil is running out. We have plenty of tea, but no fuel +to cook it with.” The men in Mackintosh’s tent were in no better +plight. Mackintosh himself was in a bad way. He was uncertain about +his ability to resume the march, but was determined to try. +<p> +“Still blizzarding,” wrote Joyce again on the 21st. “We are +lying in pools of water made by our bodies through staying in the +same place for such a long time. I don’t know what we shall do if +this does not ease. It has been blowing continuously without a lull. +The food for to-day was one cup of pemmican amongst three of us, one +biscuit each, and two cups of tea among the three.” The kerosene +was exhausted, but Richards improvised a lamp by pouring some spirit +(intended for priming the oil-lamp) into a mug, lighting it, and +holding another mug over it. It took half an hour to heat a mug of +melted snow in this way. “Same old thing, no ceasing of this +blizzard,” was Joyce’s note twenty-four hours later. “Hardly any +food left except tea and sugar. Richards, Hayward, and I, after a +long talk, decided to get under way to-morrow in any case, or else +we shall be sharing the fate of Captain Scott and his party. The +other tent seems to be very quiet, but now and again we hear a +burst of song from Wild, so they are in the land of the living. +We gave the dogs the last of their food to-night, so we shall have +to push, as a great deal depends on them.” Further quotations from +Joyce’s diary tell their own story. +<p> +“<i>February</i> 23, <i>Wednesday</i>.—About 11 o’clock saw a break in the +clouds and the sun showing. Decided to have the meal we kept for +getting under way. Sang out to the Skipper’s party that we should +shift as soon as we had a meal. I asked Wild, and found they had +a bag of oatmeal, some Bovril cubes, one bag of chocolate, and +eighteen biscuits, so they are much better off than we are. +After we had our meal we started to dig out our sledge, which we +found right under. It took us two hours, and one would hardly +credit how weak we were. Two digs of the shovel and we were out +of breath. This was caused through our lying up on practically no +food. After getting sledge out we took it around to the Skipper’s +tent on account of the heavy sastrugi, which was very high. Got +under way about 2.20. Had to stop very often on account of sail, +etc. About 3.20 the Skipper, who had tied himself to the rear +of the sledge, found it impossible to proceed. So after a +consultation with Wild and party, decided to pitch their tent, +leaving Wild to look after the Skipper and Spencer-Smith, and +make the best of our way to the depot, which is anything up to +twelve miles away. So we made them comfortable and left them about +3.40. I told Wild I should leave as much as possible and get +back 26th or 27th, weather permitting, but just as we left them it +came on to snow pretty hard, sun going in, and we found even with +the four dogs we could not make more than one-half to three-quarters +of a mile an hour. The surface is so bad that sometimes +you go in up to your waist; still in spite of all this we carried +on until 6.35. Camped in a howling blizzard. I found my left foot +badly frost-bitten. Now after this march we came into our banquet—one +cup of tea and half a biscuit. Turned in at 9 o’clock. +Situation does not look very cheerful. This is really the worst +surface I have ever come across in all my journeys here.” +<p> +Mackintosh had stayed on his feet as long as was humanly possible. +The records of the outward journey show clearly that he was +really unfit to continue beyond the 82° S. depot, and other +members of the party would have liked him to have stayed with +Spencer-Smith at lat. 83° S. But the responsibility for the +work to be done was primarily his, and he would not give in. He had +been suffering for several weeks from what he cheerfully called “a +sprained leg,” owing to scurvy. He marched for half an hour on the +23rd before breaking down, but had to be supported partly by Richards. +Spencer-Smith was sinking. Wild, who stayed in charge of the two +invalids, was in fairly good condition. Joyce, Richards, and Hayward, +who had undertaken the relief journey, were all showing symptoms of +scurvy, though in varying degrees. Their legs were weak, their gums +swollen. The decision that the invalids, with Wild, should stay in +camp from February 24, while Joyce’s party pushed forward to Bluff +depot, was justified fully by the circumstances. Joyce, Richards, +and Hayward had difficulty in reaching the depot with a nearly empty +sledge. An attempt to make their journey with two helpless men might +have involved the loss of the whole party. +<p> +“<i>February</i> 24, <i>Thursday</i>.—Up at 4:30; had one cup of tea, half +biscuit; under way after 7. Weather, snowing and blowing like +yesterday. Richards, laying the cairns had great trouble in getting +the compass within 10° on account of wind. During the +forenoon had to stop every quarter of an hour on account of our +breath. Every time the sledge struck a drift she stuck in (although +only 200 lbs.), and in spite of three men and four dogs we could +only shift her with the 1—2—3 haul. I wonder if this weather +will ever clear up. Camped in an exhausted condition about 12.10. +Lunch, half cup of weak tea and quarter biscuit, which took over +half an hour to make. Richards and Hayward went out of tent to +prepare for getting under way, but the force of wind and snow drove +them back. The force of wind is about seventy to eighty miles per +hour. We decided to get the sleeping-bags in, which took some +considerable time. The worst of camping is the poor dogs and our +weak condition, which means we have to get out of our wet sleeping-bags +and have another half cup of tea without working for it. +With scrapings from dog-tank it is a very scanty meal. This is the +second day the dogs have been without food, and if we cannot soon +pick up depot and save the dogs it will be almost impossible to +drag our two invalids back the one hundred miles which we have to go. +The wind carried on with unabating fury until 7 o’clock, and then +came a lull. We at once turned out, but found it snowing so thickly +that it was impossible to proceed on account of our weakness. No +chance must we miss. Turned in again. Wind sprang up again with +heavy drift 8.30. In spite of everything my tent-mates are very +cheerful and look on the bright side of everything. After a talk +we decided to wait and turned in. It is really wonderful what +dreams we have, especially of food. Trusting in Providence for +fine weather to-morrow. +<p> +“<i>February</i> 25, <i>Friday</i>.—Turned out 4.45. Richards prepared our +usual banquet, half cup of tea, quarter biscuit, which we relished. +Under way at 7, carried on, halting every ten minutes or quarter of +an hour. Weather, snowing and blowing same as yesterday. We are +in a very weak state, but we cannot give in. We often talk about +poor Captain Scott and the blizzard that finished him and party. +If we had stayed in our tent another day I don’t think we should +have got under way at all, and we would have shared the same fate. +But if the worst comes we have made up our minds to carry on and +die in harness. If any one were to see us on trek they would be +surprised, three men staggering on with four dogs, very weak; +practically empty sledge with fair wind and just crawling along; +our clothes are all worn out, finneskoe and sleeping bags torn. +Tent is our worst point, all torn in front, and we are afraid to +camp on account of it, as it is too cold to mend it. We camped +for our grand lunch at noon. After five hours’ struggling I +think we did about three miles. After lunch sat in our tent +talking over the situation. Decided to get under way again as +soon as there is any clearance. Snowing and blowing, force about +fifty or sixty miles an hour. +<p> +“<i>February</i> 26, <i>Saturday</i>.—Richards went out 1.10 a.m. and found it +clearing a bit, so we got under way as soon as possible, which was +2.10 a.m. About 2.35 Richards sighted depot, which seemed to be +right on top of us. I suppose we camped no more than three-quarters +of a mile from it. The dogs sighted it, which seemed to electrify +them. They had new life and started to run, but we were so weak +that we could not go more than 200 yds. and then spell. I think +another day would have seen us off. Arrived at depot 3.25; found +it in a dilapidated condition, cases all about the place. I don’t +suppose there has ever been a weaker party arrive at any depot, +either north or south. After a hard struggle got our tent up and +made camp. Then gave the dogs a good feed of pemmican. If ever +dogs saved the lives of any one they have saved ours. Let us hope +they will continue in good health, so that we can get out to our +comrades. I started on our cooking. Not one of us had any appetite, +although we were in the land of plenty, as we call this depot; +plenty of biscuit, etc., but we could not eat. I think it is the +reaction, not only in arriving here, but also finding no news of +the ship, which was arranged before we left. We all think there +has been a calamity there. Let us hope for the best. We decided +to have rolled-oats and milk for a start, which went down very well, +and then a cup of tea. How cheery the Primus sounds. It seems +like coming out of a thick London fog into a drawing-room. After +a consultation we decided to have a meal of pemmican in four hours, +and so on, until our weakness was gone. <i>Later</i>.—Still the same +weather. We shall get under way and make a forced march back as +soon as possible. I think we shall get stronger travelling and +feeding well. <i>Later</i>.—Weather will not permit us to travel yet. +Mended our torn tent with food-bags. This took four hours. +Feeding the dogs every four hours, and Richards and Hayward built +up depot. It is really surprising to find it takes two men to lift +a 50-lb. case; it only shows our weakness. Weather still the same; +force of wind at times about seventy to ninety miles an hour; +really surprising how this can keep on so long. +<p> +“<i>February</i> 27, <i>Sunday</i>.—Wind continued with fury the whole night. +Expecting every minute to have the tent blown off us. Up 5 o’clock; +found it so thick one could not get out of the tent. We are still +very weak, but think we can do the twelve miles to our comrades in +one long march. If only it would clear up for just one day we +would not mind. This is the longest continuous blizzard I have ever +been in. We have not had a travelling day for eleven days, and the +amount of snow that has fallen is astonishing. <i>Later</i>.—Had a meal +10.30 and decided to get under way in spite of the wind and snow. +Under way 12 o’clock. We have three weeks’ food on sledge, about +160 lbs., and one week’s dog-food, 50 lbs. The whole weight, all told, +about 600 lbs., and also taking an extra sledge to bring back Captain +Mackintosh. To our surprise we could not shift the sledges. After +half an hour we got about ten yards. We turned the sledge up and +scraped runners; it went a little better after. I am afraid our +weakness is much more than we think. Hayward is in rather a bad +way about his knees, which are giving him trouble and are very +painful; we will give him a good massage when we camp. The dogs +have lost all heart in pulling; they seem to think that going south +again is no good to them; they seem to just jog along, and one cannot +do more. I don’t suppose our pace is more than one-half or three-quarters +of a mile per hour. The surface is rotten, snow up to +one’s knees, and what with wind and drift a very bad outlook. +Lunched about 4.30. Carried on until 11.20, when we camped. It +was very dark making our dinner, but soon got through the process. +Then Richards spent an hour or so in rubbing Hayward with methylated +spirits, which did him a world of good. If he were to break up now +I should not know what to do. Turned in about 1.30. It is now calm, +but overcast with light falling snow. +<p> +“<i>February</i> 28, <i>Monday</i>.—Up at 6 o’clock; can just see a little +sky-line. Under way at 9 o’clock. The reason of delay, had to +mend finneskoe, which are in a very dilapidated condition. I +got my feet badly frost-bitten yesterday. About 11 o’clock came +on to snow, everything overcast. We ought to reach our poor boys +in three or four hours, but Fate wills otherwise, as it came on +again to blizzard force about 11.45. Camped at noon. I think the +party must be within a very short distance, but we cannot go on as +we might pass them, and as we have not got any position to go on +except compass. <i>Later</i>.—Kept on blizzarding all afternoon and night. +<p> +“<i>February</i> 29, <i>Tuesday</i>.—Up at 5 o’clock; still very thick. +It cleared up a little to the south about 8 o’clock, when Richards +sighted something black to the north of us, but could not see +properly what it was. After looking round sighted camp to the +south, so we got under way as soon as possible. Got up to the +camp about 12.45, when Wild came out to meet us. We gave him a +cheer, as we fully expected to find all down. He said he had +taken a little exercise every day; they had not any food left. +The Skipper then came out of the tent, very weak and as much as +he could do to walk. He said, ‘I want to thank you for saving +our lives.’ I told Wild to go and give them a feed and not to +eat too much at first in case of reaction, as I am going to get +under way as soon as they have had a feed. So we had lunch, +and the Skipper went ahead to get some exercise, and after an +hour’s digging out got everything ready for leaving. When we +lifted Smith we found he was in a great hole which he had melted +through. This party had been in one camp for twelve days. +We got under way and picked the Skipper up; he had fallen down, +too weak to walk. We put him on the sledge we had brought out, +and we camped about 8 o’clock. I think we did about three +miles, rather good with two men on the sledges and Hayward in +a very bad way. I don’t think there has been a party, either +north or south, in such straits, three men down and three of us +very weak; but the dogs seem to have new life since we turned north. +I think they realize they are homeward bound. I am glad we kept +them, even when we were starving. I knew they would have to come +in at the finish. We have now to look forward to southerly winds +for help, which I think we shall get at this time of year. Let us +hope the temperature will keep up, as our sleeping-bags are wet +through and worn out, and all our clothes full of holes, and +finneskoe in a dilapidated condition; in fact, one would not be +out on a cold day in civilization with the rotten clothes we have +on. Turned in 11 o’clock, wet through, but in a better frame of +mind. Hope to try and reach the depot to-morrow, even if we have +to march overtime. +<p> +“<i>March</i> 1, <i>Wednesday</i>.—Turned out usual time; a good south wind, +but, worse luck, heavy drift. Set sail; put the Skipper on rear +sledge. The temperature has gone down and it is very cold. Bluff +in sight. We are making good progress, doing a good mileage before +lunch. After lunch a little stronger wind. Hayward still hanging +on to sledge; Skipper fell off twice. Reached depot 5.45. When +camping found we had dropped our tent-poles, so Richards went back +a little way and spotted them through the binoculars about half a +mile off, and brought them back. Hayward and I were very cold by +that time, the drift very bad. Moral: See everything properly +secured. We soon had our tent up, cooked our dinner in the dark, +and turned in about 10 o’clock. +<p> +“<i>March</i> 2, <i>Thursday</i>.—Up as usual. Strong south-west wind with +heavy drift. Took two weeks’ provisions from the depot. I think +that will last us through, as there is another depot about fifty +miles north from here; I am taking the outside course on account +of the crevasses, and one cannot take too many chances with two +men on sledges and one crippled. Under way about 10 o’clock; +lunched noon in a heavy drift; took an hour to get the tents up, +etc., the wind being so heavy. Found sledges buried under snow +after lunch, took some time to get under way. Wind and drift very +heavy; set half-sail on the first sledge and under way about 3.30. +The going is perfect; sometimes sledges overtaking us. Carried on +until 8 o’clock, doing an excellent journey for the day; distance +about eleven or twelve miles. Gives one a bit of heart to carry +on like this; only hope we can do this all the way. Had to cook +our meals in the dark, but still we did not mind. Turned in +about 11 o’clock, pleased with ourselves, although we were wet +through with snow, as it got through all the holes in our clothes, +and the sleeping-bags are worse than awful. +<p> +“<i>March</i> 3, <i>Friday</i>.—Up the usual time. It has been blowing a +raging blizzard all night. Found to our disgust utterly impossible +to carry on. Another few hours of agony in these rotten bags. +<i>Later</i>.—Blizzard much heavier. Amused myself mending finneskoe +and Burberrys, mitts and socks. Had the Primus while this +operation was in force. Hoping for a fine day to-morrow. +<p> +“<i>March</i> 4, <i>Saturday</i>.—Up 5.20. Still blizzarding, but have +decided to get under way as we will have to try and travel +through everything, as Hayward is getting worse, and one +doesn’t know who is the next. No mistake it is scurvy, and +the only possible cure is fresh food. I sincerely hope the ship +is in; if not we shall get over the hills by Castle Rock, which +is rather difficult and will delay another couple of days. Smith +is still cheerful; he has hardly moved for weeks and he has to +have everything done for him. Got under way 9.35. It took some +two hours to dig out dogs and sledges, as they were completely +buried. It is the same every morning now. Set sail, going along +pretty fair. Hayward gets on sledge now and again. Lunched as +usual; sledges got buried again at lunch-time. It takes some time +to camp now, and in this drift it is awful. In the afternoon wind +eased a bit and drift went down. Found it very hard pulling with +the third man on sledge, as Hayward has been on all the afternoon. +Wind veered two points to south, so we had a fair wind. An hour +before we camped Erebus and Terror showing up, a welcome sight. +Only hope wind will continue. Drift is worst thing to contend with +as it gets into our clothes, which are wet through now. Camped +8 o’clock. Cooked in the dark, and turned in in our wet sleeping-bags +about 10 o’clock. Distance about eight or nine miles. +<p> +“<i>March</i> 5, <i>Sunday</i>.—Turned out 6.15. Overslept a little; very +tired after yesterday. Sun shining brightly and no wind. It seemed +strange last night, no flapping of tent in one’s ears. About 8.30 +came on to drift again. Under way 9.20, both sails set. Sledge +going hard, especially in soft places. If Hayward had not broken +down we should not feel the weight so much. Lunch 12.45. Under way +at 3. Wind and drift very heavy. A good job it is blowing some, +or else we should have to relay. All land obscured. Distance about +ten or eleven miles, a very good performance. Camped 7.10 in the +dark. Patients not in the best of trim. I hope to get in, bar +accidents, in four days. +<p> +“<i>March</i> 6, <i>Monday</i>.—Under way 9.20. Picked up thirty-two mile depot +11 o’clock. Going with a fair wind in the forenoon, which eased +somewhat after lunch and so caused very heavy work in pulling. It +seems to me we shall have to depot someone if the wind eases at +all. Distance during day about eight miles. +<p> +“<i>March</i> 7, <i>Tuesday</i>.—Under way 9 o’clock. Although we turn out +at 5 it seems a long time to get under way. There is double as +much work to do now with our invalids. This is the calmest day +we have had for weeks. The sun is shining and all land in sight. +It is very hard going. Had a little breeze about 11 o’clock, set +sail, but work still very, very heavy. Hayward and Skipper going +on ahead with sticks, very slow pace, but it will buck them up and +do them good. If one could only get some fresh food! About 11 +o’clock decided to camp and overhaul sledges and depot all gear +except what is actually required. Under way again at 2, but +surface being so sticky did not make any difference. After a +consultation the Skipper decided to stay behind in a tent with +three weeks’ provisions whilst we pushed on with Smith and Hayward. +It seems hard, only about thirty miles away, and yet cannot get any +assistance. Our gear is absolutely rotten, no sleep last night, +shivering all night in wet bags. I wonder what will be the outcome +of it all after our struggle. Trust in Providence. Distance +about three and a half miles. +<p> +“<i>March</i> 8, <i>Wednesday</i>.—Under way 9.20. Wished the Skipper good-bye; +took Smith and Hayward on. Had a fair wind, going pretty good. +Hope to arrive in Hut Point in four days. Lunched at No. 2 depot. +Distance about four and a half miles. Under way as usual after +lunch; head wind, going very heavy. Carried on until 6.30. +Distance about eight or nine miles. +<p> +“<i>March</i> 9, <i>Thursday</i>.—Had a very bad night, cold intense. +Temperature down to —29° all night. At 4 a.m. Spencer-Smith +called out that he was feeling queer. Wild spoke to him. +Then at 5.45 Richards suddenly said, ‘I think he has gone.’ Poor +Smith, for forty days in pain he had been dragged on the sledge, +but never grumbled or complained. He had a strenuous time in his +wet bag, and the jolting of the sledge on a very weak heart was +not too good for him. Sometimes when we lifted him on the sledge +he would nearly faint, but during the whole time he never +complained. Wild looked after him from the start. We buried him +in his bag at 9 o’clock at the following position: Ereb. 184°—Obs. +Hill 149°. We made a cross of bamboos, and built a +mound and cairn, with particulars. After that got under way with +Hayward on sledge. Found going very hard, as we had a northerly +wind in our faces, with a temperature below 20°. What +with frost-bites, etc., we are all suffering. Even the dogs seem +like giving in; they do not seem to take any interest in their work. +We have been out much too long, and nothing ahead to cheer us up +but a cold, cheerless hut. We did about two and a half miles in +the forenoon; Hayward toddling ahead every time we had a spell. +During lunch the wind veered to the south with drift, just right to +set sail. We carried on with Hayward on sledge and camped in the +dark about 8 o’clock. Turned in at 10, weary, worn, and sad. +Hoping to reach depot to-morrow. +<p> +“<i>March</i> 10, <i>Friday</i>.—Turned out as usual. Beam wind, going pretty +fair, very cold. Came into very soft snow about 3; arrived at +Safety Camp 5 o’clock. Got to edge of Ice Barrier; found +passage over in a bay full of seals. Dogs got very excited; had +a job to keep them away. By the glass it looked clear right to +Cape Armitage, which is four and a half miles away. Arrived there +8 o’clock, very dark and bad light. Found open water. Turned to +climb slopes against a strong north-easterly breeze with drift. +Found a place about a mile away, but we were so done up that it took +until 11.30 to get gear up. This slope was about 150 yds. up, and +every three paces we had to stop and get breath. Eventually camped +and turned in about 2 o’clock. I think this is the worst day I ever +spent. What with the disappointment of not getting round the Point, +and the long day and the thought of getting Hayward over the slopes, +it is not very entertaining for sleep. +<p> +“<i>March</i> 11, <i>Saturday</i>.—Up at 7 o’clock; took binoculars and went +over the slope to look around the Cape. To my surprise found the +open water and pack at the Cape only extended for about a mile. +Came down and gave the boys the good news. I think it would take +another two hard days to get over the hills, and we are too weak +to do much of that, as I am afraid of another collapsing. Richards +and Wild climbed up to look at the back of the bay and found the +ice secure. Got under way 10.30, went round the Cape and found +ice; very slushy, but continued on. No turning now; got into hard +ice shortly after, eventually arriving at Hut Point about 3 o’clock. +It seems strange after our adventures to arrive back at the old hut. +This place has been standing since we built it in 1901, and has been +the starting-point of a few expeditions since. When we were coming +down the bay I could fancy the <i>Discovery</i> there when Scott +arrived from his Farthest South in 1902, the ship decorated +rainbow fashion, and Lieutenant Armitage giving out the news that +Captain Scott had got to 82° 17´ S. We went wild that day. +But now our homecoming is quite different. Hut half-full of snow +through a window being left open and drift getting in; but we soon +got it shipshape and Hayward in. I had the fire going and plenty +of vegetables on, as there was a fair supply of dried vegetables. +Then after we had had a feed, Richards and Wild went down the bay +and killed a couple of seals. I gave a good menu of seal meat at +night, and we turned in about 11 o’clock, full—too full, in fact. +As there is no news here of the ship, and we cannot see her, we +surmise she has gone down with all hands. I cannot see there is +any chance of her being afloat or she would be here. I don’t know +how the Skipper will take it. +<p> +“<i>March</i> 12, <i>Sunday</i>.—Heard groans proceeding from the sleeping-bags +all night; all hands suffering from over-eating. Hayward +not very well. Turned out 8 o’clock. Good breakfast—porridge, +seal, vegetables, and coffee; more like a banquet to us. After +breakfast Richards and Wild killed a couple of seals whilst I made +the hut a bit comfy. Hayward can hardly move. All of us in a very +bad state, but we must keep up exercise. My ankles and knees +badly swollen, gums prominent. Wild, very black around joints, +and gums very black. Richards about the best off. After digging +hut out I prepared food which I think will keep the scurvy down. +The dogs have lost their lassitude and are quite frisky, except +Oscar, who is suffering from over-feeding. After a strenuous day’s +work turned in 10 o’clock. +<p> +“<i>March</i> 13, <i>Monday</i>.—Turned out 7 o’clock. Carried on much the +same as yesterday, bringing in seal blubber and meat. Preparing +for departure to-morrow; hope every one will be all right. Made +new dog harness and prepared sledges. In afternoon cooked sufficient +seal meat for our journey out and back, and same for dogs. Turned +in 10 o’clock, feeling much better. +<p> +“<i>March</i> 14, <i>Tuesday</i>.—A beautiful day. Under way after lunch. +One would think, looking at our party, that we were the most ragged +lot one could meet in a day’s march; all our clothes past mending, +our faces as black as niggers’—a sort of crowd one would run away +from. Going pretty good. As soon as we rounded Cape Armitage a +dead head wind with a temperature of —18° Fahr., so we are +not in for a pleasant time. Arrived at Safety Camp 6 o’clock, turned +in 8.30, after getting everything ready. +<p> +“<i>March</i> 15, <i>Wednesday</i>.—Under way as usual. Nice calm day. Had +a very cold night, temperature going down to —30° Fahr. +Going along at a rattling good rate; in spite of our swollen limbs +we did about fifteen miles. Very cold when we camped; temperature +—20° Fahr. Turned in 9 o’clock. +<p> +“<i>March</i> 16, <i>Thursday</i>.—Up before the sun, 4.45 a.m. Had a very +cold night, not much sleep. Under way early. Going good. +Passed Smith’s grave 10.45 a.m. and had lunch at depot. Saw +Skipper’s camp just after, and looking through glass found him +outside tent, much to the joy of all hands, as we expected him to +be down. Picked him up 4.15 p.m. Broke the news of Smith’s death +and no ship. I gave him the date of the 17th to look out for our +returning, so he had a surprise. We struck his camp and went north +for about a mile and camped. We gave the Skipper a banquet of +seal, vegetables, and black currant jam, the feed of his life. +He seems in a bad way. I hope to get him in in three days, and +I think fresh food will improve him. We turned in 8 o’clock. +Distance done during day sixteen miles. +<p> +“<i>March</i> 17, <i>Friday</i>.—Up at 5 o’clock. Under way 8 a.m. Skipper +feeling much better after feeding him up. Lunched a few yards +past Smith’s grave. Had a good afternoon, going fair. Distance +about sixteen miles. Very cold night, temperature —30° Fahr. +What with wet bags and clothes, rotten. +<p> +“<i>March</i> 18, <i>Saturday</i>.—Turned out 5 o’clock. Had rather a cold +night. Temperature —29° Fahr. Surface very good. The +Skipper walked for a little way, which did him good. Lunched as +usual. Pace good. After lunch going good. Arrived at Safety Camp +4.10 p.m. To our delight found the sea-ice in the same condition and +arrived at Hut Point at 7 o’clock. Found Hayward still about same. +Set to, made a good dinner, and all hands seem in the best of +spirits. Now we have arrived and got the party in, it remains to +themselves to get better. Plenty of exercise and fresh food ought +to do miracles. We have been out 160 days, and done a distance of +1561 miles, a good record. I think the irony of fate was poor Smith +going under a day before we got in. I think we shall all soon be +well. Turned in 10.30 p.m. Before turning in Skipper shook us by +the hand with great emotion, thanking us for saving his life.” +<p> +Richards, summarizing the work of the parties, says that the journeys +made between September 1 and March 18, a period of 160 days, totalled +1561 miles. The main journey, from Hut Point to Mount Hope and +return, was 830 miles. +<p> +“The equipment,” he adds, “was old at the commencement of the +season, and this told severely at the later stages of the journey. +Three Primus lamps gave out on the journeys, and the old tent brought +back by one of the last parties showed rents several feet in length. +This hampered the travelling in the long blizzards. Finneskoe were +also in pieces at the end, and time had frequently to be lost through +repairs to clothing becoming imperative. This account would not be +complete without some mention of the unselfish service rendered by +Wild to his two ill tent-mates. From the time he remained behind +at the long blizzard till the death of Spencer-Smith he had two +helpless men to attend to, and despite his own condition he was ever +ready, night or day, to minister to their wants. This, in a +temperature of —30° Fahr. at times, was no light task. +<p> +“Without the aid of four faithful friends, Oscar, Con, Gunner, and +Towser, the party could never have arrived back. These dogs from +November 5 accompanied the sledging parties, and, although the pace +was often very slow, they adapted themselves well to it. Their +endurance was fine. For three whole days at one time they had +not a scrap of food, and this after a period on short rations. +Though they were feeble towards the end of the trip, their +condition usually was good, and those who returned with them +will ever remember the remarkable service they rendered. +<p> +“The first indication of anything wrong with the general health +of the party occurred at about lat. 82° 30´ S., when Spencer-Smith +complained of stiffness in the legs and discolouration. He +attributed this to holes in his windproof clothing. At lat. +83° S., when he gave way, it was thought that the rest would +do him good. About the end of January Captain Mackintosh showed +very serious signs of lameness. At this time his party had been +absent from Hut Point, and consequently from fresh food, about +three months. +<p> +“On the journey back Spencer-Smith gradually became weaker, and +for some time before the end was in a very weak condition indeed. +Captain Mackintosh, by great efforts, managed to keep his feet +until the long blizzard was encountered. Here it was that Hayward +was first found to be affected with the scurvy, his knees being stiff. +In his case the disease took him off his feet very suddenly, +apparently causing the muscles of his legs to contract till they +could be straightened hardly more than a right angle. He had +slight touches in the joints of the arms. In the cases of Joyce, +Wild, and Richards, joints became stiff and black in the rear, but +general weakness was the worst symptom experienced. Captain +Mackintosh’s legs looked the worst in the party.” +<p> +The five men who were now at Hut Point found quickly that some of +the winter months must be spent there. They had no news of the +ship, and were justified in assuming that she had not returned to +the Sound, since if she had some message would have been awaiting +them at Hut Point, if not farther south. The sea-ice had broken +and gone north within a mile of the point, and the party must wait +until the new ice became firm as far as Cape Evans. Plenty of seal +meat was available, as well as dried vegetables, and the fresh food +improved the condition of the patients very rapidly. Richards +massaged the swollen joints and found that this treatment helped a +good deal. Before the end of March Mackintosh and Hayward, the +worst sufferers, were able to take exercise. By the second week +of April Mackintosh was free of pain, though the backs of his legs +were still discoloured. +<p> +A tally of the stores at the hut showed that on a reasonable +allowance the supply would last till the middle of June. Richards +and Wild killed many seals, so that there was no scarcity of meat +and blubber. A few penguins were also secured. The sole means of +cooking food and heating the hut was an improvised stove of brick, +covered with two sheets of iron. This had been used by the +former Expedition. The stove emitted dense smoke and often made +the hut very uncomfortable, while at the same time it covered the +men and all their gear with clinging and penetrating soot. +Cleanliness was out of the question, and this increased the desire +of the men to get across to Cape Evans. During April the sea froze +in calm weather, but winds took the ice out again. On April 23 +Joyce walked four miles to the north, partly on young ice two +inches thick, and he thought then that the party might be able +to reach Cape Evans within a few days. But a prolonged blizzard +took the ice out right up to the Point, so that the open water +extended at the end of April right up to the foot of Vinie’s Hill. +Then came a spell of calm weather, and during the first week of May +the sea-ice formed rapidly. The men made several short trips over +it to the north. The sun had disappeared below the horizon in the +middle of April, and would not appear again for over four months. +<p> +The disaster that followed is described by both Richards and +Joyce. “And now a most regrettable incident occurred,” wrote +Richards. “On the morning of May 8, before breakfast, +Captain Mackintosh asked Joyce what he thought of his going to +Cape Evans with Hayward. Captain Mackintosh considered the ice +quite safe, and the fine morning no doubt tempted him to exchange +the quarters at the hut for the greater comfort and better food at +Cape Evans.” (Mackintosh naturally would be anxious to know if the +men at Cape Evans were well and had any news of the ship.) +“He was strongly urged at the time not to take the risk, as it was +pointed out that the ice, although firm, was very young, and that a +blizzard was almost sure to take part of it out to sea.” +<p> +However, at about 1 p.m., with the weather apparently changing for +the worse, Mackintosh and Hayward left, after promising to turn +back if the weather grew worse. The last sight the watching party +on the hill gained of them was when they were about a mile away, +close to the shore, but apparently making straight for Cape Evans. +At 3 p.m. a moderate blizzard was raging, which later increased in +fury, and the party in the hut had many misgivings for the safety +of the absent men. +<p> +On May 10, the first day possible, the three men left behind +walked over new ice to the north to try and discover some trace as +to the fate of the others. The footmarks were seen clearly enough +raised up on the ice, and the track was followed for about two +miles in a direction leading to Cape Evans. Here they ended +abruptly, and in the dim light a wide stretch of water, very +lightly covered with ice, was seen as far as the eye could reach. +It was at once evident that part of the ice over which they had +travelled had gone out to sea. +<p> +The whole party had intended, if the weather had held good, to +have attempted the passage across with the full moon about May 16. +On the date on which Mackintosh and Hayward left it was impossible +that a sledge should travel the distance over the sea-ice owing to +the sticky nature of the surface. Hence their decision to go +alone and leave the others to follow with the sledge and equipment +when the surface should improve. That they had actually been +lost was learned only on July 15, on which date the party from +Hut Point arrived at Cape Evans. +<p> +The entry in Joyce’s diary shows that he had very strong +forebodings of disaster when Mackintosh and Hayward left. He +warned them not to go, as the ice was still thin and the weather +was uncertain. Mackintosh seems to have believed that he and +Hayward, travelling light, could get across to Cape Evans quickly +before the weather broke, and if the blizzard had come two or three +hours later they probably would have been safe. The two men +carried no sleeping-bags and only a small meal of chocolate and +seal meat. +<p> +The weather during June was persistently bad. No move had been +possible on May 16, the sea-ice being out, and Joyce decided to +wait until the next full moon. When this came the weather was +boisterous, and so it was not until the full moon of July that +the journey to Cape Evans was made. During June and July seals +got very scarce, and the supply of blubber ran short. +<p> +Meals consisted of little but seal meat and porridge. The small +stock of salt was exhausted, but the men procured two and a half +pounds by boiling down snow taken from the bottom layer next to +the sea-ice. The dogs recovered condition rapidly and did some +hunting on their own account among the seals. +<p> +The party started for Cape Evans on July 15. They had expected +to take advantage of the full moon, but by a strange chance they +had chosen the period of an eclipse, and the moon was shadowed most +of the time they were crossing the sea-ice. The ice was firm, and +the three men reached Cape Evans without difficulty. They found +Stevens, Cope, Gaze, and Jack at the Cape Evans Hut, and learned +that nothing had been seen of Captain Mackintosh and Hayward. +The conclusion that these men had perished was accepted reluctantly. +The party at the base consisted now of Stevens, Cope, Joyce, +Richards, Gaze, Wild, and Jack. +<p> +The men settled down now to wait for relief. When opportunity +offered Joyce led search-parties to look for the bodies or any +trace of the missing men, and he subsequently handed me the +following report: +<p><br> +“I beg to report that the following steps were taken to try and +discover the bodies of Captain Mackintosh and Mr. Hayward. After +our party’s return to the hut at Cape Evans, July 15, 1916, it was +learned that Captain Mackintosh and Mr. Hayward had not arrived; +and, being aware of the conditions under which they were last +seen, all the members of the wintering party were absolutely +convinced that these two men were totally lost and dead—that they +could not have lived for more than a few hours at the outside in +the blizzard that they had encountered, they being entirely +unprovided with equipment of any sort. +<p> +“There was the barest chance that after the return of the sun some +trace of their bodies might be found, so during the spring—that is, +August and September 1916—and in the summer—December and January +1916–17—the following searches were carried out: +<p> +“(1) Wild and I thoroughly searched Inaccessible Island at the +end of August 1916. +<p> +“(2) Various parties in September searched along the shore to the +vicinity of Turk’s Head. +<p> +“(3) In company with Messrs. Wild and Gaze I started from Hut +Point, December 31, 1916, at 8 a.m., and a course was steered +inshore as close as possible to the cliffs in order to search for +any possible means of ascent. At a distance of half a mile from +Hut Point we passed a snow slope which I had already ascended in +June 1916; three and a half miles farther on was another snow +slope, which ended in Blue Ice Glacier slope, which we found +impossible to climb, snow slope being formed by heavy winter +snowfall. These were the only two places accessible. Distance +on this day, 10 miles 1710 yds covered. On January 1 search was +continued round the south side of Glacier Tongue from the base +towards the seaward end. There was much heavy pressure; it was +impossible to reach the summit owing to the wide crack. Distance +covered 4 miles 100 yds. On January 2 thick weather caused party +to lay up. On 3rd, glacier was further examined, and several +slopes formed by snow led to top of glacier, but crevasses between +slope and the tongue prevented crossing. The party then proceeded +round the Tongue to Tent Island, which was also searched, a complete +tour of the island being made. It was decided to make for Cape +Evans, as thick weather was approaching. We arrived at 8 p.m. +Distance 8 miles 490 yds. +<p align="center"> +“I remain, etc., +<p align="right"> +“ERNEST E. JOYCE. +<p> +“<i>To</i> Sir ERNEST SHACKLETON, C.V.O., +<br>“<i>Commander</i>, I.T.A.E.” +<p><br> +In September Richards was forced to lay up at the hut owing to a +strained heart, due presumably to stress of work on the sledging +journeys. Early in October a party consisting of Joyce, Gaze, +and Wild spent several days at Cape Royds, where they skinned +specimens. They sledged stores back to Cape Evans in case it +should be found necessary to remain there over another winter. +In September, Joyce, Gaze, and Wild went out to Spencer-Smith’s +grave with a wooden cross, which they erected firmly. Relief +arrived on January 10, 1917, but it is necessary now to turn +back to the events of May 1915, when the <i>Aurora</i> was driven +from her moorings off Cape Evans.<br><br> +<hr> +<center><h2><a name="16">CHAPTER XVI</a></h2><h2>THE <i>AURORA’S</i> DRIFT</h2></center> +<p><br> +After Mackintosh left the <i>Aurora</i> on January 25, 1915, Stenhouse +kept the ship with difficulty off Tent Island. The ice-anchors +would not hold, owing to the continual breaking away of the pack, +and he found it necessary much of the time to steam slow ahead +against the floes. The third sledging party, under Cope, left the +ship on the afternoon of the 31st, with the motor-tractor towing +two sledges, and disappeared towards Hut Point. Cope’s party +returned to the ship on February 2 and left again on February 5, +after a delay caused by the loose condition of the ice. Two days +later, after more trouble with drifting floes, Stenhouse proceeded +to Cape Evans, where he took a line of soundings for the winter +quarters. During the next month the <i>Aurora</i> occupied various +positions in the neighbourhood of Cape Evans. No secure moorings +were available. The ship had to keep clear of threatening floes, +dodge “growlers” and drifting bergs, and find shelter from the +blizzards. A sudden shift of wind on February 24, when the ship +was sheltering in the lee of Glacier Tongue, caused her to be +jammed hard against the low ice off the glacier, but no damage was +done. Early in March Stenhouse sent moorings ashore at Cape Evans, +and on March 11 he proceeded to Hut Point, where he dropped anchor +in Discovery Bay. Here he landed stores, amounting to about two +months’ full rations for twelve men, and embarked Spencer-Smith, +Stevens, Hook, Richards, Ninnis, and Gaze, with two dogs. He +returned to Cape Evans that evening. +<p> +“We had a bad time when we were ‘sculling’ about the Sound, first +endeavouring to make Hut Point to land provisions, and then looking +for winter quarters in the neighbourhood of Glacier Tongue,” wrote +Stenhouse afterwards. “The ice kept breaking away in small floes, +and we were apparently no nearer to anywhere than when the sledges +left; we were frustrated in every move. The ship broke away from +the fast ice in blizzards, and then we went dodging about the +Sound from the Ross Island side to the western pack, avoiding and +clearing floes and growlers in heavy drift when we could see nothing, +our compasses unreliable and the ship short-handed. In that homeless +time I kept watch and watch with the second officer, and was hard +pressed to know what to do. Was ever ship in such predicament? +To the northward of Cape Royds was taboo, as also was the coast +south of Glacier Tongue. In a small stretch of ice-bound coast we +had to find winter quarters. The ice lingered on, and all this +time we could find nowhere to drop anchor, but had to keep steam +handy for emergencies. Once I tried the North Bay of Cape Evans, +as it apparently was the only ice-free spot. I called all hands, +and making up a boat’s crew with one of the firemen sent the whaler +away with the second officer in charge to sound. No sooner had the +boat left ship than the wind freshened from the northward, and large +bergs and growlers, setting into the bay, made the place untenable. +The anchorage I eventually selected seemed the best available—and +here we are drifting, with all plans upset, when we ought to be lying +in winter quarters.” +<p> +A heavy gale came up on March 12, and the <i>Aurora</i>, then moored off +Cape Evans, dragged her anchor and drifted out of the bay. She +went northward past Cape Barne and Cape Royds in a driving mist, +with a heavy storm-sea running. This gale was a particularly +heavy one. The ship and gear were covered with ice, owing to the +freezing of spray, and Stenhouse had anxious hours amid the heavy, +ice-encumbered waters before the gale moderated. The young ice, +which was continually forming in the very low temperature, helped +to reduce the sea as soon as the gale moderated, and the <i>Aurora</i> got +back to Cape Evans on the evening of the 13th. Ice was forming in +the bay, and on the morning of the 14th Stenhouse took the ship +into position for winter moorings. He got three steel hawsers out +and made fast to the shore anchors. These hawsers were hove tight, +and the <i>Aurora</i> rested then, with her stern to the shore, in seven +fathoms. Two more wires were taken ashore the next day. Young ice +was forming around the ship, and under the influence of wind and tide +this ice began early to put severe strains upon the moorings. +Stenhouse had the fires drawn and the boiler blown down on the 20th, +and the engineer reported at that time that the bunkers contained +still 118 tons of coal. +<p> +The ice broke away between Cape Evans and Cape Barne on the 23rd, +and pressure around the ship shattered the bay ice and placed +heavy strains on the stern moorings. The young ice, about four +inches thick, went out eventually and left a lead along the shore. +The ship had set in towards the shore, owing to the pressure, and +the stern was now in four-and-a-half fathoms. Stenhouse tightened +the moorings and ran out an extra wire to the shore anchor. The +nature of the ice movements is illustrated by a few extracts from +the log: +<p> +“<i>March</i> 27, 5 p.m.—Ice broke away from shore and started to go +out. 8 p.m.—Light southerly airs; fine; ice setting out to +north-west; heavy pressure of ice on starboard side and great +strain on moorings. 10 p.m.—Ice clear of ship. +<p> +“<i>March</i> 28.—New ice forming over bay. 3 a.m.—Ice which went +out last watch set in towards bay. 5 a.m.—Ice coming in and +overriding newly formed bay-ice; heavy pressure on port side of +ship; wires frozen into ice. 8 a.m.—Calm and fine; new ice +setting out of bay. 5 p.m.—New ice formed since morning cleared +from bay except area on port side of ship and stretching abeam and +ahead for about 200 yds., which is held by bights of wire; new +ice forming. +<p> +“<i>March</i> 29, 1.30 p.m.—New ice going out. 2 p.m.—Hands on +floe on port quarter clearing wires; stern in three fathoms; +hauled wires tight, bringing stern more to eastward and in four +fathoms; hove in about one fathom of starboard cable, which had +dragged during recent pressure. +<p> +“<i>April</i> 10, 1.30 p.m.—Ice breaking from shore under influence +of south-east wind. Two starboard quarter wires parted; all +bights of stern wires frozen in ice; chain taking weight. +2 p.m.—Ice opened, leaving ice in bay in line from Cape to +landward of glacier. 8 p.m.—Fresh wind; ship holding +ice in bay; ice in Sound wind-driven to north-west. +<p> +“<i>April</i> 17, 1 am.—Pressure increased and wind shifted to +north-west. Ice continued to override and press into shore until +5 o’clock; during this time pressure into bay was very heavy; +movement of ice in straits causing noise like heavy surf. +Ship took ground gently at rudder-post during pressure; +bottom under stern shallows very quickly. 10 p.m.—Ice-moving +out of bay to westward; heavy strain on after moorings and cables, +which are cutting the floe.” +<p> +Stenhouse continued to nurse his moorings against the onslaughts of +the ice during the rest of April and the early days of May. The +break-away from the shore came suddenly and unexpectedly on the +evening of May 6: +<p> +“<i>May</i> 6, 1915.—Fine morning with light breezes from east-south-east. . . . +3.30 p.m.—Ice nearly finished. Sent hands ashore for +sledge-load. 4 p.m.—Wind freshening with blizzardy appearance of +sky. 8 p.m.—. . . Heavy strain on after-moorings. 9.45 p.m.—The +ice parted from the shore; all moorings parted. Most fascinating to +listen to waves and chain breaking. In the thick haze I saw the ice +astern breaking up and the shore receding. I called all hands and +clapped relieving tackles (4-in. Manila luff tackles) on to the cables +on the forepart of the windlass. The bos’n had rushed along with his +hurricane lamp, and shouted, ‘She’s away wi’ it!’ He is a good fellow +and very conscientious. I ordered steam on main engines, and the +engine-room staff, with Hooke and Ninnis, turned to. Grady, fireman, +was laid up with a broken rib. As the ship, in the solid floe, set to +the north-west, the cables rattled and tore at the hawse-pipes; luckily +the anchors, lying as they were on a strip-sloping bottom, came away +easily, without damage to windlass or hawse-pipes. Slowly as we +disappeared into Sound, the light in the hut died away. At 11.30 p.m. +the ice around us started to break up, the floes playing tattoo on +the ship’s sides. We were out in the Sound and catching the full +force of the wind. The moon broke through the clouds after midnight +and showed us the pack, stretching continuously to northward, and +about one mile to the south. As the pack from the southward came up +and closed in on the ship, the swell lessened and the banging of +floes alongside eased a little. +<p> +“<i>May</i> 7, 8 a.m.—Wind east-south-east. Moderate gale with thick +drift. The ice around ship is packing up and forming ridges about +two feet high. The ship is lying with head to the eastward, Cape +Bird showing to north-east. When steam is raised I have hopes of +getting back to the fast ice near the Glacier Tongue. Since we have +been in winter quarters the ice has formed and, held by the islands +and land at Cape Evans, has remained north of the Tongue. If we can +return we should be able now to moor to the fast ice. The engineers +are having great difficulty with the sea connexions, which are frozen. +The main bow-down cock, from which the boiler is ‘run up,’ has been +tapped and a screw plug put into it to allow of a hot iron rod +being inserted to thaw out the ice between the cock and the ship’s +side—about two feet of hard ice. 4.30 p.m.—The hot iron has +been successful. Donolly (second engineer) had the pleasure of +stopping the first spurt of water through the pipe; he got it in the +eye. Fires were lit in furnaces, and water commenced to blow in the +boiler—the first blow in our defence against the terrific forces +of Nature in the Antarctic. 8 p.m.—The gale has freshened, +accompanied by thick drift.” +<p> +The <i>Aurora</i> drifted helplessly throughout May 7. On the morning +of May 8 the weather cleared a little and the Western Mountains +became indistinctly visible. Cape Bird could also be seen. The +ship was moving northwards with the ice. The daylight was no more +than a short twilight of about two hours’ duration. The boiler +was being filled with ice, which had to be lifted aboard, broken +up, passed through a small porthole to a man inside, and then +carried to the manhole on top of the boiler. Stenhouse had the +wireless aerial rigged during the afternoon, and at 5 p.m. was +informed that the watering of the boiler was complete. The wind +freshened to a moderate southerly gale, with thick drift, in the +night, and this gale continued during the following day, the 9th. +The engineer reported at noon that he had 40-lb. pressure in the +boiler and was commencing the thawing of the auxiliary sea-connexion +pump by means of a steam-pipe. +<p> +“Cape Bird is the only land visible, bearing north-east true +about eight miles distant,” wrote, Stenhouse on the afternoon +of the 9th. “So this is the end of our attempt to winter in +McMurdo Sound. Hard luck after four months’ buffeting, for the +last seven weeks of which we nursed our moorings. Our present +situation calls for increasing vigilance. It is five weeks to +the middle of winter. There is no sun, the light is little and +uncertain, and we may expect many blizzards. We have no +immediate water-supply, as only a small quantity of fresh ice +was aboard when we broke drift. +<p> +“The <i>Aurora</i> is fast in the pack and drifting God knows where. +Well, there are prospects of a most interesting winter drift. We +are all in good health, except Grady, whose rib is mending rapidly; +we have good spirits and we will get through. But what of the poor +beggars at Cape Evans, and the Southern Party? It is a dismal +prospect for them. There are sufficient provisions at Cape Evans, +Hut Point, and, I suppose, Cape Royds, but we have the remaining +Burberrys, clothing, etc., for next year’s sledging still on +board. I see little prospect of getting back to Cape Evans or +anywhere in the Sound. We are short of coal and held firmly in +the ice. I hope she drifts quickly to the north-east. Then we +can endeavour to push through the pack and make for New Zealand, +coal and return to the Barrier eastward of Cape Crozier. This +could be done, I think, in the early spring, September. We must +get back to aid the depot-laying next season.” +<p> +A violent blizzard raged on May 10 and 11. “I never +remember such wind-force,” said Stenhouse. “It was difficult +to get along the deck.” The weather moderated on the 12th, and a +survey of the ship’s position was possible. “We are lying in a +field of ice with our anchors and seventy-five fathoms of cable on +each hanging at the bows. The after-moorings were frozen into the +ice astern of us at Cape Evans. Previous to the date of our +leaving our winter berth four small wires had parted. When we +broke away the chain two of the heavy (4-in.) wires parted close +to shore; the other wire went at the butts. The chain and two +wires are still fast in the ice and will have to be dug out. This +morning we cleared the ice around the cables, but had to abandon +the heaving-in, as the steam-froze in the return pipes from the +windlass exhaust, and the joints had to be broken and the pipe +thawed out. Hooke was ‘listening in’ from 8.30 p.m. to 12.30 a.m. +for the Macquarie Island wireless station (1340 miles away) or the +Bluff (New Zealand) station (1860 miles away), but had no luck.” +<p> +The anchors were hove in by dint of much effort on the 13th and +14th, ice forming on the cable as it was hoisted through a hole cut +in the floe. Both anchors had broken, so the <i>Aurora</i> had now one +small kedge-anchor left aboard. The ship’s position on May 14 was +approximately forty-five miles north, thirty-four west of Cape +Evans. “In one week we have drifted forty-five miles +(geographical). Most of this distance was covered during the first +two days of the drift. We appear to be nearly stationary. What +movement there is in the ice seems to be to the north-west towards +the ice-bound coast. Hands who were after penguins yesterday +reported much noise in the ice about one mile from the ship. +I hope the floe around the ship is large enough to take its own +pressure. We cannot expect much pressure from the south, as +McMurdo Sound should soon be frozen over and the ice holding. +North-east winds would drive the pack in from the Ross Sea. I hope +for the best. Plans for future development are ready, but probably +will be checkmated again. . . . I took the anchors aboard. +They are of no further use as separate anchors, but they ornament +the forecastle head, so we put them in their places. . . . The +supply of fresh water is a problem. The engineer turned steam +from the boiler into the main water-tank (starboard) through a pipe +leading from the main winch-pipe to the tank top. The steam +condenses before reaching the tank. I hope freezing does not burst +the tank. A large tabular iceberg, calved from the Barrier, is +silhouetted against the twilight glow in the sky about ten miles +away. The sight of millions of tons of fresh ice is most +tantalizing. It would be a week’s journey to the berg and back +over pack and pressure, and probably we could bring enough ice to +last two days.” +<p> +The record of the early months of the <i>Aurora’s</i> long drift in the +Ross Sea is not eventful. The galley condenser was rigged, but +the supply of fresh water remained a problem. The men collected +fresh-fallen snow when possible and hoped to get within reach of +fresh ice. Hooke and Ninnis worked hard at the wireless plant +with the object of getting into touch with Macquarie Island, and +possibly sending news of the ship’s movements to Cape Evans. They +got the wireless motor running and made many adjustments of the +instruments and aerials, but their efforts were not successful. +Emperor penguins approached the ship occasionally, and the birds +were captured whenever possible for the fresh meat they afforded. +The <i>Aurora</i> was quite helpless in the grip of the ice, and after +the engine-room bilges had been thawed and pumped out the boilers +were blown down. The pressure had been raised to sixty pounds, +but there was no chance of moving the ship, and the supply of +coal was limited. The story of the <i>Aurora’s</i> drift during long +months can be told briefly by means of extracts from Stenhouse’s +log: +<p> +“<i>May</i> 21.—Early this morning there appeared to be movements in the +ice. The grating and grinding noise makes one feel the unimportance +of man in circumstances like ours. Twilight towards noon showed +several narrow, open leads about two cables from ship and in all +directions. Unable to get bearing, but imagine that there is little +or no alteration in ship’s position, as ship’s head is same, and +Western Mountains appear the same. . . . Hope all is well at Cape +Evans and that the other parties have returned safely. Wish we +could relieve their anxiety. +<p> +“<i>May</i> 22.—Obtained good bearings of Beaufort Island, Cape Ross, +and Dunlop Island, which put the ship in a position eighteen miles +south 75° east (true) from Cape Ross. Since the 14th, when +reliable bearings were last obtained, we have drifted north-west by +north seven miles. +<p> +“<i>May</i> 24.—Blizzard from south-south-east continued until 9 p.m., +when it moderated, and at 11.45 p.m. wind shifted to north-west, +light, with snow. Quite a lot of havoc has been caused during this +blow, and the ship has made much northing. In the morning the +crack south of the ship opened to about three feet. At 2 p.m. +felt heavy shock and the ship heeled to port about 70°. +Found ice had cracked from port gangway to north-west, and parted +from ship from gangway along to stern. Crack extended from stern +to south-east. 7.35 p.m.—Ice cracked from port fore chains, +in line parallel to previous crack. The ice broke again between +the cracks and drifted to north-west for about ten yards. The +ice to southward then commenced to break up, causing heavy strain +on ship, and setting apparently north in large broken fields. +Ship badly jammed in. 9.15 p.m.—Ice closed in again around ship. +Two heavy windsqualls with a short interval between followed by +cessation of wind. We are in a labyrinth of large rectangular +floes (some with their points pressing heavily against ship) and +high pressure-ridges. +<p> +“<i>May</i> 25.—In middle watch felt pressure occasionally. Twilight +showed a scene of chaos all around; one floe about three feet in +thickness had upended, driven under ship on port quarter. As far +as can be seen there are heavy blocks of ice screwed up on end, +and the scene is like a graveyard. I think swell must have come up +under ice from seaward (north-east), McMurdo Sound, and broken the +ice, which afterwards started to move under the influence of the +blizzard. Hardly think swell came from the Sound, as the cracks +were wending from north-west to south-east, and also as the Sound +should be getting icebound by now. If swell came from north-east +then there is open water not far away. I should like to know. I +believe the Ross Sea is rarely entirely ice-covered. Have bright +moonlight now, which accentuates everything—the beauty and +loneliness of our surroundings, and uselessness of ourselves, while +in this prison: so near to Cape Evans and yet we might as well be +anywhere as here. Have made our sledging-ration scales, and crew +are busy making harness and getting sledging equipment ready for +emergencies. Temperature —30° Fahr. +<p> +“<i>May</i> 26.—If the ship is nipped in the ice, the ship’s company +(eighteen hands) will take to four sledges with one month’s rations +and make for nearest land. Six men and one sledge will endeavour +to make Cape Evans via the western land, Butler Point, Hut Point, +etc. The remaining twelve will come along with all possible speed, +but no forced marches, killing and depot-ing penguins and seals for +emergency retreats. If the ship remains here and makes no further +drift to the north, towards latter end of July light will be +making. The sun returns August 23. The sea-ice should be fairly +safe, and a party of three, with one month’s rations, will proceed +to Cape Evans. If the ice sets north and takes the ship clear of +land, we will proceed to New Zealand, bunker, get extra officer and +four volunteers, provisions, etc., push south with all speed to the +Barrier, put party on to the Barrier, about two miles east of Cape +Crozier, and land all necessary stores and requirements. The ship +will stand off until able to reach Cape Evans. If necessary, party +will depot all stores possible at Corner Camp and go on to Cape +Evans. If worst has happened my party will lay out the depot at +the Beardmore for Shackleton. If the ship is released from the ice +after September we must endeavour to reach Cape Evans before going +north to bunker. We have not enough coal to hang about the Sound +for many days. +<p> +“<i>May</i> 28.—By the position obtained by meridian altitude of stars +and bearing of Mount Melbourne, we have drifted thirty-six miles +north-east from last bearings taken on 23rd inst. The most of this +must have been during the blizzard of the 24th. Mount Melbourne is +one hundred and eleven miles due north of us, and there is some doubt +in my mind as to whether the peak which we can see is this mountain. +There may be a mirage. . . . In the evening had the football out +on the ice by the light of a beautiful moon. The exercise and +break from routine are a splendid tonic. Ice-noises sent all hands +on board. +<p> +“<i>June</i> 1.—Thick, hazy weather. In the afternoon a black streak +appeared in the ice about a cable’s length to the westward and +stretching north and south. 8 p.m.—The black line widened and +showed long lane of open water. Apparently we are fast in a floe +which has broken from the main field. With thick weather we are +uncertain of our position and drift. It will be interesting to find +out what this crack in the ice signifies. I am convinced that there +is open water, not far distant, in the Ross Sea. . . . To-night Hooke +is trying to call up Cape Evans. If the people at the hut have +rigged the set which was left there, they will hear ‘All well’ +from the <i>Aurora</i>. I hope they have. +[The messages were not received.] +<p> +“<i>June</i> 8.—Made our latitude 75° 59´ S. by altitude of +Sirius. This is a very monotonous life, but all hands appear to +be happy and contented. Find that we are not too well off for +meals and will have to cut rations a little. Grady is taking +exercise now and should soon be well again. He seems very anxious +to get to work again, and is a good man. No wireless calls to-night, +as there is a temporary breakdown—condenser jar broken. +There is a very faint display of aurora in northern sky. It comes +and goes almost imperceptibly, a most fascinating sight. The +temperature is —20° Fahr.; 52° of frost is much too +cold to allow one to stand for long. +<p> +“<i>June</i> 11.—Walked over to a very high pressure-ridge about a quarter +of a mile north-north-west of the ship. In the dim light walking +over the ice is far from being monotonous, as it is almost +impossible to see obstacles, such as small, snowed-up ridges, which +makes us wary and cautious. A dip in the sea would be the grand +finale, but there is little risk of this as the water freezes as +soon as a lane opens in the ice. The pressure-ridge is about +fifteen to twenty feet high for several hundred feet, and the ice +all about it is bent up in a most extraordinary manner. At 9 p.m. +Hooke called Cape Evans, ‘All well—<i>Aurora</i>,’ etc.; 10 p.m., +weather reports for 8 p.m. sent to Wellington, New Zealand, and +Melbourne, via Macquarie Island. [The dispatch of messages from +the <i>Aurora</i> was continued, but it was learned afterwards that none +of them had been received by any station.] +<p> +“<i>June</i> 13.—The temperature in the chart-room ranges from zero to +a little above freezing-point. This is a very disturbing factor +in rates of the chronometers (five in number, 3 G.M.T. and 2 Sid.T.), +which are kept in cases in a padded box, each case covered by a +piece of blanket, and the box covered by a heavy coat. In any +enclosed place where people pass their time, the niches and places +where no heat penetrates are covered with frozen breath. There +will be a big thaw-out when the temperature rises. +<p> +“<i>June</i> 14.—Mount Melbourne is bearing north 14° W (true). +Our approximate position is forty miles east-north-east of +Nordenskjold Ice Tongue. At 9 p.m. Hooke called Cape Evans and sent +weather reports to Wellington and Melbourne via Macquarie Island. +Hooke and Ninnis on several evenings at about 11 o’clock have heard +what happened to be faint messages, but unreadable. He sent word +to Macquarie Island of this in hopes that they would hear and +increase the power. +<p> +“<i>June</i> 20.—During this last blow with its accompanying drift-snow +there has been much leakage of current from the aerial during the +sending of reports. This is apparently due to induction caused by +the snow accumulating on the insulators aloft, and thus rendering +them useless, and probably to increased inductive force of the current +in a body of snowdrift. Hooke appears to be somewhat downhearted +over it, and, after discussing the matter, gave me a written report +on the non-success (up to the present time) of his endeavours to +establish communication. He thinks that the proximity of the +Magnetic Pole and Aurora Australis might affect things. The +radiation is good and sufficient for normal conditions. His +suggestion to lead the down lead wires out to the ahead and +astern would increase scope, but I cannot countenance it owing +to unsettled state of ice and our too lofty poles. +<p> +“<i>June</i> 21.—Blowing gale from south-west throughout day, but +for short spell of westerly breeze about 5 p.m. Light drift +at frequent intervals, very hazy, and consequently no land in +sight during short twilight. Very hard up for mitts and clothing. +What little we have on board I have put to one side for the people +at the hut. Have given Thompson instructions to turn crew to +making pair mitts and helmet out of Jaeger fleece for all hands +forward. With strict economy we should make things spin out; +cannot help worrying over our people at the hut. Although worrying +does no good, one cannot do otherwise in this present impotent +state. 11 p.m.—Wind howling and whistling through rigging. +Outside, in glare of moon, flying drift and expanse of ice-field. +Desolation! +<p> +“<i>June</i> 22.—To-day the sun has reached the limit of his northern +declination and now he will start to come south. Observed this day +as holiday, and in the evening had hands aft to drink to the health +of the King and the Expedition. All hands are happy, but miss the +others at Cape Evans. I pray to God we may soon be clear of this +prison and in a position to help them. We can live now for sunlight +and activity. +<p> +“<i>July</i> 1.—The 1st of July! Thank God. The days pass quickly. +Through all my waking hours one long thought of the people at Cape +Evans, but one must appear to be happy and take interest in the +small happenings of shipboard. +<p> +“<i>July</i> 3.—Rather hazy with very little light. Moderate +west-north-west to south-west winds until noon, when wind veered +to south and freshened. No apparent change in ship’s position; +the berg is on the same bearing (1 point on the port quarter) and +apparently the same distance off. Mount Melbourne was hidden +behind a bank of clouds. This is our only landmark now, as +Franklin Island is towered in perpetual gloom. Although we +have had the berg in sight during all the time of our drift from +the entrance to McMurdo Sound, we have not yet seen it in a +favourable light, and, were it not for its movement, we might +mistake it for a tabular island. It will be interesting to view +our companion in the returning light—unless we are too close to +it! +<p> +“<i>July</i> 5.—Dull grey day (during twilight) with light, variable, +westerly breezes. All around hangs a heavy curtain of haze, and, +although very light snow is falling, overhead is black and +clear with stars shining. As soon as the faint noon light fades +away the heavy low haze intensifies the darkness and makes one +thankful that one has a good firm ‘berth’ in the ice. I don’t +care to contemplate the scene if the ice should break up at the +present time. +<p> +“<i>July</i> 6.—Last night I thought I saw open water in the shape of +a long black lane to the southward of the ship and extending in an +easterly and westerly direction, but owing to the haze and light +snow I could not be sure; this morning the lane was distinctly +visible and appeared to be two or three hundred yards wide and +two miles long. . . . At 6 p.m. loud pressure-noises would be heard +from the direction of the open lane and continued throughout the +night. Shortly after 8 o’clock the grinding and hissing spread +to our starboard bow (west-south-west), and the vibration caused +by the pressure could be felt intermittently on board the ship. . . . +The incessant grinding and grating of the ice to the southward, with +seething noises, as of water rushing under the ship’s bottom, and +ominous sounds, kept me on the <i>qui vive</i> all night, and the prospect +of a break-up of the ice would have wracked my nerves had I not +had them numbed by previous experiences. +<p> +“<i>July</i> 9.—At noon the sky to the northward had cleared +sufficiently to allow of seeing Mount Melbourne, which appears now +as a low peak to the north-west. Ship’s position is twenty-eight +miles north-north-east of Franklin Island. On the port bow and +ahead of the ship there are some enormous pressure-ridges; they +seem to be the results of the recent and present ice-movements. +Pressure heard from the southward all day. +<p> +“<i>July</i> 13.—At 5 p.m. very heavy pressure was heard on the port +beam and bow (south) and very close to the ship. This occurred +again at irregular intervals. Quite close to the ship the ice +could be seen bending upwards, and occasional jars were felt on +board. I am inclined to think that we have set into a cul-de-sac +and that we will now experience the full force of pressure from the +south. We have prepared for the worst and can only hope for the +best—a release from the ice with a seaworthy vessel under us. +<p> +“<i>July</i> 18.—This has been a day of events. About 8 a.m. the +horizon to the north became clear and, as the light grew, the more +westerly land showed up. This is the first clear day that we +have had since the 9th of the month, and we have set a considerable +distance to the north-east in the meantime. By meridian altitudes +of stars and bearings of the land, which proved to be Coulman +Islands, Mount Murchison, and Mount Melbourne, our position shows +seventy-eight miles (geographical) north-east by north of Franklin +Island. During the last three days we have drifted forty miles +(geographical), so there has been ample reason for all the grinding +and growling of pressure lately. The ship endured some severe +squeezes this day. +<p> +“<i>July</i> 20.—Shortly before breakfast the raucous voice of the +emperor penguin was heard, and afterwards two were seen some +distance from the ship. . . . The nearest mainland (in vicinity +of Cape Washington) is ninety miles distant, as also is Coulman +Island. Franklin Island is eighty miles south-east by south, and +the pack is in motion. This is the emperor’s hatching season, +and here we meet them out in the cheerless desert of ice. . . . +10.45 p.m.—Heavy pressure around ship, lanes opened and ship +worked astern about twenty feet. The wires in the ice took the +strain (lashings at mizzen chains carried away) and carried +away fair-lead bollard on port side of forecastle head. +<p> +“<i>July</i> 21, 1 a.m.—Lanes opened to about 40 ft. wide. Ship in +open pool about 100 ft. wide. Heavy pressure in vicinity of ship. +Called all hands and cut wires at the forecastle head. +[These wires had remained frozen in the ice after the ship broke +away from her moorings, and they had served a useful purpose at +some times by checking ice-movements close to the ship.] +2 a.m.—Ship swung athwart lane as the ice opened, and the floes on +the port side pressed her stern round. 11.30 a.m.—Pack of killer +whales came up in the lane around the ship. Some broke soft +ice (about one inch thick) and pushed their heads through, rising +to five or six feet perpendicularly out of the water. They were +apparently having a look round. It is strange to see killers in +this immense field of ice; open water must be near, I think. +5.15 p.m.—New ice of lanes cracked and opened. Floes on port side +pushed stern on to ice (of floe); floes then closed in and nipped +the ship fore and aft. The rudder was bent over to starboard and +smashed. The solid oak and iron went like matchwood. +8 p.m.—Moderate south-south-west gale with drift. Much straining +of timbers with pressure. +10 p.m.—Extra hard nip fore and aft; ship visibly hogged. +Heavy pressure. +<p> +“<i>July</i> 22.—Ship in bad position in newly frozen lane, with bow +and stern jammed against heavy floes; heavy strain with much +creaking and groaning. 8 a.m.—Called all hands to stations for +sledges, and made final preparations for abandoning ship. Allotted +special duties to several hands to facilitate quickness in getting +clear should ship be crushed. Am afraid the ship’s back will be +broken if the pressure continues, but cannot relieve her. 2 p.m.—Ship +lying easier. Poured Sulphuric acid on the ice astern in +hopes of rotting crack and relieving pressure on stern-post, but +unsuccessfully. Very heavy pressure on and around ship (taking +strain fore and aft and on starboard quarter). Ship, jumping and +straining and listing badly. +10 p.m.—Ship has crushed her way into new ice on starboard side +and slewed aslant lane with stern-post clear of land-ice. +12 p.m.—Ship is in safer position; lanes opening in every direction. +<p> +“<i>July</i> 23.—Caught glimpse of Coulman Island through haze. +Position of ship south 14° east (true), eighty miles off +Coulman Island. Pressure continued intermittently throughout +the day and night, with occasional very heavy squeezes to the +ship which made timbers crack and groan. The ship’s stern is now +in a more or less soft bed, formed of recently frozen ice of about +one foot in thickness. I thank God that we have been spared +through this fearful nightmare. I shall never forget the +concertina motions of the ship during yesterday’s and Wednesday’s +fore and aft nips. +<p> +“<i>July</i> 24.—Compared with previous days this is a quiet one. +The lanes have been opening and closing, and occasionally the +ship gets a nasty squeeze against the solid floe on our starboard +quarter. The more lanes that open the better, as they +form ‘springs’ (when covered with thin ice, which makes to a +thickness of three or four inches in a few hours) between the +solid and heavier floes and fields. Surely we have been guided by +the hands of Providence to have come in heavy grinding pack for +over two hundred miles (geographical), skirting the ice-bound +western shore, around and to the north of Franklin Island, and +now into what appears a clear path to the open sea! In view of our +precarious position and the lives of men in jeopardy, I sent this +evening an aerogram to H. M. King George asking for a relief ship. +I hope the wireless gets through. I have sent this message after +much consideration, and know that in the event of our non-arrival +in New Zealand on the specified date (November 1) a relief ship +will be sent to aid the Southern Party. +<p> +“<i>July</i> 25.—Very heavy pressure about the ship. During the +early hours a large field on the port quarter came charging up, +and on meeting our floe tossed up a ridge from ten to fifteen +feet high. The blocks of ice as they broke off crumbled and piled +over each other to the accompaniment of a thunderous roar. +Throughout the day the pressure continued, the floes alternately +opening and closing, and the ship creaking and groaning during the +nips between floes. +<p> +“<i>August</i> 4.—For nine days we have had southerly winds, and the last +four we have experienced howling blizzards. I am sick of the sound +of the infernal wind. Din! Din! Din! and darkness. We +should have seen the sun to-day, but a bank of cumulus effectually +hid him, although the daylight is a never-ending joy. +<p> +“<i>August</i> 6.—The wind moderated towards 6 a.m., and about +breakfast time, with a clear atmosphere, the land from near Cape +Cotter to Cape Adare was visible. What a day of delights! After +four days of thick weather we find ourselves in sight of Cape Adare +in a position about forty-five miles east of Possession Isles; +in this time we have been set one hundred miles. Good going. +Mount Sabine, the first land seen by us when coming south, lies +away to the westward, forming the highest peak (10,000 ft.) of +a majestic range of mountains covered in eternal snow. Due west +we can see the Possession Islands, lying under the stupendous +bluff of Cape Downshire, which shows large patches of black rock. +The land slopes down to the north-west of Cape Downshire, and +rises again into the high peninsula about Cape Adore. We felt +excited this morning in anticipation of seeing the sun, which +rose about nine-thirty (local time). It was a glorious, joyful +sight. We drank to something, and with very light hearts gave +cheers for the sun. +<p> +“<i>August</i> 9.—Donolly got to work on the rudder again. It is a +long job cutting through the iron sheathing-plates of the rudder, +and not too safe at present, as the ice is treacherous. Hooke says +that the conditions are normal now. I wish for his sake that he +could get through. He is a good sportsman and keeps on trying, +although, I am convinced, he has little hope with this inadequate +aerial. +<p> +“<i>August</i> 10.—The ship’s position is lat. 70° 40´ S., forty +miles north 29° east of Cape Adare. The distance drifted +from August 2 to 6 was one hundred miles, and from the 6th to the +10th eighty-eight miles. +<p> +“<i>August</i> 12.—By observation and bearings of land we are +forty-five miles north-east of Cape Adare, in lat. 70° 42´ S. +This position is a little to the eastward of the position on the +10th. The bearings as laid off on a small scale chart of gnomonic +projection are very inaccurate, and here we are handicapped, as +our chronometers have lost all regularity. Donolly and Grade are +having quite a job with the iron platings on the rudder, but should +finish the cutting to-morrow. A jury-rudder is nearly completed. +This afternoon we mixed some concrete for the lower part, and had +to use boiling water, as the water froze in the mixing. The +carpenter has made a good job of the rudder, although he has had +to construct it on the quarterdeck in low temperatures and exposed +to biting blasts. +<p> +“<i>August</i> 16.—We are ‘backing and filling’ about forty miles +north-east of Cape Adare. This is where we expected to have made +much mileage. However, we cannot grumble and must be patient. +There was much mirage to the northward, and from the crow’s-nest +a distinct appearance of open water could be seen stretching from +north-north-west to north-east. +<p> +“<i>August</i> 17.—A glorious day! Land is distinctly visible, and +to the northward the black fringe of water-sky over the horizon +hangs continuously. Hooke heard Macquarie Island ‘speaking’ +Hobart. The message heard was the finish of the weather reports. +We have hopes now of news in the near future. +<p> +“<i>August</i> 23.—Saw the land in the vicinity of Cape North. To the +south-south-west the white cliffs and peaks of the inland ranges +were very distinct, and away in the distance to the south-west +could be seen a low stretch of undulating land. At times Mount +Sabine was visible through the gloom. The latitude, is +69° 44½´ S. We are fifty-eight miles north, forty +miles east of Cape North. +<p> +“<i>August</i> 24.—We lifted the rudder out of the ice and placed it +clear of the stern, athwart the fore-and-aft line of the ship. +We had quite a job with it (weight, four and a half tons), using +treble- and double-sheaved-blocks purchase, but with the endless-chain +tackle from the engine-room, and plenty of ‘beef’ and +leverage, we dragged it clear. All the pintles are gone at the +fore part of the rudder; it is a clean break and bears witness to +the terrific force exerted on the ship during the nip. I am glad +to see the rudder upon the ice and clear of the propeller. The +blade itself (which is solid oak and sheathed on two sides and +after part half-way down, with three-quarter-inch iron plating) is +undamaged, save for the broken pintles; the twisted portion is in +the rudder trunk. +<p> +“<i>August</i> 25, 11 p.m.—Hooke has just been in with the good tidings +that he has heard Macquarie and the Bluff (New Zealand) sending +their weather reports and exchanging signals. Can this mean that +they have heard our recent signals and are trying to get us now? +Our motor has been out of order. +<p> +“<i>August</i> 26.—The carpenter has finished the jury-rudder and is now +at work on the lower end of the rudder truck, where the rudder +burst into the stern timbers. We are lucky in having this +opportunity to repair these minor damages, which might prove +serious in a seaway. +<p> +“<i>August</i> 31, 6.30 a.m.—Very loud pressure-noises to the +south-east. I went aloft after breakfast and had the pleasure of +seeing many open lanes in all directions. The lanes of yesterday +are frozen over, showing what little chance there is of a general +and continued break-up of the ice until the temperature rises. +Land was visible, but far too distant for even approximate bearings. +The berg still hangs to the north-west of the ship. We seem to +have pivoted outwards from the land. We cannot get out of this too +quickly, and although every one has plenty of work, and is cheerful, +the uselessness of the ship in her present position palls. +<p> +“<i>September</i> 5.—The mizzen wireless mast came down in a raging +blizzard to-day. In the forenoon I managed to crawl to windward +on the top of the bridge-house, and under the lee of the chart-house +watched the mast bending over with the wind and swaying like the +branch of a tree, but after the aerial had stood throughout the +winter I hardly thought the mast would carry away. Luckily, as +it is dangerous to life to be on deck in this weather (food is +brought from the galley in relays through blinding drift and over +big heaps of snow), no one was about when the mast carried away. +<p> +“<i>September</i> 8.—This is dull, miserable weather. Blow, snow, and +calm for an hour or two. Sometimes it blows in this neighbourhood +without snow and sometimes with—this seems to be the only +difference. I have two patients now, Larkman and Mugridge. +Larkman was frost-bitten on the great and second toes of the left +foot some time ago, and has so far taken little notice of them. +Now they are causing him some alarm as gangrene has set in. +Mugridge is suffering from an intermittent rash, with red, inflamed +skin and large, short-lived blisters. I don’t know what the deuce +it is, but the nearest description to it in a ‘Materia Medica,’ +etc., is <i>pemphigus</i>, so pemphigus it is, and he has been ‘tonic-ed’ +and massaged. +<p> +“<i>September</i> 9.—This is the first day for a long time that we have +registered a minimum temperature above zero for the twenty-four +hours. It is pleasant to think that from noon to noon throughout +the night the temperature never fell below +4° (28° frost), +and with the increase of daylight it makes one feel that summer +really is approaching. +<p> +“<i>September</i> 13.—All around the northern horizon there is the +appearance of an open water-sky, but around the ship the prospect +is dreary. The sun rose at 6.20 a.m. and set at 5.25 p.m. +Ship’s time eleven hours five minutes of sunlight and seventeen +hours light. Three hours twilight morning and evening. The +carpenter is dismantling the taffrail (to facilitate the +landing and, if necessary, the boarding of the jury-rudder) and +will construct a temporary, removable rail. +<p> +“<i>September</i> 16.—There has been much mirage all around the horizon, +and to the eastward through south to south-west heavy frost-smoke +has been rising. Over the northern horizon a low bank of white fog +hangs as though over the sea. I do not like these continued low +temperatures. I am beginning to have doubts as to our release +until the sun starts to rot the ice. +<p> +“<i>September</i> 17.—This is the anniversary of our departure from +London. There are only four of the original eleven on board—Larkman, +Ninnis, Mauger, and I. Much has happened since Friday, +September 18, 1914, and I can recall the scene as we passed down +the Thames with submarines and cruisers, in commission and bent +on business, crossing our course. I can also remember the +regret at leaving it all and the consequent ‘fedupness.’ +<p> +“<i>September</i> 21.—The sun is making rapid progress south, and +we have had to-day over seventeen hours’ light and twelve hours’ +sunlight. Oh for a release! The monotony and worry of our +helpless position is deadly. I suppose Shackleton and his +party will have started depot-laying now and will be full of +hopes for the future. I wonder whether the <i>Endurance</i> +wintered in the ice or went north. I cannot help thinking that +if she wintered in the Weddell Sea she will be worse off than the +<i>Aurora</i>. What a lot we have to look for in the next six months—news +of Shackleton and the <i>Endurance</i>, the party at Cape Evans, +and the war. +<p> +“<i>September</i> 22.—Lat. 69° 12´ S.; long. 165° 00´ E. +Sturge Island (Balleny Group) is bearing north (true) ninety miles +distant. Light north-west airs with clear, fine weather. Sighted +Sturge Island in the morning, bearing due north of us and appearing +like a faint low shadow on the horizon. It is good to get a good +landmark for fixing positions again, and it is good to see that we +are making northerly progress, however small. Since breaking away +from Cape Evans we have drifted roughly seven hundred and five +miles around islands and past formidable obstacles, a wonderful drift! +It is good to think that it has not been in vain, and that the +knowledge of the set and drill of the pack will be a valuable +addition to the sum of human knowledge. The distance from Cape +Evans to our present position is seven hundred and five miles +(geographical). +<p> +“<i>September</i> 27.—The temperature in my room last night was round +about zero, rather chilly, but warm enough under the blankets. +Hooke has dismantled his wireless gear. He feels rather sick about +not getting communication, although he does not show it. +<p> +“<i>September</i> 30.—Ninnis has been busy now for the week on the +construction of a new tractor. He is building the body and will +assemble the motor in the fore ’tween decks, where it can be lashed +securely when we are released from the ice. I can see leads of +open water from the masthead, but we are still held firmly. How long? +<p> +“<i>October</i> 7.—As time wears on the possibility of getting back to +the Barrier to land a party deserves consideration; if we do not +get clear until late in the season we will have to turn south +first, although we have no anchors and little moorings, no rudder +and a short supply of coal. To leave a party on the Barrier +would make us very short-handed; still, it can be done, and +anything is preferable to the delay in assisting the people at +Cape Evans. At 5 a.m. a beautiful parhelion formed around the +sun. The sight so impressed the bos’n that he roused me out to +see it.” +<p> +During the month of October the <i>Aurora</i> drifted uneventfully. +Stenhouse mentions that there was often an appearance of open +water on the northern and eastern horizon. But anxious eyes were +strained in vain for indications that the day of the ship’s +release was near at hand. Hooke had the wireless plant running +again and was trying daily to get into touch with Macquarie +Island, now about eight hundred and fifty miles distant. The +request for a relief ship was to be renewed if communication could +be established, for by this time, if all had gone well with the +<i>Endurance</i>, the overland party from the Weddell Sea would have been +starting. There was considerable movement of the ice towards the +end of the month, lanes opening and closing, but the floe, some +acres in area, into which the <i>Aurora</i> was frozen, remained firm +until the early days of November. The cracks appeared close to +the ship, due apparently to heavy drift causing the floe to sink. +The temperatures were higher now, under the influence of the sun, +and the ice was softer. Thawing was causing discomfort in the +quarters aboard. The position on November 12 was reckoned to be +lat. 66° 49´ S., long. 155° 17´ 45´´ E. Stenhouse +made a sounding on November 17, in lat. 66° 40´ S., long. +154° 45´ E., and found bottom at 194 fathoms. The bottom +sample was mud and a few small stones. The sounding-line showed +a fairly strong undercurrent to the north-west. “We panned out +some of the mud,” says Stenhouse, “and in the remaining grit +found several specks of gold.” Two days later the trend of the +current was south-easterly. There was a pronounced thaw on the +22nd. The cabins were in a dripping state, and recently fallen +snow was running off the ship in little streams. All hands were +delighted, for the present discomfort offered promise of an early +break-up of the pack. +<p> +“<i>November</i> 23.—At 3 a.m. Young Island, Balleny Group, was seen +bearing north 54° east (true). The island, which showed up +clearly on the horizon, under a heavy stratus-covered sky, appeared +to be very far distant. By latitude at noon we are in 66° 26´ +S. As this is the charted latitude of Peak Foreman, Young Island, +the bearing does not agree. Land was seen at 8 a.m. bearing south +60° west (true). This, which would appear to be Cape Hudson, +loomed up through the mists in the form of a high, bold headland, +with low undulating land stretching away to the south-south-east +and to the westward of it. The appearance of this headland has +been foretold for the last two days, by masses of black fog, but +it seems strange that land so high should not have been seen before, +as there is little change in the atmospheric conditions. +<p> +“<i>November</i> 24.—Overcast and hazy during forenoon. Cloudy, clear, +and fine in afternoon and evening. Not a vestige of land can be +seen, so Cape Hudson is really ‘Cape Flyaway.’ This is most weird. +All hands saw the headland to the south-west, and some of us sketched +it. Now (afternoon), although the sky is beautifully clear to the +south-west, nothing can be seen. We cannot have drifted far from +yesterday’s position. No wonder Wilkes reported land. 9 p.m.—A +low fringe of land appears on the horizon bearing south-west, but in +no way resembles our Cape of yesterday. This afternoon we took a +cast of the lead through the crack 200 yds. west of the ship, but +found no bottom at 700 fathoms.” +<p> +An interesting incident on November 26 was the discovery of an +emperor penguin rookery. Ninnis and Kavenagh took a long walk to +the north-west, and found the deserted rookery. The depressions +in the ice, made by the birds, were about eighteen inches long and +contained a greyish residue. The rookery was in a hollow surrounded +by pressure ridges six feet high. Apparently about twenty birds +had been there. No pieces of egg-shell were seen, but the petrels +and skuas had been there in force and probably would have taken all +scraps of this kind. The floes were becoming soft and “rotten,” +and walking was increasingly difficult. Deep pools of slush and +water covered with thin snow made traps for the men. Stenhouse +thought that a stiff blizzard would break up the pack. His anxiety +was increasing with the advance of the season, and his log is a +record of deep yearning to be free and active again. But the +grip of the pack was inexorable. The hands had plenty of work +on the <i>Aurora</i>, which was being made shipshape after the buffeting +of the winter storms. Seals and penguins were seen frequently, +and the supply of fresh meat was maintained. The jury-rudder was +ready to be shipped when the ship was released, but in the meantime +it was not being exposed to the attacks of the ice. +<p> +“No appreciable change in our surroundings,” was the note for +December 17. “Every day past now reduces our chance of getting +out in time to go north for rudder, anchors, and coal. If we break +out before January 15 we might get north to New Zealand and down +to Cape Evans again in time to pick up the parties. After that +date we can only attempt to go south in our crippled state, and +short of fuel. With only nine days’ coal on board we would have +little chance of working through any Ross Sea pack, or of getting +south at all if we encountered many blizzards. Still there is a +sporting chance and luck may be with us. . . . Shackleton may +be past the Pole now. I wish our wireless calls had got through.” +<p> +Christmas Day, with its special dinner and mild festivities, came +and passed, and still the ice remained firm. The men were finding +some interest in watching the moulting of emperor penguins, who +were stationed at various points in the neighbourhood of the +ship. They had taken station to leeward of hummocks, and appeared +to move only when the wind changed or the snow around them had +become foul. They covered but a few yards on these journeys, and +even then stumbled in their weakness. One emperor was brought on +board alive, and the crew were greatly amused to see the bird +balancing himself on heels and tail, with upturned toes, the +position adopted when the egg is resting on the feet during the +incubation period. The threat of a stiff “blow” aroused hopes +of release several times, but the blizzard—probably the first +Antarctic blizzard that was ever longed for—did not arrive. +New Year’s Day found Stenhouse and other men just recovering +from an attack of snow-blindness, contracted by making an +excursion across the floes without snow-goggles. +<p> +At the end of the first week in January the ship was in lat. +65° 45´ S. The pack was well broken a mile from the ship, +and the ice was rolling fast. Under the bows and stern the pools +were growing and stretching away in long lanes to the west. A seal +came up to blow under the stern on the 6th, proving that there +was an opening in the sunken ice there. Stenhouse was economizing +in food. No breakfast was served on the ship, and seal or penguin +meat was used for at least one of the two meals later in the day. +All hands were short of clothing, but Stenhouse was keeping intact +the sledging gear intended for the use of the shore party. +Strong, variable winds on the 9th raised hopes again, and on the +morning of the 10th the ice appeared to be well broken from half a +mile to a mile distant from the ship in all directions. “It seems +extraordinary that the ship should be held in an almost unbroken +floe of about a mile square, the more so as this patch was +completely screwed and broken during the smash in July, and contains +many faults. In almost any direction at a distance of half a mile +from the ship there are pressure ridges of eight-inch ice piled +twenty feet high. It was provident that although so near these ridges +were escaped.” +<p> +The middle of January was passed and the <i>Aurora</i> lay still in the +ice. The period of continuous day was drawing towards its close, +and there was an appreciable twilight at midnight. A dark water-sky +could be seen on the northern horizon. The latitude on January 24 +was 65° 39½´ S. Towards the end of the month Stenhouse +ordered a thorough overhaul of the stores and general preparations +for a move. The supply of flour and butter was ample. Other +stores were running low, and the crew lost no opportunity of +capturing seals and penguins. Adelies were travelling to the east-south-east +in considerable numbers, but they could not be taken +unless they approached the ship closely, owing to the soft condition +of the ice. The wireless plant, which had been idle during the +months of daylight, had been rigged again, and Hooke resumed his +calls to Macquarie Island on February 2. He listened in vain for +any indication that he had been heard. The pack was showing much +movement, but the large floe containing the ship remained firm. +<p> +The break-up of the floe came on February 12. Strong north-east +to south-east winds put the ice in motion and brought a perceptible +swell. The ship was making some water, a fore-taste of a trouble +to come, and all hands spent the day at the pumps, reducing the +water from three feet eight and a half inches in the well to twelve +inches, in spite of frozen pipes and other difficulties. Work had +just finished for the night when the ice broke astern and quickly +split in all directions under the influence of the swell. The men +managed to save some seal meat which had been cached in a drift +near the gangway. They lost the flagstaff, which had been rigged +as a wireless mast out on the floe, but drew in the aerial. The +ship was floating now amid fragments of floe, and bumping +considerably in the swell. A fresh southerly wind blew during +the night, and the ship started to forge ahead gradually without +sail. At 8.30 a.m. on the 13th Stenhouse set the foresail and +foretopmast staysail, and the <i>Aurora</i> moved northward slowly, +being brought up occasionally by large floes. Navigation under +such conditions, without steam and without a rudder, was exceedingly +difficult, but Stenhouse wished if possible to save his small +remaining stock of coal until he cleared the pack, so that a quick +run might be made to McMurdo Sound. The jury-rudder could not be +rigged in the pack. The ship was making about three and a half feet +of water in the twenty-four hours, a quantity easily kept in check +by the pumps. +<p> +During the 14th the <i>Aurora</i> worked very slowly northward through +heavy pack. Occasionally the yards were backed or an ice-anchor +put into a floe to help her out of difficult places, but much of +the time she steered herself. The jury-rudder boom was topped +into position in the afternoon, but the rudder was not to be +shipped until open pack or open water was reached. The ship was +held up all day on the 15th in lat. 64° 38´ S. Heavy +floes barred progress in every direction. Attempts were made to +work the ship by trimming sails and warping with ice-anchors, but +she could not be manoeuvred smartly enough to take advantage of +leads that opened and closed. This state of affairs continued +throughout the 16th. That night a heavy swell was rolling under +the ice and the ship had a rough time. One pointed floe ten or +twelve feet thick was steadily battering, with a three-feet send, +against the starboard side, and fenders only partially deadened +the shock. “It is no use butting against this pack with +steam-power,” wrote Stenhouse. “We would use all our meagre +supply of coal in reaching the limit of the ice in sight, and then +we would be in a hole, with neither ballast nor fuel. . . . But +if this stagnation lasts another week we will have to raise steam +and consume our coal in an endeavour to get into navigable waters. +I am afraid our chances of getting south are very small now.” +<p> +The pack remained close, and on the 21st a heavy swell made the +situation dangerous. The ship bumped heavily that night and +fenders were of little avail. With each “send” of the swell the +ship would bang her bows on the floe ahead, then bounce back and +smash into another floe across her stern-post. This floe, about +six feet thick and 100 ft. across, was eventually split and +smashed by the impacts. The pack was jammed close on the 23rd, +when the noon latitude was 64° 36½´ S. The next change was +for the worse. The pack loosened on the night of the 25th, and a +heavy north-west swell caused the ship to bump heavily. This state +of affairs recurred at intervals in succeeding days. “The battering +and ramming of the floes increased in the early hours [of February +29] until it seemed as if some sharp floe or jagged underfoot must +go through the ship’s hull. At 6 a.m. we converted a large +coir-spring into a fender, and slipped it under the port quarter, +where a pressured floe with twenty to thirty feet underfoot was +threatening try knock the propeller and stern-post off altogether. +At 9 a.m., after pumping ship, the engineer reported a leak in the +way of the propeller-shaft aft near the stern-post on the port side. +The carpenter cut part of the lining and filled the space between the +timbers with Stockholm tar, cement, and oakum. He could not get at +the actual leak, but his makeshift made a little difference. +I am anxious about the propeller. This pack is a dangerous place +for a ship now; it seems miraculous that the old Barky still +floats.” +<p> +The ice opened out a little on March 1. It was imperative to get +the ship out of her dangerous situation quickly; as winter was +approaching, and Stenhouse therefore ordered steam to be raised. +Next morning he had the spanker gaff rigged over the stern +for use as a temporary rudder while in the heavy pack. Steam had +been raised to working pressure at 5.15 p.m. on the 2nd, and the +<i>Aurora</i> began to work ahead to the westward. Progress was very +slow owing to heavy floes and deep underfoots, which necessitated +frequent stoppages of the engines. Open water was in sight to the +north and north-west the next morning, after a restless night spent +among the rocking floes. But progress was very slow. The <i>Aurora</i> +went to leeward under the influence of a west-south-west breeze, +and steering by means of the yards and a warp-anchor was a +ticklish business. The ship came to a full stop among heavy floes +before noon on the 3rd, and three hours later, after vain attempts +to warp ahead by means of ice-anchors, Stenhouse had the fires +partially drawn (to save coal) and banked. +<p> +No advance was made on March 4 and 5. A moderate gale from the +east-north-east closed the ice and set it in motion, and the +<i>Aurora</i>, with banked fires, rolled and bumped, heavily. Seventeen +bergs were in sight, and one of them was working southwards into +the pack and threatening to approach the ship. During the night +the engines were turned repeatedly by the action of ice on the +propeller blades. “All theories about the swell being non-existent +in the pack are false,” wrote the anxious master. +“Here we are with a suggestion only of open water-sky, and +the ship rolling her scuppers under and sitting down bodily +on the floes.” The ice opened when the wind moderated, and +on the afternoon of the 6th the <i>Aurora</i> moved northward again. +“Without a rudder (no jury-rudder can yet be used amongst +these swirling, rolling floes) the ship requires a lot of +attention. Her head must be pointed between floes by means +of ice-anchors and warps, or by mooring to a floe and steaming +round it. We kept a fairly good course between two bergs to +our northward and made about five miles northing till, +darkness coming on, the men could no longer venture on the +floes with safety to fix the anchors.” +<p> +The next three days were full of anxiety. The <i>Aurora</i> was held +by the ice, and subjected to severe buffeting, while two bergs +approached from the north. On the morning of the 10th the nearest +berg was within three cables of the ship. But the pack had opened +and by 9.30 a.m. the ship was out of the danger zone and headed +north-north-east. The pack continued to open during the afternoon, +and the <i>Aurora</i> passed through wide stretches of small loose +floes and brash. Progress was good until darkness made a stop +necessary. The next morning the pack was denser. Stenhouse +shipped a preventer jury-rudder (the weighted spanker gaff), but +could not get steerage way. Broad leads were sighted to the +north-west in the afternoon, and the ship got within a quarter of +a mile of the nearest lead before being held up by heavy pack. +She again bumped severely during the night, and the watch stood +by with fenders to ease the more dangerous blows. +<p> +Early next morning Stenhouse lowered a jury-rudder, with +steering pennants to drag through the water, and moved north to +north-west through heavy pack. He made sixteen miles that day +on an erratic course, and then spent an anxious night with the ship +setting back into the pack and being pounded heavily. Attempts to +work forward to an open lead on the morning of the 13th were +unsuccessful. Early in the afternoon a little progress was made, +with all hands standing by to fend off high ice, and at 4.50 p.m. +the <i>Aurora</i> cleared the main pack. An hour was spent shipping +the jury-rudder under the counter, and then the ship moved slowly +northward. There was pack still ahead, and the bergs and growlers +were a constant menace in the hours of darkness. Some anxious work +remained to be done, since bergs and scattered ice extended in all +directions, but at 2 p.m. on March 14 the <i>Aurora</i> cleared the last +belt of pack in lat. 62° 27.5´ S., long. 157° 32´ E. +“We ‘spliced the main brace,’ ” says Stenhouse, “and blew three +blasts of farewell to the pack with the whistle.” +<p> +The <i>Aurora</i> was not at the end of her troubles, but the voyage up +to New Zealand need not be described in detail. Any attempt to +reach McMurdo Sound was now out of the question. Stenhouse had a +battered, rudderless ship, with only a few tons of coal left in +the bunkers, and he struggled northward in heavy weather against +persistent adverse winds and head seas. The jury-rudder needed +constant nursing, and the shortage of coal made it impossible to +get the best service from the engines. There were times when the +ship could make no progress and fell about helplessly in a +confused swell or lay hove to amid mountainous seas. She was +short-handed, and one or two of the men were creating additional +difficulties. But Stenhouse displayed throughout fine seamanship +and dogged perseverance. He accomplished successfully one of the +most difficult voyages on record, in an ocean area notoriously stormy +and treacherous. On March 23 he established wireless communication +with Bluff Station, New Zealand, and the next day was in touch +with Wellington and Hobart. The naval officer in New Zealand +waters offered assistance, and eventually it was arranged that the +Otago Harbour Board’s tug <i>Plucky</i> should meet the <i>Aurora</i> outside +Port Chalmers. There were still bad days to be endured. The +jury-rudder partially carried away and had to be unshipped in +a heavy sea. Stenhouse carried on, and in the early morning of +April 2 the <i>Aurora</i> picked up the tug and was taken in tow. +She reached Port Chalmers the following morning, and was welcomed +with the warm hospitality that New Zealand has always shown towards +Antarctic explorers.<br><br> +<hr> +<center><h2><a name="17">CHAPTER XVII</a></h2><h2>THE LAST RELIEF</h2></center> +<p><br> +When I reached New Zealand at the beginning of December 1916, I +found that the arrangements for the relief were complete. The New +Zealand Government had taken the task in hand earlier in the year, +before I had got into touch with the outside world. The British +and Australian Governments were giving financial assistance. The +<i>Aurora</i> had been repaired and refitted at Port Chalmers during the +year at considerable cost, and had been provisioned and coaled for +the voyage to McMurdo Sound. My old friend Captain John K. Davis, +who was a member of my first Antarctic Expedition in 1907–1909, +and who subsequently commanded Dr. Mawson’s ship in the Australian +Antarctic Expedition, had been placed in command of the <i>Aurora</i> +by the Governments, and he had engaged officers, engineers, +and crew. Captain Davis came to Wellington to see me on my arrival +there, and I heard his account of the position. I had interviews +also with the Minister for Marine, the late Dr. Robert McNab, +a kindly and sympathetic Scotsman who took a deep personal +interest in the Expedition. Stenhouse also was in Wellington, +and I may say again here that his account of his voyage and drift +in the <i>Aurora</i> filled me with admiration for his pluck, seamanship, +and resourcefulness. +<p> +After discussing the situation fully with Dr. McNab, I agreed +that the arrangements already made for the relief expedition +should stand. Time was important and there were difficulties about +making any change of plans or control at the last moment. After +Captain Davis had been at work for some months the Government +agreed to hand the <i>Aurora</i> over to me free of liability on her +return to New Zealand. It was decided, therefore, that Captain +Davis should take the ship down to McMurdo Sound, and that I should +go with him to take charge of any shore operations that might be +necessary. I “signed on” at a salary of 1s. a month, and we +sailed from Port Chalmers on December 20, 1916. A week later +we sighted ice again. The <i>Aurora</i> made a fairly quick passage +through the pack and entered the open water of the Ross Sea on +January 7, 1917. +<p> +Captain Davis brought the <i>Aurora</i> alongside the ice edge off Cape +Royds on the morning of January 10, and I went ashore with a party +to look for some record in the hut erected there by my Expedition +in 1907. I found a letter stating that the Ross Sea party was +housed at Cape Evans, and was on my way back to the ship when six +men, with dogs and sledge, were sighted coming from the direction +of Cape Evans. At 1 p.m. this party arrived on board, and we +learned that of the ten members of the Expedition left behind when +the <i>Aurora</i> broke away on May 6, 1915, seven had survived, namely, +A. Stevens, E. Joyce, H. E. Wild, J. L. Cope, R. W. Richards, +A. K. Jack, I. O. Gaze. These seven men were all well, though +they showed traces of the ordeal through which they had passed. +They told us of the deaths of Mackintosh, Spencer-Smith, and +Hayward, and of their own anxious wait for relief. +<p> +All that remained to be done was to make a final search for the +bodies of Mackintosh and Hayward. There was no possibility of +either man being alive. They had been without equipment when the +blizzard broke the ice they were crossing. It would have been +impossible for them to have survived more than a few days, and +eight months had now elapsed without news of them. Joyce had +already searched south of Glacier Tongue. I considered that +further search should be made in two directions, the area north +of Glacier Tongue, and the old depot off Butler Point, and I +made a report to Captain Davis to this effect. +<p> +On January 12 the ship reached a point five and a half miles east +of Butler Point. I took a party across rubbly and waterlogged +ice to within thirty yards of the piedmont ice, but owing to high +cliffs and loose slushy ice could not make a landing. The +land-ice had broken away at the point cut by the cross-bearings +of the depot, but was visible in the form of two large bergs +grounded to the north of Cape Bernacchi. There was no sign +of the depot or of any person having visited the vicinity. +We returned to the ship and proceeded across the Sound to Cape +Bernacchi. +<p> +The next day I took a party ashore with the object of searching +the area north of Glacier Tongue, including Razorback Island, for +traces of the two missing men. We reached the Cape Evans Hut at +1.30 p.m., and Joyce and I left at 3 p.m. for the Razorbacks. We +conducted a search round both islands, returning to the hut at 7 +p.m. The search had been fruitless. On the 14th I started with +Joyce to search the north side of Glacier Tongue, but the surface +drift, with wind from south-east, decided me not to continue, as +the ice was moving rapidly at the end of Cape Evans, and the pool +between the hut and Inaccessible Island was growing larger. +The wind increased in the afternoon. The next day a south-east +blizzard was blowing, with drift half up the islands. I considered +it unsafe to sledge that day, especially as the ice was breaking +away from the south side of Cape Evans into the pool. We spent +the day putting the hut in order. +<p> +We got up at 3 a.m. on the 16th. The weather was fine and calm. +I started at 4.20 with Joyce to the south at the greatest possible +speed. We reached Glacier Tongue about one and a half miles from +the seaward end. Wherever there were not precipitous cliffs there +was an even snow-slope to the top. From the top we searched with +glasses; there was nothing to be seen but blue ice, crevassed, +showing no protuberances. We came down and, half running, half +walking, worked about three miles towards the root of the glacier; +but I could see there was not the slightest chance of finding +any remains owing to the enormous snowdrifts wherever the cliffs +were accessible. The base of the steep cliffs had drifts ten to +fifteen feet high. We arrived back at the hut at 9.40, and left +almost immediately for the ship. I considered that all places +likely to hold the bodies of Mackintosh and Hayward had now been +searched. There was no doubt to my mind that they met their +deaths on the breaking of the thin ice when the blizzard arose on +May 8, 1916. During my absence from the hut Wild and Jack had +erected a cross to the memory of the three men who had lost their +lives in the service of the Expedition. +<p> +Captain Davis took the ship northward on January 17. The ice +conditions were unfavourable and pack barred the way. We stood +over to the western coast towards Dunlop Island and followed it +to Granite Harbour. No mark or depot of any kind was seen. The +<i>Aurora</i> reached the main pack, about sixty miles from Cape Adare, +on January 22. The ice was closed ahead, and Davis went south in +open water to wait for better conditions. A north-west gale on +January 28 enabled the ship to pass between the pack and the land +off Cape Adare, and we crossed the Antarctic Circle on the last day +of the month. On February 4 Davis sent a formal report to the New +Zealand Government by wireless, and on February 9 the <i>Aurora</i> was +berthed at Wellington. We were welcomed like returned brothers by +the New Zealand people.<br><br> +<hr> +<center><h2><a name="18">CHAPTER XVIII</a></h2><h2>THE FINAL PHASE</h2></center> +<p><br> +The foregoing chapters of this book represent the general narrative +of our Expedition. That we failed in accomplishing the object we +set out for was due, I venture to assert, not to any neglect or +lack of organization, but to the overwhelming natural obstacles, +especially the unprecedentedly severe summer conditions on the +Weddell Sea side. But though the Expedition was a failure in one +respect, I think it was successful in many others. A large amount +of important scientific work was carried out. The meteorological +observations in particular have an economic bearing. The +hydrographical work in the Weddell Sea has done much to clear up +the mystery of this, the least known of all the seas. I have +appended a short scientific memorandum to this volume, but the more +detailed scientific results must wait until a more suitable time +arrives, when more stable conditions prevail. Then results will +be worked out. +<p> +To the credit side of the Expedition one can safely say that the +comradeship and resource of the members of the Expedition was +worthy of the highest traditions of Polar service; and it was a +privilege to me to have had under my command men who, through dark +days and the stress and strain of continuous danger, kept up their +spirits and carried out their work regardless of themselves and +heedless of the limelight. The same energy and endurance that +they showed in the Antarctic they brought to the greater war in +the Old World. And having followed our fortunes in the South you +may be interested to know that practically every member of the +Expedition was employed in one or other branches of the active +fighting forces during the war. Several are still abroad, and +for this very reason it has been impossible for me to obtain +certain details for this book. +<p> +Of the fifty-three men who returned out of the fifty-six who left +for the South, three have since been killed and five wounded. Four +decorations have been won, and several members of the Expedition +have been mentioned in dispatches. McCarthy, the best and most +efficient of the sailors, always cheerful under the most trying +circumstances, and who for these very reasons I chose to accompany +me on the boat journey to South Georgia, was killed at his gun in +the Channel. Cheetham, the veteran of the Antarctic, who had been +more often south of the Antarctic circle than any man, was drowned +when the vessel he was serving in was torpedoed, a few weeks before +the Armistice. Ernest Wild, Frank Wild’s brother, was killed while +minesweeping in the Mediterranean. Mauger, the carpenter on the +<i>Aurora</i>, was badly wounded while serving with the New Zealand +Infantry, so that he is unable to follow his trade again. He is +now employed by the New Zealand Government. The two surgeons, +Macklin and McIlroy, served in France and Italy, McIlroy being +badly wounded at Ypres. Frank Wild, in view of his unique +experience of ice and ice conditions, was at once sent to the +North Russian front, where his zeal and ability won him the +highest praise. +<p> +Macklin served first with the Yorks and later transferred as +medical officer to the Tanks, where he did much good work. Going +to the Italian front with his battalion, he won the Military Cross +for bravery in tending wounded under fire. +<p> +James joined the Royal Engineers, Sound Ranging Section, and after +much front-line work was given charge of a Sound Ranging School to +teach other officers this latest and most scientific addition to +the art of war. +<p> +Wordie went to France with the Royal Field Artillery and was +badly wounded at Armentières. +<p> +Hussey was in France for eighteen months with the Royal Garrison +Artillery, serving in every big battle from Dixmude to +Saint-Quentin. +<p> +Worsley, known to his intimates as Depth-Charge Bill, owing to +his success with that particular method of destroying German +submarines, has the Distinguished Service Order and three submarines +to his credit. +<p> +Stenhouse, who commanded the <i>Aurora</i> after Mackintosh landed, +was with Worsley as his second in command when one of the German +submarines was rammed and sunk, and received the D.S.C. for his +share in the fight. He was afterwards given command of a Mystery +Ship, and fought several actions with enemy submarines. +<p> +Clark served on a mine-sweeper. Greenstreet was employed with the +barges on the Tigris. Rickenson was commissioned as Engineer-Lieutenant, +R.N. Kerr returned to the Merchant Service as +an engineer. +<p> +Most of the crew of the <i>Endurance</i> served on minesweepers. +<p> +Of the Ross Sea Party, Mackintosh, Hayward, and Spencer-Smith died +for their country as surely as any who gave up their lives on +the fields of France and Flanders. Hooke, the wireless operator, +now navigates an airship. +<p> +Nearly all of the crew of the <i>Aurora</i> joined the New Zealand Field +Forces and saw active service in one or other of the many theatres +of war. Several have been wounded, but it has been impossible to +obtain details. +<p> +On my return, after the rescue of the survivors of the Ross Sea +Party, I offered my services to the Government, and was sent on +a mission to South America. When this was concluded I was +commissioned as Major and went to North Russia in charge of Arctic +Equipment and Transport, having with me Worsley, Stenhouse, +Hussey, Macklin, and Brocklehurst, who was to have come South with +us, but who, as a regular officer, rejoined his unit on the +outbreak of war. He has been wounded three times and was in the +retreat from Mons. Worsley was sent across to the Archangel +front, where he did excellent work, and the others served with me +on the Murmansk front. The mobile columns there had exactly the +same clothing, equipment, and sledging food as we had on the +Expedition. No expense was spared to obtain the best of +everything for them, and as a result not a single case of +avoidable frost-bite was reported. +<p> +Taking the Expedition as a unit, out of fifty-six men three +died in the Antarctic, three were killed in action, and five +have been wounded, so that our casualties have been fairly +high. +<p> +Though some have gone there are enough left to rally round and +form a nucleus for the next Expedition, when troublous times are +over and scientific exploration can once more be legitimately +undertaken.<br><br> +<hr> +<center><h2><a name="19">APPENDIX I</a></h2> +<h2>SCIENTIFIC WORK</h2> +<b>By J. M. WORDIE, M.A. (Cantab.), Lieut. R.F.A.</b></center> +<p><br> +The research undertaken by the Expedition was originally +planned for a shore party working from a fixed base on land, but +it was only in South Georgia that this condition of affairs was +fully realized. On this island, where a full month was spent, the +geologist made very extensive collections, and began the mapping of +the country; the magnetician had some of his instruments in +working order for a short while; and the meteorologist was able to +co-operate with the Argentine observer stationed at Grytviken. +It had been realized how important the meteorological observations +were going to be to the Argentine Government, and they accordingly +did all in their power to help, both before and at the end of the +Expedition. The biologist devoted most of his time, meanwhile, +to the whaling industry, there being no less than seven stations +on the island; he also made collections of the neritic fauna, +and, accompanied by the photographer, studied the bird life +and the habits of the sea-elephants along the east coast. +<p> +By the time the actual southern voyage commenced, each individual +had his own particular line of work which he was prepared +to follow out. The biologist at first confined himself to +collecting the <i>plankton</i>, and a start was made in securing water +samples for temperature and salinity. In this, from the beginning, +he had the help of the geologist, who also gave instructions for +the taking of a line of soundings under the charge of the ship’s +officers. This period of the southward voyage was a very busy +time so far as the scientists were concerned, for, besides their +own particular work, they took the full share of looking after +the dogs and working the ship watch by watch. At the same time, +moreover, the biologist had to try and avoid being too lavish +with his preserving material at the expense of the shore +station collections which were yet to make. +<p> +When it was finally known that the ship had no longer any chance +of getting free of the ice in the 1914–1915 season, a radical +change was made in the arrangements. The scientists were freed, +as far as possible, from ship’s duties, and were thus able to +devote themselves almost entirely to their own particular spheres. +The meteorological investigations took on a more definite shape; +the instruments intended for the land base were set up on board +ship, including self-recording barographs, thermometers, and a +Dines anemometer, with which very satisfactory results were got. +The physicist set up his quadrant electrometer after a good deal +of trouble, but throughout the winter had to struggle constantly +with rime forming on the parts of his apparatus exposed to the +outer air. Good runs were being thus continually spoilt. The +determination of the magnetic constants also took up a good part +of his time. +<p> +Besides collecting <i>plankton</i> the biologist was now able to put down +one or other of his dredges at more frequent intervals, always +taking care, however, not to exhaust his store of preserving +material, which was limited. The taking of water samples was +established on a better system, so that the series should be about +equally spaced out over the ship’s course. The geologist +suppressed all thought of rocks, though occasionally they were +met with in bottom samples; his work became almost entirely +oceanographical, and included a study of the sea-ice, of the +physiography of the sea floor as shown by daily soundings, and +of the bottom deposits; besides this he helped the biologist in +the temperature and salinity observations. +<p> +The work undertaken and accomplished by each member was as wide as +possible; but it was only in keeping with the spirit of the times +that more attention should be paid to work from which practical and +economic results were likely to accrue. The meteorologist had +always in view the effect of Antarctic climate on the other +southern continents, the geologist looked on ice from a seaman’s +point of view, and the biologist not unwillingly put whales in the +forefront of his programme. The accounts which follow on these very +practical points show how closely scientific work in the +Antarctica is in touch with, and helps on the economic development +of, the inhabited lands to the north.<br><br> +<hr> +<center><h2><a name="20">SEA-ICE NOMENCLATURE</a></h2> +<b>By J. M. WORDIE, M.A. (Cantab.), Lieut. R.F.A.</b></center> +<p><br> +During the voyage of the <i>Endurance</i> it was soon noticed that the +terms being used to describe different forms of ice were not always +in agreement with those given in Markham’s and Mill’s glossary in +“The Antarctic Manual,” 1901. It was the custom, of course, to +follow implicitly the terminology used by those of the party +whose experience of ice dated back to Captain Scott’s first voyage, +so that the terms used may be said to be common to all Antarctic +voyages of the present century. The principal changes, therefore, +in nomenclature must date from the last quarter of the nineteenth +century, when there was no one to pass on the traditional usage +from the last naval Arctic Expedition in 1875 to the <i>Discovery</i> +Expedition of 1901. On the latter ship Markham’s and Mill’s +glossary was, of course, used, but apparently not slavishly; +founded, as far as sea-ice went, on Scoresby’s, made in 1820, it +might well have been adopted in its entirety, for no writer could +have carried more weight than Scoresby the younger, combining as +he did more than ten years’ whaling experience with high +scientific attainments. Above all others he could be accepted +both by practical seamen and also by students of ice forms. +<p> +That the old terms of Scoresby did not all survive the period of +indifference to Polar work, in spite of Markham and Mill, is an +indication either that their usefulness has ceased or that the +original usage has changed once and for all. A restatement of +terms is therefore now necessary. Where possible the actual +phrases of Scoresby and of his successors, Markham and Mill, +are still used. The principle adopted, however, is to give +preference to the words actually used by the Polar seamen +themselves. +<p> +The following authorities have been followed as closely as +possible: +<p> +W. Scoresby, Jun., “An Account of the Arctic Regions,” 1820, +vol. i, pp. 225–233, 238–241. +<p> +C. R. Markham and H. R. Mill in “The Antarctic Manual,” 1901, +pp. xiv–xvi. +<p> +J. Payer, “New Lands within the Arctic Circle,” 1876, vol. i, +pp. 3–14. +<p> +W. S. Bruce, “Polar Exploration” in Home University Library, +c. 1911, pp. 54–71. +<p> +Reference should also be made to the annual publication of the +Danish Meteorological Institute showing the Arctic ice conditions +of the previous summer. This is published in both Danish and +English, so that the terms used there are bound to have a very +wide acceptance; it is hoped, therefore, that they may be the +means of preventing the Antarctic terminology following a +different line of evolution; for but seldom is a seaman found +nowadays who knows both Polar regions. On the Danish charts six +different kinds of sea-ice are marked—namely, unbroken polar +ice; land-floe; great ice-fields; tight pack-ice; open ice; +bay-ice and brash. With the exception of bay-ice, which is +more generally known as young ice, all these terms pass current +in the Antarctic. +<p> +<i>Slush</i> or <i>Sludge</i>. The initial stages in the freezing of +sea-water, when its consistency becomes gluey or soupy. +The term is also used (but not commonly) for brash-ice still +further broken down. +<p> +<i>Pancake-ice</i>. Small circular floes with raised rims; due to +the break-up in a gently ruffled sea of the newly formed ice +into pieces which strike against each other, and so form +turned-up edges. +<p> +<i>Young Ice</i>. Applied to all unhummocked ice up to about a foot +in thickness. Owing to the fibrous or platy structure, the floes +crack easily, and where the ice is not over thick a ship under +steam cuts a passage without much difficulty. Young ice may +originate from the coalescence of “pancakes,” where the water +is slightly ruffled or else be a sheet of “black ice,” covered +maybe with “ice-flowers,” formed by the freezing of a smooth +sheet of sea-water. +<p> +In the Arctic it has been the custom to call this form of ice +“bay-ice”; in the Antarctic, however, the latter term is wrongly +used for land-floes (fast-ice, etc.), and has been so misapplied +consistently for fifteen years. The term bay-ice should possibly, +therefore, be dropped altogether, especially since, even in the +Arctic, its meaning is not altogether a rigid one, as it may +denote firstly the gluey “slush,” which forms when sea-water +freezes, and secondly the firm level sheet ultimately produced. +<p> +<i>Land floes</i>. Heavy but not necessarily hummocked ice, with +generally a deep snow covering, which has remained held up in the +position of growth by the enclosing nature of some feature of the +coast, or by grounded bergs throughout the summer season when +most of the ice breaks out. Its thickness is, therefore, above +the average. Has been called at various times “fast-ice,” +“coast-ice,” “land-ice,” “bay-ice” by Shackleton and David +and the Charcot Expedition; and possibly what Drygalski calls +<i>Schelfeis</i> is not very different. +<p> +<i>Floe</i>. An area of ice, level or hummocked, whose limits are within +sight. Includes all sizes between brash on the one hand and +fields on the other. “Light-floes” are between one and two feet +in thickness (anything thinner being “young-ice”). Those exceeding +two feet in thickness are termed “heavy floes,” being generally +hummocked, and in the Antarctic, at any rate, covered by fairly +deep snow. +<p> +<i>Field</i>. A sheet of ice of such extent that its limits cannot +be seen from the masthead. +<p> +<i>Hummocking</i>. Includes all the processes of pressure formation +whereby level young ice becomes broken up and built up into +<p> +<i>Hummocky Floes</i>. The most suitable term for what has also been +called “old pack” and “screwed pack” by David and <i>Scholleneis</i> +by German writers. In contrast to young ice, the structure is no +longer fibrous, but becomes spotted or bubbly, a certain percentage +of salt drains away, and the ice becomes almost translucent. +<p> +<i>The Pack</i> is a term very often used in a wide sense to include +any area of sea-ice, no matter what form it takes or how disposed. +The French term is <i>banquise de derive</i>. +<p> +<i>Pack-ice</i>. A more restricted use than the above, to include +hummocky floes or close areas of young ice and light floes. +Pack-ice is “close” or “tight” if the floes constituting it +are in contact; “open” if, for the most part, they do not touch. +In both cases it hinders, but does not necessarily check, +navigation; the contrary holds for +<p> +<i>Drift-ice</i>. Loose open ice, where the area of water exceeds that +of ice. Generally drift-ice is within reach of the swell, and is +a stage in the breaking down of pack-ice, the size of the floes +being much smaller than in the latter. (Scoresby’s use of the +term drift-ice for pieces of ice intermediate in size between +floes and brash has, however, quite died out). The Antarctic +or Arctic pack usually has a girdle or fringe of drift-ice. +<p> +<i>Brash</i>. Small fragments and roundish nodules; the wreck +of other kinds of ice. +<p> +<i>Bergy Bits</i>. Pieces, about the size of a cottage, of + glacier-ice or of hummocky pack washed clear of snow. +<p> +<i>Growlers</i>. Still smaller pieces of sea-ice than the above, +greenish in colour, and barely showing above water-level. +<p> +<i>Crack</i>. Any sort of fracture or rift in the sea-ice covering. +<p> +<i>Lead</i> or <i>Lane</i>. Where a crack opens out to such a width as +to be navigable. In the Antarctic it is customary to speak of +these as leads, even when frozen over to constitute areas of +young ice. +<p> +<i>Pools</i>. Any enclosed water areas in the pack, where length +and breadth are about equal.<br><br> +<hr> +<center><h2><a name="21">METEOROLOGY</a></h2> +<b>By L. D. A. HUSSEY, B.Sc., (Lond.), Capt. R.G.A.</b></center> +<p><br> +The meteorological results of the Expedition, when properly worked +out and correlated with those from other stations in the southern +hemisphere, will be extremely valuable, both for their bearing on +the science of meteorology in general, and for their practical and +economic applications. +<p> +South America is, perhaps, more intimately concerned than any +other country, but Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa are +all affected by the weather conditions of the Antarctic. Researches +are now being carried on which tend to show that the meteorology +of the two hemispheres is more interdependent than was hitherto +believed, so that a meteorological disturbance in one part of the +world makes its presence felt, more or less remotely perhaps, all +over the world. +<p> +It is evident, therefore, that a complete knowledge of the weather +conditions in any part of the world, which it is understood +carries with it the ability to make correct forecasts, can never +be obtained unless the weather conditions in every other part are +known. This makes the need for purely scientific Polar +Expeditions so imperative, since our present knowledge of Arctic +and Antarctic meteorology is very meagre, and to a certain extent +unsystematic. What is wanted is a chain of observing stations well +equipped with instruments and trained observers stretching across +the Antarctic Continent. A series of exploring ships could +supplement these observations with others made by them while +cruising in the Antarctic Seas. It would pay to do this, even for +the benefit accruing to farmers, sailors, and others who are so +dependent on the weather. +<p> +As an instance of the value of a knowledge of Antarctic weather +conditions, it may be mentioned that, as the result of observations +and researches carried out at the South Orkneys—a group of +sub-Antarctic islands at the entrance to the Weddell Sea—it +has been found that a cold winter in that sea is a sure precursor +of a drought over the maize and cereal bearing area of Argentina +three and a half years later. To the farmers, the value of this +knowledge so far in advance is enormous, and since England has some +three hundred million pounds sterling invested in Argentine interests, +Antarctic Expeditions have proved, and will prove, their worth even +from a purely commercial point of view. +<p> +I have given just this one instance to satisfy those who question +the utility of Polar Expeditions, but many more could be cited. +<p> +As soon as it was apparent that no landing could be made, and that +we should have to spend a winter in the ship drifting round with +the pack, instruments were set up and observations taken just as +if we had been ashore. +<p> +A meteorological screen or box was erected on a platform over the +stern, right away from the living quarters, and in it were placed +the maximum and minimum thermometers, the recording barograph, +and thermograph—an instrument which writes every variation of +the temperature and pressure on a sheet of paper on a revolving +drum—and the standard thermometer, a very carefully +manufactured thermometer, with all its errors determined and +tabulated. The other thermometers were all checked from this one. +On top of the screen a Robinson’s anemometer was screwed. This +consisted of an upright rod, to the top of which were pivoted four +arms free to revolve in a plane at right angles to it. At the end +of these arms hemispherical cups were screwed. These were caught +by the wind and the arms revolved at a speed varying with the +force of the wind. The speed of the wind could be read off on a +dial below the arms. +<p> +In addition there was an instrument called a Dines anemometer which +supplied interesting tracings of the force, duration, and direction +of the wind. There was an added advantage in the fact that the +drum on which these results were recorded was comfortably housed +down below, so that one could sit in a comparatively warm room and +follow all the varying phases of the blizzard which was raging +without. The barometer used was of the Kew Standard pattern. +When the ship was crushed, all the monthly records were saved, +but the detailed tracings, which had been packed up in the hold, +were lost. Though interesting they were not really essential. +Continuous observations were made during the long drift on the +floe and while on Elephant Island the temperature was taken at +midday each day as long as the thermometers lasted. The mortality +amongst these instruments, especially those which were tied to +string and swung round, was very high. +<p> +A few extracts from the observations taken during 1915—the +series for that year being practically complete—may be of +interest. January was dull and overcast, only 7 per cent. +of the observations recording a clear blue sky, 71 per cent. +being completely overcast. +<p> +The percentage of clear sky increased steadily up till June and +July, these months showing respectively 42 per cent. and 45.7 per +cent. In August 40 per cent. of the observations were clear sky, +while September showed a sudden drop to 27 per cent. October +weather was much the same, and November was practically overcast +the whole time, clear sky showing at only 8 per cent. of the +observations. In December the sky was completely overcast for +nearly 90 per cent. of the time. +<p> +Temperatures on the whole were fairly high, though a sudden +unexpected drop in February, after a series of heavy north-easterly +gales, caused the ship to be frozen in, and effectually put an end +to any hopes of landing that year. The lowest temperature +experienced was in July, when —35° Fahr., <i>i.e.</i> 67° +below freezing, was reached. Fortunately, as the sea was one mass +of consolidated pack, the air was dry, and many days of fine bright +sunshine occurred. Later on, as the pack drifted northwards and +broke up, wide lanes of water were formed, causing fogs and mist +and dull overcast weather generally. In short, it may be said +that in the Weddell Sea the best weather comes in winter. +Unfortunately during that season the sun also disappears, so that +one cannot enjoy it as much as one would like. +<p> +As a rule, too, southerly winds brought fine clear weather, with +marked fall in the temperature, and those from the north were +accompanied by mist, fog, and overcast skies, with comparatively +high temperatures. In the Antarctic a temperature of 30°, +<i>i.e.</i> 2° <i>below</i> freezing, is considered unbearably hot. +<p> +The greatest difficulty that was experienced was due to the +accumulation of rime on the instruments. In low temperatures +everything became covered with ice-crystals, deposited from the +air, which eventually grew into huge blocks. Sometimes these +blocks became dislodged and fell, making it dangerous to walk along +the decks. The rime collected on the thermometers, the glass bowl +of the sunshine recorder, and the bearings of the anemometer, +necessitating the frequent use of a brush to remove it, and +sometimes effectively preventing the instruments from recording +at all. +<p> +One of our worst blizzards occurred on August 1, 1915, which was, +for the ship, the beginning of the end. It lasted for four days, +with cloudy and overcast weather for the three following days, and +from that time onwards we enjoyed very little sun. +<p> +The weather that we experienced on Elephant Island can only be +described as appalling. Situated as we were at the mouth of a +gully, down which a huge glacier was slowly moving, with the open +sea in front and to the left, and towering, snow-covered mountains +on our right, the air was hardly ever free from snowdrift, and +the winds increased to terrific violence through being forced over +the glacier and through the narrow gully. Huge blocks of ice were +hurled about like pebbles, and cases of clothing and cooking +utensils were whisked out of our hands and carried away to sea. +For the first fortnight after our landing there, the gale blew, +at times, at over one hundred miles an hour. Fortunately it never +again quite reached that intensity, but on several occasions +violent squalls made us very fearful for the safety of our hut. +The island was almost continuously covered with a pall of fog and +snow, clear weather obtaining occasionally when pack-ice +surrounded us. Fortunately a series of south-westerly gales had +blown all the ice away to the north-east two days before the rescue +ship arrived, leaving a comparatively clear sea for her to +approach the island. +<p> +Being one solitary moving station in the vast expanse of the +Weddell Sea, with no knowledge of what was happening anywhere +around us, forecasting was very difficult and at times impossible. +<p> +Great assistance in this direction was afforded by copies of Mr. +R. C. Mossmann’s researches and papers on Antarctic meteorology, +which he kindly supplied to us. +<p> +I have tried to make this very brief account of the meteorological +side of the Expedition rather more “popular” than scientific, +since the publication and scientific discussion of the observations +will be carried out elsewhere; but if, while showing the +difficulties under which we had to work, it emphasizes the value +of Antarctic Expeditions from a purely utilitarian point of view, +and the need for further continuous research into the conditions +obtaining in the immediate neighbourhood of the Pole, it will have +achieved its object.<br><br> +<hr> +<center><h2><a name="22">PHYSICS</a></h2> +<b>By R. W. JAMES, M.A. (Cantab.), B.Sc. (Lond.), Capt. R.E.</b></center> +<p><br> +Owing to the continued drift of the ship with the ice, the +programme of physical observations originally made out had to be +considerably modified. It had been intended to set up recording +magnetic instruments at the base, and to take a continuous series +of records throughout the whole period of residence there, absolute +measurements of the earth’s horizontal magnetic force, of the dip +and declination being taken at frequent intervals for purposes of +calibration. With the ice continually drifting, and the possibility +of the floe cracking at any time, it proved impracticable to set +up the recording instruments, and the magnetic observations were +confined to a series of absolute measurements taken whenever +opportunity occurred. These measurements, owing to the drift of +the ship, extend over a considerable distance, and give a chain +of values along a line stretching, roughly from 77° S. lat. +to 69° S. lat. This is not the place to give the actual +results; it is quite enough to state that, as might have been +expected from the position of the magnetic pole, the values +obtained correspond to a comparatively low magnetic latitude, +the value of the dip ranging from 63° to 68°. +<p> +So far as possible, continuous records of the electric potential +gradient in the atmosphere were taken, a form of quadrant +electrometer with a boom and ink recorder, made by the Cambridge +Scientific Instrument Company, being employed. Here again, the +somewhat peculiar conditions made work difficult, as the instrument +was very susceptible to small changes of level, such as occurred +from time to time owing to the pressure of the ice on the ship. +An ionium collector, for which the radioactive material was kindly +supplied by Mr. F. H. Glew, was used. The chief difficulty +to contend with was the constant formation of thick deposits of +rime, which either grew over the insulation and spoiled it, or +covered up the collector so that it could no longer act. +Nevertheless, a considerable number of good records were obtained, +which have not yet been properly worked out. Conditions during +the Expedition were very favourable for observations on the +physical properties and natural history of sea-ice, and a +considerable number of results were obtained, which are, +however, discussed elsewhere, mention of them being made here +since they really come under the heading of physics. +<p> +In addition to these main lines of work, many observations of +a miscellaneous character were made, including those on the +occurrence and nature of parhelia or “mock suns,” which were +very common, and generally finely developed, and observations +of the auroral displays, which were few and rather poor owing +to the comparatively low magnetic latitude. Since most of the +observations made are of little value without a knowledge of the +place where they were made, and since a very complete set of +soundings were also taken, the daily determination of the ship’s +position was a matter of some importance. The drift of the ship +throws considerable light on at least one geographical problem, +that of the existence of Morrell Land. The remainder of this +appendix will therefore be devoted to a discussion of the methods +used to determine the positions of the ship from day to day. +<p> +The latitude and longitude were determined astronomically every +day when the sun or stars were visible, the position thus +determined serving as the fixed points between which the position +on days when the sky was overcast could be interpolated by the +process known as “dead reckoning,” that is to say, by estimating +the speed and course of the ship, taking into account the various +causes affecting it. The sky was often overcast for several days +at a stretch, and it was worth while to take a certain amount of +care in the matter. Captain Worsley constructed an apparatus +which gave a good idea of the direction of drift at any time. +This consisted of an iron rod, which passed through an iron +tube, frozen vertically into the ice, into the water below. At +the lower end of the rod, in the water, was a vane. The rod being +free to turn, the vane took up the direction of the current, the +direction being shown by an indicator attached to the top of the +rod. The direction shown depended, of course, on the drift of +the ice relative to the water, and did not take into account any +actual current which may have been carrying the ice with it, but +the true current seems never to have been large, and the direction +of the vane probably gave fairly accurately the direction of the +drift of the ice. No exact idea of the rate of drift could be +obtained from the apparatus, although one could get an estimate +of it by displacing the vane from its position of rest and +noticing how quickly it returned to it, the speed of return +being greater the more rapid the drift. Another means of +estimating the speed and direction of the drift was from +the trend of the wire when a sounding was being taken. The rate +and direction of drift appeared to depend almost entirely on the +wind-velocity and direction at the time. If any true current-effect +existed, it is not obvious from a rough comparison of the +drift with the prevailing wind, but a closer investigation +of the figures may show some outstanding effect due to current.* +<br><hr> +* Cf. “Scientific results of Norwegian North Polar Expedition, +1893–96,” vol. iii, p. 357.<br> +<hr> +<p> +The drift was always to the left of the actual wind-direction. +This effect is due to the rotation of the earth, a corresponding +deviation to the right of the wind direction being noted by Nansen +during the drift of the <i>Fram</i>. A change in the direction of the +wind was often preceded by some hours by a change in the reading +of the drift vane. This is no doubt due to the ice to windward +being set in motion, the resulting disturbance travelling through +the ice more rapidly than the approaching wind. +<p> +For the astronomical observations either the sextant or a +theodolite was used. The theodolite employed was a light 3´´ +Vernier instrument by Carey Porter, intended for sledging work. +This instrument was fairly satisfactory, although possibly +rigidity had been sacrificed to lightness to rather too great an +extent. Another point which appears worth mentioning is the +following: The foot-screws were of brass, the tribrach, into +which they fitted, was made of aluminium for the sake of +lightness. The two metals have a different coefficient of +expansion, and while the feet fitted the tribrach at ordinary +temperatures, they were quite loose at temperatures in the region +of 20° Fahr. below zero. In any instrument designed for +use at low temperatures, care should be taken that parts which +have to fit together are made of the same material. +<p> +For determining the position in drifting pack-ice, the theodolite +proved to be a more generally useful instrument than the sextant. +The ice-floes are quite steady in really thick pack-ice, and the +theodolite can be set up and levelled as well as on dry land. +The observations, both for latitude and longitude, consist in +measuring altitude of the sun or of a star. The chief uncertainty +in this measurement is that introduced by the refraction of light +by the air. At very low temperatures, the correction to be applied +on this account is uncertain, and, if possible, observations +should always be made in pairs with a north star and a south +star for a latitude, and an east star and a west star for a +longitude. The refraction error will then usually mean out. +This error affects observations both with the theodolite and +the sextant, but in the case of the sextant another cause of +error occurs. In using the sextant, the angle between the +heavenly body and the visible horizon is measured directly. +Even in dense pack-ice, if the observations are taken from the +deck of the ship or from a hummock or a low berg, the apparent +horizon is usually sharp enough for the purpose. In very cold +weather, however, and particularly if there are open leads and +pools between the observer and the horizon, there is frequently +a great deal of mirage, and the visible horizon may be miraged up +several minutes. This will reduce the altitude observed, and +corrections on this account are practically impossible to apply. +This error may be counterbalanced to some extent by pairing +observations as described above, but it by no means follows that +the mirage effect will be the same in the two directions. Then +again, during the summer months, no stars will be visible, and +observations for latitude will have to depend on a single noon +sight of the sun. If the sun is visible at midnight its altitude +will be too low for accurate observations, and in any case +atmospheric conditions will be quite different from those +prevailing at noon. In the Antarctic, therefore, conditions are +peculiarly difficult for getting really accurate observations, +and it is necessary to reduce the probability of error in a single +observation as much as possible. When possible, observations of +the altitude of a star or of the sun should be taken with the +theodolite, since the altitude is referred to the spirit-level +of the instrument, and is independent of any apparent horizon. +During the drift of the <i>Endurance</i> both means of observation +were generally employed. A comparison of the results showed an +agreement between sextant and theodolite, within the errors of +the instrument if the temperature was above about 20° +Fahr. At lower temperatures there were frequently discrepancies +which could generally be attributed to the mirage effects +described above. +<p> +As the <i>Endurance</i> was carried by the ice-drift well to the west of +the Weddell Sea, towards the position of the supposed Morrell Land, +the accurate determination of longitude became a matter of moment +in view of the controversy as to the existence of this land. +During a long voyage latitude can always be determined with about +the same accuracy, the accuracy merely depending on the closeness +with which altitudes can be measured. In the case of longitude +matters are rather different. The usual method employed consists +in the determination of the local time by astronomical +observations, and the comparison of this time with Greenwich time, +as shown by the ship’s chronometer, an accurate knowledge of the +errors and rate of the chronometer being required. During the +voyage of the <i>Endurance</i> about fifteen months elapsed during which +no check on the chronometers could be obtained by the observation +of known land, and had no other check been applied there would have +been the probability of large errors in the longitudes. For the +purpose of checking the chronometers a number of observations of +occultations were observed during the winter of 1915. An +occultation is really the eclipse of a star by the moon. A number +of such eclipses occur monthly, and are tabulated in the “Nautical +Almanac.” From the data given there it is possible to compute the +Greenwich time at which the phenomenon ought to occur for an +observer situated at any place on the earth, provided his position +is known within a few miles, which will always be the case. The +time of disappearance of the star by the chronometer to be corrected +is noted. The actual Greenwich time of the occurrence is calculated, +and the error of the chronometer is thus determined. With ordinary +care the chronometer error can be determined in this way to within +a few seconds, which is accurate enough for purposes of navigation. +The principal difficulties of this method lie in the fact that +comparatively few occultations occur, and those which do occur are +usually of stars of the fifth magnitude or lower. In the +Antarctic, conditions for observing occultation are rather +favourable during the winter, since, fifth-magnitude stars can be +seen with a small telescope at any time during the twenty-four +hours if the sky is clear, and the moon is also often above the +horizon for a large fraction of the time. In the summer, however, +the method is quite impossible, since, for some months, stars are +not to be seen. +<p> +No chronometer check could be applied until June 1915. On June 24 +a series of four occultations were observed; and the results of +the observations showed an error in longitude of a whole degree. +In July, August, and September further occultations were observed, +and a fairly reliable rate was worked out for the chronometers and +watches. After the crushing of the ship on October 27, 1915, no +further occultations were observed, but the calculated rates for +the watches were employed, and the longitude deduced, using these +rates on March 23, 1916, was only about 10´ of arc in error, +judging by the observations of Joinville Land made on that day. +It is thus fairly certain that no large error can have been made +in the determination of the position of the <i>Endurance</i> at any time +during the drift, and her course can be taken as known with +greater certainty than is usually the case in a voyage of such +length.<br><br> +<hr> +<center><h2><a name="23">SOUTH ATLANTIC WHALES AND WHALING</a></h2> +<b>By ROBERT S. CLARK, M.A., B.Sc., Lieut. R.N.V.R.</b></center> +<p><br> +Modern whaling methods were introduced into sub-Antarctic seas in +1904, and operations commenced in the following year at South +Georgia. So successful was the initial venture that several +companies were floated, and the fishing area was extended to the +South Shetlands, the South Orkneys, and as far as 67° S. +along the western coast of Graham Land. This area lies within the +Dependencies of the Falkland Islands, and is under the control of +the British Government, and its geographical position offers +exceptional opportunities for the successful prosecution of the +industry by providing a sufficient number of safe anchorages +and widely separated islands, where shore stations have been +established. The Dependencies of the Falkland Islands lie roughly +within latitude 50° and 65° S. and longitude +25° and 70° W., and include the Falkland Islands, +South Georgia, South Sandwich, South Orkney, and South Shetland +Islands, and part of Graham Land. +<p> +The industry is prosperous, and the products always find a ready +market. In this sub-Antarctic area alone, the resulting products more +than doubled the world’s supply. The total value of the Falkland +Island Dependencies in 1913 amounted to £1,252,432, in 1914 to +£1,300,978, in 1915 to £1,333,401, and in 1916 to +£1,774,570. This has resulted chiefly from the marketing of +whale oil and the by-product, guano, and represents for each total a +season’s capture of several thousand whales. In 1916, the number of +whales captured in this area was 11,860, which included 6000 for South +Georgia alone. Whale oil, which is now the product of most economic +value in the whaling industry, is produced in four grades (some +companies adding a fifth). These are Nos. 0, I, II, III, IV, which in +1913 sold at £24, £22, £20, and £18 respectively per ton, net +weight, barrels included (there are six barrels to a ton). The 1919 +prices have increased to +<blockquote> +£72 10s. per ton (barrels included) less 2½ per cent.<br> +£68 per ton (barrels included) less 2½ per cent.<br> +£65 ” ” + ” + ” + ” + ” + ”<br> +£63 ” ” + ” + ” + ” + ” + ”</blockquote> +<p> +Whale oil can be readily transformed into glycerine: it is used +in the manufacture of soap, and quite recently, both in this +country and in Norway, it has been refined by means of a simple +hardening process into a highly palatable and nutritious +margarine. Wartime conditions emphasized the importance of the +whale oil, and fortunately the supply was fairly constant for +the production of the enormous quantities of glycerine required by +the country in the manufacture of explosives. In relation to the +food supply, it was no less important in saving the country from a +“fat” famine, when the country was confronted with the shortage +of vegetable and other animal oils. The production of guano, +bone-meal, and flesh-meal may pay off the running expenses of a +whaling-station, but their value lies, perhaps, more in their +individual properties. Flesh-meal makes up into cattle-cake, which +forms an excellent fattening food for cattle, while bone-meal and +guano are very effective fertilizers. Guano is the meat—generally +the residue of distillation—which goes through a process of drying +and disintegration, and is mixed with the crushed bone in the +proportion of two parts flesh to one part bone. This is done +chiefly at the shore stations, and, to a less extent on floating +factories, though so far on the latter it has not proved very +profitable. Whale flesh, though slightly greasy perhaps and of +strong flavour, is quite palatable, and at South Georgia, it +made a welcome addition to our bill of fare—the flesh of +the hump back being used. A large supply of whale flesh was +“shipped” as food for the dogs on the journey South, and this +was eaten ravenously. It is interesting to note also the +successful rearing of pigs at South Georgia—chiefly, if not +entirely, on the whale products. The whalebone or baleen plates, +which at one time formed the most valuable article of the Arctic +fishery, may here be regarded as of secondary importance. The +baleen plates of the southern right whale reach only a length of +about 7 ft., and have been valued at £750 per ton, but the number +of these whales captured is very small indeed. In the case of the +other whalebone whales, the baleen plates are much smaller and of +inferior quality—the baleen of the sei whale probably excepted, +and this only makes about £85 per ton, Sperm whales have been +taken at South Georgia and the South Shetlands, but never in any +quantity, being more numerous in warmer areas. The products and +their value are too well known to be repeated. +<p> +The <i>Endurance</i> reached South Georgia on November 5, 1914, and +anchored in King Edward Cove, Cumberland Bay, off Grytviken, the +shore station of the Argentina Pesca Company. During the month’s +stay at the island a considerable amount of time was devoted to +a study of the whales and the whaling industry, in the intervals +of the general routine of expedition work, and simultaneously with +other studies on the general life of this interesting sub-Antarctic +island. Visits were made to six of the seven existing stations, +observations were made on the whales landed, and useful insight +was gathered as to the general working of the industry. +<p> +From South Georgia the track of the <i>Endurance</i> lay in a direct +line to the South Sandwich Group, between Saunders and Candlemas +Islands. Then south-easterly and southerly courses were steered +to the Coats’ Land barrier, along which we steamed for a few +hundred miles until forced westward, when we were unfortunately +held up in about lat. 76° 34´ S. and long. 37° 30´ W. +on January 19, 1915, by enormous masses of heavy pack-ice. The +ship drifted to lat. 76° 59´ S., long. 37° 47´ W. +on March 19, 1915, and then west and north until crushed in lat. +69° 5´ S. and long. 51° 30´ W. on October 26, 1915. +We continued drifting gradually north, afloat on ice-floes, past +Graham Land and Joinville Island, and finally took to the boats +on April 9, 1916, and reached Elephant Island on April 15. The +Falkland Island Dependencies were thus practically circumnavigated, +and it may be interesting to compare the records of whales seen +in the region outside and to the south of this area with the records +and the percentage of each species captured in the intensive fishing +area. +<p> +The most productive part of the South Atlantic lies south of +latitude 50° S., where active operations extend to and +even beyond the Antarctic circle. It appears to be the general +rule in Antarctic waters that whales are more numerous the closer +the association with ice conditions, and there seems to be reasonable +grounds for supposing that this may explain the comparatively few +whales sighted by Expeditions which have explored the more +northerly and more open seas, while the whalers themselves have +even asserted that their poor seasons have nearly always coincided +with the absence of ice, or with poor ice conditions. At all events, +those Expeditions which have penetrated far south and well into the +pack-ice have, without exception, reported the presence of whales +in large numbers, even in the farthest south latitudes, so that our +knowledge of the occurrence of whales in the Antarctic has been +largely derived from these Expeditions, whose main object was +either the discovery of new land or the Pole itself. The largest +number of Antarctic Expeditions has concentrated on the two areas +of the South Atlantic and the Ross Sea, and the records of the +occurrences of whales have, in consequence, been concentrated in +these two localities. In the intervening areas, however, +Expeditions, notably the <i>Belgica</i> on the western side and +the <i>Gauss</i> on the eastern side of the Antarctic continent, have +reported whales in moderately large numbers, so that the stock +is by no means confined to the two areas above mentioned. +<p> +The effective fishing area may be assumed to lie within a radius +of a hundred miles from each shore station and floating-factory +anchorage, and a rough estimate of all the Falkland stations works +out at 160,000 square miles. The total for the whole Falkland +area is about 2,000,000 square miles, which is roughly less than +a sixth of the total Antarctic sea area. The question then arises +as to how far the “catch percentage” during the short fishing +season affects the total stock, but so far one can only conjecture +as to the actual results from a comparison of the numbers seen, +chiefly by scientific and other Expeditions, in areas outside the +intensive fishing area with the numbers and percentage of each +species captured in the intensive fishing area. Sufficient +evidence, however, seems to point quite definitely to one +species—the humpback—being in danger of extermination, but +the blue and fin whales—the other two species of rorquals which +form the bulk of the captures—appear to be as frequent now as +they have ever been. +<p> +The whales captured at the various whaling-stations of the Falkland +area are confined largely to three species—blue whale (<i>Balaenoptera +musculus</i>), fin whale (<i>Balaenoptera physalis</i>), and humpback +(<i>Megaptera nodosa</i>); sperm whales (<i>Physeter catodon</i>) and +right whales (<i>Balaena glacialis</i>) being only occasional and rare +captures, while the sei whale (<i>Balaenoptera borealis</i>) appeared in +the captures at South Georgia in 1913, and now forms a large +percentage of the captures at the Falkland Islands. During the +earlier years of whaling at South Georgia, and up to the fishing +season 1910–11, humpbacks formed practically the total catch. In +1912–13 the following were the percentages for the three rorquals +in the captures at South Georgia and South Shetlands: +<p> +Humpback 38 per cent., fin whale 36 per cent., blue whale 20 per +cent. Of late years the percentages have altered considerably, +blue whales and fin whales predominating, humpbacks decreasing +rapidly. In 1915, the South Georgia Whaling Company (Messrs. +Salvesen, Leith) captured 1085 whales, consisting of 15 per cent. +humpback, 25 per cent. fin whales, 58 per cent. blue whales, and +2 right whales. In the same year the captures of three companies +at the South Shetlands gave 1512 whales, and the percentages worked +out at 12 per cent. humpbacks, 42 per cent. fin whales, and 45 +per cent. blue whales. In 1919, the Southern Whaling and +Sealing Company captured (at Stromness, South Georgia) 529 whales, +of which 2 per cent. were humpbacks, 51 per cent. fin whales, and +45 per cent. blue whales. These captures do not represent the +total catch, but are sufficiently reliable to show how the +species are affected. The reduction in numbers of the humpback +is very noticeable, and even allowing for the possible increase +in size of gear for the capture of the larger and more lucrative +blue and fin whales, there is sufficient evidence to warrant the +fears that the humpback stock is threatened with extinction. +<p> +In the immediate northern areas—in the region from latitude 50° +S. northward to the equator, which is regarded as next in +importance quantitatively to the sub-Antarctic, though nothing like +being so productive, the captures are useful for a comparative study +in distribution. At Saldanha Bay, Cape Colony, in 1912, 131 whales +were captured and the percentages were as follows: 35 per cent. +humpback, 13 per cent. fin whale, 4 per cent. blue whale, 46 per +cent. sei whale, while nearer the equator, at Port Alexander, +the total capture was 322 whales, and the percentages gave 98 per +cent. humpback, and only 2 captures each of fin and sei whales. +In 1914, at South Africa (chiefly Saldanha Bay and Durban), out +of a total of 839 whales 60 per cent. were humpback, 25 per +cent. fin whales, and 13 per cent. blue whales. In 1916, out +of a total of 853 whales 10 per cent. were humpback, 13 per cent. +fin whales, 6 per cent. blue whales, 68 per cent. sperm whales, +and 1 per cent. sei whales. In Chilian waters, in 1916, a total +of 327 whales gave 31 per cent. humpbacks, 24 per cent. fin +whales, 26 per cent. blue whales, 12 per cent. sperm whales, and +5 right whales. There seems then to be a definite interrelation +between the two areas. The same species of whales are captured, +and the periods of capture alternate with perfect regularity, the +fishing season occurring from the end of November to April in the +sub-Antarctic and from May to November in the sub-tropics. A few +of the companies, however, carry on operations to a limited extent +at South Georgia and at the Falkland islands during the southern +winter, but the fishing is by no means a profitable undertaking, +though proving the presence of whales in this area during the +winter months. +<p> +The migrations of whales are influenced by two causes: +<p> +(1) The distribution of their food-supply;<br> +(2) The position of their breeding-grounds.<br> +<p> +In the Antarctic, during the summer months, there is present in the +sea an abundance of plant and animal life, and whales which feed on +the small <i>plankton</i> organisms are correspondingly numerous, but in +winter this state of things is reversed, and whales are poorly +represented or absent, at least in the higher latitudes. During +the drift of the <i>Endurance</i> samples of <i>plankton</i> were taken almost +daily during an Antarctic summer and winter. From December to March, +a few minutes haul of a tow-net at the surface was sufficient to +choke up the meshes with the plant and animal life, but this +abundance of surface life broke off abruptly in April, and +subsequent hauls contained very small organisms until the return +of daylight and the opening up of the pack-ice. The lower water +strata, down to about 100 fathoms, were only a little more +productive, and <i>Euphausiae</i> were taken in the hauls—though sparingly. +During the winter spent at Elephant Island, our total catch of +gentoo penguins amounted to 1436 for the period April 15 to August +30, 1916. All these birds were cut up, the livers and hearts were +extracted for food, and the skins were used as fuel. At the same +time the stomachs were invariably examined, and a record kept of +the contents. The largest proportion of these contained the small +crustacean <i>Euphausia</i>, and this generally to the exclusion of other +forms. Occasionally, however, small fish were recorded. The +quantity of <i>Euphausiae</i> present in most of the stomachs was +enormous for the size of the birds. These penguins were migrating, +and came ashore only when the bays were clear of ice, as there were +several periods of fourteen consecutive days when the bays and +the surrounding sea were covered over with a thick compact mass +of ice-floes, and then penguins were entirely absent. <i>Euphausiae</i>, +then, seem to be present in sufficient quantity in certain, if not +in all, sub-Antarctic waters during the southern winter. We may +assume then that the migration to the south, during the Antarctic +summer, is definitely in search of food. Observations have proved +the existence of a northern migration, and it seems highly +improbable that this should also be in search of food, but rather +for breeding purposes, and it seems that the whales select the more +temperate regions for the bringing forth of their young. This +view is strengthened by the statistical foetal records, which +show the pairing takes place in the northern areas, that the foetus +is carried by the mother during the southern migration to the +Antarctic, and that the calves are born in the more congenial +waters north of the sub-Antarctic area. We have still to prove, +however, the possibility of a circumpolar migration, and we are +quite in the dark as to the number of whales that remain in +sub-Antarctic areas during the Southern winter. +<p> +The following is a rough classification of whales, with special +reference to those known to occur in the South Atlantic: +<pre><b> + 1. WHALEBONE WHALES (<i>Mystacoceti</i>) + | + ____________________|__________________ + | | +Right whales (<i>Balaenidae</i>) Rorquals (<i>Balaenopteridae</i>) + | ________________|_________ +Southern right whale | | +(<i>Balaena glacialis</i>) Finner whales Humpback + (<i>Balaenoptera</i>) (<i>Megaptera nodosa</i>) + | + | + Blue whale (<i>B. musculus</i>) + Fin whale (<i>B. physalis</i>) + Sei whale (<i>B. borealis</i>) + Piked whale (<i>B. acutorostrata</i>) + Bryde’s whale (<i>B. brydei</i>) + + + 2. TOOTHED WHALES (<i>Odontoceti</i>) + | + _________________________|________________________ + | | | +Sperm whale Beaked whales Dolphins +(<i>Physeter catodon</i>) (including bottlenose whales) (1) Killer + (<i>Hyperoodon rostratus</i>) (<i>Orcinus orca</i>) + (2) Black Fish + (<i>Globicephalus melas</i>) + (3) Porpoises + (<i>Lagenorhynchus</i> sp.) +</b></pre> +<p><br> +The subdivision of whalebone whales is one of degree in the size +of the whalebone. These whales have enormously muscular tongues, +which press the water through the whalebone lamellae and thus, +by a filtering process, retain the small food organisms. The food +of the whalebone whales is largely the small crustacea which occur +in the <i>plankton</i>, though some whales (humpback, fin whales, and +sei whales) feed also on fish. The stomachs examined at South +Georgia during December 1914, belonged to the three species, +humpbacks, fin whales, and blue whales, and all contained small +crustacea—<i>Euphausiae</i>, with a mixture of <i>amphipods</i>. The +toothed whales—sperms and bottlenoses—are known to live on squids, +and that there is an abundance of this type of food in the Weddell +Sea was proved by an examination of penguin and seal stomachs. +Emperor penguins (and hundreds of these were examined) were +invariably found to contain <i>Cephalopod</i> “beaks,” while large, +partly digested squids were often observed in Weddell seals. +A dorsal fin is present in the rorquals but absent in right whales. +With other characters, notably the size of the animal, it serves +as a ready mark of identification, but is occasionally confusing +owing to the variation in shape in some of the species. +<p> +With the exception of several schools of porpoises very few whales +were seen during the outward voyage. Not till we approached the +Falkland area did they appear in any numbers. Four small schools +of fin whales and a few humpbacks were sighted on October 28 and +29, 1914, in lat. 38° 01´ S., long. 55° 03´ W. and +in lat. 40° 35´ S., long. 53° 11´ W., while +<i>Globicephalus melas</i> was seen only once, in lat. 45° 17´ S., +long. 48° 58´ W., on October 31, 1914. At South Georgia, +the whales captured at the various stations in December 1914, were +blue whales, fin whales, and humpbacks (arranged respectively +according to numbers captured). During the fishing season 1914–15 +(from December to March) in the area covered—South Georgia to +the South Sandwich Islands and along Coats’ Land to the head of +the Weddell Sea—the records of whales were by no means numerous. +Two records only could with certainty be assigned to the humpback, +and these were in the neighbourhood of the South Sandwich Islands. +Pack-ice was entered in lat. 59° 55´ S., long. 18° +28´ W., and blue whales were recorded daily until about 65° S. +Between lat. 65° 43´ S., long. 17° 30´ W., on December +27, 1914, and lat. 69° 59´ S., long. 17° 31´ W., on +January 3, 1915, no whales were seen. On January 4, however, in +lat. 69° 59´ S., long. 17° 36´ W., two large sperm whales +appeared close ahead of the ship in fairly open water, and +were making westward. They remained sufficiently long on the +surface to render their identification easy. Farther south, blue +whales were only seen occasionally, and fin whales could only be +identified in one or two cases. Killers, however, were numerous, +and the lesser piked whale was quite frequent. There was no doubt +about the identity of this latter species as it often came close +alongside the ship. From April to September (inclusive) the sea +was frozen over (with the exception of local “leads”), and whales +were found to be absent. In October whales again made their +appearance, and from then onwards they were a daily occurrence. +Identification of the species, however, was a difficult matter, +for the <i>Endurance</i> was crushed and had sunk, and observations +were only possible from the ice-floe, or later on from the boats. +The high vertical “spout” opening out into a dense spray was +often visible, and denoted the presence of blue and fin whales. +The lesser piked whale again appeared in the “leads” close to +our “camp” floe, and was easily identified. An exceptional +opportunity was presented to us on December 6, 1915, when a +school of eight bottlenose whales (<i>Hyperoodon rostratus</i>) +appeared in small “pool” alongside “Ocean” Camp in lat. +67° 47´ S., long. 52° 18´ W. These ranged from +about 20 ft. to a little over 30 ft. in length, and were of a +uniform dark dun colour—the large specimens having a dull yellow +appearance. There were no white spots. At the edge of the pack-ice +during the first half of April 1916, about lat. 62° S. +and long. 54° W. (entrance to Bransfield Strait), whales +were exceedingly numerous, and these were chiefly fin whales, +though a few seemed to be sei whales. It is interesting to note +that the fishing season 1915–1916 was exceptionally productive—no +less than 11,860 whales having been captured in the Falkland area +alone. +<p> +The South Atlantic whaling industry, then, has reached a critical +stage in development. It is now dependent on the captures of the +large fin and blue whales, humpbacks having been rapidly reduced +in numbers, so that the total stock appears to have been affected. +With regard to the other species, the southern right whale has +never been abundant in the captures, the sperm whale and the +sei whale have shown a good deal of seasonal variation, though +never numerous, and the bottlenose and lesser piked whale have so +far not been hunted, except in the case of the latter for human +food. The vigorous slaughter of whales both in the sub-Antarctic +and in the sub-tropics, for the one area reacts on the other, calls +for universal legislation to protect the whales from early +commercial extinction, and the industry, which is of world-wide +economic importance, from having to be abandoned. The British +Government, with the control of the world’s best fisheries, is +thoroughly alive to the situation, and an Inter-departmental +Committee, under the direction of the Colonial Office, is at +present devising a workable scheme for suitable legislation for +the protection of the whales and for the welfare of the industry.<br><br> +<hr> +<center><h2><a name="24">APPENDIX II</a></h2> +<h2>THE EXPEDITION HUTS AT McMURDO SOUND</h2> +<b>By SIR E. H. SHACKLETON</b></center> +<p><br> +The following notes are designed for the benefit of future +explorers who may make McMurdo Sound a base for inland operations, +and to clear any inaccuracies or ambiguities concerning the +history, occupation, and state of these huts. +<p align="center"><br> +(1) THE NATIONAL ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION’S HUT AT HUT POINT—THE HEAD +OF McMURDO SOUND +<p><br> +This hut was constructed by Captain Scott in 1902, by the +Expedition sent out by the Royal Geographical Society, the Royal +Society, the Government, and by private subscription. Captain +Robert F. Scott was appointed to the command of the Expedition. +I served as Third Lieutenant until February 1903, when I was +invalided home through a broken blood vessel in the lungs, the +direct result of scurvy contracted on the Southern journey. The +<i>Discovery</i> hut was a large strong building, but was so draughty +and cold in comparison with the ship, which was moored one hundred +yards away, that it was, during the first year, never used for +living quarters. Its sole use was as a storehouse, and a large +supply of rough stores, such as flour, cocoa, coffee, biscuit, +and tinned meat, was left there in the event of its being used as +a place of retreat should any disaster overtake the ship. During +the second year occasional parties camped inside the hut, but no +bunks or permanent sleeping quarters were ever erected. The +discomfort of the hut was a byword on the Expedition, but it formed +an excellent depot and starting-point for all parties proceeding +to the south. +<p> +When the <i>Discovery</i> finally left McMurdo Sound, the hut was +stripped of all gear, including the stove, but there was left +behind a large depot of the stores mentioned above. I was not +aware of this until I returned to McMurdo Sound in February 1908, +when I sent Adams, Joyce, and Wild across to the hut whilst the +<i>Nimrod</i> was lying off the ice. +<p> +On the return of the party they reported that the door had been +burst open, evidently by a southerly blizzard, and was jammed by +snow outside and in, so they made an entrance through one of the +lee windows. They found the hut practically clear of snow, and +the structure quite intact. I used the hut in the spring, <i>i.e.</i> +September and October 1908, as a storehouse for the large amount +of equipment, food, and oil that we were to take on the Southern +journey. We built a sort of living-room out of the cases of +provisions, and swept out the debris. The Southern Party elected +to sleep there before the start, but the supporting party slept +outside in the tents, as they considered it warmer. +<p> +We still continued to use the lee window as means of ingress and +egress to avoid continual shovelling away of the snow, which would +be necessary as every southerly blizzard blocked up the main +entrance. The various depot parties made use of the hut for +replenishing their stores, which had been sledged from my own hut +to Hut Point. On the night of March 3, 1909, I arrived with the +Southern Party, with a sick man, having been absent on the march +128 days. Our position was bad, as the ship was north of us. +We tried to burn the Magnetic Hut in the hope of attracting +attention from the ship, but were not able to get it to light. +We finally managed to light a flare of carbide, and the ship came +down to us in a blizzard, and all were safely aboard at 1 a.m. +on March 4, 1909. Before leaving the hut we jammed the window up +with baulks of timber, to the best of our ability, in the storm and +darkness. The hut was used again by the Ross Sea Section of this +last Expedition. The snow was cleared out and extra stores were +placed in it. From reports I have received the <i>Discovery</i> Hut was +in as good condition in 1917 as it was in 1902. +<p> +The stores placed there in 1902 are intact. There are a few cases +of extra provisions and oil in the hut, but no sleeping gear, or +accommodation, nor stoves, and it must not be looked upon as +anything else than a shelter and a most useful <i>pied-à-terre</i> for +the start of any Southern journey. No stores nor any equipment +have been taken from it during either of my two Expeditions. +<p align="center"><br> +(2) CAPE ROYDS HUT +<p><br> +For several reasons, when I went into McMurdo Sound in 1908 in +command of my own Expedition, known as the British Antarctic +Expedition, after having failed to land on King Edward VII Land, +I decided to build our hut at Cape Royds—a small promontory +twenty-three miles north of Hut Point. Here the whole shore party +lived in comfort through the winter of 1908. When spring came +stores were sledged to Hut Point, so that should the sea-ice break +up early between these two places we might not be left in an +awkward position. After the return of the Southern Party we went +direct north to civilization, so I never visited my hut again. +I had left, however, full instructions with Professor David as to +the care of the hut, and before the whole Expedition left, the hut +was put in order. A letter was pinned in a conspicuous place +inside, stating that there were sufficient provisions and equipment +to last fifteen men for one year, indicating also the details of +these provisions and the position of the coal store. The stove was +in good condition, and the letter ended with an invitation for any +succeeding party to make what use they required of stores and +hut. The hut was then locked and the key nailed on the door in a +conspicuous place. From the report of Captain Scott’s last +Expedition the hut was in good condition, and from a still later +report from the Ross Sea side of this present Expedition, the hut +was still intact. +<p align="center"><br> +(3) CAPE EVANS HUT +<p><br> +This large and commodious hut was constructed by Captain Scott at +Cape Evans on his last Expedition. The party lived in it in +comfort, and it was left well supplied with stores in the way of +food and oil, and a certain amount of coal. Several of the +scientific staff of this present Expedition were ashore in it, +when the <i>Aurora</i>, which was to have been the permanent winter +quarters, broke adrift in May 1915, and went north with the ice. +The hut became the permanent living quarters for the ten marooned +men, and thanks to the stores they were able to sustain life in +comparative comfort, supplementing these stores from my hut at Cape +Royds. In January 1917, after I had rescued the survivors, I had +the hut put in order and locked up. +<p> +To sum up, there are three available huts in McMurdo Sound. +<p> +(a) The <i>Discovery</i> Hut with a certain amount of rough stores, and +only of use as a point of departure for the South. +<p> +(b) Cape Royds Hut with a large amount of general stores, but no +clothing or equipment now. +<p> +(c) Cape Evans Hut with a large amount of stores, but no clothing +or equipment and only a few sledges. +<p align="center"><br> +(4) DEPOTS SOUTH OF HUT POINT +<p><br> +In spite of the fact that several depots have been laid to the +south of Hut Point on the Barrier, the last being at the Gap (the +entrance to the Beardmore Glacier), no future Expedition should +depend on them as the heavy snowfall obliterates them completely. +There is no record of the depots of any Expedition being made use +of by any subsequent Expedition. No party in any of my +Expeditions has used any depot laid down by a previous Expedition.<br><br> +<hr> +<center><h2><a name="25">INDEX</a></h2></center> +<p><br><blockquote> +Adare, Cape<br> +Admiralty<br> + Range<br> +Agag<br> +Aitken<br> +Albatross<br> +Allardyce Range<br> +Allen, James<br> +Amphipods<br> +Amundsen<br> + (dog)<br> +“Ancient Mariner,” <br> +Animal life in Weddell Sea<br> + <i>See also</i> Penguins Seals <i>and</i> Bird life<br> +Annewkow Island<br> +Antarctic Circle<br> + Derby<br> +Argentine<br> +Armitage, Cape<br> + Lieut.<br> +Atmospheric effects<br> + <i>See also</i> Mirage <i>and</i> Sun<br> +Attempt to cut ship out<br> +<i>Aurora,</i> <br> +Aurora Australis<br> +Australia +<p> +Bakewell<br> +Barne Glacier<br> +Barrier<br> + Great Ice<br> + surface<br> +Beardmore Glacier<br> +Beaufort Island<br> +Belgica Straits<br> +Bergs<br> +Bergschrund<br> +Bernsten, Mr.<br> +Bird life in Weddell Sea<br> +Black Island<br> +Blackborrow<br> +Blizzards, severe<br> +Blue Ice Glacier<br> +Bluff<br> + depot<br> +Boats<br> +Bovril<br> +British territory<br> +Brocklehurst, Capt. H. Courtney<br> +Browning<br> +Bruce, Dr. W. S.<br> +Buenos Ayres<br> +Burberry clothing<br> +Butler Point depot +<p> +Caird Coast<br> + Sir James<br> +<i>Caird, James</i> (boat)<br> +Candlemas Volcano<br> +Cape Barne<br> + Bernacchi<br> + Bird<br> + Cotter<br> + Crozier<br> + Evans<br> + Horn weather<br> + Hudson<br> + pigeons<br> + Ross<br> + Royds<br> + Valentine<br> + Wild<br> +Castle Rock<br> +Cave Cove<br> +Cheetham<br> +Chile<br> +Christmas celebrations<br> +Clarence Island<br> +Clark<br> +Coal, Antarctic<br> + on deck<br> +Coats’ Land<br> +Con (dog)<br> +Cook<br> +Cope<br> +Corner Camp<br> +Coulman Islands<br> +Crean<br> +Current meter<br> +Cyclone +<p> +Danger Islands<br> +Davis, Captain John K.<br> +Daylight saving<br> +Deception Islands<br> +<i>Diatoms</i><br> +<i>Discovery</i><br> +Discovery Bay<br> + Mount<br> +Distances, Ross Sea Party<br> +Dog-pemmican<br> +Dogs<br> +Dominican gulls<br> +Dudley Docker Mr.<br> +<i>Dudley Docker</i> (boat)<br> +Dunlop Island<br> +Dump Camp +<p> +Eclipse of moon<br> +Elephant Island<br> +<i>Emma</i><br> +Empire Day celebrations<br> +<i>Encyclopaedia Britannica</i><br> +Enderby Land<br> +<i>Endurance</i><br> + abandoned<br> + beset<br> + crushed<br> + sunk<br> +Erebus Mount<br> +Expedition ships<br> + first made public<br> + Mawson<br> + Scott<br> + Shackleton<br> + Swedish +<p> +Falkland Islands<br> + Wireless listened for<br> +Farthest South<br> + Scott’s<br> +Filchner<br> +Financial help, appeal for<br> + failure to materialize<br> + promised<br> +Fish, dead<br> + from sea-leopard<br> + new species<br> +Föhn effect<br> +Fortuna Bay<br> + Glacier<br> +Franklin Island +<p> +Galley<br> +Gallipoli<br> +Garrard, Mr. Cherry<br> +Gaze<br> +Girling tractor-motor<br> +Glacier Bay<br> + Tongue<br> +<i>Glasgow</i>, H.M.S.<br> +Gold<br> +Graham Land<br> +Greenstreet<br> +Grytviken<br> +Gunner (dog) +<p> +Half-way Camp<br> +Harding, Mr.<br> +<i>Harpoon</i><br> +Hayward<br> +Hercules (dog)<br> +Hobart<br> +Holness<br> +Hooke<br> +Hope Bay<br> + Mountain<br> +Howe<br> +Hudson<br> +Hurley<br> +Hurtado, Admiral Muñoz<br> +Hussey<br> +Husvik<br> +Hut, Cape Evans<br> + Cape Royds<br> + Elephant Island<br> + at Hut Point;<br> +Hut Point +<p> +Ice-blink<br> +Ice-hole<br> +Inaccessible Island<br> +<i>Instituto de Pesca</i> +<p> +Jack<br> +Jaeger sleeping-bags<br> +James<br> +Joinville Land<br> +Joyce +<p> +Kavenagh<br> +Kelvin sounding machine<br> +Kerr<br> +Khyber Pass<br> +Killer whales<br> +King Haakon Bay<br> +King George V, flag<br> + to inspect <i>Endurance</i><br> + telegram from<br> + telegram to +<p> +Lambton, Miss Elizabeth Dawson<br> +Lamps<br> +Larkman<br> +Leap Year Day<br> +Leith<br> +Lucas sounding machine<br> +Luitpold Land<br> +<i>Lusitania</i> +<p> +Mackintosh<br> +Macklin<br> +Macquarie Island<br> +Magnetic Pole<br> + storm<br> + variation<br> +Magellan Straits<br> +Marston<br> +Mauger<br> +McCarthy<br> +McDonald, Allen<br> +McIlroy<br> +McLeod<br> +McMurdo Sound<br> +McNab, Dr.<br> +McNeish<br> +Meteorology<br> +Midwinter’s Day celebrations<br> +Minna Bluff<br> +Mirage<br> +Montevideo<br> +Morell Land<br> +Morell’s Farthest South<br> +Motor crawler<br> + sledge<br> + tractor<br> +Mount Haddington<br> + Melbourne<br> + Murchison<br> + Sabine<br> +Mugridge<br> +Mutton Island +<p> +New South Greenland<br> +New Year Island<br> +New Zealand<br> +Nigger (dog)<br> +<i>Nimrod</i><br> +Ninnis<br> +Nordenskjold<br> + Ice Tongue<br> +North Polar Basin<br> +Norwegian Whalers<br> +Nurse Cavell +<p> +Orde-Lees<br> +<i>Orita</i><br> +<i>Orwell</i><br> +Oscar (dog) +<p> +Pack-ice<br> + described<br> + <i>See also</i> Pressure<br> +Paddies<br> +Pardo, Captain Luis<br> +Paulet Island<br> +Peak Berg<br> + Foreman<br> +Peggotty Camp<br> +Penguins<br> + Adelie<br> + Emperor<br> + Gentoo<br> + Ringed<br> +Peter (dog)<br> +Petrels<br> + <i>See also</i> Bird life<br> +Pinkey (dog)<br> +<i>Plankton</i><br> +Pompey (dog)<br> +Porpoises<br> +Port Chalmers<br> +Positions<br> +Possession Bay<br> + Islands<br> +Potash and Perlmutter<br> +Pram Point<br> +Pressure in Ross Sea<br> + in Weddell Sea<br> + <i>See also</i> Pack-ice<br> +Prince George Island<br> +Programme of Expedition<br> +Public Schools<br> +Punta Arenas<br> +Pups +<p> +Queen Alexandra +<p> +<i>Radiolaria</i><br> +Rain<br> +Rats on South Georgia<br> +Rampart Berg<br> +Razorback Island<br> +Reeling Berg<br> +Refraction, <i>See</i> Atmospheric effects<br> +Reindeer<br> +Richards<br> +Rickenson<br> +Rio Secco<br> +Rocky Mountain Depot<br> +Ross<br> + Island<br> + Sea<br> + Sea Party<br> +Royal Geographical Society<br> +Ryan, Lieut. R.N.R. +<p> +Safety Camp<br> +Saint (dog)<br> +Sally (dog)<br> +Samson (dog)<br> +Sanders Island<br> +Santiago<br> +Saunders, Edward<br> +Scientific observations commenced<br> + work proposed<br> +<i>Scotia</i><br> +Scott<br> +Sea-elephants<br> +Sea-leopard<br> +Seal blubber<br> + meat<br> +Seals<br> + Crab-eater<br> + Ross<br> + Weddell<br> +Semaphore for sledging parties<br> + on bridge<br> +Shags<br> +Shackleton, Sir E.<br> +Shoaling, of sea-floor<br> +Shore party<br> +Sledging parties, proposed<br> +Snapper (dog)<br> +Snow Hill<br> +Soldier (dog)<br> +Sorlle, Mr.<br> +South Georgia<br> + Orkneys<br> + Sandwich Group<br> +<i>Southern Sky</i><br> +Spencer-Smith<br> +Splitting ice-floes<br> +Stained Berg<br> +Stancomb Wills, Dame Janet<br> +<i>Stancomb Wills</i> (boat)<br> +Stenhouse<br> +Stevens<br> +Stove<br> +Stromness<br> +Sue (dog)<br> +Sun disappears<br> + <i>See also</i> Atmospheric effects<br> +Swell +<p> +Temperature, air<br> + sea<br> +Tent Island<br> +Tents<br> + orderlies<br> +Terns, <i>See also</i> Bird life<br> +Terriss, Ellaline<br> +“The Ritz”<br> +Thom, Captain<br> +Thompson<br> +Tide-rip<br> +Tobacco substitutes<br> +Towser (dog)<br> +Transcontinental party<br> +Tripp, Mr. Leonard<br> +Talloch, Mr.<br> +Turk’s Head +<p> +Uruguayan Government +<p> +Vahsel Bay<br> +Victoria Mountains<br> +Vincent<br> +Vinie’s Hill<br> +Virol +<p> +Wave, enormous<br> +Weddell Sea<br> + ice conditions in<br> + plateau<br> + winds in<br> +Weather at Cape Evans<br> + at Elephant Island<br> + at Ocean Camp<br> + at Patience Camp, <i>See also</i> Temperatures<br> +Western Mountains<br> +Whales<br> + blue<br> + humpback and finner seen<br> + sperm<br> +Wilhelmina Bay<br> +Willywaw<br> +Winston Churchill<br> +Wild, Ernest<br> + Frank<br> +Wordie<br> +Worsley<br> +Wreckage at South Georgia +<p> +Yaks<br> +<i>Yelcho</i><br> +Young, Mr. Douglas<br> +Young Island +</blockquote> +<hr size="3" noshade></DIV> +<PRE>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, SOUTH *** + +This file should be named south12h.htm +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, south13h.htm +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, south10a.htm + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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