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diff --git a/old/60948-8.txt b/old/60948-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index ec9e517..0000000 --- a/old/60948-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6448 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Last Secrets, by John Buchan - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Last Secrets - The Final Mysteries of Exploration - -Author: John Buchan - -Release Date: December 17, 2019 [EBook #60948] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAST SECRETS *** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines - - - - - - - - -[Frontispiece: The Summit of Mount Everest. (_By permission of the -Mount Everest Committee._)] - - - - - THE LAST SECRETS - - The Final Mysteries of Exploration - - - By JOHN BUCHAN - - - - THOMAS NELSON AND SONS, LTD. - LONDON, EDINBURGH, AND NEW YORK - - - - - _First Impression, September 1923_ - - - PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN AT - THE PRESS OF THE PUBLISHERS - - - - - TO THE MEMORY OF - BRIG.-GEN. CECIL RAWLING, C.M.G., C.I.E. - WHO FELL AT THE THIRD BATTLE OF YPRES - AN INTREPID EXPLORER - A GALLANT SOLDIER - AND THE BEST OF FRIENDS - - - - -PREFACE - -The first two decades of the twentieth century will rank as a most -distinguished era in the history of exploration, for during them many -of the great geographical riddles of the world have been solved. -This book contains a record of some of the main achievements. What -Nansen said of Polar exploration is true of all exploration; its -story is a "mighty manifestation of the power of the Unknown over the -mind of man." The Unknown, happily, will be always with us, for -there are infinite secrets in a blade of grass, and an eddy of wind, -and a grain of dust, and human knowledge will never attain that -finality when the sense of wonder shall cease. But to the ordinary -man there is an appeal in large, bold, and obvious conundrums, which -is lacking in the _minutić_ of research. Thousands of square miles -of the globe still await surveying and mapping, but most of the -exploration of the future will be the elucidation of details. The -main lines of the earth's architecture have been determined, and the -task is now one of amplifying our knowledge of the groyning and -buttresses and stone-work. There are no more unvisited forbidden -cities, or unapproached high mountains, or unrecorded great rivers. - - "The world is disenchanted; oversoon - Must Europe send her spies through all the land." - -It is in a high degree improbable that many geographical problems -remain, the solving of which will come upon the mind with the -overwhelming romance of the unveilings we have been privileged to -witness. The explorer's will still be a noble trade, but it will be -a filling up of gaps in a framework of knowledge which we already -possess. The morning freshness has gone out of the business, and we -are left with the plodding duties of the afternoon. - -Some of the undertakings described in these pages have not been -completed. The foot of man has not yet stood on the last snows of -Everest, or on the summit of Carstensz. One notable discovery I have -not dealt with--the great Turfan Depression in the heart of Central -Asia, far below the sea level, the existence of which was first -established by the Russian, Roborowski, before the close of last -century, and the details of which have been described by Sir Aurel -Stein in his _Ruins of Desert Cathay_ and _Serindia_. But Sir -Aurel's interest was chiefly in the antiquities of the place, and the -more strictly geographical results have not yet been given to the -world. Today, if we survey the continents, we find nothing of which -the main features have not been already expounded. The Amazon basin -might be regarded as an exception, and only a little while ago men -dreamed of discovering among the wilds of the Bolivian frontier the -remains, perhaps even the survival, of an ancient civilization. It -would appear that these dreams are baseless. The late President -Roosevelt did, indeed, succeed in putting upon the map a new river, -the Rio Roosevelt, 1,500 kilometres long, of which the upper course -was entirely unknown, and the lower course explored only by a few -rubber collectors--a river which is the chief affluent of the -Madeira, which is itself the chief affluent of the Amazon. But now -all the tributaries have been traced, and though there is much -unexplored ground in the Amazon valley, it consists of forest tracts -lying between the rivers, all more or less alike in their general -character, and with nothing to repay the explorer except their flora -and fauna. Africa is now an open book, even though many parts have -been little travelled. The map of Asia alone holds one blank patch -which may well be the last of the great secrets--the Desert of -Southern Arabia, which lies between Yemen and Oman, 800 by 500 miles -of waterless sands. Long ago there were routes athwart it, and -hidden in its recesses some great news may await the traveller. But -its crossing will be a hazardous affair for whoever undertakes it, -since he will have to lean upon the frail reed of milk camels for -food and transport. For the rest, the problems are now of survey and -scientific enquiry rather than of exploration in the grand manner. - -I have many acknowledgments to make. My thanks are due in the first -place to Mr. Charles Turley Smith, who has contributed the chapters -on Arctic and Antarctic Exploration, subjects on which he is -specially equipped to write; and, in order to put the conquest of the -two Poles in its proper light, has supplied a sketch of the long -story of Polar exploration. I am deeply indebted to Mr. Arthur R. -Hinks, the Secretary, and to Mr. Edward Heawood, the Librarian, of -the Royal Geographical Society for their help and advice. I have -also to express my thanks to Messrs. Constable and Company for -permission to reproduce illustrations and to quote from works -published by them; to Major G. H. Putnam and Messrs. Seeley, Service, -and Company for the same kindness; to Major F. M. Bailey, C.I.E., the -British Political Officer in Sikkim, for the story of the Brahmaputra -Gorges; and to my friends of the Mount Everest Committee for their -assent to my use of their beautiful photographs of that mountain. - -J. B. - - - - -CONTENTS - -I. Lhasa - -II. The Gorges of the Brahmaputra - -III. The North Pole - -IV. The Mountains of the Moon - -V. The South Pole - -VI. Mount McKinley - -VII. The Holy Cities of Islam - -VIII. The Exploration of New Guinea - -IX. Mount Everest - - - - -LIST OF PLATES - -The Summit of Mount Everest ... _Frontispiece_ - -View of the Potala Monastery at Lhasa, with the Chortan in the -foreground - -Ruwenzori from the Hill near Kaibo - -The Valley to the West of Mount Baker - -Mount McKinley: View of the Southern Approach - -The Summit of Mount McKinley - -View of Medina - -View of Mecca - -New Guinea Canoes - -New Guinea Pygmies contrasted with ordinary Natives - -The _massif_ of Mount Everest - -The Chang La from the Lhakpa La, with Mount Everest on the left - - - -LIST OF MAPS - -The Expedition to Lhasa - -The Gorges of the Brahmaputra - -North Polar Regions - -The Peaks and Valleys of Ruwenzori - -The Route to Ruwenzori - -South Polar Regions - -Mount McKinley - -Wavell's Journey to Mecca - -The Exploration of New Guinea - -The Route of the Mount Everest Expedition - - - - -I - -LHASA - - - - -LHASA - -(_Map_, p. 24.) - -Till the summer of 1904 if one had been asked what was the most -mysterious spot on the earth's surface the reply would have been -Lhasa. It was a place on which no Englishman had cast an eye for a -hundred years and no white man for more than half a century. In our -prosaic modern world there remained one city among the clouds about -which no tale was too strange for belief. The greatest of mountain -barriers shut it off from the south, and on the north it was guarded -by leagues of waterless desert. Explorer after explorer had set out -on the quest, but all had stopped short before the golden roofs of -the sacred city could be seen from any hill-top. Even in early days -the place had never been explored, for the visitors had been -jealously watched and hurried quickly away. In the Potala might be -treasures of a culture long hidden to the world, lost treatises of -Aristotle, unknown Greek poems, relics, perhaps, of the mystic -kingdom of Kubla Khan, riches of gold and jewels drawn from the four -corners of Asia..... - -And then suddenly in 1904 we went there, not as apologetic travellers -taken by side paths, but as an armed force marching along the highway -to the very heart of the mystery, and letting loose at once upon the -world a flood of accurate knowledge. For a moment we were carried -centuries away from high politics and every modern invention, and -were back in the great ages of discovery: with the Portuguese in -their quest for Ophir or Prester John, or with Raleigh looking for -Manoa the Golden. It was impossible for the least sentimental to -avoid a certain regret for the drawing back of that curtain which had -meant so much to the imagination of mankind. The shrinkage of the -world goes on so fast, our horizon grows so painfully clear, that the -old untiring wonder which cast its glamour over the ways of our -predecessors is vanishing from the lives of their descendants. With -the unveiling of Lhasa fell the last stronghold of the older romance. - - - -I - -Tibet had always been a forbidden land, and, as a rule, adventurers -only penetrated its fringes. Somewhere about the year 1328 a certain -Friar Odoric of Pordenone, travelling from Cathay, is said to have -entered Lhasa; and in the middle of the sixteenth century, Fernao -Mendes Pinto may have reached it. In 1661 the Jesuits, Grueber and -D'Orville, made a journey from Peking to Lhasa, and thence by way of -Nepal into India. In the early part of the eighteenth century there -was a temporary unveiling, and a Capuchin Mission was established in -the Holy City. Various Jesuits also reached the place, notably one -Desideri; and in 1730 came Samuel Van der Putte, a Doctor of Laws of -Leiden, who stayed long enough to learn the language. In 1745 the -Capuchin Mission came to an end, and the curtain descended. In 1774 -George Bogle of the East India Company was in Tibet on a mission from -Warren Hastings, but the first Englishman did not reach Lhasa till -1811, when Thomas Manning, of Caius College, Cambridge, a friend of -Charles Lamb, arrived and stayed for five months on his unsuccessful -journey from Calcutta to Peking. Till 1904 Manning was the solitary -Englishman who was known for certain to have entered the sacred city, -though there was a tale of one William Moorcroft reaching the place -in 1826, and living there for twelve years in disguise. In 1844 the -French missionaries, Huc and Gabet, reached Lhasa from China, and -recorded their experiences in one of the most delightful of all books -of travel. They were the last Europeans to have the privilege up to -the entry of the British army. But throughout the last half of the -nineteenth century Indian natives in the Government service were -employed in the survey of Tibet, men of the type of the Babu whom Mr. -Kipling has described in _Kim_. The whole business was kept strictly -secret. The agents were known only by the letters of the alphabet, -and when they crossed the Tibetan borders they were aware that they -had passed beyond the protection of the British Raj. More than one -reached Lhasa by fantastic routes, with the result that the Indian -Government had accurate information about the city filed in its -archives, while the world at large knew the place only from the story -of Huc and Gabet, and from the drawing of the Potala made by Grueber -in the seventeenth century. - -Of the later European travellers none reached the capital. Mr. -Littledale in 1895 was not stopped by the Tibetan authorities till he -was within fifty miles of the city, and Sven Hedin in 1901 got within -fourteen days of Lhasa from the north. But meantime events were -happening which were to impel the Government of India to interfere -more actively in Tibetan policy than by merely sending native agents -to collect news. The traditional policy was to preserve Tibet as a -sanctuary, but a sanctuary is only a sanctuary if all the neighbours -combine to hold it inviolate. - -In 1903 the position of Britain and Tibet was like that of a big boy -at school who is tormented by an impertinent youngster. He bears it -for some time, but at last is compelled to administer chastisement. -The Convention of 1890 and the Trade Regulations of 1893 were -outraged by the Tibetans in many of their provisions; our letters of -protest were returned unopened; and, since news travels fast upon the -frontier, our protected peoples began to wonder what made the British -Raj so tolerant of ill-treatment. This was bad enough for our -prestige in the East, but the danger became acute when we discovered -that the Dalai Lama was in treaty with Russia, and that an avowed -Russian agent, one Dorjieff, was in residence at his court. The two -powers in Lhasa were the Dalai Lama, who speedily fell under Russian -influence, and the Tsong-du, or Council, composed of representatives -of the great priestly caste, who suspected all innovations, and were -in favour of maintaining the traditional policy of exclusion against -Russia and Britain alike. China, though the nominal suzerain, was -impotent, her Viceroy, the Amban, being partially insulted by both -parties. - -In these circumstances Britain could only make her arrangements by -going direct to headquarters. Dorjieff had played his cards with -great skill, and seemed to be winning everywhere. The Dalai Lama was -wholly with him, and had received from the Tsar a complete set of -vestments of a Bishop of the Greek Church. The Russian monarch was -recognized as a Bodisat incarnation, representing no less a person -than Tsong-kapa, the Luther of Lamaism; and Russia was popularly -believed to be a Buddhist Power, or, at any rate, the sworn protector -of the Buddhist faith. It is difficult to overestimate the -significance of these doings; but at the same time Russian influence -was rather potential than actual. The Cossacks who accompanied Sven -Hedin were headed off from the Holy City as vigorously as any English -explorer, and the tales of arming with Russian rifles which filtered -through to India were rather intelligent anticipations than records -of facts. - -There were thus two parties in Tibet pulling against each other, but -both in different ways hostile to our interests. The Dalai Lama and -Dorjieff favoured a departure from the traditional Tibetan policy in -favour of Russia. The Tsong-du and the Lamaist hierarchy in general -were all for exclusion, but in their wilfulness declined to observe -treaties or behave with neighbourly honesty. This internal strife, -which alone made possible the success of our expedition, also made -its dispatch inevitable, for neither party was prepared to listen to -any argument but force. Few enterprises have ever been undertaken by -Britain more unwillingly, and her decision was only arrived at under -the compulsion of stark necessity. There were many who reprobated -what they assumed to be a violation of the sacred places of an -ancient, pure, and pacific religion. But there was no need for -compunction on that score, since Lamaism was the grossest perversion -of Buddhism in all Asia. Spiritually it had more kinship with the -aboriginal devil-worship of Tibet than the gentle creed of Gautama. -Practically it was a political tyranny of monks, who battened upon a -mild and industrious population and ruled them with coarse -theological terrors. Our reception by the monasteries was -sufficiently gruff; but to the common people we came rather in the -guise of friends. - -In July, 1903, Colonel Younghusband, as he then was, Mr. White, and -Captain O'Connor went to Khamba Jong, a place in Southern Tibet, just -north of Sikkim. There they met the Abbot of Tashilhunpo and certain -emissaries from Lhasa, but nothing could be done; and, with the -concurrence of the Indian Office, it was arranged that a Mission -should go to Gyangtse, the chief town of Southern Tibet, accompanied -by a small escorting force. While troops were being collected, the -Commissioner, Colonel Younghusband, went to Tuna, on the bleak plain -above the Tang La, where he waited through three weary winter months. -Meanwhile General Macdonald, a soldier who had had a distinguished -record in Central Africa, took up his quarters at Chumbi, while Major -Bretherton, the chief transport and supply officer, accumulated -stores in that valley and prepared the line of communications. Those -were anxious months of waiting for the Mission, for the Tibetans were -in force in the neighbourhood, and daily threatened to attack the -small post; but nothing happened till the escort joined them in the -end of March, 1904, and all things were ready for the advance. - -[Illustration: The Expedition to Lhasa.] - -It is worth while looking back upon the road to Tuna from the plains -of Bengal, surely one of the most wonderful of the Great North Roads -of the world. At Siliguri the little toy railway to Darjeeling runs -up the hill-side; but the path for the troops lay along the gorge of -the Teesta River, through forests of sal and gurjun, which give place -in turn to teak and bamboo, till the altitude increases and the -tree-fern and rhododendron take their places, and at last the pines -are reached and the fringe of the snows is near. From the glorious -sub-tropical vegetation of Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim, the road -runs through difficult ravines till it passes the tree-line at Lagyap -and climbs over the frozen summit of the Natu La. From this point -Tibet is visible, with the majestic snows of Chumulhari hanging like -a cloud in the north. Then you descend to the Chumbi valley, the -Debatable Land of Tibet, where stands Ta-Karpo, the great White Rock -which recalls a famous passage in the Odyssey. Right under -Chumulhari and just south of the Tang La, lies Phari Jong, the first -of the minor Tibetan fortalices, which looks as if it were a bad copy -of some European model. A little farther and you are over the pass -and on the great plateau of Tuna, where icy winds blow from the hills -and drive the gritty soil in blizzards about the traveller. There -are few places in the world where in so short a time so complete a -climatic and scenic change can be experienced. - - - -II - -On the 31st March the expedition left Tuna; and after an unfortunate -encounter with the Tibetans, which cost the latter many lives, and in -which Mr. Edmund Candler, the distinguished war correspondent, was -wounded, the enemy made a further stand at Red Idol Gorge. Nothing -of importance, however, occurred till the town of Gyangtse was -reached and occupied without a shot. Very soon it became apparent -that no more could be done here than at Khamba Jong, and the -Government of India were obliged to sanction a farther advance to -Lhasa. For this preparations must be made; so the Commissioner, with -a small escort, took up his quarters at Gyangtse, while General -Macdonald returned to Chumbi for reinforcements. The jong was found -to be deserted, but, unfortunately, was neither held nor destroyed, -the Mission residing in the plain below. - -At first the waiting among those iris-clad meadows was pleasant and -idyllic enough; the country people brought abundant supplies, and -members of the staff rode through the neighbourhood and had tea with -various dignitaries of the Church; but early in May things took a -turn for the worse. It was reported that the Tibetans were -fortifying the Karo La, the next pass on the Lhasa road; and, since -it is the first principle of frontier warfare to strike quickly, -Colonel Brander was dispatched with the larger part of the garrison -to disperse them. He performed the task with conspicuous success, -and the incident is remarkable for one of the strangest pieces of -fighting in our military history. It was necessary to enfilade a -sangar in which the enemy was ensconced, and a native officer, -Wassawa Singh, with twelve Gurkhas, was detached for the work. They -climbed by means of cracks and chimneys up a 1,500 feet cliff--an -exploit which would have done credit to any Alpine club, even if the -climbers had not been cumbered with weapons, exposed to fire, and -labouring at a height of nearly 19,000 feet. - -During the engagement disquieting news arrived from Gyangtse that the -jong had been reoccupied by the enemy and that the Mission was -undergoing a continuous bombardment. Colonel Brander hurried back, -to find that the world had moved fast in his absence, and that there -was a new type of Tibetan army to be faced--a type possessed of both -dash and persistence, with some notion of strategy, and with guns -which, at short range, could do real execution. So began the -blockade of the Mission house; an imperfect blockade, for the -telegraph wires remained intact, the mail was delivered with fair -regularity, and the besieged endured no special privations. "The -honours," says Mr. Perceval Landon,* "were pretty evenly divided. -Neither the Tibetans nor we were able to storm the other's defences; -a mutual fusillade compelled each side to protect its occupants by an -elaborate system of traverses; and straying beyond the narrow tracts -of the fortifications was, on either side, severely discouraged by -the other." - - -* _Lhasa_, by Perceval Landon. - - -An attempt to cut our communications failed, and by the capture of -Pala the garrison greatly strengthened its position. Our troops had -an experience of the type of fighting which has scarcely been known -since the great sackings of the Thirty Years' War. In an upland -country we expect attacks on fortified hilltops, and long-range -encounters, such as we saw in South Africa. But in an episode like -the capture of Naini, it was medićval street fighting that we had to -face. The Castle of Otranto provided no more endless labyrinths than -those Tibetan monasteries. "Bands of desperate swordsmen were found -in knots under trap-doors and behind sharp turnings. They would not -surrender, and had to be killed by rifle shots fired at a distance of -a few feet." - -On the 26th June General Macdonald arrived with a relieving force, -and soon after came the Tongsa Penlop, the temporal ruler of Bhutan, -a genial potentate in rich vari-coloured robes and a Homburg hat. -The Tibetan offensive had weakened, but the jong had to be taken -before the Mission could advance. Down the middle of the precipitous -south-eastern face of the great rock ran a deep fissure, across which -walls had been built. It was decided to breach these walls by our -gun fire and then to attack by way of the cleft. The actual assault -was a brilliant and intrepid exploit, for which Lieutenant Grant of -the 8th Gurkhas most deservedly received the Victoria Cross. With -our guns battering the walls above, he and his men scrambled up the -ravine, while masses of rubble poured down on them, and every now and -then carried off a man. Then the Gurkhas' bugles warned the guns to -cease, and the last climb began up a face so steep that there was no -possible shelter from the enemy's fire. By such desperate -mountaineering the invaders at last reached the wreckage of the -Tibetan wall. Grant and one of the Gurkhas were the first two men -over, and to the observers below their death seemed a certainty. -They were two against the whole enemy force in the Jong, and had the -Tibetans reserved their fire and waited at the bastions, they could -have picked off every man of the assault as his head appeared above -the breach. But the bold course proved the wise one, and presently -the garrison surrendered. Rarely has the Victoria Cross been better -earned, and it is satisfactory to know that Lieutenant Grant reaped -the reward of perfect fearlessness and received only a slight wound. - - - -III - -On the 14th July the expedition moved out from Gyangtse along the -road to Lhasa. Grass and a glory of flowers covered the glens which -led up to the Karo La. The serious fighting was over, and the second -crossing of that pass was remarkable only for the fact that some rock -platforms and caves had to be cleared by our panting troops at an -altitude of over 19,000 feet. In the rest of the story the soldier -finds little place, and the interest attaches itself to the durbars -of the Commissioner and the treasure-house of natural and artistic -wonders which the Mission was approaching. For after Gyangtse the -resistance of the Tibetans was at an end. Half-sullenly and -half-curiously they permitted our advance, delaying us a little with -fruitless negotiations, while in Lhasa the game of high politics -which the Dalai Lama had played was turning against him, and, like -another deity, he was meditating a pilgrimage. - -After the Karo La came the Yam-dok--or, as some call it, the Yu-tso -or Turquoise Lake--the most wonderful natural feature of the plateau. -Its curious shape, its pale blue waters, its shores of white sand -fringed with dog-roses and forget-me-nots, the cloud of fable which -has always brooded over it, and its august environment, make it -unique among the lakes of the world. I quote a fragment of Mr. -Landon's description:-- - - -"Below lie both the outer and the inner lakes, this following with -counter-indentations the in-and-out windings of the other's -shore-line. The mass and colour of the purple distance is Scotland -at her best--Scotland, too, in the slow drift of a slant-roofed -raincloud in among the hills. At one's feet the water is like that -of the Lake of Geneva. But the tattered outline of the beach, with -its projecting lines of needle-rocks, its wide, white curving -sandspits, its jagged islets, its precipitous spurs, and, above all, -the mysterious tarns strung one beyond another into the heart of the -hills, all these are the Yam-dok's own, and not another's. If you -are lucky, you may see the snowy slopes of To-nang gartered by the -waters, and always on the horizon are the everlasting ice-fields of -the Himalayas, bitterly ringing with argent the sun and colour of the -still blue lake. You will not ask for the added glories of a Tibetan -sunset; the grey spin and scatter of a rain-threaded afterglow, or -the tangled sweep of a thundercloud's edge against the blue, will -give you all you wish, and you will have seen the finest view in all -this strange land." - - -On the shore lies the convent of Samding, the home of the Dorje -Phagmo, or pig goddess, which was jealously respected by the troops, -since its abbess had nursed Chundra Dass, one of the adventurous -agents of the Indian Government, when he fell sick during his -travels. The present incarnation, a little girl of six, declined to -reveal herself. Nothing was more satisfactory in the whole tale of -the expedition than the way in which any service done at any time to -a British subject, white or black, met with full recognition. Such -conduct cannot have failed to have raised the prestige of the Power -which showed itself so mindful of its servants. Prestige and -reputation of a kind, indeed, we already possessed. Tibetan -monasteries had a trick of sending their most valuable belongings to -the nearest convent, for, they argued, the English do not enter -nunneries or war with women. - -[Illustration: View of the Potala Monastery at Lhasa, with the -Chortan in the foreground.] - -On July 24th the expedition crossed the Khamba La and descended to -the broad green valley of the Tsangpo. The crossing of that river, a -work of real difficulty, was made tragic by the death of Major -Bretherton, the brilliant transport officer, to whom, perhaps, more -than to any other soldier, the military success in the enterprise was -due. Not the least of the mysteries of Tibet was this secret stream, -which the traveller, after miles of bleak upland, finds flowing among -English woods and meadows. In Assam and Bengal it was the -Brahmaputra; but when it entered the hills it was as unknown to -civilized man as Alph or the Four Rivers of Eden. What its middle -course was like and how it broke through the mountain barrier were -questions which no one had answered,* nor at the time was there any -accurate knowledge of its upper valleys. - - -* See Chapter II. - - -Once on the north bank Lhasa was but a short way off, and in growing -excitement the expedition covered the last stages. It was one of the -great moments of life, and we can all understand and envy the final -hurried miles, till through the haze the eye caught the gleam of -golden roofs and white terraces. The first prospect brought no -disappointment. If the streets were squalid, they were set in a -green plain seamed with waters; trees and gardens were everywhere; -while, above, the huge Assisi-like citadel of the Potala typified the -massive secrecy of generations, and the ring of dark hills reminded -the onlooker that this garden ground was planted on the roof of the -world. - -Meanwhile the expedition set itself down outside the gates to abide -the pleasure of the sullen and perturbed masters. The deity of the -place had gone on a journey, no one quite knew whither. He had kept -his moonlight flitting a secret, and had gone off on the northern -road with Dorjieff and a small escort to claim the hospitality of his -spiritual brother of Urga. He had played his impossible game with -spirit and subtlety, and he had a pretty taste for romance in its -ending. "When one looks for mystery in Lhasa," wrote Mr. Candler, -"one's thoughts dwell solely on the Dalai Lama and the Potala. I -cannot help dwelling on the flight of the thirteenth incarnation. It -plunges us into medićvalism. To my mind there is no picture so -engrossing in modern history as that exodus when the spiritual head -of the Buddhist Church, the temporal ruler of six millions, stole out -of his palace by night, and was borne away in his palanquin." - -The romance which Mr. Candler saw in the Potala, Mr. Landon found -most conspicuously in the church of the Jo-kang. The palace was -magnificent from the outside, but within it was only a warren of -small rooms and broken stairways. The great cathedral, on the other -hand, was hidden away among trees and streets, so that its golden -roof could only be seen from a distance, but inside it was a shrine -of all that was mysterious and splendid. The contrast was -allegorical of the difference between the temporal ruler of -Lamaism--gaudy, tyrannical, and hollow--and the sway of the Buddhist -Church, which by hidden ways and unseen agencies dominated the -imagination of Asia. The Chinese Amban, having a natural desire to -pay back the people who had so grossly neglected him, invited certain -members of the Mission to enter this Holy of Holies. The visitors -were the first white men to approach the inner sanctuary of the -Buddhist faith. They were stoned on leaving the building, but the -sight was one worth risking much to see. In the central shrine sat -the great golden Buddha, roped with jewels, crowned with turquoise -and pearl, surrounded by dim rough-hewn shapes which loomed out -fitfully in the glare of the butter-lamps, while the maroon-clad -monks droned their eternal chant before the silver altar. And the -statue was as strange as its environment. - - -"For this is no ordinary presentation of the Master. The features -are smooth and almost childish; beautiful they are not, but there is -no need of beauty here. There is no trace of that inscrutable smile -which, from Mukden to Ceylon, is inseparable from our conception of -the features of the Great Teacher. Here there is nothing of the -saddened smile of the Melancholia, who has known too much and has -renounced it all as vanity. Here, instead, is the quiet happiness -and the quick capacity for pleasure of the boy who had never yet -known either pain, or disease, or death. It is Gautama as a pure and -eager prince, without any thought for the morrow or care for to-day." - - -Mr. Landon has other pictures of almost equal charm. He takes us to -the famous Ling-kor, the sacred road which encircled the town, worn -with the feet of generations of men seeking salvation. We see the -unclean abode of the Ragyabas, that strange unholy caste of beggar -scavengers; we walk in the gardens of the Lu-kang, by the -willow-fringed lake and the glades of velvet turf; and, not least, we -visit the temple of the Chief Wizard, where every form of human -torment is delicately portrayed in fresco and carving. But if we -wish to realize the savagery at the heart of this proud theocracy, we -must go with Mr. Candler to the neighbouring Depung monastery on the -quest for supplies, and see the tribe of inquisitors buzzing out like -angry wasps, and submitting only when the guns were trained on them. -For these weeks of waiting in Lhasa were an anxious time for all -concerned. Our own position was precarious in the extreme, and, had -the Lhasans once realized it, impossible. Winter was approaching, -the Government was urging the Mission to get its Treaty and come -home, and yet day after day had to pass without result, and the -Commissioner could only wait, and oppose to the obstinacy of the -monks a stronger and quieter determination. Sir Francis Younghusband -was indeed almost the only man in the Empire fitted for the task. -"He sat through every durbar," says Mr. Candler, "a monument of -patience and inflexibility, impassive as one of their own Buddhas. -Priests and councillors found that appeals to his mercy were -hopeless. He, too, had orders from his King to go to Lhasa; if he -faltered, his life also was at stake; decapitation would await him on -his return. That was the impression he purposely gave them. It -curtailed palaver. How in the name of all their Buddhas were they to -stop such a man?" - -At last on 1st September, when after a month's diplomacy the Tibetans -had only admitted two of our demands, the time came to deliver our -ultimatum. The delegates were told that if all our terms were not -accepted within a week, General Macdonald would consider the question -of using stronger arguments. Our forbearance was justified by its -results, for the opposition suddenly subsided, and we gained what we -asked without any coercion. It was a diplomatic triumph of a high -order, obtained in the face of difficulties which seemed to put -diplomacy out of the question. The final scene came on 7th -September, when in the audience chamber of the Potala the Treaty was -signed by the Commissioner, and by the acting Regent, who affixed the -seal of the Dalai Lama, the four Shapes, a representative of the -Tsong-du, and the heads of the great monasteries. Thereafter came a -limelight photograph of the gathering, and with this very modern -climax the great Asian mystery became a thing of the past. The Dalai -Lama had already been formally deposed, his spiritual powers were -transferred to our friend the Tashe Lama, and, with the Treaty in our -baggage and a real prestige in our wake, we began the homeward march. - - - -IV - -What were the results of the expedition? Geographically they -appeared a little barren, for we stuck too close to the highroad to -solve many of the greater mysteries. One fact of cardinal importance -was established: our conception of Tibet was revolutionized, and -instead of an arid plateau we learned that about one-third of it was -nearly as fertile and well-watered as Kashmir. For the rest, the two -most interesting expeditions were forbidden--down the Brahmaputra to -Assam, and to the mountains, nine days north of Lhasa, which had -formed the southern limit of Sven Hedin's exploration. One valuable -expedition was, however, undertaken. Western Tibet had hitherto been -the best known part of the tableland, and now our knowledge of it was -linked on to the Lhasan district. On 10th October Captains Ryder, -Rawling, and Wood, and Lieutenant Bailey,* with six Gurkhas, left -Gyangtse, and made their way by Shigatse up the Tsangpo. They -explored the river to its source, and, passing the great Manasarowar -lakes, arrived at Gartok, on the Upper Indus. Thence they entered -the Sutlej valley, and, crossing the Shipki Pass of over 18,000 feet, -reached Simla in the first week of January 1905. Much was added also -to our knowledge of the Himalaya. The fact was established that the -old report of northern rivals to Everest was unfounded; and, -moreover, the highest mountain in the world was seen from the -northern side, where the slopes are easier, and the possibility of an -attempt on it occurred to various minds--a hope which seventeen years -later was realized.** - - -* See Chapter II. - -** See Chapter IX. - - -On the political side the true achievement was not the formal Treaty, -but the going to Lhasa. We taught the Tibetans that their mysterious -capital could not be shut against our troops, and that Russian -promises were less real than British performances. We showed -ourselves strong, and, above all things, humane, and we earned -respect, and, it would also appear, a kind of affection. When the -venerable Regent solemnly blessed the Commissioner and General -Macdonald for their clemency, and presented each with a golden image -of Buddha--an honour rarely granted to the faithful, and never before -to an unbeliever--he gave expression to the general feeling of the -people. - -Tibet was enveloped once more in its old seclusion--a deeper -seclusion, indeed, since we guaranteed it. A final result was that -we vindicated our claim to protect our subjects and those who served -us. We took our Gurkhas into the forbidden land, which their native -traditions had invested with a miraculous power, and showed them the -truth. As for Bhutan, up to 1904 it was as obscure as Tibet and its -people were strangers. They were now, in the Commissioner's phrase, -"our enthusiastic allies." Their ruler in his Homburg hat joined us -in the march, and acted as master of ceremonies in introducing us to -the Lhasa notables. - -Nearly twenty years have passed, and much water has since run under -the bridges. In 1906 China adhered to the Treaty, and in 1907 came -the Anglo-Russian Convention which provided for the secluding of the -country by both Powers, and recognized China's suzerain rights. In -1909 the Dalai Lama, who had been restored, was ejected by Chinese -troops, and in 1910 he was at Darjeeling, a refugee claiming our -hospitality. Once again he was reinstated, and he has ever since -been a faithful ally of Britain. At the outbreak of the Great War he -offered 1,000 Tibetan troops, and informed the King that lamas -through the length and breadth of Tibet were praying for the success -of the British arms and for the happiness of the souls of the fallen. - -Since 1904 both China and Russia have crumbled into anarchy. There -is no peril to India through the eastern Himalayan passes, and the -strategic importance of Tibet has dwindled. It is still a forbidden -country, but it is no longer a secret one. Posts run regularly to -Lhasa, and a telegraph line has been laid to that mysterious capital. -But it is mysterious only by a literary convention. The true mystery -is gone; the secret, such as it was, has been revealed, and the human -mind can no longer play with the unknown. Childe Roland had reached -the dark tower and found it not so marvellous after all. It is hard -not to sympathize with Mr. Candler's plaint: "There are no more -forbidden cities which men have not mapped and photographed. Our -children will laugh at modern travellers' tales. They will have to -turn again to Gulliver and Haroun al Raschid. And they will soon -tire of these. For now that there are no real mysteries, no unknown -land of dreams, where there may still be genii and mahatmas and -bottle-imps, that kind of literature will be tolerated no longer. -Children will be sceptical and matter-of-fact and disillusioned, and -there will be no sale for fairy stories any more. But we ourselves -are children. Why could we not have left at least one city out of -bounds?" - -These reflections do not detract from the romance of the expedition -itself and the privilege of the fortunate men who shared in it. For -them it was assuredly a great adventure--one which could never be -repeated. It may be summed up, as Mr. Landon has summed it up, in -certain famous lines from the _Odyssey_ which have not only a curious -local application, but embody the true spirit of the adventure:-- - - "Over the tides of Ocean on they pressed, - On past the great White Rock beside the stream, - On, till, through God's high bastions east and west, - They reached the plains with pale-starred iris dressed, - And found at last the folk of whom men dream." - - - - -II - -THE GORGES OF THE BRAHMAPUTRA - - - -THE GORGES OF THE BRAHMAPUTRA - -(_Map_, p. 48.) - -Fifty years ago one of the questions most debated among geographers -was the origin of the Brahmaputra. The great river, navigable for -800 miles from its mouth, was familiar enough in its course through -the plains of India; but it flowed from the wild Abor country, and no -part of the Indian borders was less known than those north-eastern -foothills. Meantime in Tibet, north of the main chain of the -Himalayas, there was a large river, the Tsangpo, flowing from west to -east. Did the Tsangpo ultimately become the Brahmaputra, or did it -flow into the Irrawadi, or even into the Yang-tse Kiang? All three -views were held, but there was no evidence to decide between them. - -In 1874 a native explorer, the pundit Nain Singh, started on his -famous journey from Leh to Lhasa, and was instructed, if possible, to -follow the Tsangpo and see where it went. He reached Lhasa, and on -his return struck the Tsangpo at Tsetang, well to the east of the -point where the British expedition crossed in 1904. He followed its -course for thirty miles farther down, but was prevented from -continuing his journey and compelled to return by the direct route to -India. In 1878 another native explorer, G.M.N., seems to have -followed the Tsangpo down as far as Gyala, which is not far from the -point where the river turns sharply to the south, but his reports -were not considered reliable. In 1884 another native, Kinthup, -succeeded in following the Tsangpo to a point called Pemakochung. -There he found an enormous gorge, and was compelled to make a detour -out to the north and east, rejoining the stream where it entered the -Abor country. Kinthup's report was of the highest interest. He had -stood at the beginning of an apparently impassable gorge, and he -reported a fall at Pemakochung of 150 feet. He was, however, quite -illiterate and was only able to make his report from memory, and it -presently appeared that the height might be only 50 feet, and that -the higher fall was not in the main stream but in a small tributary. -One fact, however, of the utmost importance had been established by -his expedition. The Tsangpo was beyond reasonable doubt the -Brahmaputra in its upper course. - -[Illustration: The Gorges of the Brahmaputra.] - -The Lhasa expedition in 1904 would fain have traced the river to the -plains had not the Government interposed a veto. In the years that -followed, the source of the Tsangpo was discovered by Captain -Rawling. In 1911 the Abor expedition increased our knowledge of the -course of the Brahmaputra right up to the skirts of the main range. -The problem now was not the linking up of the Tsangpo and the -Brahmaputra, but what happened to the river in the hairpin bend -between Pemakochung and its debouchment in the Abor valleys. The -elevation of the stream at the point where the main road to Lhasa -crossed it was in the neighbourhood of 12,000 feet. From there as -far as Pemakochung we knew that there was no very great loss in -altitude, but when the Brahmaputra appeared in the Abor foothills it -was only between 1,000 and 2,000 feet above the sea. The stretch of -unknown course was perhaps 200 miles, and in that section the river -broke through the main range of the Himalaya. It was possible--nay, -it was probable--that somewhere in those gorges, which Kinthup had -thought impassable, lay hidden the most tremendous waterfall in the -world. - -The secret of the Brahmaputra gorges was one of the topics that most -fascinated geographers between the years 1904 and 1913. In that -latter year the mystery was solved, and the _ignotum_ proved not to -be the _magnificum_. This is the story of the solution. - - -The course of the Brahmaputra through Assam is roughly from -north-east to south-west, but at a place called Sadiya the main -stream, there known as the Dihang, turns sharply to the north. At -that point, too, it receives an important tributary on its left bank -called the Dibang. During the winter of 1912-13 Captain F. M. -Bailey, an officer of the Indian Political Service, was employed by -the Government to survey the Dibang basin, while another party had -gone through the Abor country to survey the Dihang. Early in 1913 -Captain Bailey and Captain Morshead of the Royal Engineers collected -what stores they could and started off from the village of Mipi on -the upper waters of the Dibang. Their aim was to cross into the -Dihang valley, and to follow the river upstream to the Tibetan -plateau. Captain Bailey had been with the Lhasa expedition, and had -had a long record of exploration in different parts of Tibet, so he -had all the qualifications needed by the pioneer. But his party was -imperfectly equipped, since it started more or less on the spur of -the moment, and had no time to obtain proper stores from India. He -trusted to the prestige won by the Abor expedition, and his -experience of the ways of the Tibetans, to furnish him with coolies -and local supplies. - -The reader's attention is now prayed for the map. The first business -was to cross the high passes separating the Dibang from the Dihang. -The weather proved abominable, and for part of the route only half -rations could be issued. As they descended into the valley of the -Dihang they found once more cultivation and villages, and they were -able to supplement their stores by shooting game, especially -pheasants, which teemed by the roadside. It was necessary to -establish touch with the Abor Survey party lower down the river, and -accordingly they had to halt for some days. At a place called Kapu -they managed to take the altitude in the river bed, and found the -height above sea level to be 2,610 feet--an important result, for -they were able to take no other observation at water level below the -main gorges. - -These foothills of the Himalaya were inhabited chiefly by savage -tribes akin to the Abors, who were known generically as Lopas. But -as the expedition advanced up the river they came to the country of -the Pobas, who were under Tibetan influence. At Lagung, which is -about the centre of the hairpin bend, the course of the river turned -west. It might have been possible for them to have followed it some -thirty miles farther, but they were pressed by a Poba official, with -whom they made friends, to go north-east into the absolutely unknown -country of Po-me, which would enable them to make a circuit and reach -Gyala at the head of the gorges. Captain Bailey considered that it -would be easier to explore the gorges by going downstream. - -On 21st June they crossed a pass of over 13,000 feet into the valley -of the river known as the Po-Tsangpo, an affluent of the Brahmaputra. -It was a stream 80 yards wide, and of such rapidity that its current -was one whirl of foam. The natives were in great fear of the -Chinese, and it was necessary to go boldly to Showa, the capital, -where a letter could be received from the Abor Survey party vouching -for their respectability. The Chinese had burned the place, killed -the chief, and decapitated the council, and the inhabitants looked -askance at the travellers because of the Chinese writing on a tablet -of Indian ink which they carried. After three days, however, a -letter arrived from the Abor party, which persuaded them that Captain -Bailey and Captain Morshead were at any rate servants of the English -King. - -The explorers now moved north-eastwards down the Po-Tsangpo, finding -great difficulty in crossing the tributaries, where the bridges had -mostly been destroyed. It was a beautiful land, bright with primula, -iris, and blue poppy, and the roads were lined with raspberries. -They were now leaving the Po-me country and travelling among a more -civilized type of Tibetan, who wore hats like clergymen, made out of -yak's hair. After crossing a pass of over 15,000 feet they returned -to the main stream of the Tsangpo. This country was under the charge -of Tzongpen of Tsela, who came to meet the travellers--an urbane -gentleman whose son was at Rugby and a promising cricketer. - -They were now on the Tsangpo above the mysterious gorges. They had -left behind them the hot valleys of the lower stream and found a dry -Tibetan dale, where the chief crops were barley and buckwheat. The -river was broad and slow, at one point stretching into a lake 600 -yards wide, and its altitude was 9,680 feet. The problem was now to -follow it down from that point to the point of their last -observation, where the altitude was only 2,610 feet. Somewhere in -the intervening tract of gorge it must make the enormous descent of -over 7,000 feet. - -The first stage was the twenty-two miles down to Gyala, which had -been visited in 1878. The stream was in flood owing to melting -snows, and the water-side track was difficult. Four days' march -below Gyala they reached Pemakochung, the limit of Kinthup's -exploration. So far they had passed various small rapids, but -nothing in the nature of a fall. A mile below Pemakochung they came -on Kinthup's cascade. It proved to be only some 30 feet high and not -vertical. - -The road now became extraordinarily intricate. Great spurs ran down -to the river and blocked the glen, and it was necessary to cut paths -through dense forest and thickets of rhododendron to surmount them. -There was no track of any kind, and the tributaries descending from -the adjacent glaciers were often hard to cross. They ran short of -food, and could get no reliable information as to the possibility of -their descending the stream. Captain Morshead and the coolies -accordingly returned to Gyala, and Captain Bailey, with one man and -fifteen pounds of flour, attempted to descend the Tsangpo by the -route which a party of Monbas was said to have recently taken. He -found the Monbas, but they were wild and suspicious and far from -helpful. They refused to take him to their village, and declined to -show him the road round the difficult cliffs. Apparently they -considered that a traveller who had only one servant, and who carried -most of his baggage himself, must be a person of small importance and -not worth troubling about. He managed, however, to pick up from them -certain news about the lower valley. - -He returned to Gyala and rejoined Captain Morshead, and they -proceeded to piece their knowledge together. At Gyala a small stream -drops from the cliffs, making a waterfall, in which the god Shingche -Chogye is concealed. The image of the deity is carved or painted in -the rock behind the fall, but it is only possible to see it in winter -when there is little water. This, apparently, was Kinthup's fall of -150 feet. Now, why should so meagre a natural feature have attained -such celebrity among the Tibetans, for the fame of it had spread far -and wide over the country? The reason seems to be that it is unique, -because there are no other high falls. Had this deduction been made -from Kinthup's evidence, the mystery of the Brahmaputra gorges would -have been solved long ago. - -The travellers collected their observations on the altitude of the -river level and the speed of the current. At Pe, where they had -first struck the Tsangpo, the height was 9,680 feet; thirty-four -miles below it the river level was 8,730 feet, giving a drop of 28 -feet a mile. At Pemakochung the altitude was 8,380 feet, and the -drop 24 feet a mile. Three miles farther down the altitude was -8,090, giving a drop of 97 feet a mile, which included the 30-feet -drop of Kinthup's fall. At the lowest point Captain Bailey reached -in the river bed the altitude was 7,480 feet, giving a drop of 48 -feet a mile. The next point on the river which they had visited was -Lagung, below the gorges, where they could not take an observation in -the river bed; but forty-five miles downstream the altitude was 2,610 -feet. - -There remained, therefore, some fifty miles of gorge which had not -been, and could not be, explored, and the information about it was -only indirect. From Lagung upstream to where the Po-Tsangpo joined -the Tsangpo, lay a stretch which many natives had visited. The -altitude of the junction was estimated at 5,700 feet, which would -give a drop of 3,090 feet in the seventy-five miles down to their -observation of 2,610 feet--a fall of some 41 feet per mile. Here -there was clearly no waterfall. From the junction of the two streams -to the point where Captain Bailey turned back was not more than -twenty miles, and the drop 1,780 feet, giving a fall of 89 feet a -mile. The Monbas whom he met told him that they had hunted on the -right bank of the stream throughout this unknown stretch, and that, -though there were many rapids, there were no big cascades. - -We are not concerned with the rest of the journey of Captain Bailey -and Captain Morshead, which took them upstream to Tsetang, where Nain -Singh had gone in 1874, and back to India by the wild country of the -Bhutan border. Their evidence may be considered to have finally -solved the riddle of how the great river breaks through the highest -range on the globe. It does it by means of a hundred miles of -marvellous gorges, where the stream foams in rapids, but there is no -fall more considerable than can be found in many a Scottish salmon -river. I am not sure that the reality is not more impressive than -the romantic expectation. The mighty current is not tossed in spray -over a great cliff, but during the ćons it has bitten a deep trough -through that formidable rock wall. Curiously enough, the rivers -which break through the Himalaya chose the highest parts of the range -through which to cut. South of Pemakochung is the great peak of -Namcha Barwa, 25,445 feet high; north of it is the peak of Gyala -Peri, 23,460 feet. The distance between these mountains is only some -fourteen miles, and through this gap, at an altitude of just under -9,000 feet, flows the great river. - - - - -III - -THE NORTH POLE - - - -THE NORTH POLE - -(_Map_, p. 80.) - -I - -When sceptical people say that Polar exploration has been of no -benefit to mankind, it is permissible to think that their judgment is -as unsound as their point of view is limited. Not only have Polar -explorers added enormously to the scientific knowledge of the world, -but they have also materially aided commerce. But even if these -voyages had been barren of scientific and commercial results, they -would have been infinitely worth making. - -For among Polar explorers are many men who must be universally -regarded as heroes. No training was more rigorous and dangerous, no -work has ever called for more endurance, resource, and courage. A -nation which is without its heroes is in a sad plight; a nation which -has them and ignores their example can only be looked upon with pity. -The spirit of high adventure is one that no country can afford to -neglect. - -The history of geographical discovery is, in its initial stages, -almost solely one of conquest. Men, either for their own or their -country's profit--and sometimes for both--went out in search of -unknown lands because they wanted to trade with them. Pytheas, who -has been described as "one of the most intrepid explorers the world -has ever seen," was the first man to bring news of the Arctic regions -to the civilized world. He did not pretend to have visited them, but -in or about 330 B.C. he set out from Marseilles and journeyed north. -During this voyage, which must have lasted for several years, he -visited Britain, and then, proceeding to the most northerly point of -the British Isles, he heard of an Arctic land called Thule, which at -one time of the year enjoyed perpetual day, and at another had to -endure perpetual night. - -With a leap over a few hundred years we come to Ptolemy, whose -influence on geography was almost paramount from the second century -to comparatively modern times. No one is more dangerous than a bad -cartographer, or more valuable than a good one; but although Ptolemy -made many mistakes, he also did such splendid work that it is quite -easy to forget them. To him we owe the names of latitude and -longitude, and it has been well said of him that he held the -extraordinary "distinction of being the greatest authority on -astronomy and geography for over fifteen hundred years." Ptolemy's -work may have required to be corrected and amplified, but, at least, -he gave the world something which was worthy of correction. - -In the eighth and ninth centuries the Norsemen became terrors in -Europe. "Harold of the fair hair" reigned from 860 to 930 A.D., and -these seventy years formed a period of great adventure. During -Harold's reign the Norsemen colonized Iceland, and in 983 Erik the -Red founded a colony in Greenland, which flourished until the -Norwegians ceased to take an interest in it. - -Not until the fifteenth century did English seamen begin to turn -their attention to the North. They were more or less forced to do -so. Portugal and Spain were all-powerful in the East and West, and -so England began earnestly to think of discovering a way to Cathay -and the Spice Islands by a northern route. But if we were a little -slow in beginning to pay attention to the Arctic regions, we have -every cause to be satisfied with our work after we had once begun it. -The fifteenth century saw considerable activity as regards -Scandinavia, but it was not until 1505 that a charter was granted to -the Company of Merchant Adventurers, and from that year we can date -our real interest in Arctic discovery. - -It is well, perhaps, to bear in mind, while thinking of Polar -exploration, that there is a marked difference between the two Polar -regions. The Arctic is an ocean surrounded by continental lands; the -Antarctic is a continental land surrounded by oceans. - -In 1553 Sir Hugh Willoughby set out to try and find a north-east -passage to the Indies. On this voyage--in which Willoughby lost his -life--Novaya Zemlya was discovered, and Richard Chancellor, who took -part in the expedition, reached Archangel; and then, travelling -overland to Moscow, was received graciously by Ivan the Terrible, the -Tsar of Russia. This visit was of importance, because it helped to -establish trade between England and Russia. - -Competition to find a route northwards to China and the Indies had by -this time become acute in Europe, and many bold navigators set out -from England. Among the sailors who were maintaining her high record -on the seas Sir Martin Frobisher deserves especially to be mentioned. -In 1576 he set out, cheered doubtless by knowing that Queen Elizabeth -had "good liking of their doings," to find a north-west passage. On -three occasions Frobisher voyaged northwards, and he reached -Greenland and discovered the strait that was named after him. "He is -not worthy," Sir Humphrey Gilbert wrote in the latter part of the -sixteenth century, "to live at all who, for fear of danger or death, -shunneth his country's service or his own honour, since death is -inevitable, and the fame of virtue immortal." Most assuredly our -Elizabethan sailors did not shun their "country's service," and -Elizabeth herself was the first to appreciate and encourage their -enterprise. - -In 1585 yet another distinguished explorer, John Davis, embarked upon -his career, and during his voyages he made discoveries that -"converted the Arctic regions from a confused myth into a defined -area." He found several passages towards the west, and thus -strengthened the hope of finding a north-west passage; and he also -reached "the farthest north," 72° 12' N., some eleven hundred miles -from the geographical North Pole. - -As yet no one had turned his thoughts to the North Pole itself, but -it may truly be said that Davis and men of his calibre were already -beginning to prepare the way for the time when it would be reached. -For his discoveries, like those of many of the earlier explorers, -were both important in themselves and also acted as a guide and -incentive to those who followed. In the meantime, Davis had obtained -the record for the "farthest north," a record which Great Britain, -with the exception of a very few years, continued to hold until 1882. - -Many English navigators did great work in maintaining this record, -and among them was Henry Hudson, who set out in 1607 with the object -of finding a north-west passage to the Indies. Hudson, in this -voyage, reached 80° N., and did most valuable work in the Spitzbergen -quadrant. It is also reported that two of his men saw a mermaid, -which may at least be taken as evidence that they were more than -ordinarily observant. Both geographically and commercially, Hudson's -voyages were of the first importance. He not only made many -discoveries, including that of the river which bears his name, but he -also brought back the news that led directly to the establishment of -the Spitzbergen whale fishery, an industry that was extremely -lucrative to Holland. - -In 1615 William Baffin discovered the land that is called after him; -and then, for some time, English discovery in the Arctic regions -ceased to be noteworthy. Baffin made no less than five voyages to -the North, and, scientifically, his observations were permanently -valuable to subsequent explorers. - -Apart from geographical discovery, these Arctic voyages had so far -been a great stimulant to trade. In Greenland, Davis Strait, and the -Spitzbergen seas, trade had followed discovery, and what had happened -in those parts of the Arctic also took place in Hudson Bay, after the -Hudson's Bay Company was formed in 1668. In fact, for the time -being, the desire to make geographical discoveries was almost -obliterated by the desire to trade. - -It is, however, pleasant to note that during the eighteenth century -some of our Governments took an intelligent interest in geographical -discovery. They offered a reward of Ł5,000 for reaching 89° N., and -Ł20,000 was offered to any one who could find the North-West Passage. -In the earlier part of the eighteenth century the part that the -Russians took in Arctic discovery must not be omitted. In 1728 Peter -the Great sent out an expedition under the command of Vitus Bering, a -Dane, in which Bering Strait and other discoveries were made; and -although it is impossible to mention them in detail, the -contributions that the Russians made in revealing the New World to -the Old were most creditable to them as a nation. - -In 1773 Captain Phipps conducted an expedition, which now derives its -chief interest from the fact that Horatio Nelson, then a young -midshipman, took part in it. "Great," says Sir Clements Markham, "as -are the commercial advantages obtained from Arctic discovery, and -still greater as are its scientific results, the most important of -all are its uses as a nursery for our seamen, as a school for our -future Nelsons, and as affording the best opportunities for -distinction to young naval officers in time of peace." And it is -incontestably true that many of our finest sailors have learnt their -trade in the severe school of geographical exploration. - -With the advent of the nineteenth century many expeditions were sent -to the Far North. The desire actually to reach the North Pole itself -did not enter the thoughts of these courageous navigators, the main -object of their voyages being either to find the North-West Passage -round North America to the Indies, or the North-East Passage round -Asia. Nevertheless, each one of these voyages added to the store of -knowledge that was being accumulated, each expedition solved some of -the mysteries of the North and prepared the way for the solution of -what came to be considered the greatest mystery of all. - -In 1819 Sir Edward Parry embarked upon the first of the Arctic -voyages which have made his name famous in the annals of exploration. -A sailor by profession, Parry was happy in possessing the qualities -that fitted him to lead men. During his first expedition, the prize -offered by the English Government to the first navigator who passed -the 110th meridian was won. Parry and his party spent a winter in -the Arctic--a winter which, thanks to their leader's careful -preparations, was passed without mishap; and then, when the winter -was over, an expedition to explore the interior of Melville Island -was made. Thus Arctic travelling was inaugurated by Parry. - -Other successful voyages under the same leadership followed, and -when, in 1827, our Admiralty began favourably to consider the idea of -getting as near as possible to the Pole by way of Spitzbergen, Parry -was naturally chosen to command the expedition. So, for the fourth -time, Parry sailed northwards, and having reached the north coast of -Spitzbergen, he found a good harbour for his ship, the _Hecla_, and -left her there. The explorers had taken specially-fitted boats with -them, and these they hoped to be able to haul over the ice. The -summer, however, had begun to break up the floes, and in consequence -the travellers had constantly to take the steel runners off the boats -so that the stretches of open water could be crossed. Moreover, the -floes that they did find seemed to resent such treatment, for most of -them were small and bestrewn with most obstructive hummocks. Not -until they had been pulling and hauling for nearly a month did they -meet with large floes, and by that time the southerly drift of the -ice was in full swing. However hard Parry and his men pulled, they -found that the drift was as strong as they were--or stronger. After -terrific labour Parry reached 82° 45', a higher latitude than any -reached during the next fifty years. It was a great attempt by a man -whose devotion to his duty is beyond all praise. - -Before we come to the most tragic story in the history of Arctic -exploration, reference must be made to the discoveries of Captain -John Ross. In his first expedition to the North, Captain Ross was -not successful; but in his second voyage, when he was accompanied by -his nephew, James C. Ross (who afterwards gained distinction in the -Antarctic), the magnetic North Pole was discovered, and the British -flag fixed there in 70° 5' 17" N., and 76° 16' 4" W. Ross's -expedition spent four consecutive winters in the Far North, -discovered over two hundred miles of coastline, and returned with a -bountiful crop of scientific knowledge. - -We may well admire the love of adventure and the desire to make -geographical and scientific discoveries which induced these constant -expeditions to parts of the world that cannot possibly be called -inviting. Honour was, and is, due to the men who undertook them, but -to John Franklin's memory especial honour is paid, for his name is -connected with both heroism and tragedy. - -As a boy, Franklin, in spite of his father's opposition, determined -to be a sailor. At the age of fourteen he was in the _Polyphemus_ at -the battle of Copenhagen, and subsequently he was present at the -battle of Trafalgar. Peace, then as always, brought unemployment for -sailors with it, and at the age of twenty-nine Franklin found himself -unwanted in the Navy. When, however, the Admiralty decided, in 1818, -to send expeditions to find the North Pole and the North-West -Passage, Franklin was chosen to command the _Trent_. This ship was -totally unsuited for such a task, and owing to official economy--not -to say parsimony--Franklin had to return without achieving any -success. - -In the following year he was again sent out with orders to explore -the northern coast of Arctic America, and "the trending of that coast -from the mouth of the Coppermine eastwards." Not until 1822 did this -expedition of discovery come to a close, after 5,550 miles had been -covered by water and land. - -The tale of its adventures, extraordinary as they were, is only the -preface to Franklin's life as an explorer. So famous indeed was he, -that when, in 1844, he returned from Tasmania, where he had been -Governor for seven years, he was offered the command of an important -Arctic expedition. At this time he was nearly sixty years old, but -he was anxious to resume his exploratory work, and in 1845 he sailed -with the _Erebus_ and the _Terror_ (ships that had already won their -laurels under Sir James Ross in the Antarctic). - -In the hope of finding the North-West Passage, so much coveted and so -long concealed, Franklin was instructed to try a route by Wellington -Channel, if ice did not block the way. The channel was found to be -clear, and the explorers made their way up it, until they reached 77° -N. Then their advance was blocked by ice, and they turned south and -found winter quarters off Beechey Island. All, so far, had gone -well, and when the ships were released from the ice at the end of the -winter, hopes of further success must have run high. But presently a -mistake was made that had fatal results--a mistake due to an error of -the chart-makers. - -For some time the ships sailed gaily on, important discoveries being -made from day to day. Then came the fatal decision. All was open to -the south. "If they had continued on their southerly course, the two -ships would have reached Bering Strait. There was the navigable -passage before them. But, alas! the chart-makers had drawn an -isthmus (which only existed in their imagination) connecting Boothia -with King William Land. They altered their course to the west, and -were lost."* Soon the ships were surrounded by a dense ice-pack, and -were dangerously imprisoned. In the spring of 1847 travelling -parties were sent out, and one of them, under Graham Gore's command, -discovered a North-West Passage, and consequently proved the -connection between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. When the parties -returned Franklin was seriously ill, and he died on 11th June, 1847. - - -* Markham's _The Lands of Silence_ (Cambridge University Press). - - -No more beautiful epitaph has ever been written than the one in -Westminster Abbey, which Tennyson wrote in honour of John Franklin, -his uncle-in-law:-- - - "Not here! The cold North hath thy bones, and thou, - Heroic sailor soul, - Art passing on thy happier voyage now - Towards no earthly pole." - - -A terrible winter for this gallant band of explorers followed. For -months and months the ice remained impenetrable, and at last the -ships had to be abandoned. Even if the _Erebus_ and the _Terror_ -could have been freed from the ice, it was more than doubtful if they -would float, so battered were they by their long, slow drift. Food -was both inadequate in quantity and poisonous in quality. Twenty-two -officers and men died during that winter of horror; the rest were so -weak from privations that, although they knew their only chance was -to retreat by Back's Fish River, none of them had the strength -successfully to undertake such a march. - -It is useless to dwell over the sufferings of these heroic men. -Captain Crozier and Captain Fitzjames took every precaution, and made -all preparations that were under the circumstances possible, but the -dice were too heavily loaded against them. With their two heavy -boat-sledges they started on 22nd April, 1848, to make their -desperate effort. Not one of them survived. The _Erebus_ sank when -the ice released her. The _Terror_ also sank, but not until she had -drifted on to the American coast and been plundered by Eskimos. It -is pitiable to think that prompt action from England might have saved -some, at least, of these valuable lives. But at first, although -there was considerable anxiety about their fate, no effort was made -to find them. Not until 1848 were expeditions sent out in search of -Franklin's party, and neither of these was successful in finding any -traces. One of these expeditions was, however, noteworthy, for -Leopold M'Clintock, who subsequently became so renowned as a -sledge-traveller, took part in it. - -By 1850 the whole country had become thoroughly aroused, and the -Government decided to send out strongly equipped expeditions. The -_Enterprise_ and the _Investigator_, under Captains Collinson and -M'Clure, were sent out to search by way of Bering Strait; and four -ships, under Captain Austin, were to seek for traces of the missing -party by way of Lancaster Sound. Austin's expedition failed to find -the missing men, but it was excellently conducted and organized, and -its sledge-travellers (among whom was M'Clintock) covered over 7,000 -miles, and discovered more than 1,200 miles of new land. When -Captain Austin returned to England nothing had been heard of the -_Enterprise_ and the _Investigator_, and after some discussion and -consequent delay, it was resolved again to send the four ships to the -Arctic. Not only Franklin's men, but also the _Enterprise_ and the -_Investigator_ had now to be searched for. It was a case of -search-parties looking for search-parties. - -In their main object--that of clearing up the mystery of Franklin and -his companions--these expeditions were not successful, but in other -ways they more than justified themselves. Both Collinson in the -_Enterprise_ and M'Clure in the _Investigator_ succeeded in finding a -North-West Passage, and much-needed help was brought to M'Clure by -the expedition sent out partly for the purpose of aiding him and -Collinson. Further, the sledge journeys of M'Clintock and Mecham -during these expeditions were unrivalled in result and a real triumph -of organization. - -Owing to the outbreak of the Crimean War in 1854, popular interest in -the fate of the Franklin expedition diminished, but Lady Franklin -remained loyal to the object to which so many years of her life had -been dedicated; and after the Government had refused to assist her -further, she decided to fit out a private expedition, of which -Captain M'Clintock took command. In June, 1857, the _Fox_, a steam -yacht of 177 tons, started on her voyage to Greenland, but on -reaching Melville Sound, M'Clintock found it extraordinarily packed -with ice. The little vessel was firmly imprisoned, and had to spend -the winter in the drifting pack. During eight months she drifted -southward for nearly 1,200 geographical miles, and she was not -liberated from her prison until April, 1858. - -After such an experience many leaders would have made for a port in -which to refit, but M'Clintock was of a different temper. No sooner -had the _Fox_ freed herself from her perilous position than he turned -her head towards the north, and once more took up the work that he -had been sent out to do. And this determination to concentrate, at -all costs, on the definite object in hand ultimately met with its sad -reward. In June, 1859, it was proved beyond any doubt that the -report of the Eskimos (which had been received in England in 1854), -to the effect that they had seen the dead bodies of several of -Franklin's men, was true. "All the coastline along which the -retreating crews performed their fearful march must," M'Clintock -wrote, "be sacred to their names alone." - -Among the many feats that M'Clintock and his men performed during -this last search, were a march round King William Island, the -discovery of the one navigable North-West Passage, and the discovery -of some 800 miles of new coastline. As far as geographical discovery -was concerned, the main result of the many expeditions sent out in -search of Franklin was that the islands to the north of North America -had been mapped out. - -In 1853 an American expedition, under Elisha Kane, which was sent out -in search of Franklin, to the north of Smith Sound, was fruitful in -geographical discovery, and outlined what has been called the -American route to the Pole. - -Interest in the Smith Sound route began to grow in England, and was -stimulated by another American expedition, led by Charles Hall, in -1871. But although the desire to undertake more Arctic research was -strongly felt by many Englishmen, it cannot be said that it was -encouraged in official circles. In 1872 Mr. Lowe and Mr. Goschen did -receive a deputation of Arctic enthusiasts, but were by no means -encouraging in their replies. An expedition, however, under -Commander Albert Markham, set out in 1873, and succeeded in capturing -twenty-eight whales, which were worth nearly Ł19,000; and the result -of this voyage was to stimulate the idea of further Arctic enterprise. - -In November, 1874, Lord Beaconsfield, who was at the time Prime -Minister, announced that an Arctic expedition to encourage maritime -enterprise and to explore the regions round the Pole would be sent -out. Sir Clements Markham and other Arctic enthusiasts in England -were delighted with this announcement, but their delight was -short-lived. These enthusiasts had for years been advocating that -exploratory work should be undertaken in the region round the Pole, -but they did not consider that a mere rush to the Pole should be -undertaken until, at any rate, work of more value to mankind had been -done. The conduct of the projected expedition was taken over by the -Admiralty, and great was the consternation of Sir Clements and his -friends when it was announced that "the main object of the expedition -was to attain the highest latitude and, if possible, to reach the -North Pole." - -However displeasing such an object was to these enthusiasts, they -could not but rejoice at the interest shown in the expedition, and in -the fact that Captain Nares was appointed to command it. At the end -of May, 1875, the ships sailed from Portsmouth, and on arriving in -the Arctic regions Nares had to bear in mind his definite -instructions. In short, exploratory work was to give way to an -effort to reach, if possible, the Pole itself. But anxious as he was -to carry out his orders, one terrible scourge stood in his way. -Scurvy, that deadly disease, attacked his party during the winter, -and nearly half of his men suffered from it. Under such conditions -he was severely handicapped, but he decided to send out three -sledge-parties--eastward, westward, and to the north. Lieutenant -Pelham Aldrich was in charge of the western party, and although most -of the sledge crew were weakened by scurvy, they marched over 600 -miles, and succeeded in reaching 82° 48' N., a few miles farther -north than Parry had reached some fifty years previously. - -In 1882 an American expedition, under Lieutenant Greely, although -terribly unfortunate in some respects, was successful in wresting the -record for "farthest north" from the British. - -[Illustration: North Polar Regions.] - -We must turn aside for a moment from these efforts to get farther and -farther north, to mention the exploits of that distinguished Swedish -explorer, Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld. As early as 1873 Nordenskiöld -began to think that the North-East Passage by the Siberian coast -might, when found, prove to be of great commercial value, and after -some preliminary expeditions he, in 1878, set out in the _Vega_ on -his great voyage, and in August the ship passed Cape Chelyuskin, the -most northerly point of the Old World. By September, however, the -_Vega_, when very near to the completion of her task, was so -surrounded by ice that she could proceed no farther, and for ten -months she was held a prisoner. Not until the following July was the -Vega free to resume her voyage, and shortly afterwards she rounded -East Cape, and saluted "the easternmost coast of Asia in honour of -the completing of the North-East Passage." Nordenskiöld, both as an -explorer and as a man of science, has left the world greatly in his -debt, and it has been well said that "when he died, a vast amount of -knowledge died with him." - -Nordenskiöld's name, like Fridtjof Nansen's, is intimately connected -with exploratory work in Greenland. Nansen was born in 1861, and he -was only twenty-seven years of age when his devotion to discovery led -him to make an expedition on lines that were as courageous as they -were original. Up to this date, 1888, the recognized method employed -in Polar exploratory work had been to establish a base where stores -were placed, and from this base to march as far as possible in -various directions. But when Nansen determined to cross Greenland -from east to west, he paid no attention to recognized methods. With -five companions he, in June, 1888, was taken in the _Jason_ to the -ice's edge on the east coast of Greenland, and there the explorers, -hoping shortly to reach land, took to their boats. Some time, -however, passed before they could make a landing, but eventually a -suitable place was found, and then they began their great march. -With no base to which they could return, the party had literally -taken their lives into their hands, for failure almost certainly -meant death. - -Starting on 22nd August, the party, four days later, had mounted to a -height of 6,000 feet, and by the middle of September had reached the -summit (8,250 feet). Eventually the explorers managed to reach the -Danish settlement at Godthaab, and in the following year returned to -Norway. It was a fine effort, fruitful alike in geographical -discovery and in meteorological results; and, famous as Nansen's name -subsequently and deservedly became, by no means his least claim to -honour is derived from this great march across Greenland. - -Between 1892 and 1895 the American Lieutenant Peary, using dogs for -purposes of traction, made two successful marches across Greenland, -and so prepared himself for the attacks on the North Pole -itself--attacks which he was ultimately to bring to a successful -conclusion. The date 1893 will always be renowned in the history of -Arctic exploration, for during that year Nansen embarked upon his -remarkable voyage in his no less remarkable ship, the _Fram_. - -From careful observations and investigations Nansen was convinced -that there was a continuous drift of ice from the north-east shore of -Siberia across the Arctic Ocean. Hitherto, Arctic explorers had -struggled hard to avoid being beset by ice. Far from following in -their wake, it was Nansen's plan to get his vessel frozen in the -pack, and then to drift towards the Pole. - -It would be untruthful to say that his plan was encouraged by the -majority of Arctic experts, but Nansen was not the man to be -dissuaded from any project which, after consideration, he had taken -in hand. For such a voyage an especially constructed ship was -necessary, and so Mr. Colin Archer was instructed to build a vessel -specially designed to resist ice-pressure. The main object of Nansen -and Archer was that "she should slip like an eel out of the embraces -of the ice." - -Nansen calculated that the drift would take about three years, and he -provisioned the _Fram_ for five years. On this historic voyage -Nansen was accompanied by twelve other adventurous men. Sailing from -Norway in July, 1893, the Kara Sea was crossed, and early in -September Cape Chelyuskin was rounded. About a fortnight later the -ship was frozen in, and the great drift began. During the next -months the _Fram_ was given ample opportunity to prove her worth, and -she seized it nobly. In October great pressure from the ice was -experienced, but both then and later the ship resisted, and rose to, -the pressure. During her first year in the ice the _Fram_ drifted a -distance of 189 miles. - -During the second winter, Nansen, taking Frederik Johansen with him, -and leaving Otto Sverdrup in charge of the ship, decided to leave the -_Fram_ and try to reach the Pole. A start was made in March, 1895, -and in less than a month 86° 28' N. was reached. At that point the -explorers had to turn south, and after many perilous adventures, they -landed, at the end of August, on an island of the Franz-Josef group. -There they decided to winter, and there they had to remain for nine -long months. When at last they were able to proceed, a grave -disaster was only prevented by Nansen's promptitude and courage. The -explorers were on shore, when Johansen noticed that their kayaks -(Eskimo canoes of light wooden framework covered with seal skins) -were adrift. The loss of these boats could scarcely have meant less -than death to the explorers, and Nansen immediately jumped into the -icy water and swam to retrieve them. It was an action as prompt as -it was heroic, and it saved the situation; but Nansen's condition, -when he brought back the kayaks to land, has been described as "more -dead than alive," and some time passed before he fully recovered from -the results of his effort. - -Some weeks later the kayaks were once more made as seaworthy as was -possible under the circumstances, and Nansen and Johansen were again -embarking on their adventurous voyage when, by good fortune, they -were found by Frederick Jackson, the leader of the Jackson-Harmsworth -Expedition, which did such good work in Franz-Josef Land. This -meeting between Nansen and Jackson has been compared with the famous -one between Livingstone and Stanley, and even if the latter was the -more dramatic, the former was as opportune, for there is no -gainsaying that Nansen and his companion were in a most perilous -position. In the meantime the drift of the _Fram_ under Sverdrup's -able leadership continued, and she did not return to Norway until -August, 1896. - -The results of the _Fram_ expedition were exceptionally important. -"They threw," Sir Clements Markham wrote, "new light on the whole -Arctic problem. Nansen lifted the veil, and his expedition was the -most important in modern times. It was discovered that there was a -deep-sea ocean to the north of Spitzbergen and Franz-Josef Land, -extending beyond the Pole...." - -In 1897 a meeting was held in the Albert Hall in honour of Nansen, -whose work, both geographically and scientifically, more than -deserved the great welcome given to him in England. In an -introduction to his _In the Northern Mists: Arctic Exploration in -Early Times_, Nansen quotes words from the old Norse chronicle, the -_King's Mirror_, that are curiously illuminating:-- - - -"If you wish to know what men seek in this land [the Arctic regions], -or why men journey thither in so great danger of their lives, then it -is the threefold nature of man that draws him thither. One part of -him is emulation and desire of fame, for it is a man's nature to go -where there is likelihood of great danger, and to make himself famous -thereby. Another part is the desire of knowledge, for it is man's -nature to wish to know and see those parts of which he has heard, and -to find out whether they are as it was told him or not. The third -part is the desire of gain, seeing that men seek after riches in -every place where they learn that profit is to be had, even though -there is great danger in it." - - -And, indeed, it may well be admitted that the factors which have -helped to make the modern world are mainly a desire for fame, a -desire for knowledge, and a desire for riches; and woe betide the -nation that forgets the first and second of these factors, and loses -its soul in concentration upon the last of them. - - - -II - -During the years succeeding Nansen's expedition the desire to reach -the North Pole itself took possession of the minds of many brave men. -Bit by bit the Arctic regions had been mapped out; gradually the -obstacles that maintained the Pole in its splendid isolation were -being overcome. Some years were to pass before its mysteries were -unveiled, but in those years there was an almost continuous effort to -probe those mysteries. - -Nansen had discovered beyond any doubt that the Pole lay in an -ice-covered sea, an inhospitable place enough; but this fact did not -prevent explorers from wanting actually to locate it, and in 1900 the -Duke of the Abruzzi tried to reach it by way of Franz-Josef Land. -Owing to a frost-bitten hand, the Duke could not take part in the -main journey of his expedition, and so Captain Cagni commanded it. -The Pole withstood this effort, but Cagni did succeed in reaching 86° -33' N., and thus beat Nansen's record for "farthest north." - -Previous to the Abruzzi expedition, Robert Peary had launched his -first great attack upon the Pole. This expedition lasted for four -years--1898 to 1902--but Peary encountered such dense packs of ice, -which blocked his way to the Polar Ocean, that he failed in his main -object. - -Another attempt followed in 1906, and although this was not crowned -with complete success, Peary made a world's record for "farthest -north" by reaching 87° 6'. In this expedition he nearly lost his -life, but he returned to America with the grim determination to make -yet another attempt. Experience had been bought by Peary in -abundance and at a great cost, and to this was added an energy that -was remarkable even among Polar explorers. This third voyage to the -Polar regions had, in the nature of things, to be his last. He was, -when he set out upon it, fifty-three years of age, and although, -after spending over twenty years in Arctic work, he had an experience -that was invaluable, even experience cannot make an Arctic explorer -forget that youth is also a great asset in the Polar regions. - -In May, 1908, Peary published his programme, the main features of -which are worthy of record. He decided to use the same ship, the -_Roosevelt_, which had taken him to the north in his 1906 expedition. -His route was to be by way of Smith Sound; his winter quarters were -to be at Cape Sheridan, or even nearer to the Pole if the ship could -proceed farther; he intended to use sledges and Eskimo dogs for -traction; and, lastly, he placed his confidence in Eskimos, the -Arctic Highlanders, as the rank-and-file of his sledge parties. - -Most careful preparations were made for this expedition, and while -Peary was making them he received much practical support, but also -some suggestions that were not notably helpful. For instance, one -cheerful crank invited him to become a "human cannon-ball"--some sort -of machine was to be taken to the North, and then, when it was -pointed towards the Pole, the inventor assured Peary that it would -shoot him there in no time. The explorer did not see his way to -accepting such an abrupt means of transit! - -When the _Roosevelt_ sailed on 17th July, 1908, she had twenty-two -men on board, including Peary himself, Robert Bartlett, master of the -_Roosevelt_, George Wardwell, Dr. Goodsell, Professor Marvin, Donald -McMillan, George Borop, and Matthew Henson, Peary's negro assistant, -who had accompanied him on many expeditions. - -When Peary's vast knowledge of the Polar regions is remembered, his -remarks on the essentials required in an Arctic sledge journey must -admittedly be valuable. "The essentials, and the only essentials," -he writes, "needed in a serious Arctic sledge journey, no matter what -the season, the temperature, or the duration of the journey--whether -one month or six--are four: pemmican, tea, ship's biscuit, condensed -milk."* And it is interesting to note that of these commodities he -took 50,000 lbs. of pemmican, 10,000 lbs. of biscuit, 800 lbs. of -tea, and 100 cases of condensed milk on this expedition. - - -* Robert Peary's _The North Pole_ (Hodder and Stoughton). - - -The _Roosevelt_ reached Cape York, Greenland, on 1st August, and -there she said a temporary good-bye to the civilized world. There -also Peary met the Eskimos, whose friendship he had gained by many -and continuous acts of kindness. The Eskimos are, within their -limits, a lovable and loyal people; their good qualities are those of -nice children, their bad qualities those of mischievous children. "I -have made it a point," Peary says, "to be firm with them, but to rule -them by love and gratitude rather than by fear and threats. An -Eskimo, like an Indian, never forgets a broken promise--nor a -fulfilled one." These Eskimos live on the verge of starvation for -many months in the year, but if they are not troubled by questions of -morality in one sense of the word, they are at any rate ready to -share what they have got in the way of food, or of means to obtain -it, with those who are less fortunate than themselves. Religion, as -we understand it, does not enter into their scheme of things, but -they pay studious attention to spirits--especially to Tornarsuk, who -is the devil himself, and consequently leader of all evil spirits. -One can appreciate the childlikeness of people who will rip an old -garment to shreds so that the devil may be prevented from wearing it! - -After leaving Cape York, Peary transferred himself for some days to -the _Erik_, his auxiliary supply steamer, so that he could collect as -many Eskimos and dogs as he required. By 11th August the _Erik_ -reached Etah, and rejoined the _Roosevelt_. Finally, Peary selected -49 Eskimos and 246 dogs, and having transferred them to the -_Roosevelt_, the explorers set out to fight their way through the 350 -miles of ice-blocked water that separated Etah from Cape Sheridan. -And the ice during that journey was in no gentle mood. So great were -the risks that the ship might at any time be crushed, that the boats, -fully equipped and provisioned, were always ready to be lowered at a -moment's notice. - -A terrific battle with that uncompromising opponent, the ice, -followed, but not until 30th August did the struggle reach its -climax. On that day the ship was "kicked about by the floes as if -she had been a football," and the pressure was so terrific that Peary -decided to dynamite the ice. This operation was successful in -relieving the situation, but some days passed before even the -greatest optimist in the ship could consider her free from danger. -But on 5th September the _Roosevelt_ managed to fight her way through -to Cape Sheridan; and after a project to take her on to Porter Bay -had been abandoned, the work of unloading her was begun, and with her -lighter load Captain Bartlett proceeded to get her as near the shore -as possible. - -The first stage on the way to the Pole was behind the explorers, and -if the next stage was shorter in distance, it was no less important a -part of the whole scheme. This second stage consisted of the -transportation of supplies from Cape Sheridan to Cape Columbia, -ninety miles north-west of the ship. Cape Columbia is the most -northerly point of Grant Land, and from there Peary had determined to -make his dash over the ice to the Pole. But to move an enormous -quantity of supplies over such a distance was work that needed much -thought and care, for in the first place some of Peary's companions -were unused to driving sledges, and, secondly, neither the weather -nor the track were likely to give them much assistance. - -These sledging parties on the way to Cape Columbia were soon -organized, and, in addition, hunting parties were sent out, and a -supply of fresh meat for the winter was obtained. "Imagine us," -Peary wrote, "in our winter home on the _Roosevelt_ ... the ship held -tight in her icy berth, a hundred and fifty yards from the shore, the -ship and the surrounding world covered with snow, the wind creaking -in the rigging, whistling and shrieking round the corners of the deck -houses, the temperatures ranging from zero to sixty below, and the -ice-pack in the channel outside groaning and complaining with the -movement of the tides." - -In these words Peary gives us an excellent picture of the explorers' -winter home--a home upon which the sun never shone for many months, -but which, in spite of the darkness, was a home of unceasing industry -and preparation. And among the innumerable activities that took -place, none was more important than the task of attending to the -dogs. Early in November, Peary had become anxious about these -all-important factors of his expedition. Over fifty of them were -already dead, and a few days later only 160 dogs out of the 245 with -which he had arrived were left. A change of diet from whale to -walrus meat put an end to these appalling losses; but Peary's anxiety -until he discovered a way to prevent them can be easily imagined. -For without any adequate supply of dogs he knew all too well that -neither he nor any one else would ever reach the Pole. - -By the end of the autumn season snow igloos had been built on the -track to Cape Columbia. We have the best authority--namely, -Peary's--for saying that one of these snow-houses can be built by -four good workmen in an hour. Into this shelter the traveller -literally crawls, for the only means of entrance is a hole at the -bottom of one side, and when the last man of the party has got in, -this opening is closed up by a block of snow already cut for the -purpose. - -Except for one most alarming experience, when in a terrific gale the -ice made a stupendous attempt against the invading ship, the winter -was spent rather with anxiety about the future than with worry about -the present. No wonder that Peary speculated over what awaited him -when he started upon his great march. After leaving Cape Columbia, -over 400 miles separated him from his goal, and these miles had to be -travelled over the ice of the Polar sea. "There is no land," he -writes, "_between Cape Columbia and the North Pole, and no smooth and -very little level ice._" But even ice through which the traveller -must sometimes pick-axe his way is not the most serious impediment to -those who would reach the Pole. The great obstacles--the -ever-present source of anxiety--are the "leads" which constantly -appear. These "leads" are really patches of open water, varying in -extent, which the winds and tides cause in the ice's movement. For -no reason that is apparent, these dangerous obstacles suddenly block -the explorer's advance, and little can be done save to wait for them -to remove themselves. These "leads" were to be Peary's greatest -impediment in his march, and were destined to be fatal to one valued -member of his party. - -The final attack on the Pole began on 15th February, 1909, when -Bartlett, with a pioneer party, left the Roosevelt, and a week later -Peary started on his way. At this time 7 members of the expedition, -19 Eskimos, 140 dogs, and 28 sledges, divided into various parties, -were engaged in the great effort to reach the Pole. It was arranged -that all of these parties should meet Peary at Cape Columbia on the -last day of February; and on that day Bartlett and Borop started from -the cape with advance parties. The duties of these advance parties -were as onerous as they were important. For it was to Bartlett that -Peary looked for a trail by which the main party could travel. - -On the second day's march, after Peary had left Cape Columbia and the -land behind him, he met with his first open "lead," and a slight -delay occurred. But on the following day this "lead" was covered -with young ice, and Peary determined to cross it. "If the reader," -he wrote, "will imagine crossing a river on a succession of gigantic -shingles, one, two, or three deep, and all afloat and moving, he will -perhaps form an idea of the uncertain surface over which we crossed -this 'lead.' Such a passage is distinctly trying, as any moment may -lose a sledge and its team, or plunge a member of the party into the -icy water." And later on, when Borop was crossing an open crack, his -dogs fell into the water, and the loss both of the dogs and the -sledge with its invaluable load of provisions was only prevented by -Borop's exceptional quickness and strength. - -The explorers had advanced nearly 50 miles from Cape Columbia, when -they were held up by a big "lead," which refused most obstinately to -cover itself with ice strong enough to bear the sledges. For a week -this open water delayed the expedition, and Peary had good reason to -wonder if his most careful preparation and organization were once -more to miss the success that they deserved. On 11th March, however, -the parties managed to cross the "lead," and on the march that -followed they crossed the 84th parallel. - -When the explorers started on this journey, Peary did not announce -how far each one of his companions was to accompany him on the march, -and presently Dr. Goodsell and MacMillan, with Eskimos, sledges, and -dogs, turned back. Then the main expedition consisted of 16 men, 12 -sledges, and 100 dogs. On 19th March, Peary revealed the programme -he intended to follow to Bartlett, Marvin, Borop, and Henson. First -of all Borop was to turn back; five marches farther on Marvin was to -go; and after another five marches Bartlett was to leave the Polar -party, which would then consist of 6 men, 40 dogs, and 5 sledges. - -Unlike most programmes, this one of Peary's was faithfully carried -out. Borop returned when 85° 23' was reached, and during the next -days the explorers advanced so rapidly that they succeeded in passing -both Nansen's and the Duke of the Abruzzi's record for farthest -north. In turn, first Bartlett and then Marvin started upon the -homeward track, and Peary was left with 4 Eskimos--Egingwah, Seegloo, -Ootah, and Ooqueah--Henson, 5 sledges, and 40 dogs. - -Of these Eskimos, Ooqueah was the only one who had not been in any -previous expedition; but all the same he was the most romantic of the -party, because he was intent upon winning the rewards that would -enable him to marry the girl of his choice. Glimmering before his -eyes Ooqueah saw a whale-boat, a rifle, and other prizes which Peary -had promised to those who went with him to the farthest point. Not -for a moment was there any doubt about Ooqueah's keenness, for he was -spurred on by two of the greatest incentives that any young man can -have--a desire to be wealthy, and a desire to marry. - -Left alone with Henson and the Eskimos, Peary still had 133 nautical -miles* to travel before he reached his goal. This distance he -intended to cover in five marches, and, provided that the gales would -leave him in peace and not open the "leads" of water, he had every -hope of carrying out his intention. - - -* A nautical mile is approximately 2,026 yards. - - -Up to this stage in the march Peary had been whipper-in, but in the -last stages he led the van. And during the concluding stages it must -be admitted that fortune smiled upon the travellers. True, that in -this almost breathless rush for the Pole "leads" were not entirely -absent, but such as were encountered did not seriously delay the -marches. As, however, Peary got nearer and nearer to the Pole, the -fear that the prize might at the last moment be snatched away from -him by an impassable "lead" was constantly with him. - -On 5th April the party reached 89° 25' N., and were within 35 miles -of the Pole. So near, indeed, were they, that Peary writes: "By some -strange shift of feeling the fear of the "leads" had fallen from me -completely. I now felt that success was certain...." - -And his confidence was justified. On April 6, 1909, Peary, with his -coloured assistant, Matthew Henson, and the four Eskimos, reached the -Pole, and there the leader of this successful party wrote the -following note;-- - - "90° N. Lat., North Pole, - 6_th April_ 1909. - -"I have to-day hoisted the national ensign of the United States of -America at this place, which my observations indicate to be the North -Pole axis of the earth, and have formally taken possession of the -entire region and adjacent, for and in the name of the President of -the United States of America. I leave this record and United States -flag in possession. - - "ROBERT E. PEARY, - "United States Navy." - - -The explorers spent thirty hours at the Pole, and then started upon -the long journey back to the coast of Grant Land. By 23rd April, -favoured by beautiful weather, the party had reached Cape Columbia; -so favoured, indeed, had they been that Ootah remarked on their -arrival that "the devil is asleep or having trouble with his wife, or -we should never have come back so easily." - -On that same day Peary wrote in his diary: "I have got the North Pole -out of my system after twenty-three years of effort, hard work, -disappointments, hardships, privations, more or less suffering, and -some risks." - -The joy of success, tremendous as it was, could not but be dimmed by -the news that awaited Peary on his return to the ship. For Marvin -had lost his life, on the return journey, in trying to cross some -young and treacherous ice, and the loss of this gallant and able man -illustrates all too sadly the "some risks" of which Peary -wrote--risks which all explorers in greater or less measure have to -run. - -As a conclusion to this chapter of adventure and determined effort, -the words of that prince of explorers, Fridtjof Nansen, seem -peculiarly appropriate. "From first to last," he wrote, "the history -of Polar exploration is a single mighty manifestation of the power of -the Unknown over the mind of man." - - - - -IV - -THE MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON - - - -THE MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON - -(_Map_, p. 112.) - -Twenty-four centuries ago a line of Ćschylus--"Egypt nurtured by the -snow"--embodied a geographical theory which descended from Heaven -knows what early folk-wandering. Aristotle with his _'aryuroun -oros_, the Mountain of Silver from which the Nile flowed, continued -the tradition in literature. Meantime Sabćan Arabs, trading along -the east coast of Africa, and making expeditions to the interior, -came back with stories of great inland seas and snow mountains near -them. What they saw may have been only Kilimanjaro and Kenia, but -the popular acceptance of their reports points to the earlier tale -linking the snows with the Nile valley. Greek and Roman travellers -spread the rumour, and presently it found its way, probably through -Marinus of Tyre, into the pages of the geographer Ptolemy. - -Ptolemy had no doubt about these snows. He called them the Mountains -of the Moon, and definitely fixed them as the source of the river of -Egypt. For centuries after him the question slumbered, and men were -too busied with creeds and conquests to think much of that fount of -the Nile which Alexander the Great saw in his dreams. When the -exploration of Equatoria began in last century the story revived, and -the discovery of Kenia and Kilimanjaro seemed to have settled the -matter. It was true that these mountains were a long way from the -Nile watershed, but then Ptolemy had never enjoyed much of a -reputation for accuracy. - -Still doubt remained in some minds, and explorers kept their eyes -open for snow mountains which should actually feed the Nile, since, -after all, so ancient a tradition had probably some ground of fact. -Speke in 1861 thought he had discovered them in the chain of -volcanoes between Lake Kivu and Lake Albert Edward, but these -mountains held no snow. He received a hint, however, which might -have led to success, for he heard from the Arabs of Unyamwezi of a -strange mountain west of Lake Victoria, seldom visible, covered with -white stuff, and so high and steep that no man could ascend it. In -1864 Sir Samuel Baker was within sight of Ruwenzori, and actually saw -dim shapes looming through the haze, to which he gave the name of -"Blue Mountains." - -In 1875 Stanley encamped for several days upon the eastern slopes, -but he did not realize the greatness of the heights above him. He -thought they were something like Elgon, and he christened them Mount -Edwin Arnold (a name happily not continued); but he had no thought of -snow or glacier, and he disbelieved the native stories of white stuff -on the top. In 1876 Gordon's emissary, Gessi, recorded a strange -apparition, "like snow mountains in the sky," which his men saw, but -he seems to have considered it a hallucination. Stranger still, Emin -Pasha lived for ten years on Lake Albert and never once saw the -range--a fact which may be partly explained by his bad eyesight. -Ruwenzori keeps its secret well. The mists from the Semliki valley -shroud its base, and only on the clearest days, and for a very little -time, can the traveller get such a prospect as Mr. Grogan got on his -famous walk from the Cape to Cairo--"a purple mass, peak piled upon -peak, black-streaked with forest, scored with ravine, and ever -mounting till her castellated crags shoot their gleaming tops far -into the violet heavens." - -The true discoverer was Stanley, who, in 1888, suddenly had a vision -of the range from the south-west shore of Lake Albert. Every one -remembers the famous passage:-- - - -"While looking to the south-east and meditating upon the events of -the last month, my eyes were directed by a boy to a mountain said to -be covered with salt, and I saw a peculiar-shaped cloud of a most -beautiful silver colour, which assumed the proportions and appearance -of a vast mountain covered with snow. Following its form downward, I -became struck with the deep blue-black colour of its base, and -wondered if it portended another tornado; then as the sight descended -to the gap between the eastern and western plateaus I became for the -first time conscious that what I gazed upon was not the image or -semblance of a vast mountain, but the solid substance of a real one, -with its summit covered with snow.... It now dawned upon me that -this must be Ruwenzori, which was said to be covered with a white -metal or substance believed to be rock, as reported by Kavali's two -slaves." - - -Stanley had neither the time nor the equipment for mountain -expeditions, though to the end of his life Ruwenzori remained for him -a centre of romance. It was his "dear wish," as he told the Royal -Geographical Society shortly before his death, that some lover of -Alpine climbing would take the range in hand and explore it from top -to bottom. In 1889 one of his companions, Lieutenant Stairs, made an -attempt from the north-west, and reached a height of nearly 11,000 -feet. Two years later Dr. Stuhlmann, a member of Emin's expedition, -made a bold journey up the Butagu valley on the west, discovered the -wonderful mountain vegetation, and nearly reached the snow level. In -1895 came Mr. Scott Elliot, who was primarily a botanist, but who, in -spite of bad malaria, managed to struggle as far as 13,000 feet. - -Then followed troubles in Uganda, and it was not till 1900 that the -work of exploration was resumed. To make the story clear, it is -necessary to explain that the range runs practically north and south, -and that about half-way it is cut into by two deep valleys--the -Mobuku running to the east and the Butagu running to the Semliki on -the west. Fort Portal at the northern end is the nearest station; -and as from it the eastern side is the more accessible, it was -natural that the Mobuku valley should be chosen as the best means of -access. In 1900 Mr. Moore reached its head, and ascended the -mountain called Kiyanja to the height of 14,900 feet. He had no -sight of the range as a whole, but he believed this to be the highest -peak, and put the summit at about 16,000 feet. In the same year Sir -Harry Johnston followed this route. He ascended to the height of -14,828 feet on Kiyanja, and saw from the Mobuku valley a mountain to -the north, which he named Duwoni. He came to the conclusion that the -highest altitude of the range was not under 20,000 feet, and in this -view he was followed by other travellers, like Mr. Wylde, Mr. Grogan, -and Major Gibbons, none of whom, however, actually made ascents of -any peak. - -The first serious mountaineering expedition was made in 1905 by Mr. -Douglas Freshfield and Mr. A. L. Mumm, who suffered from such -appalling weather that they had to give up the attempt. Being -experienced mountaineers, however, they reached some valuable -conclusions. From the plains they had a clear view of the tops, and -ascertained that the mountain called Kiyanja at the head of the -Mobuku valley was certainly lower than a twin-peaked snow mountain -beyond it to the west. They also placed the extreme height of the -range at no more than 18,000 feet. Meanwhile Lieutenant Behrens, of -the Anglo-German Boundary Commission, had made an elaborate -triangulation, and gave to the twin tops of the highest peak -altitudes of 16,625 feet and 16,549 feet--measurements, let it be -noted, which were only a few hundred feet out. One other expedition, -which occupied the close of the same year and the beginning of 1906, -deserves mention. Mr. A. F. R. Wollaston, of a British Museum party, -found an old ice-axe in a hut (probably left by Mr. Freshfield), and, -with a few yards of rotten rope, set off with a companion to climb -Kiyanja. He reached a height of 16,379 feet, and also climbed a peak -to the north, which he believed wrongly to be Duwoni, and which now -very properly bears his name. The whole performance was a brilliant -adventure, and Mr. Wollaston has published the story of his travels -in a delightful book.* - - -* _From Ruwenzori to the Congo_ (John Murray). - - -Such was the position when, in April, 1906, the Duke of the Abruzzi -and his party left Italy to solve once and for all the riddle of the -mountains. The Duke was perhaps the greatest of living mountaineers. -As a rock-climber his fame has filled the Alps, and no name is more -honoured at Courmayeur or the Montanvert. He had led Polar -expeditions, and had made the first ascent of the Alaskan Mount St. -Elias. His experience, therefore, had made him not only a climber -but an organizer of mountain travel. It was to this latter -accomplishment that he owed his success, for Ruwenzori was not so -much a climber's as a traveller's problem. The actual mountaineering -is not hard, but to travel the long miles from Entebbe to the range, -to cut a path through the dense jungles of the valleys, and to carry -supplies and scientific apparatus to the high glacier camps, required -an organizing talent of the first order. - -The Duke left no contingency unforeseen. He took with him four -celebrated Courmayeur guides, and a staff of distinguished -scientists, as well as Cav. Vittorio Sella, the greatest of living -mountain photographers. So large was the expedition that two hundred -and fifty native porters were required to carry stores from Entebbe -to Fort Portal. It was not a bold personal adventure, like Mr. -Wollaston's, but a carefully planned, scientific assault upon the -mystery of Ruwenzori. The Duke did not only seek to ascend the -highest peak, but to climb every summit, and map accurately every -mountain, valley, and glacier. The story of the work has been -officially written,* not indeed by the leader himself, who had no -time to spare, but by his friend and former companion, Sir Filippo de -Filippi. It is an admirable account, clear and yet picturesque, and -it is illustrated by photographs and panoramas which have not often -been equalled in mountaineering narratives. - - -* _Ruwenzori; An Account of the Expedition of H.R.H. the Duke of the -Abruzzi_ (London: Constable). - - -The charm of the book is its strangeness. It tells of a kind of -mountaineering to which the world can show no parallel. When Lhasa -had been visited, Ruwenzori remained, with the gorges of the -Brahmaputra, one of the few great geographical mysteries unveiled. -Happily the unveiling has not killed the romance, for the truth is -stranger than any forecast. If the Mountains of the Moon are lower -than we had believed, they are far more wonderful. Here you have a -range almost on the Equator, rising not from an upland, like -Kilimanjaro, but from the "Albertine Depression," which is 600 or 700 -feet below the average level of Uganda; a range of which the highest -peaks are 1,000 feet higher than Mont Blanc, which is draped most -days of the year in mist, and accessible from the plains only by -deep-cut glens choked with strange trees and flowers. The altitude -would in any case give every stage of climate from torrid to arctic, -but the position on the Line adds something exotic even to familiar -mountain sights, draping a glacier moraine with a tangle of monstrous -growths, and swelling the homely Alpine flora into portents. The -freakish spirit in Nature has been let loose, and she has set -snowfields and rock _arętes_ in the heart of a giant hothouse. - -[Illustration: The Peaks and Valleys of Ruwenzori. The Route to -Ruwenzori.] - -The Duke of the Abruzzi was faced at the start with a deplorable -absence of information. Even the season when the weather was most -favourable was disputed. Mr. Freshfield, following Sir Harry -Johnston's advice, tried November, and found a perpetual shower-bath. -Warned by this experience, the Duke selected June and July for the -attempt, and was fortunate enough to get sufficient clear days to -complete his task, though he was repeatedly driven into camp by -violent rain. Another matter in doubt was the best means of approach -to the highest snows. The obvious route was the Mobuku valley, but -by this time it was pretty clear that Kiyanja, the peak at its head, -was not the highest, and it was possible that there might be no way -out of the valley to the higher western summits. Still, it had been -the old way of travellers, and since the alternative was the Butagu -valley right on the other side of the range, the Duke chose to follow -the steps of his predecessors. - -Just before Butiti he got his first sight of the snow, and made out -that a double peak, which was certainly not Johnston's Duwoni, was -clearly the loftiest. Duwoni came into view again in the lower -Mobuku valley, and the sight, combined with the known locality of -Kiyanja, enabled the expedition to take its bearings. Duwoni was -seen through the opening of a large tributary valley, the Bujuku, -which entered the Mobuku on the north side between the Portal Peaks. -Now it had been clear from the lowlands that the highest snows were -to the south of Duwoni, and must consequently lie between that peak -and the Mobuku valley. The conclusion was that the Bujuku must lead -to the foot of the highest summits, while the Mobuku could not. The -discovery was the key of the whole geography of the range. But the -Duke did not at once act upon it. He wisely decided to explore -Kiyanja first; so, thinning out his caravan and leaving his heavier -stores at the last native village, he with his party pushed up the -Mobuku torrent. - -The Mobuku valley falls in stages from the glacier, and at the foot -of each stage is a cliff face and a waterfall. The soil everywhere -oozes moisture, and where an outcrop of rock or a mat of dead boughs -does not give firmer going, it is knee-deep in black mud. The first -stage is forest land--great conifers with masses of ferns and -tree-ferns below, and above a tangle of creepers and flaming orchids. -At the second terrace you come to the fringe of Alpine life. Here is -the heath forest, of which let the narrative tell:-- - - -"Trunks and boughs are entirely smothered in a thick layer of mosses -which hang like waving beards from every spray, cushion and englobe -every knot, curl and swell around each twig, deform every outline and -obliterate every feature, till the trees are a mere mass of grotesque -contortions, monstrous tumefactions of the discoloured leprous -growth. No leaf is to be seen save on the very topmost twigs, yet -the forest is dark owing to the dense network of trunks and branches. -The soil disappears altogether under innumerable dead trunks, heaped -one upon another in intricate piles, covered with mosses, viscous and -slippery when exposed to the air; black, naked, and yet neither -mildewed nor rotten where they have lain for years and years in deep -holes. No forest can be grimmer and stranger than this. The -vegetation seems primeval, of some period when forms were uncertain -and provisory." - - -But the third terrace is stranger still. There one is out of the -forest and in an Alpine meadow between sheer cliffs, with far at the -head the gorge of Bujongolo and the tongue of the glacier above it. -But what an Alpine meadow!-- - - -"The ground was carpeted with a deep layer of lycopodium and springy -moss, and thickly dotted with big clumps of the papery flowers, pink, -yellow, and silver white, of the helichrysum or everlasting, above -which rose the tall columnar stalks of the lobelia, like funeral -torches, beside huge branching groups of the monster senecio. The -impression produced was beyond words to describe; the spectacle was -too weird, too improbable, too unlike all familiar images, and upon -the whole brooded the same grave deathly silence." - - -It is a commonplace to say that in savage Africa man is surrounded by -a fauna still primeval; but in these mountains the flora, too, is of -an earlier world--that strange world which is embalmed in our coal -seams. Under the veil of mist, among cliffs which lose themselves in -the clouds, the traveller walks in an unearthly landscape, with the -gaunt candelabra of the senecios, the flambeaus of the lobelias, and -the uncanny blooms of the helichryse like decorations at some ghostly -feast. The word "helichryse" calls up ridiculous Theocritean -associations, as if the sunburnt little "creeping-gold" of Sicily -were any kin to these African marvels! Our elders were wise when -they named the range the Mountains of the Moon, for such things might -well belong to some lunar gorge of Mr. Wells's imagination. Beyond -Kiyanja the Duke found a little lake where a fire had raged and the -senecios were charred and withered. It was a veritable Valley of Dry -Bones. - -[Illustration: Ruwenzori from the Hill near Kaibo. (_By permission -of Messrs. Arch. Constable & Co., Ltd._)] - - -Bujongolo offered the expedition a stone-heap overhung by a cliff, -and there the permanent camp was fixed. Among mildews and lichens -and pallid mist and an everlasting drip of rain five weeks were -passed with this unpromising spot as their base. The first business -was to ascend Kiyanja. This gave little trouble, for the ridge was -soon gained, and an easy _aręte_ to the south led to the chief point. -The height proved to be 15,988 feet, and the view from the summit -settled the geography of the range and confirmed the Duke's theories. -For it was now clear that the ridge at the head of the Mobuku was no -part of the watershed of the chain, and that the Duwoni of Johnston -was to the north, not of the Mobuku, but of the Bujuku. The highest -summits stood over to the west, rising from the col at the head of -the Bujuku valley. The Duke saw that they might also be reached by -making a detour to the south of Kiyanja, and ascending a glen which -is one of the high affluents of the Butagu, the great valley on the -west side of the system. - -It may be convenient here to explain the main features of the range, -giving them the new names which the expedition invented, and which -are now adopted by geographers. Kiyanja became Mount Baker, and its -highest point is called Edward Peak after the then King of England. -Due south, across the Freshfield Pass, stands Mount Luigi di Savoia, -a name given by the Royal Geographical Society and not by the Duke, -who wished to christen it after Joseph Thomson the traveller. Due -north from Mount Baker, and separated from it by the upper Bujuku -valley, is Mount Speke (the Duwoni of Johnston), with its main summit -called Vittorio Emanuele. West of the gap between Baker and Speke -stands the highest summit of all, Mount Stanley, with its twin peaks -Margherita and Alexandra. North of Mount Speke is Mount Emin, and -east of the latter is Mount Gessi. Five of the great massifs cluster -around the Bujuku valley, while the sixth, Mount Luigi di Savoia, -stands by itself at the south end of the chain. - -The assault on Mount Stanley was delayed for some days by abominable -weather. At last came a clear season, and the Duke with his guides -crossed Freshfield Pass and ascended the valley at the back of Mount -Baker. There they spent an evening, which showed what Ruwenzori -could be like when clouds are absent. They found a little lake, -embosomed in flowers, under the cliffs, and looking to the west they -saw the sun set in crimson and gold over the great spaces of the -Congo Forest. Next day they reached the col which bears the name of -Scott Elliot, and encamped on one of the Mount Stanley glaciers at -the height of 14,817 feet. At 7.30 on the following morning they -reached the top of the first peak, Alexandra, 16,749 feet high. A -short descent and a difficult piece of step-cutting through snow -cornices took them to the summit of Margherita (16,815 feet), the -highest point of the range:-- - - -"They emerged from the mist into splendid clear sunlight. At their -feet lay a sea of fog. An impenetrable layer of light ashy-white -cloud-drift, stretching as far as the eye could reach, was drifting -rapidly north-westward. From the immense moving surface emerged two -fixed points, two pure white peaks sparkling in the sun with their -myriad snow crystals. These were the two extreme summits of the -highest peaks. The Duke of the Abruzzi named these summits -Margherita and Alexandra, 'in order that, under the auspices of these -two royal ladies, the memory of the two nations may be handed down to -posterity--of Italy, whose name was the first to resound on these -snows in a shout of victory, and of England, which in its marvellous -colonial expansion carries civilization to the slopes of these remote -mountains.' It was a thrilling moment when the little tricolor flag, -given by H.M. Queen Margherita of Savoy, unfurled to the wind and sun -the embroidered letters of its inspiring motto, 'Ardisci e Spera.'" - - -The conquest of Mount Stanley was the culminating point of the -expedition. After that, the topography being known, it only remained -to ascend the four massifs of Speke, Emin, Gessi, and Luigi di -Savoia. In addition, the Bujuku valley, with its tributary the -Migusi, was thoroughly explored. The aim of the Duke being -completeness, many of the peaks were ascended several times to verify -the observations. There is an account of how from one peak in a -sudden blink of fine weather the leader saw two portions of the -expedition in different parts of the range moving about their -allotted tasks. The result of this wise organization is that to-day -the world knows every peak, glacier, and valley in Ruwenzori far more -minutely than many habitable parts of the East African plateau. The -expedition was not only a fine adventure, but a wonderful piece of -solid and enduring scientific work. No Englishman will grudge that -the honours of the pioneer fell to so brilliant a climber and so -unwearied a traveller as the Duke of the Abruzzi. The Italian name -has always stood high in mountaineering annals, and the Duke has long -ago earned his place in that inner circle of fame which includes -Mummery and Guido Rey, Moore and Zsigmondy. - -[Illustration: The Valley to the West of Mount Baker. (_By -permission of Messrs. Arch. Constable & Co., Ltd._)] - - -The riddle of equatorial snow has been solved, and there is nothing -very startling in the answer. The upper part of the mountains has no -marvels to show equal to the giant groundsels and lobelias and the -forests of heath on the lower slopes. The glaciers are all small, -without tributaries, as in Norway; and there are no real basins, but -merely "a sort of glacier caps from which ice digitations flow down -at divers points." All the same, the glacier formation is more -respectable than Mr. Freshfield thought, for he saw only the small -ice-stream at the head of the Mobuku, and was not aware of the much -greater one from Mount Stanley which descends to the upper Bujuku -valley. The limit of perpetual snow is about 14,600 feet. Mr. -Freshfield was so struck by the small size of the Mobuku torrent -where it issues from the glacier, and by its clearness, that he -thought it must come from some underground spring rather than from a -real melting of the ice. He maintained that tropical glaciers were -consumed mainly by evaporation and only in a small degree by melting. -The Duke has, however, made it clear that the glaciers of Ruwenzori -are subject to the same conditions as those of the Alps, and that -their streams are true glacier torrents. The limpidity of the water -he ascribes to their almost complete immobility, which means that -there is no grinding of the detritus in their beds. - -On the whole, the range offers no great scope for the energies of the -mountaineer. The ice and snow work is easy, and even the huge -cornices, such as are found on Margherita, are fairly safe for the -climber, owing to the way in which they are propped by a forest of -ice stalactites caused by the rapid melting of the snow. On the -other hand, there is abundance of rock climbing of every degree of -difficulty, for the mountains below the snow-line fall very sheer to -the valleys. Luigi di Savoia, Emin, and Gessi are virtually rock -peaks; an isolated summit, Mount Cagni, is wholly rock; and there are -fine rock faces on Mount Baker and the Edward and Savoia Peaks of -Mount Stanley. I doubt, however, if Ruwenzori will ever be a centre -for the rock gymnast. The weather would damp the ardour of the most -earnest _habitué_ of Chamonix or San Martino. A few hours of -sunshine once a week are not enough in which to plan out routes up -cliffs whose scale far exceeds the measure of the Alps. The Grepon -or the Dru would have long remained virgin if their crags had been -for ever slimy with moisture and draped in mist, and the climber had -to descend to no comfortable Montanvert, but to a clammy tent among -swamps and mildews. - -And yet those peaks remain almost the strangest of the world's -wonders, and their ascent will always be one of the finest of human -adventures. They are Mountains of the Moon rather than of this -common earth. The first discoverers brought back tales which were -scarcely credible--ice-peaks of Himalayan magnitude, soaring out of -flame-coloured tropic jungles. For long mountaineers were consumed -with curiosity as to what mysteries lay behind that veil of mist. -For all they knew, equatorial snow might be difficult beyond the -skill of man, and Ruwenzori the eternal and unapproachable goal of -the adventurer's ambition. The truth is prosaic beside these -imaginings. Any man who can afford the time and the money, who -selects the right time of year, and is sound in wind and limb, can -stand on the dome of Margherita. - -But the experience will still be unique, for these mountains have no -fellows on the globe. There is a certain kinship between the tale of -the first ascent of Mount McKinley in Alaska,* and that of the Duke -of the Abruzzi. That gaunt icy peak is as unlike the ordinary snow -mountain as Ruwenzori. The climb began from the glacier at a height -of 1,000 feet, and 19,000 feet of snow and ice had to be surmounted. -The Alaskan giant and the Mountains of the Moon stand at the opposite -poles of climate, but both are alike in being outside the brotherhood -of mountains. They are extravagances of Nature, moulded without -regard to human needs. For mountains, when all has been said, belong -to the habitable world. They are barriers between the settlements of -man, and from their isolation the climber looks to the vineyards and -cornlands and cities of the plains. An ice-peak near the Pole and a -range veiled in the steaming mists of the Line are solitudes more -retired and sanctuaries more inviolate. The common mountain-top -lifts a man above the tumult of the lowlands, but these seem to carry -him beyond the tumult of the world. - -* See Chapter VI. - - - - -V - -THE SOUTH POLE - - - -THE SOUTH POLE - -(_Map_, p. 144.) - -I - -The imaginations of bold men were captured by the idea of Arctic -exploration for centuries before the Antarctic was even thought of as -a field for discovery. The Arctic regions have a history dating back -to the days of King Alfred; the Antarctic can make no such boast as -this, and it is true to say that attention was first drawn to the Far -South by the map-makers. - -Much praise is due to the early map-makers; but as regards the Far -South it must be admitted that they indulged in considerable -guesswork. Ortelius, for instance, in his map of the world which was -published in Antwerp in 1570, had the temerity to draw the coast of -"Terra Australia nondum cognita" round the world as far north, in two -places, as the Tropic of Capricorn. - -Hakluyt did, in 1599, omit the Southern continent from his celebrated -map of the world, an abstinence on his part that deserves to be -mentioned. But fictions, in spite of Hakluyt, continued to appear in -later maps; and if they did nothing else, they were at least useful -in directing the thoughts of navigators towards the Antarctic. - -Accident rather than design was, however, responsible for the first -discoveries in the South. In 1520 Magellan found the strait which is -known by his name, and during the sixteenth century what discoveries -were made in the direction of the South were due to contrary winds. -Owing to gales, Sir Francis Drake, in 1578, reached in latitude 56° -S. "the uttermost part of the land towards the South Pole," and so, -sadly against his will, made discoveries. And it was owing to what -has happily been called "a discovery-causing gale" that some Dutch -ships, which had set out in 1598 for the exciting but scarcely -laudable purpose of plundering the coasts of Chile and Peru, were -scattered in all directions. One of these ships, a mere baby of 18 -tons, was driven to 64° S., and there her captain, Dirk Gerritsz, -sighted "high land with mountains covered with snow, like the land of -Norway." - -If proof of the universal ignorance of the South at the beginning of -the seventeenth century is needed, we have the expedition of Pedro -Fernandez de Quiros. Quiros was commissioned by the King of Spain, -Philip III., to undertake a voyage for the purpose of annexing the -South Polar continent; and after this annexation had been completed, -he was commanded to convert the inhabitants to the true faith. It -was an ambitious programme, and it was far indeed from being carried -out. In fact, the result of the expedition was almost comical. -Quiros discovered the largest island of the New Hebrides, and in the -belief that it was part of the Southern continent, he not only -annexed it, but also the South Pole itself, to the Crown of Spain! -This expedition must be considered the first Antarctic expedition, -but there is no denying that its results were more ludicrous than -encouraging. - -Little progress was made during the seventeenth century in adding to -the world's knowledge of the South, but in one way and another the -map-makers received severe buffets. Towards the end of that century -and the beginning of the next, some ships reached 62° S. and 63° S., -and encountering great icebergs, gained knowledge that tended to -disperse the idea of a huge continent, from which men could reap -wealth and live in comfort while reaping it. In spite, however, of -this waning belief in a fertile and populous Southern continent, -several voyages were undertaken to look for it; but it is to be noted -that the men who made these adventurous journeys were not in the -least interested in exploration for exploration's sake. The reason -why they made these expeditions was mainly because they hoped to -enrich themselves. Not until the latter half of the eighteenth -century was there any change in what may be called the spirit of -exploration; and then, in 1764, the English Government issued -instructions to Commodore Byron which clearly showed that the -importance of discovery, for discovery's sake alone, was beginning to -be realized. - -Science had been making progress, and the desire really to know, and -no longer to guess at, the extent and nature of the world, -perceptibly increased. Scientists, engaged solely on scientific -work, accompanied both the expeditions of Marion and Kerguelen, and -when Captain James Cook sailed in 1772 from Deptford, on what was the -first British Antarctic expedition, he was also accompanied by -scientists. - -The name of James Cook will always be given a place of honour among -explorers, for, quite apart from the discoveries that he made, he set -an example of courage in facing dangers and difficulties that can -never be forgotten. He and all the earlier navigators, we must -remember, had to undertake their voyages in ships that were totally -unfit to encounter ice. And when this fact is realized, we are -compelled to admire the pertinacity with which they carried out their -work, and to recognize that the results of their efforts were, under -the circumstances, magnificent. - -It has been well said that James Cook defined the Antarctic region -and that James Ross discovered it; and, indeed, it would be difficult -to overestimate the importance either of Cook's voyages or of those -subsequently undertaken by Ross. - -January 17, 1773, was a red-letter day in the annals of exploration, -for during its forenoon Cook crossed the Antarctic Circle for the -first time. Icebergs and loose pack-ice were then surrounding him, -but he pushed on until he sighted closely packed ice. In his opinion -he might possibly have pushed his way through this ice, but in such a -ship as the _Resolution_ (462 tons) he did not consider himself -justified in making so dangerous an experiment. The latitude that he -reached was 71° 10' S., longitude 106° 54' W. - -Cook's expedition returned to Portsmouth in July, 1775, and then the -value of his voyage was recognized. He had made the circuit of the -Southern ocean in a high latitude, and had for ever crushed the idea -of a fertile and fruitful Southern continent. If land lay beyond the -Antarctic Circle, Cook thought that it must consist of "countries -condemned to everlasting rigidity by Nature, never to yield to the -warmth of the sun, for whose wild and desolate aspect I find no -words." Cook, in short, had revealed the limits of the habitable -globe, and his accounts of what he had encountered in the Far South -did not encourage men, who were anxious to find land in which -fortunes could quickly be made, to think longingly of the Antarctic. - -After Cook's return no serious attempt at geographical discoveries in -the South was made until the Russian Government, in 1819, sent an -expedition, under Captain Bellingshausen, to the Southern seas. -Bellingshausen's ambition was to rival Cook's feat of making the -circuit of the Southern ocean in high latitude, and he achieved it. -He was also the first explorer definitely to discover land within the -Antarctic Circle. - -Two or three years later James Weddell, whose real business was -sealing, reached a latitude of 74° 15' S., more than three degrees to -the south of Cook's farthest point; and for nearly twenty years -Weddell's record remained intact. - -During the first half of the nineteenth century the Southern seas -became the scene of extensive sealing industries, and however much we -may regret the wholesale slaughter that took place, we have to -confess that some of these sealers made important geographical -discoveries. Both Captain John Biscoe and Captain John Balleny were -engaged in the Antarctic sealing trade, but they were fortunate -enough to be employed by the firm of Enderby. Charles Enderby -instructed his captains not to neglect geographical discovery, and -his instructions were faithfully carried out. To the enterprise of -Enderby, and to the courage and perseverance of his captains, we owe -the discovery of Graham Land, Enderby Land, Kempe Island, and Sabrina -Land. - -A French expedition under Captain D'Urville, and an American one -under Captain Wilkes, followed in 1840. D'Urville, who encountered -so many icebergs that he felt as if he was "in the narrow streets of -a city of giants," sighted land in latitude 66° S., longitude 140° -E., and named this coast Adélie Land. Wilkes also claimed to have -discovered land; but of his claims one of our greatest explorers has -written: "Had he been more circumspect in his reports of land, all -would have agreed that his voyage was a fine performance." - -Two or three years before D'Urville and Wilkes set out upon their -voyages, Colonel Sabine, at a meeting of the British Association, -read a paper on the subject of terrestrial magnetism, and the result -was that Polar exploration received a great incentive. By this time -the importance of terrestrial magnetism in regard to the navigation -of ships was admitted, and the Government was petitioned to send a -naval expedition for the purpose of increasing our knowledge of this -science in the South. A favourable reply was received from Lord -Melbourne, and in 1839 Sir James Ross was appointed to command an -expedition whose object was rather magnetic research than -geographical discovery. Two old bomb vessels, the _Erebus_ (370 -tons) and the _Terror_ (340 tons), were selected by Ross, and when -their bows had been strengthened he had at his disposal the first -vessels that could be navigated among the Southern pack-ice. A -detailed account of Ross's achievements cannot be given, but of them -Captain Scott wrote: "The high mountain ranges and the coastline of -Victoria Land were laid down with comparative accuracy from Cape -North in latitude 71 to Wood Bay in latitude 74, and their extension -was indicated less definitely to McMurdo Bay in latitude 77˝.... Few -things could have looked more hopeless than an attack upon that -ice-bound region which lay within the Antarctic Circle; yet out of -this desolate prospect Ross wrested an open sea, a vast mountain -region, a smoking volcano (Erebus), and a hundred problems of -interest to the geographer."* - - -* _The Voyage of the "Discovery"_ (John Murray), page 16. - - -The highest latitude reached by Ross was 78° 10' S., and he described -the huge wall of ice which he sighted there and named the Great -Barrier, as a "mighty and wonderful object, far beyond anything we -could have thought of or conceived." This Barrier was in later years -found to be 400 miles wide, and of even greater length. - -Slowly, very slowly, the Far South was being compelled to reveal some -of its secrets, but in spite of the interest and enthusiasm caused by -Ross's discoveries, many years passed, after his return to England in -1843, before further steps were taken to make geographical -discoveries in the Antarctic. - -But during this period, in which geographical enterprise languished, -scientific research was being carried on. A great desire to increase -the knowledge of the science of oceanography had sprung up, and as a -practical outcome of the labours of scientists and inventors, the -Challenger expedition, excellently equipped for scientific research, -set out under the command of Captain Nares in January 1873. This -expedition was in itself most important, but it is not belittling it -to say that part of its value in the history of Antarctic exploration -lies in the fact that it stimulated interest in the Far South, and -this interest gradually increased until the wish to solve the -mysteries of the South Polar regions became dominant in the minds of -many men in England and Germany. In 1885 the British Association -appointed an Antarctic Committee, and some two years later this -Committee reported in favour of further exploration. - -Great difficulties, chiefly financial, had, however, to be faced by -the supporters of this expedition, and a shrewd blow was received -when the Board of Trade refused to recommend a grant of money because -there were no trade returns from the Antarctic regions!--a reply that -might produce a derisive smile from the most zealous of economists. -For the moment the idea of Antarctic exploration had received a -decided setback. But determined men were working to conquer the -practical difficulties; and none more determined than Sir Clements -Markham, who was elected President of the Royal Geographical Society -in May 1893. - -No sooner was it generally known that a real effort was being made in -England to make further discoveries in Antarctica--as it was by this -time called--than several other countries were stimulated at various -dates to send out expeditions. Borchgrevink, a Norwegian, De -Gerlache, a Belgian, Otto Nordenskiöld, a Swede, and Charcot, a -Frenchman, led expeditions, all of which did valuable work in the -South. - - - -II - -In November, 1893, a meeting of the Royal Geographical Society was -held, and the duties of the projected British expedition were stated. -The first duty was "to determine the nature and extent of the -Antarctic continent;" the fifth was "to obtain as complete a series -as possible of magnetic and meteorological observations." Such an -expedition was intended both to encourage maritime enterprise and to -add to the world's knowledge. From the outset the promoters had -decided that their expedition should be under naval control, but the -Government could not be persuaded to take charge of it. The -Admiralty, however, assisted both with the loan of instruments and by -granting leave to officers and men on full pay. - -Innumerable obstacles continued to hamper the promoters on every -side, but they were slowly removed, and at last the ship was launched -at Dundee in March, 1901, and christened the _Discovery_. - -Sir Clements Markham, fourteen years before, had, in his own mind, -selected the fittest commander if an expedition to the South ever -became practicable. The name of this commander was Robert Falcon -Scott, and after much opposition had been overcome--opposition which -Sir Clements described as "harder to force a way through than the -most impenetrable of ice-packs"--Scott's appointment was confirmed. -A great attack upon the Antarctic regions was about to be made, but -it is worthy of record that in the instructions issued to Captain -Scott no mention of the South Pole as an objective was made. - -By July the labour of preparation for the expedition was almost -finished, and on August 5, 1901, the _Discovery_ was visited by King -Edward VII. and Queen Alexandra, and then started on her adventurous -voyage. We can easily understand Scott's anxiety to be up and away, -for he had no Polar experience to help and guide him, and his desire -to justify the confidence placed in him must have been intense. - -In the _Discovery_, in addition to Scott himself, were several men -whose names were destined to become famous in the history of Polar -exploration. Ernest H. Shackleton was a second-lieutenant; Ernest A. -Wilson was described as surgeon, artist, and vertebrate zoologist; -Edgar Evans was a petty officer; Frank Wild and Thomas Crean were -A.B.'s; William Lashley was a stoker. Surely the nucleus of a goodly -company. - -Lyttelton, New Zealand, had been chosen for the headquarters of the -expedition in the South, and the _Discovery_ arrived there on 30th -November. She stayed for three weeks to re-fit and take in -provisions, and then started upon the next stage of her eventful -journey. The Antarctic Circle was crossed on 3rd January, and soon -afterwards the pack was on all sides of the ship; but she behaved -splendidly, and Scott was delighted with the way she forced herself -through the ice. - -Scott's original intention had been that the _Discovery_ should not -winter in the Antarctic, but that, having landed a party of men, she -should return northward before the ice made such a journey -impossible. A hut had been provided for this party, but in February -a spot was found in McMurdo Sound in which it was thought that the -ship would pass the winter in safety. Consequently Scott decided to -use the _Discovery_ as his headquarters, and to utilize the hut for -other purposes. - -The task of erecting the huts (in addition to the main hut there were -two smaller ones for magnetic work) was difficult, but it was -eventually accomplished, and the party began to settle down to spend -the approaching winter. Before, however, the winter set in, Scott, -knowing how ignorant he and his companions were of sledging, was -anxious to gain as much experience as possible. And the result of -the sledging expeditions that were made only showed how urgently this -experience was needed. "Even at this time [early in March]," Scott -wrote, "I was conscious how much there was to be learnt, and felt -that we must buy our experience through many a discomfort; and on -looking back I am only astonished that we bought that experience so -cheaply, for clearly there were the elements of catastrophe as well -as of discomfort in the disorganized condition in which our -sledge-parties left the ship."* - - -* _The Voyage of the "Discovery,"_ page 170. - - -When the _Discovery_ was brought into McMurdo Sound there was good -reason to suppose that she would soon be frozen in. But weeks passed -before the sea became frozen, and until the ship was firmly fixed in -the ice there was always a chance that she might be driven away by a -gale and be unable to return. This uncertainty hampered operations -for some time, and it was not until the last days of March, 1902, -that the ship was satisfactorily frozen in. - -The sun departed at the end of April, and during the long winter that -followed the party of explorers had much to occupy them and to -discuss. Scott had taken dogs with him for sledging purposes, but -although he knew that they must increase his radius of action, he -always detested the idea of using them because of the suffering that -must necessarily be caused. But the question of using dogs was only -one of the many problems in connection with sledging that was debated -during that Antarctic winter. - -In judging the journeys that followed in the spring, it is to be -remembered that as far as the Antarctic regions are concerned they -were pioneer efforts, and also that the conditions of Antarctic -sledging differ considerably from those of the Arctic. In these -journeys Scott and his companions were taught lessons that were -afterwards of the greatest value to other explorers as well as to -themselves--lessons that nothing except experience could teach. - -The journey that Scott, with Wilson, Shackleton, and several dogs, -began on 2nd November with the object of pushing as far south as -possible, was accompanied at the outset by a supporting party; but -this party turned back by the 15th, and Scott, Wilson, and Shackleton -had immediate cause to know how strenuous a task they had before -them. The dogs were already causing anxiety, and were quite unable -to do the work expected from them. Relay work, which meant that each -mile had to be travelled three times, became the order of the day, -and in consequence the advance towards the South was greatly -hindered. Soon afterwards the men themselves began to suffer from -blistered noses, cracked lips, and painful eyes; but on the 21st -Scott took a meridian altitude, and found the latitude to be 80° 1'. - -In spite of all discomforts and anxieties, Scott was in a happy mood -that night when he wrote: "All our charts of the Antarctic regions -show a plain white circle beyond the eightieth parallel.... It has -always been our ambition to get inside that white space, and now we -are there the space can no longer be a blank; this compensates for a -lot of trouble." - -[Illustration: South Polar Regions.] - -As the advance laboriously continued, the condition of the dogs, to -Scott's poignant sorrow, went from bad to worse, and by 21st December -the question of turning back had to be considered. At this time -additional anxiety was caused by Shackleton, who was showing symptoms -of scurvy; but Christmas Day was in sight, and as on that festival -the travellers had decided to have a really satisfying meal, they -resolved to push on farther. - -Their meal on Christmas Day put new life into the party; but they -realized all too acutely that their food supplies were so inadequate -that, if they were to continue the advance they must be prepared to -face the risk of famine. There were, however, strong incentives to -urge them on their way. Each day took them farther and farther into -regions hitherto untrodden by the feet of men. Who can blame them -for taking the risks that were involved in their determination to -continue the march? - -But on 27th December, Wilson, whose industry in sketching and -determination not to give in were beyond praise, was suffering so -severely from snow-blindness that he had to march blindfold; and at -last the decision to turn back had to be made. Observations taken at -their last camp showed that they had reached between 82° 16' and 82° -17' S.--a finer record than Scott anticipated, after he had realized -that the dogs were unable to fulfill the hopes placed in them. - -The return march was a prolonged period of suspense. By January 9, -1903, only four out of the nineteen dogs which had started on the -journey were alive, and on the 15th the last of them had to be -killed. "I think," Scott wrote, "we could all have wept." Even more -serious was the fact that at this time Shackleton became seriously -ill. - -A grim struggle followed, for although Shackleton showed unending -courage he was suffering severely from scurvy, and Scott and Wilson, -who were themselves attacked in a lesser degree by this disease, -often had cause to wonder whether this return journey was not beyond -their powers. It was with feelings of profound thankfulness that, at -the beginning of February, Scott and his companions reached the ship. -For ninety-three days they had been on the march, and during that -time they had travelled 960 statute miles. - -When the explorers reached their goal they found that the relief -ship, the _Morning_, had arrived, and Shackleton returned in her; but -the _Discovery_, after being so reluctant to freeze firmly into the -ice, refused entirely to thaw out, and consequently Scott and most of -his original party spent a second winter in the Antarctic. During -this additional year Scott, with Edgar Evans and Lashley as his -companions, made a wonderful western journey, in which adventures -enough to last ordinary men for a lifetime were almost part of the -daily routine. - -Not until February, 1904, was the _Discovery_ freed from the ice, and -on 10th September she reached Spithead after an absence from England -of over three years. In those years a crop of most useful -information had been gathered, and many geographical discoveries had -been made. Among the latter were King Edward Land, Ross Island, and -the Victoria Mountains, and--most important of all--the great ice-cap -on which the South Pole is situated. - -Not for some years yet was the South Pole to reveal its secret, but -Scott's first expedition may truthfully be said to have shown the way -towards that revelation. In the years to come Amundsen frankly -admitted how carefully he and his companions studied the accounts of -Scott's and Shackleton's expeditions. - - - -III - -After Scott's return from his first visit to the Antarctic no further -attempt was immediately made to visit the Far South. But that great -explorer, Ernest Shackleton, had seen enough of the South to be -gripped by the desire to solve more of its problems, and in the -_Geographical Journal_ of March, 1907, he stated the programme of a -proposed expedition. In this programme Shackleton said: "I do not -intend to sacrifice the scientific utility of the expedition to a -mere record-breaking journey, but say frankly, all the same, that one -of my great efforts will be to reach the southern geographical Pole." - -The financial difficulties that seemed to be inseparable from Polar -expeditions followed, but they were ultimately removed, and on July -30, 1907, the _Nimrod_ sailed for New Zealand. - -Bearing in mind the failure of the dogs in Scott's expedition, -Shackleton decided to use Manchurian ponies as his principal means of -traction. The utmost care was taken in preparing the equipment and -in choosing the staff to accompany the expedition. Shackleton -intended to land a shore party, and among this party were Frank Wild -and Ernest Joyce (who had been with Scott), Douglas Mawson, -Lieutenant J. B. Adams, Dr. E. Marshall, Raymond Priestley, and G. E. -Marston. - -Before leaving England, Shackleton decided, if possible, to establish -his winter quarters on King Edward VII. Land in preference to Scott's -old quarters at Hut Point in McMurdo Sound; but he was unable to -carry out this plan, and ultimately he landed close to Cape Royds on -the east coast of Ross Island. On February 22, 1908, his ship, the -_Nimrod_, started upon her journey to New Zealand. - -The winter quarters that had necessarily to be chosen were separated -from Hut Point by some 20 miles of frozen ice, and Shackleton was -greatly disappointed that he was prevented from landing on King -Edward VII. Land, where he would not only have broken fresh ground, -but would also have been considerably nearer to the Pole. In the -light of subsequent events it is of interest to note that Shackleton, -in his search for winter quarters off the Barrier, looked with -eagerness upon a bay which he named "The Bay of Whales," but owing to -the conditions of the ice he thought it necessary to leave this spot -as quickly as possible. In another respect this expedition met with -poor fortune--namely, in the loss of ponies. When the party settled -down to spend the winter only four ponies were still alive, and it is -no cause for wonder that they were watched with the closest -attention. And as a Manchurian pony has been endowed with more than -his fair share of original sin, he requires a very great deal of -watching. - -Before the winter set in, an attempt was made to reach the top of -Mount Erebus, and this attempt met with a success that acted as a -tonic both to those who took part in it and to those who had remained -in winter quarters. As soon as mid-winter day had passed, Shackleton -began to make arrangements for the sledging work that had to be done -in the approaching spring. Depots had to be laid in the direction of -the South Pole, which was over 880 statute miles distant from Cape -Royds. - -These preparations went on apace, and with a view to starting on the -Southern march from the nearest possible point to the Pole, stores, -etc., were transferred to Hut Point, and depots were also laid to -help the travellers on their way. Adams, Marshall, and Wild were -chosen to accompany Shackleton in this determined effort to reach the -South Pole, and on 29th October they set out with the four ponies and -the four sledges. By 3rd November they had left the sea-ice and were -on the Barrier; but instead of finding a better surface they found it -increasingly difficult. At the outset, however, the ponies did -splendid work, though one of them, on 9th November, nearly -disappeared into "a great fathomless chasm." At the time the -travellers were in a nest of crevasses, and Adams's pony suddenly -went down a crack. Fortunately, with help from Wild and Shackleton, -the pony and the sledge were saved from falling into this abyss; but -it was an alarming incident, for, as all the cooking gear and -biscuits and a large portion of the oil were on this sledge, the loss -of it would have been an irretrievable disaster to the Southern -journey. - -The 26th November was a day to be remembered by Shackleton and his -companions, for at night they found that they had reached latitude -82° 18' S., and so had passed Scott's "farthest south." On 1st -December, latitude 83° 16' S. was reached, but by this time three of -the ponies had been killed, and only one was left. A few days later -this last pony disappeared down a crevasse, and nearly took Wild and -the sledge with him. Serious as the loss of this gallant pony was, -there was great cause for thankfulness that Wild and the sledge had -almost miraculously been saved. Had the sledge gone, only two -sleeping bags would have been left for the four men, and the -equipment would have been so short that the explorers could scarcely -have got back to winter quarters. - -Presently the travellers left the Barrier and attacked the great -Beardmore Glacier which was between them and the plateau. On 9th -December, 340 geographical miles lay between them and the Pole, and -progress was painfully slow, for the surface consisted mainly of -rotten ice through which their feet continually broke. A week later -they had travelled over nearly 100 miles of crevassed ice, and had -risen 6,000 feet; but the plateau which they so eagerly longed to -reach still lay ahead of them. "Never," Shackleton wrote, "do I -expect to meet anything more tantalizing than the plateau." -Appalling surfaces, to walk on which Wild described as like walking -over the glass roof of a station, continued after the plateau had -been reached, and before Christmas arrived it was obvious, if the -advance was to be continued, that absolute hunger, amounting almost -to starvation, stared the explorers in the face. - -On the evening of New Year's Day, 1909, the Pole was only 172˝ miles -distant, but the men's strength was nearly exhausted. The -thermometer remained obstinately below zero, and on 6th January there -were over 50 degrees of frost, with a blizzard and drift. A last -dash onwards followed, and on 9th January Shackleton and his party -reached 88° 23' S., and left the Union Jack flying on the plateau. -The attempt to reach the Pole had failed; but it was a gallant -attempt, and the homeward marches that followed show clearly enough -that to have advanced farther was beyond the powers of the men. -Indeed, the return journey was a terrible experience--a grim struggle -against starvation; and to add to the misery of it, dysentery--owing, -in Shackleton's opinion, to eating diseased pony's meat--attacked -each member of the party. All that was possible had been done, and -had not the wind been behind the explorers during one of their -acutest periods of suffering, it is improbable that they would ever -have reached their winter quarters. - -While Shackleton was making his great march, a party, consisting of -David, Mawson, and Mackay, had set out, with a view to determining -the position of the south magnetic Pole. In this they were -successful, the mean position of the magnetic Pole being marked down -by Mawson as in latitude 72° 25' S., longitude 155° 16'. This was a -great triumph for the explorers, and, needless to say, it was not -gained without many perilous adventures and narrow escapes. - -In March, 1909, the _Nimrod_ returned safely to Lyttelton, New -Zealand, where Shackleton and his men met with the warmest of -welcomes. Once again the South Pole had resisted the attempt to -locate it, but the time was drawing near for its mysteries to be -disclosed. - - - -IV - -When, on September 13, 1909, Captain Scott published his plans for a -British Antarctic expedition in the following year, Roald Amundsen -was not thinking about the Far South. The _Fram_, it is true, was -being prepared for a third voyage, but the Arctic was again to be her -destination. Then, during the September of 1909 came the news that -Peary had reached the North Pole. One of the great secrets of the -world had been revealed; but another was still undiscovered, and -Amundsen's thoughts were promptly turned from the Arctic to the -Antarctic. - -For various reasons Amundsen did not announce his change of plans, -and when the _Fram_ sailed in August, 1910, only a very few people -knew where she was bound for. Not until the ship left Madeira did -Amundsen announce his destination to the men who were accompanying -him, and they received the news with joy. - -In two or three respects Amundsen's expedition differed considerably -from Scott's new expedition. Amundsen, for instance, relied on dogs -for his motive power; Scott relied on ponies. Then, again, Amundsen -decided to make his winter headquarters off the Bay of Whales, which -was a degree farther south than McMurdo Sound, where Scott wintered. -Scott was to take the Beardmore Glacier as his route to the South -Pole; Amundsen's plan, when he set out for the Pole, was to leave -Scott's route alone and push straight south from his starting-place. -"Our starting-point lay 350 geographical miles," Amundsen wrote, -"from Scott's winter quarters in McMurdo Sound, so there could be no -question of encroaching upon his sphere of action." Lastly, it must -be mentioned that the Norwegians were as at home on ski as they were -on their feet, while most of Scott's men were at their best only -moderate performers upon ski. - -All went well with the _Fram_ on her voyage to the South. She -crossed the Antarctic Circle on January 2, 1911, and twelve days -later she was in the Bay of Whales. In landing on the Great Barrier, -Amundsen knew that he was taking a considerable amount of risk, for -there was no certainty that it was not afloat where he landed on it -from the Bay of Whales. In Amundsen's opinion, however, the Barrier -there rests "upon a good solid foundation, probably in the form of -small islands, skerries, or shoals."* - - -* Amundsen's _The South Pole_ (John Murray), Vol. I., page 49. - - -And indeed the Barrier treated him well. The landing was performed -with supreme ease, and enough seals were found to relieve any -possible anxiety as to the supply of fresh meat. Penguins, those -delightful birds which provide both humour and food for visitors to -Antarctica, were not plentiful, and those that were seen were chiefly -of the Adélie species. - -"Framheim," the hut in which the South Pole party were to live during -the winter, was soon erected, and Amundsen found infinite -satisfaction in the number of dogs which were safely landed. So far -from losing dogs on the voyage, he had started with 97 and finished -with 116, a most welcome addition. - -The _Fram_, leaving eight men to winter on shore, was due to sail in -the middle of February upon an oceanographical cruise, but before -leaving she received some unexpected visitors. On 4th February, -Captain Scott's ship, the _Terra Nova_, with the party which had -vainly hoped to land on King Edward VII. Land, came into the Bay of -Whales. - -The news that Amundsen was safely established reached Scott on 22nd -February, and he could not fail to be impressed by it. "One thing -only," he wrote characteristically, "fixes itself definitely in my -mind. The proper, as well as the wiser, course for us is to proceed -exactly as though this had not happened; to go forward and do our -best for the honour of the country without fear or panic. There is -no doubt that Amundsen's plan is a very serious menace to ours. He -has a shorter distance to the Pole by 60 miles. I never thought he -could have got so many dogs safely to the ice. But above and beyond -all, he can start his journey early in the season--an impossible -condition with ponies."* Words that, in the light of future events, -are more than ordinarily significant. - - -* _The Voyages of Captain Scott_ (John Murray), page 259. - - -Before the winter set in Amundsen determined to deposit food, etc., -on the way to the Pole, and on 10th February he set out on his first -journey with three men, three sledges, and eighteen dogs. - -This first trip upon the Barrier was full of exciting possibilities. -Amundsen was without knowledge of the ground over which he had to -travel, and he did not know whether the dogs would respond to the -demands made upon them, or if his outfit would stand the severe test -to which it was to be put. This was essentially a trial trip, and -the travellers were naturally anxious that it should be successful. -Eighty degrees South was reached, and in every respect save one -Amundsen was satisfied with his journey. The only fly in his -ointment was that time had been wasted in preparations before the -party was ready to start in the mornings. But it was only a small -fly, and Amundsen knew that with thought it could easily be removed. -The dogs had responded so splendidly to the calls made upon them, -that perhaps the most important question of all had been -satisfactorily answered. - -More depot-laying expeditions followed, and before the winter closed -around the explorers, they had placed three tons of supplies at -depots in latitudes 80°, 81°, and 82° S. Amundsen and his men could, -therefore, settle down for their period of waiting with justifiable -hopes that the great spring march to the Pole would end in triumph. - -The winter was spent in paying attention to the minutest details of -equipment, and the inhabitants of "Framheim" were kept gloriously -busy and contented. But with the coming of spring Amundsen began to -be impatient to be up and away on his great journey. Temperatures, -however, remained very low--somewhere in the neighbourhood of -60° -F.--and until they ceased "to grovel in the depths," no start could -be made. - -With the beginning of September the temperatures began to improve, -and Amundsen was determined to start as soon as he possibly could, -arguing that he could turn round and come back if he found that he -had started too soon. So on 8th September he did set out, and soon -discovered that the dogs could not endure the intense cold. On the -11th the temperature was -67.9° F.; on the following day it was --61.6° F., with a breeze dead against the travellers. On reaching -the 80° S. depot, Amundsen deposited more stores, and then returned -to "Framheim." - -More than a month passed before the South Pole party was able to make -another start, and it is of interest to note that, whereas Amundsen -ultimately got off on 19th October, Scott was unable to start before -1st November. - -The South Pole party which set out from "Framheim" consisted of -Amundsen, Hanssen, Wisting, Hassel, and Bjaaland, and they were -accompanied by fifty-two dogs drawing four sledges. As an -illustration of the dangers that lay between the explorers and the -Pole, it is enough to say that on the first day's journey a terrible -disaster was only avoided by a few inches. In the thick weather they -had steered too far to the east, and almost fell into what Amundsen -describes as "a yawning black abyss, large enough to have swallowed -us all, and a little more." - -On the 21st Bjaaland's sledge sank down a crevasse, and had to be -unloaded before it could be brought again to the surface. Wisting, -with the Alpine rope fastened round him, went down and unloaded the -sledge, and when he came up again and was asked if he was not glad to -be out of such a position, he replied, "It was nice and warm down -there." - -It is true that such events are far from unusual in the lives of -Polar explorers, but Wisting's answer is worth quoting, because it is -typical of the cheerful spirit shown by Amundsen's companions during -the whole of the journey. In temperament they were admirably suited -for the task that they had undertaken. - -With a view to landmarks on the return journey, Amundsen, rightly -leaving nothing more to chance than he could help, decided to build -snow-beacons. The first beacon was built in 80° 23' S., and -altogether 150 beacons were erected, six feet in height. - -Up to 82° S. the course had already been travelled by depot-laying -parties, but when, on 6th November, they left 82° S. behind them, -their journey was absolutely into the unknown. At this time they -were marching about 23 miles daily, and at this rate they advanced a -degree in three days. - -On reaching 83° S., the explorers deposited provisions for five men -and twelve dogs for four days, and depots were subsequently made at -84° S., and 85° S. It was from the latter depot that they decided to -make what may, without exaggeration, be called their dash for the -Pole. From their camp at 85° S., the distance to the Pole and back -was 683 miles. After consideration Amundsen determined to take -forward provisions, etc., for sixty days on the sledges, and depot -the rest of the supplies and outfit. - -A weary ascent to the plateau lay before the explorers, and they -started upon it on 17th November. Three days later they had reached -the plateau, but although they were happy enough in having -accomplished a long and dangerous climb, their first camp on the -plateau was not one of happy memory. - -Grim work had to be done. Amundsen arrived on the plateau with -forty-two dogs, but twenty-four of them had to be killed when the -plateau was reached. It was a sacrifice that had to be made if the -success of the expedition was to be considered; but no one can read -Amundsen's account of it without recognizing how bitterly he and his -companions regretted the necessity. - -This camp, not without reason, was called "The Butcher's Shop," and -as both the men and dogs required rest before setting out on the -final stages of their march, it had been decided to remain there for -two days. The eighteen remaining dogs were divided into three teams, -with six dogs in each team, and one sledge was left behind. - -But owing to the weather the explorers could not leave this hated -"Butcher's Shop" until 25th November, and when they did set out again -a blizzard was blowing. So tired, however, were they of waiting in -such an inhospitable and gruesome spot, that all of them were eager -to quit it--whatever the conditions of the weather might be. - -Fog subsequently impeded the party, and again and again Amundsen -blessed the assistance that they received from ski. "I am not," he -wrote, "giving too much credit to our excellent ski when I say that -they not only played a very important part, but possibly the most -important of all, on our journey to the South Pole. Many a time we -traversed stretches of surface so cleft and disturbed that it would -have been an impossibility to get over them on foot."* - - -* _The South Pole_, Vol. II., page 89. - - -The 7th December was a great day for the expedition, because during -it they passed Shackleton's "farthest south," 88° 23' S. They -proceeded for another two miles, and then determined to make their -last depot. So important to them was this depot that they not only -marked it at right angles to their course, but also by snow beacons -at every two miles to the south. - -As the explorers approached the Pole, Amundsen, very naturally, was -beset by nervousness. "Would he be there first?" was a question that -kept on recurring in his mind. There was no cause to worry. Blessed -by fine weather, he and his companions reached the South Pole on -December 14, 1911, and the five of them together planted the pole -from which the Norwegian flag flew. "Thus we plant thee, beloved -flag, at the South Pole, and give to the plain on which it lies the -name of King Haakon VII.'s Plateau." - -On this day Scott was still struggling on his great march to the same -destination, which he reached in the third week of January. - -The calculations that Amundsen carried out at the South Pole gave its -latitude as 89° 56' S. - -Amundsen had won the race, and with his victory had revealed one of -the great secrets of the world. His success had been gained by -strenuous labour, great courage, and infinite care. And if Britons -connect Scott's name inseparably with the South Pole, and honour it -as that of one of their heroes, they do not for a moment grudge -Amundsen the honour due to him as one of the greatest explorers of -all time. For Amundsen was the first to discover the South Pole, and -no one wishes, or is likely, to forget it. - -The Norwegians reached the Pole with seventeen dogs, one of which had -to be killed there, and they travelled back with two sledges, a team -of eight dogs in each sledge. On his return journey Amundsen was -fortunate enough to meet with favourable winds and weather, and the -explorers arrived at "Framheim" on January 25, 1912, having travelled -1,860 miles in ninety-nine days. It was a glorious achievement, a -great victory over conditions that are scarcely conceivable to any -one unacquainted with the Antarctic or Arctic regions. - - - -V - -To pass from Amundsen's expedition to Scott's last expedition is to -turn from one splendid exploit to another. Scott, as every one -knows, was beaten in the actual race for the South Pole. But he and -his friends reached their goal, and the tale of their struggle -against misfortune after reaching it is one of the finest and most -pathetic in the world. - -When Scott's intentions to lead another Antarctic expedition were -known, no less than eight thousand applicants volunteered to go with -him, and among this enormous number were several men whose names will -for ever find a place in the history of Polar exploration. - -When the _Terra Nova_ sailed from Lyttelton, New Zealand, for the -Antarctic regions, on November 29, 1910, she carried both ponies and -dogs. Three motor-sledges, one of which was lost in landing, were -also taken, and Scott, with his intense dislike for the cruelty -inseparably connected with the use of animals for motive power, hoped -that these sledges would do much to save the ponies and dogs. Owing -to engine trouble these hopes were not realized, but in connection -with them Sir Clements Markham has written: "Captain Scott was quite -on the right tack, and, with more experience, his idea of Polar -motors will hereafter be made feasible, a consummation which was very -dear to his heart."* - - -* _The Lands of Silence_ (John Murray), page 490. - - -The _Terra Nova_ was by no means as fortunate as the _Discovery_ in -making her way to the Antarctic. At the beginning of December she -encountered a prolonged and terrific storm, and subsequently she had -to fight her passage through some 370 miles of ice. Not until -January 3, 1911, did she reach the Barrier, five miles east of Cape -Crozier. Here Scott had hoped to make his winter quarters, but owing -to the swell no landing could be made, and on the following day he -decided to land at Cape Evans, 14 miles north of the _Discovery's_ -winter quarters. Strenuous work followed, and in a few days -everything necessary had been landed from the ship, the house was -soon built, and the explorers were ready to start laying depots in -preparation for the march to the Pole. - -On his first depot-laying journey Scott was accompanied by eleven -men, eight ponies, and twenty-six dogs. He was more than a little -doubtful about the dogs, but thought his ponies were bound to be a -success. "They work," he wrote, "with such extraordinary -steadiness.... The great drawback is the ease with which they sink -into soft snow--they struggle pluckily, but it is trying to watch -them." - -This depot-laying party reached latitude 79° 29' S., and there left -over a ton of stores; consequently the name of One Ton Camp was -bestowed upon it. On the return journey disasters happened that -seriously affected the success of the expedition, for six out of the -eight ponies were lost. "Everything out of joint with the loss of -our ponies, but mercifully with all the party alive and well," is -Scott's comment on this grave misfortune. Ten ponies still remained. - -During the winter Wilson, Bowers, and Cherry-Garrard started on June -27, 1911, upon their famous journey to Cape Crozier to visit the -Emperor penguin rookery, and they did not return to Cape Evans until -1st August. During these weeks they had to fight against appallingly -low temperatures. When, for instance, they started from Cape Evans, -their three sleeping-bags weighed 52 lbs., but owing to the ice that -had collected upon them these three bags weighed 118 lbs. when the -travellers returned. Scott considered that no praise was too high -for men who would face such weather during the Polar winter. - -With the beginning of August preparations for the great march went on -apace, but it was not until 1st November that a start could be made -from Cape Evans. Night-marching was decided upon, and the order of -marching was at first settled by the speed of the ponies, for some of -them were slow, some fairly fast, and some were "fliers." The -motors, with E. R. Evans, Day, Lashley, and Hooper with them, had -already started, and the dogs, under the control of Meares and -Demetri, were to follow behind the last detachment of men and ponies. -Very soon, however, the motor-party were in trouble, and this party -had to abandon their machines and push on as a man-hauling party. - -By 15th November Scott reached One Ton Camp, and fears about the -ponies began to take shape. At Camp 19 the explorers were within 150 -miles of the Beardmore Glacier, but some of the ponies were beginning -to fail, and at the next camp the first of them ("the gallant Jehu") -had to be shot. From this camp it was arranged that Day and Hooper -should turn back. - -At Camp 22 the Middle Barrier depot was made in latitude 81° 35', and -then for some days the march was impeded by extraordinarily foul -weather. Scott's desire was to take the ponies as far as the -entrance to the Beardmore Glacier; but although, on 29th November, at -Camp 5, they were only 70 miles from what he calls his "pony-goal," -some of the willing animals were very tired. - -At Camp 29 six ponies were still left out of the ten which had -started, but although the chances of getting through successfully to -the glacier were good, the weather still remained as obstructive as -possible. - -On 5th December a terrific fall of snow added to the anxieties of the -explorers, who found themselves within 12 miles of the glacier, but -hopelessly held up by such a violent and unexpected storm. It was -natural enough for Scott to be anxious, for on 7th December the food -that he had hoped only to use after the glacier was reached had to be -begun on. Two days later, however, by marching under terrible -conditions, the entrance to the glacier was gained, and then at Camp -31, which was called Shambles Camp, the last of the ponies were -killed. - -On 9th December, Wilson wrote: "Nobby [Wilson's special pony] had all -my biscuits last night and this morning, and by the time we camped I -was just ravenously hungry. Thank God the horses are now all done -with, and we begin the heavy work ourselves." - -At Camp 32 the Lower Glacier depot was built, and soon afterwards -Meares and Demetri, with the dogs, turned back for home. At this -time the parties were made up of-- - -Sledge 1. Scott, Wilson, Gates, and P. O. Evans. - -Sledge 2. E. Evans, Atkinson, Wright, and Lashley. - -Sledge 3. Bowers, Cherry-Garrard, Crean, and Keohane. - -But by 21st December, in latitude 85° S., Scott had to send back four -of these men, and Atkinson, Wright, Cherry-Garrard, and Keohane -returned. The Upper Glacier depot was made, and the returning men -took back a letter from Scott in which he wrote: "So here we are -practically on the summit, and up to date in the provision line. We -ought to get through." - -On New Year's Day, 1912, the party were within 170 miles of the Pole. -Three Degree depot was made. Then in latitude 87° 32' S., Scott was -compelled to send back E. B. Evans, Crean, and Lashley. When all of -the men were so anxious to go on it was hard to have to part with any -of them; but questions of food made it absolutely necessary that some -of the party should return. - -The ages of the five men who marched on to the Pole were: Scott, -forty-three years old; Wilson, thirty-nine; P. O. Evans, -thirty-seven; Gates, thirty-two; and Bowers, twenty-eight. Again and -again Scott expressed his admiration of his four companions: Wilson, -"never wavering from start to finish"; Evans, "a giant worker"; -Bowers, "a marvel--he is thoroughly enjoying himself"; Gates, "goes -hard all the time." - -With such men Scott felt confident, in spite of terrible surfaces, of -reaching the Pole. But as he approached it, fears that Amundsen had -already arrived were constantly besetting him; and on 16th January, -when within a few miles of the longed-for goal, there was no longer -any doubt that the Norwegian party had won the race. Sledge and ski -tracks and the traces of dogs were all too evident. - -Faced by such a grievous blow, not one of Scott's party could sleep -that night, but on the day following they marched on some 14 miles -and reached the Pole. "The Pole," Scott wrote, "yes, but under very -different circumstances from those expected." - -It is impossible to conceive a greater blow, and when it is -remembered that Scott and his four companions were already -fatigued--if not completely exhausted--by their tremendous labours, -it is easy to realize how heavily the disappointment hung on their -minds. Nevertheless they had set out to reach the Pole, and they had -reached it. All honour is due to them; and the fact that Amundsen -had preceded them in no way diminished the glory of their achievement. - -The altitude of the Pole, as estimated by Scott, is about 9,500 feet. -A cairn was built, and the Union Jack hoisted. And then on Thursday, -18th January, they turned their backs upon their goal, and began the -long march that separated them from Cape Evans. Anxiety about food -began at once--not until Three Degree depot was reached could it be -lessened; and very soon anxiety at Evans's condition was added to the -danger of the scarcity of food. - -On Wednesday, 31st January, the weary travellers reached the Three -Degree depot, but by this time Evans had dislodged two finger-nails, -and his general condition was very bad. Their next objective was the -Upper Glacier depot, and on Monday night, 5th February, they were -within from 25 to 30 miles of it; but so critical had the health of -Evans become that Scott was desperately eager to get off the plateau. -"Things," he wrote, "may mend for him [Evans] on the glacier, and his -wounds get some respite under warmer conditions." - -On the evening of 7th February they reached the Upper Glacier depot, -and then, after turning aside to collect geological specimens (which -proved to be most valuable), they met with terrible surfaces and -weather. On 14th February, with 30 miles still to go before the -Lower Glacier depot was reached, Scott's anxiety about the condition -of the party was acute. Indeed, poor Evans had almost reached the -limit of human endurance, and during the night of 17th February he -became unconscious, and died quietly at 12.30 a.m. - -It was a terrible experience for men, already supremely fatigued both -in mind and body, to meet, and it was a sorrowful party which, on -Sunday afternoon, arrived at Shambles Camp. There horse meat in -plenty awaited them, and this gave them the renewal of strength that -was sadly needed. For the moment the prospects of the explorers -looked a little more hopeful, but from this point of their march they -began to suffer from a lack of oil. When, at length, they succeeded -in arriving at the Middle Barrier depot, on 2nd March, they found so -little oil that it was scarcely enough, however economically used, to -carry them on to the next depot, which was 71 miles distant. Another -irretrievable disaster was the fact that Oates's feet were very badly -frost-bitten. On 4th March, Scott wrote: "I don't know what I should -do if Wilson and Bowers weren't so determinedly cheerful over -things." And in all truth the position had become desperate. On the -7th, when still 16 miles short of Mount Hooper depot, Oates, though -wonderfully brave, was in terrible pain. During the next day they -arrived at Mount Hooper, but the shortage of oil was not relieved. - -Over 70 miles separated the exhausted travellers from One Ton Camp, -and they struggled onwards with death staring them ever nearer and -nearer in the face. With no helping wind, and bad surfaces, they -could not advance more than six miles a day, and on the night of the -11th, Scott reckoned up the situation in these words: "We have seven -days' food, and should be about 55 miles from One Ton Camp to-night; -6x7=42, leaving us 13 miles short of our distance, even if things get -no worse." - -Unhappily, instead of any improvement in the situation, misfortunes -became more and more plentiful. It was obvious that Oates was near -the end, and on the morning of the 15th or 16th, when the blizzard -was blowing, he walked out of the tent. "I am just going outside, -and may be some time," were the last words he spoke to his companions -in distress. "We knew," said Scott, who still continued to write his -journal, "that poor Oates was walking to his death ... it was the act -of a brave man and an English gentleman." - -Oates sacrificed himself in the hope of helping the others, and no -brave man ever performed a braver act. But his sacrifice was of no -avail. Fortune had declared too strong a hand against the explorers -for them to be able to resist it. - -By midday on 18th March, Scott, Wilson, and Bowers had struggled on -to within 21 miles of One Ton depot, and during the afternoon of the -following day they managed to advance another 10 miles. And then -they made what was destined to be their last camp. The men -themselves were in a pitiable condition, and blizzard following -blizzard, they were utterly unable to march a step farther. - -On 29th March, Scott wrote: "Since the 21st we have had a continuous -gale from W.S.W. and S.W. We had fuel to make two cups of tea -apiece, and bare food for two days on the 20th. Every day we have -been ready to start for our depot, _eleven miles_ away, but outside -the door of the tent it remains a scene of whirling drift.... We -shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker, of course, -and the end cannot be far. It seems a pity, but I do not think I can -write more." And then follows those pathetic words: "Last entry. -For God's sake, look after our people." - - -It was not until 30th October that Atkinson, on whom the leadership -of the expedition had fallen, was able to take out a search party. -And nearly a fortnight later the bodies of these three friends and -explorers were found. - -No more fitting words could be found with which to conclude this -chapter of great deeds than those which were left in the metal -cylinder on the grave of these heroes:-- - -"November 12, 1912, latitude 79° 50' S. This cross and cairn are -erected over the bodies of Captain Scott, C.V.O., R.N.; Doctor E. A. -Wilson, M.B., B.C. (Cantab.); and Lieutenant H. R. Bowers, Royal -Indian Marine. A slight token to perpetuate their successful and -gallant attempt to reach the Pole. This they did on January 17, -1912, after the Norwegian expedition had already done so. Inclement -weather, with lack of fuel, was the cause of their death. Also to -commemorate their two gallant comrades, Captain L. E. G. Oates, of -the Inniskilling Dragoons, who walked to his death in a blizzard to -save his comrades, about 18 miles south of this position; also of -Seaman Edgar Evans, who died at the foot of the Beardmore Glacier. - -"The Lord gave and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the name of the -Lord." - - - - -VI - -MOUNT McKINLEY - - - -MOUNT McKINLEY - -(_Map_, p. 184.) - -The ascent of Ruwenzori unriddled the mystery of equatorial snows. -There now remained the question of great peaks in the extreme North, -where the mountaineering problems must obviously be very different -from those found at a similar altitude in the temperate zones. -Something had been done to solve the problem by the ascent of Mount -St. Elias, in Alaska, on July 31, 1897. But Mount St. Elias was only -just over 18,000 feet, and it was peculiarly accessible, for it lies -close to the coast, on the borders of British and American territory. -The eyes of explorers began to turn towards Mount McKinley, the -highest peak in North America, which reached a height of 20,300 feet. -Its latitude was 63° N., and so within 250 miles of the Arctic -Circle. The nearest salt water, Cook Inlet, was 140 miles from the -southern face as the crow flies. It was therefore almost -unreachable, lying as it did in the midst of an unexplored wilderness -and surrounded by a mighty glacier system. - -On the south these glaciers were drained by the Susitna River, with -its tributaries the Yentna and the Chulitna, and on its northern face -by the affluents of the Yukon. If the traveller attempted to reach -it in summer he might find a difficult waterway up to the beginning -of the glaciers, but then he had thirty miles of ice to cross before -he reached the base, and over these he must transport everything on -his back. In winter the journey might be made by dogs, but winter in -those latitudes was scarcely the time to travel. Moreover, Mount -McKinley, unlike the other great peaks in the world, rose from a low -elevation. In the case of the South American and Himalayan peaks -climbing does not begin until an altitude of at least 10,000 feet has -been reached, and their line of perpetual snow is very high. It is -possible, for example, to cover the 22,860 feet of Aconcagua without -ever touching snow. But in Mount McKinley the snow-line was not much -more than 2,500 feet, and there was something like 15,000 feet of -climbing. Again, its position so far north did not permit the snows -to melt properly in the summer, or to grow hard and pack. Its -snowfall was so great that the snow never got into the condition -which eases the path of the mountaineer. Finally--and this applied -especially to a winter journey--it was situated in a land of -desperate storms. The severest weather conditions ever recorded by -the American Meteorological Bureau occurred at Mount Washington, -which is only 6,000 feet above the sea, where the temperature was 40 -degrees below zero and the wind 180 miles an hour. What might the -climber expect 20,000 feet up in the sky, with nothing between him -and the North Pole? - -The attempt on Mount McKinley, therefore, was not a thing to be -lightly undertaken. It meant a journey to the remote Alaskan coast, -and then some 200 miles through difficult and little known country -before even the base was reached. What the climbing would be like no -one could tell. The obvious route, as the map will show, was the -Susitna River, by which, indeed, its first explorer, a young -Princeton graduate called Dickey, had approached it in 1896. It was -he who christened it Mount McKinley. He fell into an argument with -another prospector who was a rabid champion of free silver, and after -many weary days' dispute retaliated by naming the mountain after the -champion of the gold standard. In 1903 an expedition, led by the too -famous Dr. Cook, reached the base from the north, but failed to do -any climbing. Then, in 1906, began the explorations of Professor -Parker and Mr. Belmore Browne, who were destined six years later to -be the conquerors of the peak. - - - -I - -The 1906 expedition may be roughly sketched, for, though it was a -failure, it at least taught its leaders what routes were not -possible. They started with pack-horses and a motor-boat, with the -intention of trying the north-western face. They ascended the Yentna -River, which enters the Susitna from the west, but found it -impossible to cross the southern flanks of the Alaskan range. They -then turned up the south side of the range, and reached the glacier -out of which the Tokositna River flows. By this time their transport -was in a precarious condition, and their horses could go no farther. -They were within view of Mount McKinley, and saw not only the -impossibility of the southern face, but the extraordinary -difficulties of approaching even its base from that direction. They -accordingly returned to the coast, where Dr. Cook left them, -announcing that he intended to make one final desperate attempt on -the mountain. - -[Illustration: Mount McKinley.] - -Presently Professor Parker and Mr. Belmore Browne heard, to their -surprise, the rumour that Dr. Cook had succeeded. Knowing that the -feat was impossible in so short a time, they disbelieved the tale, -and stated their views publicly in New York. Then appeared Dr. -Cook's notorious book; but before it was published he had departed -for the Arctic regions. Geographical circles in America were torn -with the controversy. A committee of the Explorers' Club -investigated the question, but Dr. Cook refused to give evidence. -Professor Parker and Mr. Belmore Browne were meantime busy with their -own plans for another attempt. - -The 1910 expedition was again directed to the southern face. Their -reasons were that for most of the journey to that face a water route -was possible, and that if they failed there they believed they would -be able to go on to the southern North-East ridge, which, from what -they had heard and seen, they believed to be the most promising -avenue of attack. They also wished to duplicate the photographs -which Dr. Cook had published, and so prove or disprove his bona -fides. Also, the northern side of the great mountain had been -already fairly well mapped, but nothing had been done on the south -side. - -The notion of a pack train was discarded, and all their energies were -directed towards designing the right kind of boat in which to ascend -the Susitna and its tributary the Chulitna till they reached the -glaciers. The party consisted of eight, including a young man from -Seattle, Mr. Merl La Voy, who was exceptionally fitted by Providence -for the work of a pioneer. The present writer had many dealings with -Mr. La Voy during the Great War, and can confidently say that he -never met any one more intrepid, audacious, and resourceful. - -It was a summer-time expedition, and the party left Susitna station -on the 26th May. The ascent of the two rivers was difficult and -exciting enough, but they reached without misadventure the foot of -the Tokositna tributary, where they established their base camp. -This camp was thirty-seven and a half miles from Mount McKinley, and -a few miles away was the terminal moraine of a great glacier, which -they hoped would give them a roadway to the mountain. Up that -glacier they would have to carry all their belongings on their backs. -In Mr. Belmore Browne's narrative there is an interesting passage -describing the process by which men are hardened to wilderness work. - -"The day's work consisted in travelling through brush, soft sand, -swamps, and glacier streams for about ten hours. With the exception -of one or two men, who put a biscuit in their pockets, we took no -food with us. The day's work was in no way difficult, for we carried -(during the preliminary reconnaissance) no loads; our condition from -the _civilized standpoint_ was splendid; we were well-fed, -sun-browned, and fairly hard--and yet we all came into camp -_thoroughly tired out_. Two months after our adventures on Mount -McKinley's ice flanks we came down through the same stretch of -country. The snow, however, had melted, leaving dense thickets -through which we had to chop our way; mosquitoes hung in clouds, and -four of us ... were carrying packs running from 95 to 120 lbs. From -the civilized standpoint _we were not well-fed_ and we did not look -well--our eyes and cheeks were sunken and our bodies were worn down -to bone and sinew; and yet we came into camp as fresh and happy as -children, and after a bite to eat and a smoke we could have gone on -cheerfully." - -It was no light task carrying an outfit of 1,200 lbs. over the -thirty-seven and a half miles of glacier, a distance which by the -actual route used was much farther. Most of the weight was in -pemmican and alcohol for the stoves. The pemmican consisted of -pulverized raw meat, mixed with sugar, raisins, currants, and tallow. -Their principal drink was tea. On 11th June they had their last wood -fire, and after that there was only the stove. The days were spent -in sheer hard navvy labour, trudging along on snow-shoes under heavy -packs, and trotting back for others. They had various misadventures. -Frequent blizzards of wind and snow compelled them to shut up their -tent fast at night, with the result that on one occasion they were -nearly asphyxiated. - -On 27th June they reached the head of the main glacier, beyond which, -through a narrow gorge, a secondary glacier descended from the -mountains, Another glacier came down on their right, and here they -achieved an interesting piece of detective work. At the top of it -they saw some peaks which recalled an illustration in Dr. Cook's -book. The illustration purported to be the summit of Mount McKinley, -and showed on the left a rock shoulder which Dr. Cook described as a -cliff of 8,000 feet. It was really a faked picture of the small -peaks at the head of this glacier, miles and miles from the main -mountain, and the cliff of 8,000 feet turned out only to rise 300 -feet above the floor, and to be only 5,300 feet above sea-level. One -legend at any rate had been dispelled for ever. - -Now began the patient relaying of provisions up the great gorge. It -was desperately hard manual labour, their faces were burnt black by -the glare of the sun, and every now and then there would be a slip -into a crevasse, which only the highest good fortune saved from being -a tragedy. After thirty-six days of hard travelling, they were at -last within two miles of the base of the southern cliffs of Mount -McKinley. They found themselves in a great ice basin, hemmed in by -colossal precipices down which avalanches thundered. Before them -rose the mountain, 15,000 feet of rock and ice. Their glasses showed -them that the South-West ridge became utterly unclimbable after an -altitude of about 15,000 feet. The southern North-East ridge looked -more promising, and to this they turned their attention. In that -Northern summer there was no dark. "The advance and retreat of the -night shadows went on with scarcely a pause, and sometimes we would -be uncertain whether the Alpine glow on the big mountain's icy crest -was the light of the rising or the setting sun." They had now a -short spell of rest from their toil; and as the mind of man on such -occasions turns to food, they invented out of their scanty larder a -new pudding. Here is the recipe. - -"First soak three broken hard-tack in snow-water until they are soft. -Add 60 raisins and pemmican the size of 4˝ eggs. Stir slowly but -energetically until the mess is thoroughly amalgamated. Boil slowly -over an alcohol stove, add three tablespoonfuls of granulated sugar, -and serve in a granite-ware cup." - -But between them and the North-East ridge lay a gigantic _serac_. -For a day and a half they lay storm-bound under it, and then, on the -morning of 11th July, tried to cut their way up the ice wall. It -proved most difficult and dangerous work, and presently, owing to the -diminishing provisions, they realized it was impossible. Again and -again they attempted it, for only that way was there a road to the -North-East ridges. But at last they had to give it up as hopeless, -and turn their attention to the South-West _aręte_. - -This, too, proved too hard for them. They laboured on under constant -ice-falls and avalanches, and reached a height of 10,300 feet, where -they had perforce to halt. During these days they saw some -marvellous mountain scenery. "The whole of the great cliffs of the -box-cańon appeared at first glance to be on fire. Unnumbered -thousands of tons of soft snow were avalanching from the southern -flanks of Mount McKinley on to the glacier floor 5,000 feet below. -The snow fell so far that it was broken into heavy clouds that rolled -downward like heavy waves. The force of the rolling mass was -terrific, and as it struck the blue-green glacier mail it threw a -great snow cloud that raced like a live thing for 500 feet; whirling -in the wind the avalanche had caused, the white wall swept across the -valley, and almost before we were aware of it we were struggling and -choking in a blinding and stinging cloud of ice dust." - -They began their retreat, and their return to greenery and summer out -of a hyperborean hell was like a man's recovery from a dangerous -illness. Though the expedition failed, they were a merry party, for -though every man was sunken-eyed and lean and hatchet-faced, he was -in the pink of condition. It was nothing to them to carry a load of -120 lbs., which would have broken their backs in the first days. The -party included men of diverse temperaments and multifarious -attainments, and Mr. La Voy observed, "It is an education to travel -with a bunch like ours; if anything should happen you can listen to a -whole dictionary." In the end they came to their cache on the -Chulitna, and they emptied it as children empty their Christmas -stockings. "We were actually ravenous," says Mr. Belmore Browne, -"and as jars of chow-chow, cans of maple-syrup, and tins of meat -appeared we hugged them in our arms and danced delirious dances on -the sand! One of the great truths of life that one learns to -understand in the North is that it is well worth while to go without -the things one wants, for the greater the sacrifice the greater the -reward when the wish is consummated. I have eaten with all manner of -hungry men, from the sun-browned riders of the sage to the -bidarka-men of the Aleutians, and I have feasted joyously on -'seal-liver,' 'seagull-omelets,' and 'caribou spinach'; but never -have I seen men eat more, or better food!" - - - -II - -As soon as the explorers returned to civilization they began to plan -a third attempt. It was clear to them that the western and southern -faces of the mountain were impracticable, and that their best chance -was on the North-East ridge. This, however, could not be approached -from the south; so it became their object to get in on the north -side. Their explorations in 1910 had proved the difficulties of a -summer trip, for loads had to be transported on men's backs over many -miles of glacier. They therefore decided to make a winter expedition -of it and to use Alaskan dog teams. The best route seemed to be up -the Susitna and Chulitna rivers, and they hoped somewhere near the -head of the Chulitna to find a pass in the Alaskan range which would -take them round the north face of Mount McKinley. - -[Illustration: Mount McKinley: View of the Southern Approach. (_From -the painting by Mr. Belmore Browne. By permission of Messrs. -Putnam's Sons._)] - -In October, 1911, Mr. La Voy began to relay supplies up the Chulitna, -the plan being for him to join Professor Parker and Mr. Belmore -Browne at Susitna in February of 1912. As Cook Inlet is choked by -ice during winter the travellers had to leave the steamer at Seward, -and make a long and difficult overland journey by way of Glacier City -and the Knik fjord to the Susitna River. There they found Mr. La Voy -with the dog teams. He reported that he had taken the bulk of the -outfit to a cache on the Chulitna, several miles beyond the mouth of -the Tokositna. - -The journey up the Susitna, which was now a flat snow trail, went -easily and pleasantly. When they reached the cache they found to -their disgust that a wolverine, which is the arch-fiend of those -northern wildernesses, had managed to break in, though it was placed -for greater security on a platform of logs among the trees. The -brute had destroyed a good deal of the dog-feed and bacon, and a new -and expensive camera of Mr. La Voy's, which had been swung on the top -of a 30-foot pole. The wolverine had climbed the pole, cut off the -corners of the leather case, and gnawed its way into the camera! - -From the cache began a long system of relays, for it was impossible -to carry all the equipment in one journey. There was now no trail, -and a road had to be "broken" before each stage. The route lay up -the Chulitna, and the travellers hoped to find some large stream -coming down on their left which would indicate a gap in the Alaskan -range. Any such gap would, of course, be filled with glaciers, the -water from which must form a river. On the whole, winter travelling -compared favourably with summer. The men used snow-shoes to break -the trail, and after equipment had been transported for five miles, -returned on the empty sleds for new loads. Winter had not killed all -signs of wild life, though hunting was difficult, and the snow was -dotted with the tracks of innumerable wild things. Even a finch was -heard singing. Camping was perfectly comfortable, and in a tent with -the stove lit and beds of green spruce prepared, the nights were warm -and peaceful. - -At last, as the trees began to thin, they came to a point where the -valley split and a great cańon turned north towards the range. -Travel now became rougher, for the broad level flats gave way to -snow-covered rapids and big drifts. As they advanced up the gorge a -glacier was seen winding down from the centre of the mountains. One -night Mr. Belmore Browne had an accident which might have proved -serious. He went out to shoot an owl for food, and as the ejector of -his little rifle had been removed the cartridge came back on his eye -and just missed his right eyeball. It gave him an eerie feeling to -see the friendly dogs lapping up the bloodstained snow. Shortly -after he made a reconnaissance of twenty-five miles ahead, and found -the glacier they had seen from afar off running like a great white -road into the hills. The route seemed possible, but there were ugly -ice precipices at the head which suggested that the crossing of the -pass might not be easy. - -A second reconnaissance took him to the head of the glacier. At -first no crossing could be discerned, but suddenly at the head of the -right-hand basin the mountains broke away and he saw a smooth -snow-field leading to the crest. He climbed to the top of it, and at -first saw nothing but a sheer precipice. At length, however, he -discovered on the right a gentle snow slope leading down into a great -snow cup, and realized that the pass could be crossed. - -On 3rd April the main camp was pushed up to a height of 6,000 feet. -Then came a delay from a blizzard, which confined the explorers for -twenty-four hours to their tents. It was bitterly cold, and -everything, including the alarm clock, froze stiff. They managed, -however, to get a little fire with an empty pemmican case, and, with -the stove, had a sort of party in the tent--men, dogs, and -everything. The party was, however, unceremoniously broken up by one -of the dogs backing into the stove, and filling the tent with a cloud -of smoke from singed hair. - -Next morning they crossed the divide, partly shooting and partly -lowering their belongings over the 1,000-feet drop into the hollow. -They were no sooner across when another blizzard arrived, and they -were storm-bound for thirty-six hours. But their spirits were high. -For the time they were done with uphill climbs, and they saw that by -crossing a low pass at the head of another glacier they could reach -the great Muldrow Glacier, which had been known to the world since -1902. This glacier would take them into the very heart of the -mountain. - -Without much difficulty they crossed the pass, and, descending to the -Muldrow moraine, they realized with joy that they were on the -northern side of the Alaskan range. It was now nearly the middle of -April, and they found themselves in the kind of country that hunters -dream of. There was a chance of fresh meat, and, to men who had been -seventeen days on the ice, the hope of a change in their menu and the -sight of vegetation were an intoxication. Mr. Belmore Browne went -out one morning, and fell in with a herd of white sheep (_Ovis -Dalli_). He secured three, and that night the camp feasted. "In -cold weather," he writes, "one has a craving for fat, and in the -wilderness one is less particular about the way meat is cooked. Our -desire for fat was so intense that we tried eating the raw meat, and -finding it good beyond words, we ate freely of the fresh mutton. I -can easily understand now why savage tribes make a practice of eating -uncooked flesh." The white sheep was not the only game. There was a -special variety of caribou; there was the Alaskan moose; there was an -occasional grizzly; and there were quantities of ptarmigan. The -travellers showed the most sportsmanlike spirit in refraining from -killing females or immature beasts. - -From the Muldrow Glacier they turned westward and struck the McKinley -fork of the Kantishna River, which flows to the Yukon. Presently -they were in timber country, and realized that they had crossed the -Alaskan range "from wood to wood," and incidentally had added two new -glacier systems to the map. After snow and ice and pemmican they had -greenery and fresh meat, and, as they worked their way to the -lowlands, the first flush of spring. Above all, they had the -North-East ridges (of which there were three) above them to offer an -apparently possible route to the summit. They saw a glacier running -between the central and northern North-East ridges which they decided -would be their road. Mr. Belmore Browne went out to prospect, and, -climbing the head of a valley, found himself looking down upon the -upper Muldrow Glacier, which he now realized was split in two by the -central North-East ridge. He saw also that the northern branch of it -gave a road to the very base of the central peak. - -A base camp was established on 24th April, and four days later began -the chief reconnaissance. They took with them a dog team, and, for -equipment, their mountain tent, instruments, alcohol lamps, and -provisions of pemmican, chocolate, hard-tack, sugar, and raisins. -The total outfit weighed about 600 lbs. They started at night, when -the snow was in better condition, and found the northern branch of -the Muldrow, which they called the McKinley Glacier, rising in steps -like a huge staircase. Camp was pitched at the base of a serac -between two great cliffs of solid blue ice. - -On 3rd May they reached the top of the serac at an altitude of 8,500 -feet, after a very difficult journey. Mr. La Voy, who was leading, -fell into a crevasse, and the strain on the rope pulled Mr. Belmore -Browne to the very edge. Mr. La Voy, however, stuck on a ledge of -ice, which eased the strain; without that ledge it may well be that -the whole expedition would have ended in tragedy. Bit by bit they -fought their way to the head of the glacier, suffering severely from -the glare of the sun, though the temperature was only one degree -above freezing. They had now attained an altitude of 11,000 feet, -and saw a low col on the mountain ridge, where they decided to make a -high camp. This would be about 12,000 feet high, which would leave -them between 3,000 and 5,000 more feet to climb before they reached -the basin between the north and south peaks. It was now time to send -the dogs home; so, after caching their equipment, they started back -for the base camp, which they reached on the evening of 8th May. - -Some pleasant days were spent at the base camp. When they left it -the countryside had still been in the grip of winter, but now -everywhere there were grass and flowers and running streams. So far -they had managed well. They had crossed the Alaskan range early -enough to find the snow in good condition for dog sledding, and they -had cached 300 lbs. weight of mountain provisions at 11,000 feet. -They could therefore afford to wait till the days lengthened before -venturing on a final climb. Here is Mr. Belmore Browne's picture of -the landscape:-- - -"The mountain country at the northern base of Mount McKinley is the -most beautiful stretch of wilderness that I have ever seen, and I -will never forget those wonderful days when I followed up the velvety -valleys or clambered among the high rocky peaks as my fancy led me. -In the late evening I have trotted downward through valleys that were -so beautiful that I was forced against my will to lie down in the -soft grass and drink in the wild beauty of the spot, although I knew -that I would be late for supper, and that the stove would be cold. -The mountains were bare of vegetation, with the exception of velvety -carpets of green grass that swept downward from the snow-fields; in -the centres of the cup-shaped hollows ran streams of crystal-clear -water; as the sun sank lower and lower the hills would turn a darker -blue, until the cold, clean air from the snow-fields would remind you -that night was come and that camp was far away." - -[Illustration: The Summit of Mount McKinley. (_From photographs by -Mr. Belmore Browne. By permission of Messrs. Putnam's Sons._)] - -The sight of big avalanches on Mount McKinley warned the explorers -that great risks had to be faced. On the 5th day of June they -started out for their final attack. Unfortunately the weather became -very bad, and soon they were enveloped in a heavy snowstorm. Mr. La -Voy had hurt his knee hunting, and the ascent through the seracs was -for him very arduous. The nervous strain, too, was great, for they -had to be perpetually on the outlook for avalanches. They feared -that one might have buried their cache, and it was an immense relief -when they reached the 11,000-feet point and saw the top of their sled -sticking out of the snow. - -They now moved their supplies up to a camp on the col of the ridge at -a height of 11,800 feet. On 19th June they made a reconnaissance, -taking with them food for six days, and intending to climb up to the -big basin between the two main peaks. They reached a height of -13,200 feet up a sensational _aręte_, when Mr. La Voy's knee gave out -and they were compelled to return. Three days later they made a camp -on the ridge at 13,600 feet. It was a wild and most laborious -journey, with a drop of 5,000 feet on the left and of 2,000 on the -right. It would take them two hours of hard work to make 500 feet. -Apart from the handicap of Mr. La Voy's knee, Mr. Belmore Browne's -eyes were very bad. They now realized that they could not reach the -summit with their food supply of six days' rations, and they were -forced to change their plans, and go back for more food. - -They returned to the camp on the col and packed up ten days' rations. -With tremendous difficulty they transported them up to a 15,000-feet -camp on the ridge, where they were on the edge of the big -glacier-filled basin between the two summits. All three found their -health beginning to suffer. The pemmican proved to be impossible -food, giving them all violent stomach pains, and they were forced to -confine themselves to tea and hard-tack. The cold was intense, and -inside the tent, with the alcohol stove burning and the warmth of -three bodies, the temperature at 7.30 p.m. was five degrees below -zero, and three hours later nineteen degrees below zero. "Despite -elaborate precautions," says Mr. Belmore Browne, "I can say in all -honesty that I did not have a single night's normal sleep above -15,000 feet on account of the cold." By this time their appearance -was, as Mr. La Voy said, "sufficient to frighten children into the -straight and narrow path." All were more or less snow-blind, burnt -black, unshaven, with lips, noses, and hands swollen, cracked, and -bleeding. - -On 27th June the packs were carried in relays to just under the last -serac, which was the highest point in the big basin. The altitude -was 16,615 feet. Their one comfort was that a snow-field seemed to -lead easily up to the sky-line of the central North-East ridge, and -that from there they saw what appeared to be a reasonable gradient to -the final summit. On 28th June they rested and prepared for their -last effort. They were now convinced that nothing could stop them -except storm. The night was fine, and the weather promised well for -the morrow. The summit appeared to them to be nearly flat with a -slight hummocky rise, which must be the highest point in North -America. - -On 29th June they left camp at 6 a.m., moving very quietly and -steadily and conserving their strength. Mr. La Voy and Mr. Belmore -Browne led alternately. Slowly they made their way up the snow -slopes at the rate of about 400 feet an hour. At 18,500 feet they -stopped and congratulated each other, for they had beaten the Duke of -the Abruzzi's record on Mount St. Elias. Presently they were on the -sky-line of the ridge, and looking down on the arena where they had -struggled two years before. Now, for the first time, came a threat -from the weather. The sky was clear to the north, but from the south -a great sea of clouds rolled against the mountain like surf on a -shore. - -As they moved up the ridge breathing became more difficult. At -19,000 feet they had passed the last rock, and were looking at the -summit. It rose as innocently as a snow-covered tennis court, but -now the wind was rising and the southern sky darkening, and just at -the base of the last lift the gale broke. In a fierce scurry of snow -they crawled up the round dome, Mr. La Voy leading and hacking steps. -Then came Mr. Belmore Browne's turn, and he realized that his hands -were freezing, and that the bitter wind was cutting through his -flesh. He dare not get dry mittens from his rucksack lest his hands -should be frozen during the change. When his second turn was -three-fourths finished, Professor Parker's barometer registered -20,000 feet, and they were within 300 feet of the top. - -The rest was an evil dream. To each man the other two seemed to be -lost in the ice mist, and the cold was freezing their marrow. The -storm was growing fiercer, and as they topped a little rise its full -fury burst upon them. The story must be given in Mr. Belmore -Browne's own words:-- - -"The breath was driven from my body, and I held to my axe with -stooped shoulders to stand against the gale; I could not go ahead. -As I brushed the frost from my glasses and squinted upward through -the stinging snow I saw a sight that will haunt me to my dying day. -_The slope above me was no longer steep_! That was all I could see. -What it meant I will never know for certain--all I can say is that we -were close to the top!" - -There was no going on in the teeth of that gale. The three chopped a -seat in the ice, trying to find a shelter; but they were not huddled -there a second before they discovered they were freezing. There was -nothing for it but to return, for the snow was obliterating their -back trail. Dead tired and sick at heart they began the journey -back, and found that the steps they had cut had disappeared. It took -them nearly two hours to go down an easy slope of 1,000 feet. They -reached the base of the dome, guiding themselves only by the -direction of the wind, and at last at 7.35 p.m. crawled into their -upper camp. All their apparel down to their underclothes was filled -with ice. They were beaten by the wind, and by the wind only. On a -conservative estimate its pace was fifty-five miles an hour, and the -temperature fifteen degrees below zero. Otherwise they suffered -little from the altitude. Mr. Belmore Browne was able to roll and -smoke a cigarette between 18,000 and 19,000 feet. - -They spent a day in their tent, trying to thaw their clothes. -Pemmican they could not touch, their chocolate was finished, and -their food was tea, sugar, hardtack, and raisins. It was a cruel -fate that they had lost ten days' rations in useless pemmican since -leaving their 13,200-feet camp, and they had not only lost the food -but carried useless weight. - -They made one more attempt on the summit, and reached the base of the -final dome; but there another storm assailed them, and, after waiting -an hour, they went back. There was now a real risk of being caught -with insufficient food in a blizzard which would destroy life, and -they made haste down the mountain. They had spent seven days above -15,000 feet, six days above 16,000 feet, and four days above 16,650 -feet. - -As they descended their health improved, and at last they came off -the glacier on to the moraine, and lay down on the bare earth. It -was the first time for thirty days that they had lain on anything but -snow and ice. They slept like logs till the afternoon, and when they -awoke a warm wind was blowing up the pass, carrying with it the smell -of grass and flowers. "Never can I forget," says Mr. Belmore Browne, -"the flood of emotions that swept over me. Professor Parker and La -Voy were equally affected by this first smell of the lowlands, and we -were wet-eyed and chattered like children as we prepared our packs -for the last stage of our journey." - -How dangerous was the climatic condition of the mountain may be -judged from what happened on the evening of 6th July. From their -camp in the foothills they saw the sky suddenly turn a sickly green. -There came a deep rumbling from the Alaskan range, and as they looked -the mountains melted into mist and the earth began to heave and roll. -In front of them a boulder weighing 200 lbs. broke loose from the -earth and moved. The surface of the hills seemed to open and the -cracks to spout liquid mud. The whole range was wrapped in dust, and -as it cleared they saw the peaks spouting avalanches. Had this -earthquake overtaken them on the high ground all must have perished. - - - -III - -The story has always seemed to me one of the boldest and most patient -adventures in the history of mountaineering. Slowly the travellers -fought their way to the discovery of the only practical route. Mount -McKinley was conquered, though they had failed to cover the hundred -or so feet which would have given them the actual summit. They had -blazed the path to the top and solved its mysteries. Only that -maleficent blizzard at the last moment robbed them of the full fruit -of six years' pioneering. - -Next year the actual summit was reached. The late Dr. Hudson Stuck, -the Archdeacon of the Yukon, ever since he came to the country nine -years before, had contemplated an attempt on the mountain. In the -autumn of 1912 he sent on supplies by way of the Kantishna River to a -point fifty miles from the base. In March, 1913, he and Mr. W. P. -Karstens set out to reach the peak from the north. At their base -camp, 4,000 feet up, they made a fresh supply of caribou pemmican -which proved more satisfactory than that used by Professor Parker and -Mr. Belmore Browne. The road taken was the same as that of their -predecessors--up the Muldrow Glacier and then up the central -North-East ridge. They found that the earthquake of 1912 had -completely changed the character of that ridge, and instead of being -a reasonable snow gradient, it had become a confused mass of rock and -ice, most difficult to surmount. Bit by bit they forced their way up -it till they reached the upper basin, and then, being favoured with -clear, bright, still weather, they managed to attain the highest -point, the southern summit. There had been a story of two miners, -called McGonogall and Anderson, who had reached the top in 1910. Dr. -Stuck discovered that the top they had reached was the lesser -northern peak, for he saw the remains of their flagstaff. - -With this ascent the story of the conquest of Mount McKinley is -complete.* - - -* Dr. Stuck argued with much reason that the present name of the -mountain is unsuitable, and that the Indian name "Denali"--which -means "the Great One"--should be restored. It is to be feared that -the suggestion comes too late in the day. Ever since the expedition -of 1906 Mount McKinley has become too familiar a name in the Western -Hemisphere to be readily changed for another. The story of the -Parker-Browne expedition is contained in _The Conquest of Mount -McKinley_ (New York, Putnams, 1913), and that of Dr. Stuck in _The -Ascent of Denali_ (New York, Scribners, 1914). - - - - -VII - -THE HOLY CITIES OF ISLAM - - - -THE HOLY CITIES OF ISLAM - -(_Map_, p. 216.) - -The "spell of far Arabia" has been a potent thing from the days when -the Egyptians drew wealth from the spice-land of Punt, and Greek -traders brought stories of the gums and jewels of Araby the Blessed. -But ever since it became the Holy Land of Islam a veil of secrecy, -other than that of its stern climate and inhospitable deserts, has -descended upon it. It is one of the oldest of arenas of adventure, -and it is still one of the least exploited; indeed, in its great -Southern Desert it holds one of the few unriddled mysteries of the -globe. Except for the semi-mythical Gregorio, who may be read of in -Albuquerque's Commentaries, no one who did not profess the creed of -Islam has entered its two Holy Cities and lived. But the greatest -tale of Arabian exploration is not concerned with Mecca and Medina. -It is to be found rather in the journeys of the English soldier -Captain Sadlier in Nejd; of Sir Richard Burton in the land of Midian; -of Wallin, who crossed the great Nafud sands; of William Gilford -Palgrave, who may, or may not, have been an agent of Napoleon III.; -and, above all, of Charles Montague Doughty, who, as an avowed -Christian, explored the Northern Hedjaz, and in his _Arabia Deserta_ -has written one of the foremost classics of travel in the English -tongue. - -Compared with some of these wanderings, a visit to the Holy Cities -was a simple matter, requiring only a firm nerve, a good knowledge of -Arabic and of Mohammedan ritual, and a real or professed adherence to -the creed of Islam. At the beginning of this century the list of -Europeans who had entered Mecca and Medina was a long one. They were -mostly renegades--French, English, Irish, Scottish, and Italian. In -1807 a certain Domingo Badia y Leblich of Cadiz, travelling as a -Moslem prince called Ali Bey, and probably in the pay of Napoleon, -entered Mecca in state; but he had become a genuine Mussulman. In -1815 one Thomas Keith, a deserter from the 72nd Highlanders, was -Governor of Medina--surely one of the strangest posts ever held even -by a Scot! The great European travellers like Burckhardt, Wallin, -and Burton went to the Holy Cities in order that by attaining the -rank and fame of a Hadji they might win an advantage for travelling -in other Moslem lands. More than one of them has described minutely -the interior of both Mecca and Medina and the ritual of the great -ceremonies. The Holy Places, though few Western eyes had seen them, -were sufficiently well known to the Western world. Their true -unveiling may be said to have come about during the Great War, when -Hussein, the Sherif of Mecca, fought as an ally with the British, -and, as King of the Hedjaz, proclaimed his independence of Turkey. - -Yet one journey was taken just before the Great War which must rank -by itself. It told the world nothing that was not known before; but -it had the merit of giving a picture of Mecca and Medina under the -latest conditions--a picture drawn with such vigour and in such -detail that it may fairly claim to have revealed the Holy Cities in a -new light to the ordinary man. - - -Mr. A. J. B. Wavell greatly distinguished himself in command of Arab -scouts in East Africa in the early part of the Great War, and was -responsible for the brilliant affair at Gazi. In that campaign he -gave his life for his country.* He had been at Winchester, and in -1908, when he made the plan for visiting Mecca, had been living for -some time at Mombasa, where he had acquired Arabic and Swahili, and a -considerable knowledge of Moslem customs. His motive was partly -curiosity, partly, as he says, to accustom himself to Arab ways, with -a view to further explorations in Arabia, and partly in order to -obtain the useful prestige of a Hadji. He chose as his companions a -certain Abdul Wahid, an Arab from Aleppo who was established in -Berlin, and Masaudi, a Mombasa native. The three met at Marseilles -on September 23, 1908. They started in good time, for though the -pilgrimage was not to take place till the beginning of the following -January, Mr. Wavell wanted to go first to Medina, and also to prepare -himself by a preliminary discipline in Eastern life. He managed to -secure a Turkish passport, which described him as one Ali bin -Mohammed, aged twenty-five, a subject of Zanzibar on his way to Mecca. - - -* He fell on January 8, 1916. - - -The three found a vessel at Genoa which took them to Alexandria, -where they managed, not without trouble, to get their medicine chest, -pistols, and ammunition past the Customs. They then took passages on -a Khedivial mail ship for Beyrout. Mr. Wavell had feared that the -language difficulty would be serious, but he found it less formidable -than he expected, since the dialects of Arabic are many. He -explained to those who found imperfections in his accent that in -Zanzibar the colloquial language was Swahili and that no one talked -Arabic; and on the few occasions when he had to speak Swahili he -inverted the story, announcing that, having been born in Muscat, his -real language was Arabic. As Sir Richard Burton discovered in his -own journey, it was rare indeed to find any one sufficiently well -acquainted with both languages to find him out. Meantime he had -changed at Alexandria into Arab clothes and shaved his head. - -[Illustration: Wavell's Journey to Mecca.] - -They reached Beyrout safely, and proceeded at once by rail to -Damascus. As they did not propose to start for Medina for some -weeks, they took rooms and settled down, devoting great attention to -the various Moslem ceremonies, and picking up the right kind of -phrases and quotations and greetings. It is on such small things -that the efficacy of a disguise depends. "There are nearly as many -white men at Mecca," Mr. Wavell writes in his account of his -adventures,* "as there are men black or brown in colour. Syrian -'Arabs' not infrequently have fair hair and blue eyes, as likewise -have some of the natives of the Holy Cities themselves. I was once -asked what colour I stained myself for this journey. The question -reveals the curious ignorance that lies at the bottom of the -so-called race prejudice, of which some people are so proud. You -might as well black yourself all over to play Hamlet!" - - -* _A Modern Pilgrim in Mecca_, by A. J. B. Wavell (Constable, 1912). - - -Abdul Wahid had brought letters of introduction to a local merchant, -who was most hospitable, and supervised the preparations for the -journey. They passed safely through the period of Ramadan, and so -complete was Mr. Wavell's get-up, and so stalwart his Moslem -respectability, that it was with some difficulty that he prevented a -middle-aged lady and her two daughters from joining his party for the -pilgrimage. He bought the "Ihram," the white robes which are -required when entering Mecca, a full camp equipment, and a certain -number of stores, and deposited his money with his merchant friend, -who gave him two cheques on his agents, one at Medina and one at -Mecca. He proposed to travel to Medina by the Hedjaz railway, a very -different method from those used by earlier adventurers when aiming -at Mecca. - -The third-class carriages were desperately crowded, and the train -started to the accompaniment of gramophones--a modern invention which -is very popular in the Hedjaz. On the way Mr. Wavell had a touch of -malaria, and his fellow pilgrims showed him every kindness. -Presently the train reached Medain Salih, the boundary of the Hedjaz, -which no infidel is permitted to pass. On the fourth day the rocky -hills opened, and through a gap appeared the minarets of the -Prophet's mosque. They arrived at Medina in the middle of a battle, -for the Turkish garrison had come to loggerheads with the -neighbouring Bedawin, and the Holy City was more or less in a state -of siege. The railway was spoiling trade for the neighbouring -tribes, and they were demanding compensation, which Constantinople -would not pay. - - -Medina lies in an open plain some 3,000 feet above sea-level. To the -south the country is open, but on the north and west, between five -and ten miles distant, rise rocky mountains. The city, which has a -population of some 30,000, lives entirely on the pilgrims, as an -English watering-place lives on summer visitors. The pilgrims are -classified by their lands of origin, and there are official guides, -called Mutowifs, attached to each group. The first trouble arose -from these guides. If Mr. Wavell went about with the Zanzibar -Mutowifs he was certain to meet some one who knew him in Mombasa, -even if he were not caught out in the language. So it was arranged -that Abdul Wahid should profess to come from Bagdad, while Mr. Wavell -passed as "a Derweish," and Masaudi as his slave. A "Derweish," -which denotes properly a member of certain monastic orders, is a -title occasionally assumed by pilgrims who do not wish to be -identified with any particular nationality. - -Happily, at the station there were no Zanzibar guides, and the party -were able to find rooms in a retired corner at the moderate rate of -Ł2 a month. The landlord was an Abyssinian called Iman, a man of -some private means, who had been captured as a child by Arab slavers -and sold in Mecca. He proved a most useful friend to the party -during their stay. - -So began a curious life of endless religious observations. Apart -from the sacred places, which few European eyes had beheld, there was -a perpetual interest in the study of the pilgrims. "A large caravan -came in from Yembu, bringing crowds of Indians, Javanese, and -Chinamen. Every Eastern race might be identified in the motley -crowd, and every variety of costume, till the whole resembled nothing -so much as a fancy dress ball. In the same line of prayer stand -European Turks, with their frock coats and stick-up collars; -Anatolians, with enormous trousers and fantastic weapons; Arabs from -the West, who look as if they were arrayed for burial; the Bedou -(Bedawin), with their spears and scimitars; and Indians, who, in -spite of their being the richest class there, managed, as usual, to -look the most unkempt and the least clean. Then, besides, were the -Persians, Chinese, Javanese, Japanese, Malayans, a dozen different -African races, Egyptians, Afghans, Baluchies, Swahilis, and 'Arabs' -of every description." Representatives of half the races of the -globe may be picked out in the mosque any day during the month before -the pilgrimage. - -The behaviour of the pilgrims, who now saw with their own eyes the -tomb of the Prophet, which from their childhood they had been taught -to regard with awe, was a proof of the living reality of the Islamic -faith. "Many burst into tears and frantically kissed the railings: I -have seen Indians and Afghans fall down apparently unconscious. They -seem to be much more affected here than before the Kaaba itself. At -Mecca the feeling is of awe and reverence; here the personal element -comes in. The onlooker might fancy that they were visiting the tomb -of some dear friend, one whom they had actually known and been -intimate with in his lifetime. With frantic interest they listen to -their guides as they describe the surroundings. Here is the place -where the Prophet prayed, the pulpit he preached from, the pillar -against which he leant; there, looking to the mosque, is the window -of Abu Bakar's house, where for long he stayed as a guest; and beyond -is the little garden planted by his daughter Fatima." Moreover, -there is no suggestion of infidel authority, the Moslem standards -float over the town, Moslem cannon protect its gates, and no -unbeliever may enter. But there are startling touches of modernity. -In the shops you may buy European tinned goods and note -advertisements of Cadbury's chocolates and Huntley and Palmer's -biscuits! - -The party had brought introductions from Damascus and Abdul Wahid had -made various friends, so they saw a good deal of society. The time -was just after the rising of the Young Turks and the grant of the -Constitution. Mr. Wavell, who was a staunch Tory, found to his -disgust that every one talked parliamentarianism and Liberal -principles. England and the English were everywhere in high favour -because of our attitude in the recent quarrel with Austria over the -annexation of Bosnia. "I am afraid I managed to give the impression -that Zanzibar is a sadly backward state, or that I myself am -peculiarly stupid. Not to know a word of any European language is to -be held very ignorant, even in Medina. Most people of the class with -whom I associated had at any rate a smattering of French, and -sometimes of English too. I was careful never to know anything." - -Their stay in Medina was much enlivened by the Bedawin siege. Mr. -Wavell tried to get enlisted in the defence force, and when that plan -failed, succeeded in getting into a very warm corner just outside the -gates. They visited like industrious tourists every possible place -of interest, and few pilgrims can have spent a more enlightening -three weeks. During the whole time they were never in real danger. -They had, indeed, a scuffle with a Persian Mutowif, who would insist -that Mr. Wavell was a Persian; but by vigorous bluffing they made him -apologize, and afterwards employed him as a guide. Once only was -there a hint of trouble. Masaudi, standing in the mosque one day -before the noonday prayer, found himself face to face with five -Mombasa Swahilis who knew him intimately, and, what was worse, knew -Mr. Wavell. Masaudi showed remarkable gifts of mendacity. He said -he had left Mr. Wavell in England, and having saved a little money -thought the present was a good time to perform the pilgrimage. He -was in Medina, he said, as a servant of some rich Egyptian pilgrims. -As he walked back after prayer he dropped his string of beads. The -Swahilis asked where his house was, and he promised to show it them; -but half-way up the street he suddenly remembered the beads, bolted -back, and lost himself in the crowd. - -The incident convinced Mr. Wavell that he had better start without -delay for Mecca. Their plan was to go to the coast at Yembu, for -which a caravan was starting at once. They arranged for three -camels, one to carry a _shugduf_, which is a cross between a pannier -and a howdah, and the other two for luggage; and they bought the -necessary food. They took with them a Persian called Jaffa as cook, -and his brother Ibrahim as general servant. The luggage was carried -down to the big square where the caravan was parked, and where the -travellers had to pass the night. That evening there occurred an -untoward event. Mr. Wavell was going to a shop for some small -purchase, when he met two Mutowifs who demanded to know his -nationality. The Mutowifs, being a strict trades union, were -convinced that he was defrauding the brotherhood. He took a high -line and showed his pistol, and, fortunately, his late landlord came -down the street at the moment and took his side. What might have -been an ugly experience ended in a minor street brawl. - -[Illustration: View of Medina. (_By permission of Messrs. Arch. -Constable & Co., Ltd._)] - -The journey to Yembu was little better than a nightmare. The -fashionable road from Medina to Mecca is overland, or back to -Damascus and so direct to Jiddah by the Suez Canal. Only poor people -go by the Yembu route, which is supposed to be the most hazardous and -the roughest in the Hedjaz. There were no escort or police -arrangements, no daily market, and each traveller had to carry his -own provisions and water. The Bedawin hired out the camels, which -numbered about 5,000, and a Bedawi sheikh was in charge. The -countryside was infested by robbers who constantly cut off -stragglers. The ground, too, was difficult going, being a rough -mountain-land, and, while the noons were scorching, the nights were -bitterly cold. Every night an encampment was made, roughly circular -in shape, into which the whole caravan was packed in the smallest -possible space. "While I was trying to get warm a man stumbled -against me and nearly knocked me into the fire. Turning round, I was -shocked to see a figure, stained almost from head to foot with blood -from a tremendous gash in the head, obviously a sword cut. He asked -for water, and I went into the tent to get him some, but returning, -found him gone. We heard the next day that no less than six men had -been murdered that night and many others wounded; and so it went on -till we reached Yembu. These unfortunates were mostly people who -could not afford camels, and so had to perform the journey on foot. -Straying from the main body in search of firewood they got picked up -by the marauders hanging on the flanks, who seized every opportunity -to plunder such stragglers of their miserable possessions, and killed -unhesitatingly any who resisted." - -It was in this country that Charles Doughty spent part of his time, -and Mr. Wavell thinks that one reason of his success was that he -carried nothing worth stealing. The fact that Doughty denied neither -his religion nor his nationality seemed to him not the most -remarkable fact about the achievement. "The Bedou themselves are not -fanatical on these points, and he did not attempt to enter the -forbidden cities. Of course, the fact of a stranger being a -Christian is always a good excuse for knocking him on the head; but -failing it they will soon find another if they want to do so, and -will be quite uninfluenced by it if they don't." - -They had one row with their camel man, Saad, who tried to extort -bakhsheesh. Suddenly he quieted down, and became all politeness to -the end of the journey. The reason for this was that that -resourceful liar Ibrahim had told him that Mr. Wavell was a nephew of -the Governor of Yembu. This story served the travellers well. It -spread through the caravan, and many of the pilgrims who were being -blackmailed by their camel-men came to him and begged his protection, -and received it. At last, on the dawn of the sixth day, after -trekking without a stop for the last twenty hours, they reached the -gates of Yembu. - -Here they were delayed some time, owing to the fact that the pilgrim -ship to take them to Jiddah--an old Greek vessel chartered by a -syndicate of Persians--would not start till its owners considered -that sufficient pilgrims had arrived. Abdul Wahid now became the -popular leader. At the head of a mob of passengers he seized the -Persians and carried them off to the Governor. Mounted on a pile of -sugar bags he delivered an impassioned address, concluding with "We -had better be dealing with Christians than Moslems, who cheat their -brethren in this fashion." "Murmurs of protest," says Mr. Wavell, -"deprecated this revolting comparison. We all thought he was going a -little too far." The Persians finally capitulated, and the ship got -under way. But there came one last _contretemps_. A party of -Megribi Arabs had passed the quarantine and were half-way out to the -ship when one of them died. The shore authorities refused to let -them land again and the Persians declined to take the corpse aboard. -The Arabs could not throw it into the sea because there were certain -ceremonial washings to be performed and certain prayers to be said. -An Egyptian lawyer on board gave it as his opinion that the man, -having taken his ticket, was entitled to his passage, dead or alive, -there being no saving clause in the contract. Finally the Megribis -got sick of arguing, swarmed over the bulwarks, and hoisted up their -departed comrade. Their fierce faces and long knives settled the -point of law. - -At half-past four in the afternoon the syren blew to announce that -the pilgrims were within that latitude where they must exchange their -ordinary clothes for the Ihram--the garb which has to be worn by all -travellers who attain a certain distance from Mecca. The costume -consists of two white bath towels, one worn round the loins and the -other over the shoulders. The head is unprotected, but deaths from -sunstroke are singularly few. The costume is not becoming, -especially in the case of a fat man. "A party of elderly European -Turks close to us looked peculiarly ludicrous, their appearance -suggesting members of the Athenćum Club suddenly evicted from a -Turkish bath." - -The party remained four days at Jiddah, visiting among other places -the tomb of Eve, who apparently was about a quarter of a mile in -height, so it was a tiring business to make the necessary -perambulation of her sepulchre. Owing to their behaviour at Yembu -they had acquired much kudos among the pilgrims and had no -difficulties during their stay. The only anxiety was about the -Mombasa Swahilis, and also about a certain Mombasa sheikh who knew -Mr. Wavell and was proposing to go to Mecca that year. As neither -sheikh nor Swahilis arrived, they decided to risk it and go on to -Mecca, after Mr. Wavell had left a letter for the sheikh requesting -him to hold his tongue. They found a Mutowif who was a local agent -of one of the principal Mecca guides, to whom he wrote recommending -them. They never intended to employ this guide, but the -recommendation gave them an excuse to refuse to employ others. -Having taken every precaution they could think of, they prepared for -the last stage of the journey. "Abdul Wahid made a vow that if he -returned safely he would present three dollars to the poor of Jiddah. -We told him we thought he was asking the Almighty to do it too -cheaply and that he had much better make it a sovereign. To our -disgust, when he did get back, he utterly declined to disgorge the -promised sum." - - -The journey from Jiddah to Mecca can be performed in a day, for it is -only some forty miles. The road is protected by a line of -blockhouses, every mile or so there is a restaurant or a booth for -refreshment, and all day long during the pilgrimage season there is a -continuous caravan. A strange silence broods over everything. There -is no shouting or singing or firing of guns, and the camels move over -the deep soft sand with scarcely a sound, for to the Moslem it is the -approach to the holy of holies. "To him it is a place hardly -belonging to this world, overshadowed like the Tabernacle of old by -the almost tangible presence of the deity. Five times daily -throughout his life has he turned his face towards this city, whose -mysteries he is now about to view with his own eyes. Moreover, -according to the common belief, pilgrimage brings certain -responsibilities and even perils along with its manifold blessings. -Good deeds in Mecca count many thousand times their value elsewhere, -but sin that is committed there will reap its reward in hell." Mr. -Wavell and his companions, decently but simply clad in their bath -towels, approached the city repeating the ceremonial prayers. To one -which began, "O Lord, Who hast brought me in safety to this place, do -Thou bring me safely out again," he said a fervid "Amen." - -Mecca lies in a deep-cut hollow of the hills, and is not visible till -travellers are at its gates. Presently they found themselves in the -great square which contains the Kaaba, the black covering of which is -in startling contrast with the dazzling white marble of the pavement. -The Kaaba itself is a cube about forty feet square, built of granite -blocks, and let into the wall is a great black stone. This stone is -believed to have fallen from heaven, which it probably did, as it is -clearly a meteorite. Barefooted, the little party moved round it the -requisite seven times, chanting the proper prayers. Then a small -circular patch of hair was shaved from their heads, and the first -part of the ceremony was over. - -Mecca was then under the semi-independent rule of Sherif Hussein, -and, on the whole, seemed to be well governed; but the problem of the -municipal authorities in looking after the vast crowd of pilgrims was -no easy one. As at Medina, every race on earth was represented -there. Mr. Wavell was most struck by the Javanese, who were present -in great numbers, for there was then a strong Islamic revival in the -Far East. The party found comfortable lodgings in a quiet street, -and, as at Medina, went much into society, owing to the wide -acquaintance of Abdul Wahid. Mecca is one of the few places -remaining where there is an open slave-market, and female slaves may -be bought for prices ranging from Ł20 to Ł100, though Georgians and -Circassians fetch more. Masaudi discovered an acquaintance in a boy -called Kepi from Mombasa, whose father had died on the pilgrimage, -and was now left destitute. Kepi was accordingly attached to the -party. Mr. Wavell heard the good news that the Mombasa sheikh, whose -coming he had been warned of, had now written saying that he would -not arrive that year. - -[Illustration: View of Mecca. (_By permission of Messrs. Arch. -Constable & Co., Ltd._)] - -The time passed pleasantly in sight-seeing and giving and receiving -hospitality. Mr. Wavell gave one dinner to no less than twelve -guests, which, since he had an excellent cook, was very successful. -There are few more curious incidents in the literature of travel than -this party given by a disguised Christian in the Moslem holy of -holies to a company which included Arabs from Bussorah and Mecca, two -Persian merchants, and a Turkish officer from the Bagdad Corps. Most -Western luxuries can be obtained in Mecca, including ice cream, -which, according to Mr. Wavell, is a frozen mixture of tinned milk, -dirty water, and cholera germs! Alcoholic liquor can also be got if -you know where to go for it. - -The great festival was now approaching. A white linen band was -fastened round the black covering of the Kaaba, which remained there -till the great day, when the covering was changed. A new covering is -brought every year from Egypt, made of dull black silk and cotton, -embroidered with the name of God on every square foot. It is -prepared in Constantinople, and is said to cost Ł3,600. The main -ceremony of the festival is as follows: On a certain fixed day all -adults must leave the city before nightfall, and go to a village -called Mina, some five miles to the north. They pass the night -there, and go nine miles farther on the next morning to Mount Arafat, -where they remain till sunset. They then return, and sleep at -Nimrah, half-way between Arafat and Mina. The third day they must be -back at Mina in the morning, go through the ceremony of throwing -stones at the Three Devils, proceed to Mecca for other ceremonies, -and return to Mina for the night. The fourth day is spent at Mina, -and at noon on the fifth day they return to Mecca. The bath towels -of the Ihram are now relinquished, and the pilgrim dons the best new -clothes which he can afford. He is then entitled to the name of -Hadji, and thereafter through life can wear a special headgear, such -as a green turban. - -The exodus from the city to Mina was a strange sight. The different -holy carpets were escorted by regiments and brass bands, that of -Egypt marching to the tune of the "Barren Rocks of Aden." Sherif -Hussein was there on horseback, accompanied by a crowd of spearmen -and a squadron of racing camels. The ride to Mina beggared -description. "The best idea of what it is like," Mr. Wavell wrote, -"will be gained by considering that at least half a million people -are traversing these nine miles of road between sunrise and ten -o'clock this day; that about half of them are mounted, and that many -of them possess baggage animals as well. The roar of this great -column is like a breaking sea, and the dust spreads for miles over -the surrounding country. When, passing through the second defile, we -came in sight of Arafat itself, the spectacle was stranger still. -The hill was literally black with people, and tents were springing up -around it, hundreds to the minute, in an ever-widening circle. As we -approached, the dull murmur caused by thousands of people shouting -the formula, 'Lebéka, lebéka, Allahooma lebéka,' which had long been -audible, became so loud that it dominated every other sound. In the -distance it sounded rather ominous, suggestive of some deep -disturbance of great power, like the rumble of an earthquake." - -The hygienic conditions of the exodus were of course abominable. -Tanks and springs were soon fouled by people bathing in them, and the -condition of the hill-side was filthy beyond description. Often some -infectious disease like cholera decimates the pilgrims, but our -travellers were fortunate in escaping it. They went through all the -proper ceremonies, and stoned the Three Devils at Mina with gusto. -The Three Devils are three stone pillars, and, in a mob of many -thousands of bad shots, a good many pilgrims are bound to suffer. -They bought a sheep to sacrifice, like the others, and a mess of -offal and blood was soon added to the attractions of the countryside. -They then went back to Mecca, kissed the Black Stone, had another -square inch of hair shaved from their temples, and were free to put -off the bath towels. Now was the moment for the new clothes. Abdul -Wahid appeared in a bilious yellow garment brought from Damascus; -Masaudi in an obsolete regimental mess waistcoat; while Mr. Wavell -was chastely arrayed in white cloth robes, a black jubba, and a gold -sash with a dagger. - -Thus attired they set out again for Mina for the last ceremonies. In -the night a thief got into their tent, and carried off Masaudi's new -turban, Ł5 in gold, and various oddments, including a couple of -pistols. In the morning they went to salute the Sherif, and when -they had returned and were sitting in their tent, passed through the -most dangerous moment of the adventure. The wall of the tent was -down, as is usual in the heat of the day, and they were squatting on -the carpet, when suddenly they heard an exclamation from Masaudi. -Looking round, they saw, standing within a few feet of them and -looking straight into the tent, three of the Mombasa Swahilis whom -they had met at Medina. It scarcely seemed possible that they could -miss seeing Masaudi, and if they did they would certainly come into -the tent to greet him, when Mr. Wavell was bound to be recognized. -The morning sun, however, was shining right in their eyes, so they -saw nothing, and passed on. As soon as they had turned their backs -Mr. Wavell and Masaudi ran out of the tent on the other side and -mingled with the crowd. They returned to Mecca, to be congratulated -by their friends on the successfully accomplished pilgrimage, and Mr. -Wavell was free to go into the world as Hadji Ali bin Mohammed. - -It was now their business to get out of Mecca as soon as possible, -especially as money was running low. They paid the necessary -farewell visits, hired the transport, and started, intending to do -the journey in one day. They were, however, held up by a sentry on -the road, and had to spend a cold and comfortless night in the open, -and did not enter Jiddah till sunrise. At Jiddah they separated; -Masaudi went to Mombasa, Abdul Wahid to Persia, and Mr. Wavell to -Egypt. - -In summing up the expedition, Mr. Wavell was disposed to attribute -his success not to any histrionic gifts of his own, but to the -ignorance of the inhabitants of the Holy Cities, and their lack of -interest in the outside world, even the Islamic world. "There are so -many different sects in Islam, and its adherents are found in so many -different countries, that I seriously believe that if some one -invented for himself a country and a language that did not exist at -all, and journeyed thus to Mecca, no one there would know enough -geography to find him out. Yet with all, they are quick enough in -their way, and if some Mutowif would take the trouble to write a book -on ethnography in its relation to the Islam of to-day, and classify -the different races that come to Mecca, such a deception as I -practised would become impossible." They did, as a matter of fact, -excite a certain suspicion, and their two servants, though they were -Persians and knew little Arabic, must have had their own views. The -great assets of the travellers were their knowledge of Arabic and -Moslem ceremonial, and the fact that Mr. Wavell took up his disguise -long before he approached the Hedjaz. He considered that Medina was -much the more dangerous place of the two, and that no traveller -should go there who was not thoroughly at home in his oriental -character. - -Whatever may be said, the journey is one of extreme danger and -delicacy, and demands not only great knowledge, but perpetual -vigilance. It must be remembered that a European is all the time in -the midst of a fanatical and devout people, and that the highest -merit would be acquired by any one who might discover and denounce -the unbeliever. In spite of every precaution there must be an -enormous element of luck, and Mr. Wavell's conclusion is that his -escape was due rather to a series of happy chances than to his own -good management. - - - - -VIII - -THE EXPLORATION OF NEW GUINEA - - - -THE EXPLORATION OF NEW GUINEA - -(_Map_, p. 248.) - -Almost every part of the globe has suffered some change in the past -century. It may have altered its appearance by settlement and -cultivation and the growth of cities; or, if it still remains a -wilderness, there are routes of commerce through it which bring it to -the knowledge of the world. But the great island of New Guinea is -almost as little changed to-day by the advent of white adventurers as -when, in the year 1527, Jorge de Meneses, the Portuguese Governor of -the Spice Islands, first landed on its swampy shores. In 1545, -eighteen years later, it received the name by which it is known -to-day. The Portuguese Empire decayed, and during the seventeenth -century the Dutch appeared. In the eighteenth century many famous -voyagers, like Dampier, Carteret, and Captain Cook, touched the -island, and in the last century the rapid opening up of the world by -travellers and missionaries bore fruit even in those remote seas. -The Dutch held the western end; in 1884 Germany laid claim to the -north-eastern part; and that same year the south-eastern section, -which had been formally taken over in 1883 by Queensland, was annexed -to the British Crown. In 1899 the Dutch boundary was delimited, and -Holland, with the assent of the Powers, assumed direct control of her -share. The one change to-day in these arrangements is that the -former German section is now administered under mandate by the -Commonwealth of Australia. - -The first decade of this century saw great exploring activity on the -part of all three European masters. The Dutch especially did -excellent work, and Dr. Lorentz was the first man to reach the snows -of the inland mountains. But few of the secrets of the -island--geographical, zoological, and botanical--have yet been -unriddled. The place is so remote from Europe, its climate is so -deadly, its inhabitants so treacherous, and its forests and swamps so -impenetrable, that exploration there is in many ways a more desperate -undertaking than anywhere else on the globe. - -I have selected two expeditions as an example of what the pioneer -must undergo. In 1910 the Ornithologists' Union sent out an -expedition to investigate the New Guinea fauna and collect specimens. -Captain Cecil Rawling, whose thirst for the unknown was unquenchable, -accompanied it on the geographical side, and Mr. A. F. R. Wollaston -as medical officer. There was no proper survey equipment, as the -mission was primarily one of naturalists. Ten Gurkhas were enlisted -from India, and the Dutch Government supplied a certain number of -Javanese troops. Coolies also were recruited in Java, who turned out -to be hopelessly unsuitable both in physique and character for any -serious travel in the wilds. The majority were about sixteen years -of age, and they appeared in the jungle decently dressed in black -frock coats and bowler hats! - -The part selected was the southern coast of the Dutch territory, and -it was Captain Rawling's hope that they would be able to penetrate to -that belt of snow mountains, at the head of the coastal rivers, -running from the Nassau Range in the west to Wilhelmina Peak in the -east, where Dr. Lorentz had been the pioneer. Obviously it was vital -to find a river which would take them direct to the hills. But they -had no previous information to go upon, and were compelled to select -their stream at random. Had they gone farther east, and chosen the -Utakwa, they would have found a current navigable for an ocean-going -steamer for seventeen miles from its mouth, and for launches for many -miles more--a river, moreover, running directly from the highest -snows of Mount Carstensz. As it was, they hit upon a river called -the Mimika, a small jungle-fed stream rising in the low foothills -sixty miles to the west of Carstensz, and twenty miles or so short of -the main range. The Mimika, too, was full of endless windings and -liable to sudden and violent floodings. Hence it was of little use -to the expedition in the way of transport. This was the more -regrettable since transport was the essence of the problem. From the -foothills of the mountains to the sea lies a belt of forest like a -barbed-wire entanglement. This forest is so dense that the cutting -of a road can only progress at the rate of 100 yards a day. It is -swampy, and often, in flood-time, under water, and filled with every -form of noxious insect life. Unless this nightmare land can be -circumvented by the use of a broad river channel, it must take even a -strong party many months before they reach the base of the hills. - -This was what happened to Captain Rawling. On January 26, 1910, -after a base camp had been established at Wakatimi, not far from the -Mimika mouth, he set off to ascend the river. Here is his -description of the country:-- - - -"It is quite impossible for any one who has not visited these parts -of New Guinea to realize the density of the forest growth. The -vegetation, through which only the scantiest glimpses of the sky can -be obtained, appears to form, as it were, two great horizontal -strata. The first comprises the giant trees, whose topmost boughs -are 150 feet or more above the ground; the other, the bushes, shrubs, -and trees of lesser growth, which never attain a greater height than -30 to 40 feet. Such is the richness of the soil that not one square -foot remains untenanted, and the never-ending struggle to reach -upwards towards the longed-for light goes on silently and -relentlessly. Creepers and parasites in endless variety cling to -every stem, slowly but surely throttling their hosts. From tree to -tree their tentacles stretch out, seizing on to the first projecting -branch and limb, and forming such a close and tangled mass that the -dead and dying giants of the forest are prevented from falling to the -ground.... - -"The various devices recommended in the books of one's childhood, -and, it may be added, in learned books as well, whereby the traveller -is enabled to recover a lost trail or regain the right direction, are -here of no avail. For instance, moss does not grow more on one side -of a tree-trunk than on the other; trees do not lean away from the -prevailing wind; nor is the position of the sun a guide, for it is -seldom visible. In fact, the traveller has nothing to rely upon but -the compass or a local guide, and even the latter is often at fault. -Hopeless indeed does the outlook appear when the wanderer, hedged in -by a wall of scrub and creeper which limits his vision to a distance -of ten or twelve yards, realizes that he has lost his bearings; when -the vastness of the forest seems to press upon him, and there is no -sound to be heard but the drip, drip of the water-laden trees and the -bubbling of the stinking bog underfoot. His only chance of escape is -to find a stream, and follow it down till it joins a main river." - - -The first big episode was the discovery of the Pygmies who lived in -the foothills, and were assiduously hunted by the forest tribes. The -average height of these little men was 4 feet 7 inches, and Captain -Rawling penetrated to their village in a clearing above the head -waters of the Mimika. The Mimika source was reached, but led them -nowhere, and they fared no better with another small stream to the -west, called the Kapare. Then by accident a secret native path was -discovered running eastward--a mere tunnel in the matted forest. By -this route they were able to reach a parallel river, called the -Tuaba, which was a tributary of the larger Kamura. From a village -called Ibo as a centre, the expedition made various casts east and -north, but found it impossible to get near the skirts of the hills. - -Captain Rawling returned to the coast and made excursions along the -eastern shore, but found no adjacent river mouth which promised -better. By this time it was June, and the floods began with such -vigour that practically the whole country between the mountains and -the sea was under water. When the floods ebbed, a resolute attempt -was made to push east from Ibo, and with a good deal of trouble -another parallel stream was reached, called the Wataikwa. The party -founded a camp there, and explored the upper waters of that stream. -Travelling was extremely difficult, because the only decent road was -the river bed, and this route was promptly made impossible by a new -spate. The travellers had to face the fact that the farther they -went eastward the greater became the labour of carrying supplies, for -their base camp remained on the Mimika. - -Still, an effort must be made unless the expedition was to admit -failure. It was decided that the best plan was to try and cut a road -through the forest to the next stream on the east, in the hope that -it would lead them into the hills. This was done, and the Iwaka -River was reached after much severe toil. They had entered a -desperate country, strewn with moss-covered boulders and seamed with -gullies covered with an impenetrable mass of timber. The density of -this growth was unbelievable; through it no man could force a way -unless with an axe in hand, and as most of the trees were of very -hard wood--the stems varying from four to eight inches in -diameter--and clothed from top to bottom with damp earth covered with -moss, progress at times became impossible. An idea of the labour -involved in the task of clearing a two-foot path through this forest -may be judged by the fact that a stretch of five thousand yards -required three weeks' constant work before a man could pass freely -along. On one day two cutters achieved a length of two hundred and -ten yards, and on another, when Captain Rawling was working by -himself, all he could add was a piece of ninety yards in length. No -wonder he asks, "Can this forest, with its horrible monotony and -impregnability, be equalled by any other in the world?" - -[Illustration: The Exploration of New Guinea] - -Down came the rain again, and in August the country was all under -water. The advance was not renewed till the beginning of 1911, when -fresh supplies had arrived from England, and the old motor-boat had -been put in repair. So far, a year's hard labour had not taken the -explorers within measurable distance of their goal. With the help of -a launch, food supplies for eight weeks were stored at the head of -the Mimika. One story may be quoted as a piece of comic relief in a -very grim campaign. On 4th January two men quarrelled in camp and -killed each other. - - -"The sergeant who, by the way, was a foreigner, took charge of the -burial ceremonials, and was evidently quite determined that, for his -part, nothing should be lacking which the importance of the occasion -demanded. Drawing his sword, and placing himself between the graves, -he harangued the spectators. 'Men,' he said, 'this day two servants -of the Government have lost their lives at the hands of each other. -Were they not both good men? hein.' 'One man very bad man,' chipped -in an officious convict, but a glance from the offended sergeant made -him wish that he had never spoken. 'Whether they will both go to -heaven I cannot say,' exclaimed he, 'but I think Allah'--pointing -upwards with his sword--'will first purge them with a fire. Take -this as a lesson.' Then, drawing himself up to his full height as -befitted the occasion, he returned his sword with a clank to the -scabbard, and, as far as the public was concerned, the ceremony was -at an end. The sergeant, however, had not yet finished. Returning -to his hut, he refreshed himself with a few glasses of gin, and -played on the mouth-organ the national anthems of the three flags -under which he had served. This terminated the funeral obsequies, -and with the exception of the official report and the entry in the -accounts 'To one bottle gin for disinfecting corpse,' nothing -remained to mark the sanguinary affair." - - -The Iwaka was safely reached, and the last stage began. At first the -advance was up its right bank, but this only brought the travellers -back to the upper glen of the Wataikwa, which they had already found -impossible. It was clear that the Iwaka must be crossed and the -ridges to the east ascended. Getting over that stream was an ugly -business, and it was achieved only by the heroism of one of the -Gurkhas, who managed to haul himself hand over hand along a thin -rope. Captain Rawling records that it was "one of the best actions -carried out in cold blood that I have ever had the good fortune to -witness." A rough bridge was constructed, and on the morning of -February 8, 1911, thirteen months after their first landing on the -coast, the party had at last a road to the upper ridges. It was -thick, misty weather, and of the farther mountains they only had -occasional glimpses. Camp was pitched at an altitude of 5,400 feet, -but not on solid ground, for all the climbing had been done on the -top of live or dead timber. The following morning they hacked their -way to a clear space on the ridge at a height of 5,600 feet, and -there they were at last favoured with the view for which they had -longed, and were able to fix the position of the main peaks. - -Looking southward they saw the sea, and between it and them the dark -green of the forest through which they had struggled for so many -months. The gloom was broken at rare intervals by a streak of light, -which was a river. Nearly five miles away stood Mount Godman, and -beyond it the huge southern face of the range, a gigantic black -cliff, eighty miles from east to west, with a clear drop of nearly a -mile and three-quarters--by far the greatest precipice in the world. -Behind this scarp rose the snow mountains--Mount Leonard Darwin, to -the north-west, 13,882 feet; and to the north-east Mount Idenburg, -15,379 feet, and the glittering top of Carstensz, which is almost -16,000 feet. The great peaks seemed, below, a mass of wild, black -precipices, cleft with fissures; but, above, a long, easy snow-field, -curving gently to the summits. It was such a view as the old -Portuguese adventurers might have had when, after struggling for -months through the coastal jungles, they suddenly came in sight of -Kenya or Kilimanjaro. But for Captain Rawling and his party it would -be no more than a Pisgah-sight. Advance was impossible. The fatal -choice of the Mimika route meant that they had taken the worst road -conceivable to the great snows. The attainment of the peaks must be -left to their successors. He who would understand the full -difficulties and miseries of that expedition must read Captain -Rawling's own narrative.* - - -* _The Land of the New Guinea Pygmies_, by Captain C. G. Rawling -(Seeley, Service, and Co., 1913). - - -Rarely has a more thoroughly comfortless expedition been undertaken. -To begin with, the food was bad and unsuitable, for they had the -surplus stores from Shackleton's Antarctic expedition, and the joys -of bully-beef, pea-soup, and pickles under an equatorial sky may be -imagined. It was impossible to get good local assistance, for the -natives were a preposterous race, treacherous and unreliable when -they were not actively malevolent. They were subject to sudden -panics, when they fled to the jungle, and to wild outbursts of -sorrow, when they would weep and sob for hours. The imported -Javanese were, if possible, more hopeless. Then there was every kind -of noxious insect--mosquitoes without end, gigantic leeches dangling -from every leaf which made a speciality of attacking the eyeballs, -ticks, stinking caterpillars, immense blue-bottles which swarmed in -clouds over any food left uncovered, crickets which ate a man's -clothes up in a night, and a plague of minute bees which settled in -myriads on the heated face of the traveller. Above all, there was -the rain. The whole country was water-logged by the flooding rivers -and the incessant deluge. In the dry season the average rainfall was -about two and a half inches a day! Mr. Wollaston took the trouble to -keep a meteorological diary, and found that during the first year -rain fell on 330 days, and that on 295 days it was accompanied by -thunder and lightning. Of the 400 men of all races employed during -the first year, 12 per cent. died in the country from hardships, and -83 per cent. of the total force was invalided from New Guinea. Of -the Europeans and natives who landed during that year, only eleven -lasted out the whole fifteen months of the expedition. Of these -eleven, four were Europeans, four Gurkhas, two Javanese soldiers, and -one a convict. When it is remembered that eight months is the -maximum period allowed by the Dutch authorities for continued service -in New Guinea, the marvel is that these eleven escaped with their -lives. It was with no regret that Captain Rawling said farewell to -what must be by far the most unpleasant land on earth. "Wild shrieks -had greeted us on our first arrival in the country, and wild shrieks -echoed down the still reach of the river as the boats crept towards -the sea." - -[Illustration: New Guinea Canoes. [It was in such canoes that Mr. -Staniforth Smith made part of his journey.] (_By permission of -Messrs. Seeley, Service, & Co._)] - - -Mount Carstensz still awaits its conqueror. Since the Rawling -expedition much has been done in the exploration of the central -mountains. In 1913 Mount Wilhelmina (15,580 feet), of which Dr. -Lorentz had trodden the lower snows, was finally ascended by Captain -Herderschee. In 1921 Captain Kremer reached the same summit from the -north, and found a means of crossing the range at a height of 13,480 -feet. A German expedition under Dr. Moszkowski, which was projected -in 1913 to attempt Carstensz from the north, was stopped by the war. -Meantime, in September, 1912, Mr. Wollaston, Captain Rawling's -companion, had returned to New Guinea and ascended the Utakwa River. -Its head waters led him direct to Carstensz, and by establishing a -series of depots for food in the foothills, he was able to reach the -main massif of the mountain. Above 8,000 feet he left the jungles -behind; but the mountain proved very difficult, and the rain, as -usual, fell without intermission. At 14,200 feet he reached the -snow-line, and on February 1, 1913, from a camp above 12,000 feet, he -climbed to 14,866 feet, a thousand feet or so below the summit. -There he was stopped by an ice fall, and lack of provisions and the -weakness of his party prevented him from finding a way to turn it. -The top of the mountain is an ice cap which breaks down very sheer on -the south side, and Mr. Wollaston is of opinion that the easiest -ascent would be from the north. This closes for the present the -history of the exploration of Carstensz. - -For the second story we move east into British territory. There the -general configuration is the same--swamps near the shore, then a -tangled forest, then a range of inland mountains, though these are -much less conspicuous than the ranges in Dutch territory, and -scarcely rise above 6,000 feet. In 1911 the Hon. Miles Staniforth -Smith, who had been Mayor of Kalgoorlie, and a senator representing -West Australia in the Commonwealth Parliament, and was at the time -Administrator of Papua, set out across the centre of the unexplored -part of his province to investigate the sources of the rivers -emptying into the Papuan Gulf. As the travelling was of the -roughest, and the aim was exploration rather than scientific -research, the party was kept very small--three white men, Mr. -Staniforth Smith, Mr. Bell, the Chief Inspector of Native Affairs, -and Mr. Pratt, a Staff Surveyor, together with eleven native police -and seventeen carriers. They started from the head of the navigable -waters of the Kikor or Aird River, meaning to push north to the top -of Mount Murray, and then traverse to the west along the ridge. -Mount Murray, which is some 6,000 feet high, was safely reached, and -the explorers found themselves moving along a high limestone plateau, -much fissured by streams and diversified by parallel ranges. They -hoped ultimately to reach the Strickland River, which is a tributary -of the great Fly River, and so complete the rest of their journey by -rafts. - -Presently they found such a river running in a deep gorge, and from -certain rapids which had been noted by earlier explorers, they -assumed it to be the Strickland. Now began their adventures. The -stream seemed to be a series of wild rapids; but as the Strickland -had already been descended in rafts, the risks appeared to be -justifiable, and four rafts were built. Mr. Staniforth Smith started -out first with three police and two carriers, and Mr. Bell and Mr. -Pratt arranged to follow in quick succession with the rest. In two -hundred yards the first raft was upset, but its occupants managed to -hang on. Instead of the rapids disappearing they grew worse, and -after four or five wild miles the party dashed into a timber block. -One of the natives was so seriously injured that he died next -morning. Mr. Staniforth Smith then started to go back along the -river, in the hope of joining his companions, but found that he was -on an island with swift streams on either side. Next morning the -party tried to ford the river, and with some difficulty succeeded. -As they were cutting a track up a bank they met two of the police, -who had lost their rifles, and who informed them that Mr. Bell and -Mr. Pratt were on the other bank of the river, and that several of -the carriers had been drowned. The party had now been two days -without food, so Mr. Staniforth Smith resolved to turn and travel -down the stream in the hope of finding smoother water and a native -village. They had no means of making a fire, and in any case there -were no sago or bread-fruit trees in the neighbourhood. - -[Illustration: New Guinea Pygmies contrasted with ordinary Natives. -(_By permission of Messrs. Seeley, Service, & Co._)] - -For five and a half days the explorers hacked their way downstream. -During all that time they had no food of any kind, and no shelter -from torrential rains except a few palm leaves. On the sixth day, -after travelling twenty miles, they saw natives on the opposite bank. -They built a rough raft and managed to cross. It was just in time, -for they were now utterly exhausted; but the food which the natives -gave them revived them. Curiously enough, as they were at their meal -the party of Mr. Bell and Mr. Pratt came out of the jungle. They -had, if possible, suffered even worse disasters. Both the white men, -though powerful swimmers, had been nearly drowned, and seven of the -carriers had lost their lives. They would certainly have perished -had they not had the luck the day before to shoot a wild pig. - -By this time it was clear that whatever stream they were on it was -not the Strickland, for the Strickland flowed south-west, and this -river ran nearly due east. The natives, who had never seen a white -man before, took them to their village and treated them kindly. The -good repute of the British official throughout the wilds now stood -them in good stead. They hoped that the river would soon be clear of -rapids; but to their consternation there was nothing but gorges and -whirlpools for another hundred miles. The stream was the Kikor in -its middle reaches, the same stream as they had ascended from the -coast. It took them twenty-nine days to pass the hundred miles of -gorges, and during that time they rarely had a full meal. On one -occasion the whole party worked for seven days without getting -anything to eat except a few handfuls of soup-powder and a few tins -of cocoa, saved from the capsized rafts. They had no matches, so -they had to keep a fire burning day and night. They slept in caves -and under palm leaves, which made no pretence of keeping out the rain. - -By the twenty-ninth day the river seemed smooth enough for rafts, and -the explorers again embarked, and managed to cover fifty miles -without any serious misadventure. But next day the rapids began -again, and their two canoes, made of hollow logs, were upset. They -descended the rapids for ten miles, hanging on to the upturned logs, -before they could land. That night they spent in the rain, without -food; and starting again at daybreak, they suddenly saw, to their -immense relief, European tents, and were welcomed by an officer of -the constabulary, who had been sent out to look for them. They had -reached the exact spot from which they had struck north to Mount -Murray at the beginning of their journey! When, two days later, they -arrived at the coast, they had travelled in fifteen weeks -approximately 524 miles through utterly unknown country--374 miles on -foot and 150 by river. - -Mr. Staniforth Smith encountered every misfortune that can meet the -traveller except one--he had no trouble with the natives. Indeed, by -his tact and patience he made friends everywhere with the bushmen, -and the survivors of the party owed to them their lives. By some -strange system of bush telegraphy the repute of the white men was -spread from village to village. It was the one piece of good fortune -that befell the explorers, and it was final in its effect, for it -made the difference between life and death. I do not know any -narrative of exploration which contains adventures more desperate -than those whirling voyages on upturned rafts through black ravines; -or that month when starving men hacked their way through the jungle -along the torrent's bank in a perpetual tempest of rain.* - - -* For this journey Mr. Staniforth Smith received in 1923 the gold -medal of the Royal Geographical Society. - - - - -IX - -MOUNT EVEREST - - - -MOUNT EVEREST - -(_Map_, p. 272.) - -I - -The Himalaya not only contain the loftiest peaks on the globe, but -can boast at least eighty summits loftier than those of any other -range. The Andes come next, but their highest point, Aconcagua, is -only 23,060 feet. In the huge mountain land which bounds India on -the north, and which stretches as great a distance as from the -English Channel to the Caspian, there are more than eighty peaks -above 24,000 feet, some twenty above 26,000, and six above 27,000. -Mount Everest, the highest, is, according to the latest measurements, -29,140 feet high. Its true character was not always recognized. At -one time Chimborazo, in the Andes, was thought to "outsoar Himalay." -In the middle of last century Kanchenjunga, which fills the eye of -the traveller who looks north from Darjeeling, was believed to be the -loftiest of the world's mountains. At that time officers of the -Indian Government were conducting the great Trigonometrical Survey, -during which they discovered a summit for which they could find no -native name, and which they labelled Peak XV. In 1852, when the -observations had been worked out, an official rushed breathlessly -into the room of the Surveyor-General in Calcutta with the news that -Peak XV. proved to be 29,002 feet high, and was therefore the chief -mountain in the world. As its native name was unknown, it was called -after Sir George Everest, who had been in charge of the survey. The -name is beautiful in itself, and may well stand; though, had the -circumstances been otherwise, there would have been much to be said -for the Tibetan name, "Chomolungmo," which means "Goddess Mother of -the Mountains." - -The ascent of Everest was a project which only slowly entered into -men's minds. When the great peak was first discovered mountaineering -was still in its infancy, and for a generation afterwards climbers -were preoccupied with the Alps. Then mountaineers began to look -farther afield, and first the Caucasus and then the Andes were -conquered, till some thirty years ago the ambitious began to turn -their eyes to the Himalaya. Gradually the limit of achievement on -high snows was extended. On Trisul, Dr. Longstaff in ten and a half -hours ascended from 17,450 feet to the summit of 23,360 feet. On -Kamet, Mr. Charles Meade took coolies up to a camp of 23,600 feet. -The Duke of the Abruzzi, after his ascent of Ruwenzori, attacked, -with a splendidly equipped party, K2, that icy lump in the Karakoram, -the second highest of the world's mountains, and reached a height of -24,600 feet, which, till the year 1921, remained the world's record. -In 1920 Dr. Kellas found that on reasonable snow he could ascend at a -rate of 600 feet an hour above 21,000 feet. It was inevitable that, -when the Great War was over, lovers of high places should fix their -thoughts on Everest. - -It had long been a dream of mountaineers. Lord Curzon, when Viceroy -of India, had suggested the exploration of Everest to the Royal -Geographical Society and the Alpine Club. But there were political -difficulties connected with the journey through Tibet or Nepal, and -even a reconnaissance of the mountain proved impossible. Cecil -Rawling (who fell at the Third Battle of Ypres as a Brigadier-General -with the 21st Division), during his journey in 1904 to the head -waters of the Brahmaputra, saw for the first time, from a distance of -sixty miles, the north side of Everest, and believed that it might be -climbed. I well remember how in the year before the war he and I -planned an expedition which was to cover two seasons, and explore -that northern side. In March, 1919, Captain Noel urged the Royal -Geographical Society to undertake the work, and Sir Francis -Younghusband, the President of the Society in the following year, in -conjunction with the Alpine Club, entered into negotiations with the -Government of India. Permission was obtained from the Tibetan -authorities, and in January 1921 a Joint Committee of the Royal -Geographical Society and the Alpine Club proceeded to organize an -expedition. - -There were many to ask what was the use of such an enterprise, which -would be costly, difficult, and certainly dangerous. The answer is -that it was no earthly use, and that in that lay its supreme merit. -The war had called forth the finest qualities of human nature, and -with the advent of peace there seemed a risk of the world slipping -back into a dull materialism. Men had begun to ask of everything its -cash value, and to cherish, as if it were a virtue, a narrow -utilitarian commonsense. To embark upon something which had no -material value was a vindication of the essential idealism of the -human spirit. In Sir Francis Younghusband's words, "The sight of -climbers struggling upwards to the supreme pinnacle would have taught -men to lift their eyes to the hills--to raise them off the ground and -divert them, if only for a moment, to something pure and lofty and -satisfying to that inner craving for the worthiest which all men have -hidden in their souls. And when they see men thrown back at first, -but returning again and again to the assault, till, with faltering -footsteps and gasping breaths, they at last reach the summit, they -will thrill with pride. They will no longer be obsessed with the -thought of what mites they are in comparison with the mountains--how -insignificant they are beside their material surroundings. They will -have a proper pride in themselves, and a well-grounded faith in the -capacity of spirit to dominate material." - -These are almost the words of Theophile Gautier's defence of -mountaineers: "Ils sont la volonté protestante contre l'obstacle -aveugle, et ils plantent sur l'inaccessible le drapeau de -l'intelligence humaine." If the climber wants a further statement of -his creed let it be that of Mr. Belloc, when he first saw the Alps -from the ridge of the Jura. "Up there, the sky above and below them, -the great peaks made communion between that homing, creeping part of -me which loves vineyards, and dances, and a slow movement among -pastures, and that other part which is only properly at home in -Heaven.... These, the great Alps, seen thus, link one in some way to -one's immortality. Nor is it possible to convey, or even to suggest, -these few fifty miles and these few thousand feet; there is something -more. Let me put it thus: that from the height of Weissenstein I -saw, as it were, my religion. I mean humility, the fear of death, -the terror of height or of distance, the glory of God, the infinite -potentiality of reception, whence springs that divine thirst of the -soul; my aspiration also towards completion and my confidence in the -dual destiny. For I know that we laughers have a gross cousinship -with the most high, and it is this constant and perpetual quarrel -which feeds the spring of merriment in the soul of a sane man. Since -I could now see such a wonder, and it could work such things in my -mind, therefore some day I should be part of it. That is what I -feel. That it is also which leads some men to climb mountain-tops, -but not me, for I am afraid of slipping down."* - - -* _The Path to Rome._ - - -And now for the great mountain itself. First of all, it is a rock -peak. All the upper part is a great pyramid of stone, with three -main _arętes_--the West, the South-West, and the North-East. It lies -exactly on the frontier between Tibet and Nepal, and from the -Nepalese side and the plains of India it is hard to get a good view -of it, for only a wedge of white is seen peeping between and over -other peaks. On the Tibetan side, however, it stands clear, and its -pre-eminence over its neighbours is patent. Now, in all attacks upon -a great peak the first question is how to get to it--a problem most -difficult in the case of other Himalayan summits like K2, and of -peaks like Mount McKinley in Alaska and Mount Robson in Canada. It -is not only the question of the climbers getting there, but of -transporting the food and tents and accessories required by a -well-equipped expedition. Had the only route to Everest lain through -the deep-cut gorges of Nepal, the transport problem might have been -insuperable. But here came in the value of Tibet, which is a high -plateau, averaging twelve or thirteen thousand feet. It was possible -to take a large party, with baggage animals, up through the passes of -Sikkim to the Kampa Dzong (Kampa Jong), and then westwards along the -north side of the range to a base camp at Tingri Dzong, due north of -the mountain. Everest itself would be forty or fifty miles from such -a base camp, but there was a clear road to it by the upper glens and -glaciers of the Arun, which flows north and east before it turns -south and cuts its way through the Himalayan wall. - -The problem of access to the base was, therefore, not a hard one. -The problem of the ascent was two-fold--part physiological, part -physical. Could human beings survive at an altitude of 29,000 -feet--human beings who were forced to carry loads and to move their -limbs? Aviators, of course, had risen to greater heights, but they -had not been compelled to exert themselves. Could a man in action -support life in that rarified air? Above 20,000 feet a cubic foot of -air contains less than half the oxygen which it holds at sea-level. -As the working of the body depends upon the oxygen supplied through -the lungs, this fact was bound to lessen enormously man's physical -energy. On the other hand, it had been found that the human frame -could adapt itself to great altitudes by increasing the number of red -blood corpuscles. Dr. Kellas had been able to climb 600 feet an hour -above 21,000 feet, and Mr. Meade had camped in comparative comfort at -23,600 feet. Still, the highest altitude yet reached had been only -24,600 feet, and no one could say what difference the extra 4,500 -feet might make. Clearly, before the final climbing began it would -be necessary to acclimatize the party. In the last resort oxygen -might be artificially supplied to the climbers. The physiological -problem was of the kind which could only be solved in practice. - -The second was the physical. A man might live and even move slowly -above, say, 26,000 feet, but it was quite certain that no human being -would be capable of the severe exertions required by difficult -climbing. If the last stage of Everest proved to be like the last -stages of many Himalayan mountains, then the thing was strictly -impossible. The hope was that on the Tibetan side the _arętes_ might -be easy going. It all depended upon finding an easy route, and being -able to make an ultimate camp at some point like 26,000 feet. There -was good hope that the first might be possible, judging from -Rawling's survey at a distance of sixty miles and the known -geographical features of the Tibetan side of the range. The other -physical difficulties would be the gigantic scale of Himalayan -obstacles, the hugeness of the ice-fields and glaciers, the immensity -of the rock-falls and avalanches. Also at a great height there would -be the bitter cold to lower vitality, and the likelihood of violent -winds. Much would depend on the weather, which was still an unknown -quantity. Indeed, all the physical factors were in the region of -speculation; only a reconnaissance could determine them. It might be -that the expedition would have to turn back at once, confessing its -task impossible. - -General Bruce, who was the chief living authority on Himalayan -travelling, was unable to accompany the party, so Colonel Howard-Bury -was selected as leader. An elaborate scientific equipment was -prepared, and steps were taken to get the full scientific value out -of the journey. But the primary object was mountaineering: first a -reconnaissance, and then, if fortune favoured, an effort to reach the -summit. The four climbers chosen were Mr. Harold Raeburn, who, in -1920, had done good work on the spurs of Kanchenjunga; Dr. Kellas, -who had reached 23,400 feet on Kamet; and two younger men, Mr. George -Leigh Mallory and Mr. Bullock, distinguished members of the Alpine -Club, who had been together at Winchester. In India they were to be -joined by Major Morshead and Major Wheeler, of the Indian Survey. -Early in May 1921, the party assembled at Darjeeling. - - - -II - -The start from Darjeeling was on 18th May. The first stage through -Sikkim, and by way of the Chumbi valley to the Tibetan plateau, was -over familiar ground, which need not be described. There was a good -deal of trouble with the mules, which had been badly chosen, but no -incident of importance happened till Dochen was reached, the point -where their road left the main road to Lhasa. At Kampa Dzong, Dr. -Kellas died suddenly from heart failure--an irreparable loss to the -expedition, for he had been one of the mountaineers from whom most -was looked for, and he was the only member of the party qualified by -his medical knowledge to carry out experiments in oxygen and blood -pressure. There, too, Mr. Raeburn fell sick, and had to return to -Sikkim. - -[Illustration: The Route of the Mount Everest Expedition.] - -The expedition made its way almost due west behind the main chain of -the Himalaya, until one evening its members saw, almost due south of -them, a beautiful peak which was apparently very high. The natives -called it Chomo-Uri, which means the "Goddess of the Turquoise Peak," -and from observations next morning it was clear that it was Everest. -They passed some wonderful monasteries perching on the face of -perpendicular crags, and eventually, on 19th June, they reached -Tingri Dzong, after a month's travelling from Darjeeling. This was -the spot they had decided upon for their base camp. - -The obvious route to Everest seemed to be by way of the Rongbuk -valley, where the great Rongbuk Glacier flowed from its northern -face. There, accordingly, the two climbers, Mr. Mallory and Mr. -Bullock, established themselves. The preliminary reconnaissance, -however, proved to be a somewhat intricate matter. It was soon plain -that there were no easy approaches from the west, so Colonel -Howard-Bury moved his headquarters to Kharta, on the east side, close -to the Arun. That river, which there is about one hundred yards -wide, a little farther down enters great gorges, in which, within a -course of twenty miles, it drops from 12,000 feet to 7,500 feet, or -over 200 feet in a mile--a far more wonderful spectacle than anything -on the Brahmaputra. - -On 2nd August, Mr. Mallory and Mr. Bullock started their exploration -of the eastern approaches to the mountain. This was no easy -business, for the valleys were separated by ridges, the lowest point -of which was higher than any mountain in Europe, and every route had -to be explored personally, for no information could be had from the -natives. The two main valleys running down on the east side of -Everest are the Kharta and, farther south, the Kama. The latter -valley was first explored, and it was found that it ended under the -precipitous eastern face of the mountain, and that there was no way -from it of reaching the North-East ridge. It was a marvellous valley -for scenery, but for mountaineering impracticable. - -A move was accordingly made to the Kharta valley to the north. Mr. -Mallory and Mr. Bullock proceeded up this till they reached the -glacier of the Kharta River, and at last found a valley which seemed -to lead them straight to the North-East ridge. It was now, however, -early August, the monsoon was blowing, and everywhere there was deep, -soft, fresh snow. They returned accordingly to the camp at Kharta to -wait till weather conditions became better. - -What was called the Advance Base Camp was established in the Kharta -valley at a height of 17,350 feet, in a grassy hollow well sheltered -from the wind, and amid a glory of Alpine flowers. Meantime Mr. -Mallory and Mr. Bullock spent their time in carrying wood and stores -to a camp higher up the valley. This was finally established at a -height of some 20,000 feet, well up the Kharta Glacier. At the -glacier head was a pass called the Lhakpa La, or "Windy Gap," and the -next step was to form a camp there at a height of 22,350 feet. It -was in this neighbourhood that the tracks, probably of a wolf, were -found, which the coolies attributed to the "Wild Men of the Snows." - -From the Lhakpa La the mountaineers were now looking straight at -Everest, and at last were able to unriddle its tangled topography. -The attention of the reader is called to the map. It will be seen -that the great Rongbuk Glacier, which descends from the western side -of the northern face, receives as a feeder the East Rongbuk Glacier. -The entrance to the latter is so small that Mr. Mallory and Mr. -Bullock had failed to notice it in their exploration of the main -glacier. This lesser Rongbuk Glacier ends on the eastern part of the -northern face of the mountain, and between its head and that of the -main glacier is the pass called the Chang La, or North Col. From the -Lhakpa La one looks into the East Rongbuk Glacier with the North Col -straight in front. If the North Col could be attained, it seemed to -the mountaineers to be possible, by working up the easy northern -face, to attain the North-East ridge at a point above the main -difficulties. - -The camp on the Lhakpa La was not a comfortable place, with a howling -wind, 34 degrees of frost, and little stuffy tents which gave dubious -protection and inevitable headaches. It was decided that the two -expert Alpine climbers, with a few picked coolies, should alone -attempt the North Col, and, if fortune favoured, prospect the farther -route, while the others returned to the 20,000-feet camp. - -We are now concerned with the doings only of Mr. Mallory and Mr. -Bullock, who were to attempt the North Col. In the weeks since their -arrival in the neighbourhood of Everest they had been studying its -contours with the eyes of trained mountaineers. They saw that it was -a great rock mass, "coated often with a thin layer of white powder, -which is blown about its sides, and bearing perennial snow only on -the gentler ledges and on several wide faces less steep than the -rest." They saw that from the point of the North-East shoulder a -more or less broad _aręte_ fell northward to the snow col called the -Chang La. If they could reach that snow col the road to the -North-East ridge looked reasonably simple. They had seen that the -Chang La would be very difficult of attainment from the Rongbuk -Glacier, and that was why they had turned their minds to an eastern -approach. Here is their conclusion, in Mr. Mallory's words, reached -about the third week in July: "If ever the mountain were to be -climbed, the way would not lie along the whole length of any one of -its colossal ridges. Progress could only be made along comparatively -easy ground, and anything like a prolonged sharp crest or a series of -towers would inevitably bar the way, simply by the time it would -require to overcome such obstacles. But the North _aręte_, coming -down to the gap between Everest and the North Peak, Changtse, is not -of this character. From the horizontal structure of the mountain -there is no excrescence of rock pinnacles in this part, and the steep -walls of rock which run across the north face are merged with it -before they reach this part, which is comparatively smooth and -continuous, a bluntly rounded edge.... The great question before us -now was to be one of access. Could the North Col be reached from the -east, and how could we attain this point?" - -We have seen the two climbers as far on their journey as the Lhakpa -La, looking over the East Rongbuk Glacier to the North Col. The -chief difficulty, it was soon evident, would be the wall under the -col, which must be over 500 feet high, and appeared to be very steep. - -On the morning of 23rd September, Mr. Mallory, Mr. Bullock, and Mr. -Wheeler started from the camp on the Lhakpa La with ten coolies, some -of whom were mountain-sick, and all of whom were affected by the -height. They started late, and resolved to make an easy day, -pitching their tents that night in the open snow under the North Col. -They had looked for a sheltered camp, but the place proved to be a -temple of the winds, and no one that night had much sleep. Next -morning, the 24th, a few hours after sunrise, they began to climb the -slopes under the wall, and found them easier than they had feared. -By 11.30 the party was on the col. Only three coolies had -accompanied them, two of whom were already very tired. Of the three -sahibs, only Mr. Mallory was in anything like good condition. The -place was scourged by icy blasts, and frequently in a whirl of -powdery snow, but there could be no doubt that the _aręte_ in front -of them was accessible. In that gale, however, they dare not attempt -it, so they struggled back to their camp below the wall. Next -morning, the 25th, a council of war was held. It was clear that they -must either go on or go back. In their plan they had dreamed of -making a camp at 26,000 feet, but that was now out of the question. -It was too late in the season, the weather was too bad, and the party -was too weak. There was nothing for it but to return, and -accordingly they struggled over the Lhakpa La, back to the Kharta -valley and the road to England. - - -The reconnaissance of 1921 had established certain facts of the first -importance. The first was as to the proper season for the attempt. -The rainfall in the Himalaya that year was abnormal, and the monsoon -began and finished later than usual. But it was clear that between -its end and the coming of winter there was not sufficient time to -give the climbers a chance of good weather. The next attempt must -obviously be made before the coming of the monsoon--that is, in May -or June. The second fact established was the best way of attempting -the summit. The only feasible route lay from the Chang La up the -subsidiary ridge to the shoulder of the North-East _aręte_. The -distance from the Chang La to the top was not more than two miles, -and the rise not more than 6,000 feet. So far as the climbers on the -pass could judge--and their conclusion was supported by numerous -photographs from other points--there seemed to be no very great -difficulties on this route in the shape of steep rocks. It looked as -if it might be practicable to find a site for a camp at about 26,000 -feet. By this route the North-East _aręte_ would be reached at about -28,000 feet. The thousand feet from that point to the summit looked -slightly more difficult, and appeared to possess certain rook towers, -which, however, might be circumvented. The actual top seemed to be a -cap of snow with a steep blunt edge on the side of the ridge. - -[Illustration: The _massif_ of Mount Everest.] - -The transport question must always be difficult. The thousand feet -from the East Bongbuk Glacier to the Chang La, half of which was very -steep, might give trouble to laden coolies, especially earlier in the -season when the ice was uncovered by snow. An advanced base camp on -the Chang La would, of course, be essential if a high camp were to be -made at 26,000 feet. But the physical problem might be regarded as -solved--at any rate as far as the shoulder of the North-East _aręte_. -On the physiological question little light had been thrown. The -climbers in September 1921 were all more or less tired from spending -long periods in high camps, and could not be regarded as at the top -of their form. Yet in the case of most members of the party the -process of acclimatization had been rapid, and Mr. Mallory on the -Chang La was remarkably fit. What would happen, however, at the -higher altitudes? The effect of these upon the human body had not -been decided. - -The conclusion from the year's work was that while no insuperable -difficulty had been proved in the problem, yet for success there must -be a combination of happy chances in the shape of weather, the -condition of the snow, the endurance of the transport coolies, and -the bodily fitness of the climbers. A second attempt would be -justified, but it could not be regarded with anything like -confidence. The enterprise was seriously and responsibly envisaged, -and no better expression of the spirit of those who undertook it can -be found than in Mr. Mallory's own words: "It might be possible for -two men to struggle somehow to the summit, disregarding every other -consideration. It is a different matter to climb the mountain as -mountaineers would have it climbed. Principles, time-honoured in the -Alpine Club, must, of course, be respected in the ascent of Mount -Everest. The party must keep a margin of safety. It is not to be a -mad enterprise, rashly pushed on regardless of danger. The -ill-considered acceptance of any and every risk has no part in the -essence of persevering courage. A mountaineering enterprise may keep -sanity and sound judgment, and remain an adventure. And of all -principles to which we hold, the first is that of mutual help. What -is to be done for a man who is sick or abnormally exhausted at these -high altitudes? His companions must see to it that he is taken down -at the first opportunity, and with an adequate escort; and the -obligation is the same whether he be sahib or coolie. If we ask a -man to carry our loads up the mountain, we must care for his welfare -at need." - - - -III - -The 1922 party had as its leader Brigadier-General the Hon. C. G. -Bruce, the supreme authority upon the Himalaya, to the exploration of -which he had devoted much of his life. He knew the hill people, too, -as no other man knew them, and his advice was invaluable in the -selection of porters. The climbers were Mr. Mallory, Mr. Finch (who -had been selected for the expedition of the year before, but had been -unable to accompany it), Mr. Norton, and Mr. Somervell--all of whom -were trained mountaineers; and Captain Geoffrey Bruce, who had never -done any serious climbing before. Major Morshead was also of the -party. The 1921 expedition had discovered what seemed a possible -route to the summit by the North Col, and the new expedition proposed -to follow its tracks. It was stronger in _personnel_ than its -predecessor, and much stronger in equipment, for it had learned many -lessons from the experiences of the year before. Among other things, -it carried a supply of oxygen in bottles, and the necessary apparatus -to use it. - -The party, being resolved to make the attempt before the monsoon -broke, made straight for the old advanced base camp in the Kharta -valley. Thanks to General Bruce's consummate skill in the -organization of mountain travel, it reached that point on the date -fixed and with everybody in good health. The next duty was to -establish an advanced camp one stage before the North Col, up to -which porters could be brought without undue fatigue. The summit of -the Lhakpa La was abandoned, and an advanced base, known as Camp No. -3, was established under the west side of the pass, close to the East -Rongbuk Glacier. - -The next step was to ascertain whether the road to the North Col was -practicable, for when Mr. Mallory's party had travelled it the year -before there had been fresh snow, and at this early season there was -a danger of bare ice. Mr. Somervell and Mr. Mallory, on 13th May, -with one coolie, set forth from Camp No. 3 on a reconnaissance, and -found that the route they had followed the year before was one sheet -of glittering ice. They saw, however, that they could cut their way -into a corridor filled with good snow, which would lead them up to -the foot of the final slope, and that final slope proved also to be -snow and not ice. On the North Col they found a difficulty they had -not looked for. Between the point at which they reached it and -Everest itself was an ice cliff, which the year before they had -circumvented. Now they found their way barred by a hopeless -crevasse. Ultimately they discovered a route at the far end of the -ice cliff, and reached the level snow from which the north ridge of -Everest springs. - -The next few days were occupied in bringing up supplies to Camp 4 on -the North Col. They had only nine porters available, and this -decided them that it would not be feasible to make two camps on the -face of the mountain. They resolved to attempt to make one camp at -about 26,000 feet, and from that to make their final effort. - -On the 19th the four climbers, Mr. Mallory, Mr. Norton, Major -Morshead, and Mr. Somervell, left Camp 3 at a quarter to nine in the -morning, and an hour after mid-day were busy putting up tents and -arranging stores at Camp 4 on the North Col. The sun set at 4.30, -and they turned in for the night in the best of spirits. On the -morrow they proposed to carry up two of the small tents, two double -sleeping-sacks, food for a day and a half, cooking-pots, and two -thermos flasks. They would make four loads of the stuff, which would -give two porters to each load, with a man to spare. - -On 20th May, Mr. Mallory got up at 5 a.m., and found that there was -no sign of life in the tents in which the nine porters were -quartered. The coolies had shut themselves in so hermetically that -they were all unwell, and four of them were suffering badly from -mountain-sickness. Only five were able to embark on the day's work. -Breakfast was a slow business, because everything was frozen hard, -and the dish of spaghetti which they had promised themselves could -only be prepared after an elaborate process of thawing. - -A start was made at 7 a.m., and everything went smoothly at first, -for ropes had been fixed between their camp and the col itself, so as -to help them on their return. From the col a broad snow ridge went -up at an easy angle, and all the climbers felt that bodily fitness -which is the assurance of success. - -Then their troubles began. The first was the cold. The sun had no -more warmth in it than a candle, and a bitter wind began to blow from -the west. They came to an end of the ridge of stones on which they -had been progressing easily, and realized that they must get some -shelter from the wind by moving to the east side of the shoulder. -Step-cutting was now necessary, and at that height the exertion -required was extraordinarily severe. Moreover, the cold was telling -upon them, and the porters especially suffered badly. After some 300 -feet of steps they rested about noon under the shelter of some rocks -at 25,000 feet. - -It seemed to them that they could not get their loads much higher, -and that they had better look out for a camp, for the porters had to -return to the North Col. But a camping ground was not easy to find. -At last, on the east side of the ridge, they discovered a steep slab, -up to which they could level the ground. It was a poor place, for -the incline was sharp, most of the floor was composed of broken -rocks, and men lying down would inevitably slip on top of each other. -There, however, they placed the little tents, each with its double -sleeping-bag, and melted snow for their makeshift supper. The -porters started back for the North Col, and the climbers, two in each -bed, did their best to keep warm. All four had suffered a good deal -from the cold. Mr. Norton's ear was badly swollen, three of Mr. -Mallory's fingers were touched with the frost, and Major Morshead was -chilled to the bone and clearly unwell. - -The wind dropped in the evening, and during the night fresh snow -fell. At 6.50 on the morning of 21st May they crawled from their -sleeping-bags and made a laborious and exiguous breakfast, for only -one thermos flask had turned up. At eight o'clock they started, none -of them feeling their best after the stuffy, headachy night. Major -Morshead was unable to go with them, for his illness had increased, -and most regretfully the other three went on without him. - -A good deal of fresh snow had fallen, but the first hours of climbing -were not very difficult. The worst trouble was the perverse -stratification of the mountain, for all the ledges tilted the wrong -way. Slowly they crawled up, first regaining the ridge by turning -west, and then following the ridge itself in the direction of the -point of the North-East _aręte_. They decided that they must turn -back at about two o'clock if they were to make the descent in -reasonable safety. Besides, they had to consider Major Morshead left -alone in Camp 5. - -[Illustration: The Chang La from the Lhakpa La, with Mount Everest on -the left. (_By permission of the Mount Everest Committee._)] - -At 2.15 they reached the head of the rocks, about 500 feet below the -point where the north shoulder joined the North-East _aręte_. Here -they had a clear view of the summit. The aneroid gave the elevation -as 26,800 feet, but it is possible that it may have been nearly 200 -feet more. Their advance had for some time been reduced to a very -slow crawl, but none of the party were really exhausted. It was -wise, however, to turn while they had sufficient strength to get back -to Camp 4. They tried moving westward, where there seemed to be more -snow, but they found that the snow slopes were a series of slabs with -an ugly tilt under a thin covering of new snow; so they went back to -the ridge and followed their old tracks. At four o'clock they -reached Camp 5, and picked up Major Morshead and their tents and -sleeping-bags. After that the going became more difficult, as the -fresh-fallen snow had made even easy ground treacherous. One slip -did occur, and the three men were held only by the rope secured round -Mr. Mallory's ice axe. - -The descent now became a race with the fast-gathering darkness. When -they got to the snow ridge they could find no trace of the steps they -had made the day before, and had to cut them over again. At this -point they were in sight of the watchers far below at Camp 3 on the -glacier. Major Morshead was suffering severely and could only move a -few steps at a time. As the night drew in, lightning began to -flicker from the clouds in the west, but happily the wind did not -rise. They were soon at the crevasses and the ice cliff, and, as the -air was calm, it was possible to light a lantern to guide them. They -hunted desperately to find the fixed rope, which would take them down -to the terrace, where they could see their five tents awaiting them, -but the rope was covered with snow, and at that moment the lantern -gave out. Happily somebody hooked up the buried rope, and after that -it was plain going to the tents. - -They reached them at 11.30, and could find no fuel or cooking-pots. -Their mouths were parched with thirst, and the best beverage they -could concoct was a mixture of jam and snow with frozen condensed -milk. Mr. Mallory ascribes to the influence of this stuff "the -uncontrollable shudderings, spasms of muscular contraction in belly -and back, which I suffered in my sleeping-bag, and which caused me to -sit up and inhale again great whiffs from the night air, as though -the habit of deep breathing had settled upon me indispensably." - -The four men did not waste time next morning on the North Col, for -they were tormented by thirst and hunger. It took them six hours to -reach Camp 3, for they had to make a staircase beneath the new snow -which the porters could use, in order to fetch down their baggage, -since they did not intend to spend the night at Camp 3 without their -sleeping-bags. At midday they were back in comparative comfort, with -certain solid conclusions as the result of the venture. One was as -to the difficulties of new snow and the precariousness of the -weather; another was as to the unexpected capacity of the porters. -But the most important was as to the need of oxygen. They had -reached a point very little below 27,000 feet, and that left 2,000 -feet to be surmounted before the summit was reached. For success, a -higher camp was needed than Camp 5, and the men who started from it -must, if possible, have an extra stimulus to counteract the malign -effects of altitude. If Everest chose to clothe itself with air -containing less oxygen than a man needed, the defect must be -supplied. If a climber used extra clothes to counteract the cold, he -must use some extra device to supplement the atmosphere. - - - -IV - -We come now to the second attempt of 1922, in which oxygen was used. -Certain eminent scientists at home had held that Everest could never -be conquered without its aid, and the expedition had brought a very -full equipment--oxygen stored in light steel cylinders, and a -somewhat complex apparatus for its use. There had been oxygen drill -parades among the party, and perhaps it might have been well had they -used it straight away for one main attempt, instead of making the -first effort without it. Unfortunately the apparatus needed -overhauling, and it was not till 22nd May, when Mr. Mallory and his -party were coming down from the mountain, that four sets were ready -for use. As to the legitimacy of such a device in mountaineering, -Mr. Finch's arguments are final. - -"Few of us, I think, who stop to ponder for a brief second, will deny -that our very existence in this enlightened twentieth century, with -all its amenities of modern civilization is ... 'artificial.' Most -of us have learned to respect progress, and to appreciate the meaning -and advantages of adaptability. For instance, it is a fairly firmly -established fact that warmth is necessary to life. The mountaineer, -acting on this knowledge, conserves, as far as possible, his animal -heat by wearing especially warm clothing. No one demurs; it is the -commonsense thing to do. He pours his hot tea from a thermos -bottle--and never blushes! Nonchalantly, without fear of adverse -criticism, he doctors up his insides with special heat- and -energy-giving foods and stimulants! From the sun's ultra-violet rays -and the wind's bitter cold he boldly dares to protect his eyes with -Crookes' anti-glare glasses. Further, he wears boots that to the -average layman look ridiculous! The use of caffeine, to supply just -a little more buck to an almost worn-out frame, is not cavilled at, -despite its being a synthetic drug, the manufacture of which involves -the employment of complicated plant and methods. If science could -prepare oxygen in tabloid form, or supply it to us in thermos flasks -that we might imbibe it like our hot tea, the stigma of -'artificiality' would, perhaps, be effectually removed. But when it -has to be carried in special containers, its whole essence is held to -be altered, and, by using it, the mountaineer is taking a sneaking, -unfair advantage of the mountain! In answer to this grave charge, I -would remind the accuser that, by the inhalation of a little -life-giving gas, the climber does not smooth away the rough rocks of -the mountain, or still the storm; nor is he an Aladdin who, by a rub -on a magic ring, is wafted by invisible agents to his goal. Oxygen -renders available more of his store of energy, and so hastens his -steps, but it does not, alas! fit the wings of Mercury to his feet. -The logic of the anti-oxygenist is surely faulty." - -On 20th May, Mr. Finch and Captain Geoffrey Bruce arrived at Camp 3, -accompanied by Tejbir, one of the four Gurkha non-commissioned -officers lent to the expedition. There they found the oxygen -apparatus in bad condition, and had to tinker at it for four days. -During this period they made a trial trip to Camp 4 on the North Col, -using oxygen. A good deal of new step-cutting had to be done, for -fresh snow had fallen, but in spite of that, the oxygen enabled them -to get to the col in three hours and to return in fifty minutes, with -halts to take three dozen photographs. - -On 24th May, Mr. Finch, Captain Bruce, Captain Noel, the official -photographer, and Tejbir, with twelve porters, went up to the North -Col and camped for the night. Next morning, the 25th, brought a -clear, windy sky, and at eight o'clock the twelve porters, with the -camp outfit, provisions for one day, and the oxygen cylinders, -started up the North ridge, followed an hour and a half later by Mr. -Finch, Captain Bruce, and Tejbir, each carrying a load of over thirty -pounds. All fifteen used oxygen. It was their intention to make a -camp above 26,000 feet; but after one o'clock the wind freshened and -snow began, so it was deemed advisable, in order to ensure the safe -return of the porters to the North Col, to camp at 25,500 feet. The -camping place was no better than that which Mr. Mallory had found; -the place was on the actual crest of the ridge, for the west side was -scourged by wind, and there was no good position on the east side. -The tent was pitched on a little platform on the edge of precipices -falling to the East Rongbuk Glacier, 4,000 feet below. The tent was -secured as well as possible by guy-ropes; but when the climbers got -into their sleeping-bags it was both blowing and snowing hard, and -minute flakes filled the tent. Snow was melted, and a tepid meal was -cooked--a really warm meal was out of the question, for at that -altitude water boils at so low a temperature that a man can hold his -hand in it without discomfort. - -As the night closed in, the two climbers comforted themselves with -the assurance that next day they would get to the top. But after -sunset the wind increased to a gale so furious that even the ground -sheet with the three men lying on it was lifted completely off the -earth. They blocked up the small openings as well as they could, but -before midnight everything inside was covered with spindrift. It was -impossible to sleep. They had to be constantly on the watch to -prevent the flaps being torn open and to hold the tent down; for they -realized that if once the gale got hold of their shelter the whole -outfit would be blown on to the glacier below. - -Few adventurers have ever spent a more awful night. Tejbir had all -the placidity of his race, and Captain Bruce, who was making his -first serious mountaineering expedition on the highest of the world's -mountains, was as cheerful as if he had been sleeping in an ordinary -Alpine _cabane_. Here is Mr. Finch's own description:-- - - -"By one o'clock on the morning of the 26th the gale reached its -maximum. The wild flapping of the canvas made a noise like that of -machine-gun fire. So deafening was it that we could scarcely hear -each other speak. Later there came interludes of comparative lull, -succeeded by bursts of storm more furious than ever. During such -lulls we took it in turn to go outside to tighten up slackened -guy-ropes, and also succeeded in tying down the tent more firmly with -our Alpine rope. It was impossible to work in the open for more than -three or four minutes at a stretch, so profound was the exhaustion -induced by this brief exposure to the fierce cold wind." - - -Morning broke with no lull in the violence of the elements. They -prepared a make-shift meal, and spent the forenoon hours in desperate -anxiety. At midday the storm seemed to reach the summit of its fury, -and matters were made more awkward by a stone cutting a great hole in -the tent. Mercifully an hour later the wind suddenly dropped, and -the anxious occupants of the tent could prospect the weather. - -The sensible thing would have been to make a retreat to the North -Col, but there was no thought of giving up. The party were unanimous -in resolving to hang on and make the attempt the following day. With -the last of their fuel they cooked supper--a frugal meal, for, since -they had only carried provisions for one day, they were now on very -short rations. As they settled down for the night voices were heard -outside, and the porters from the North Col appeared, bringing -thermos flasks of hot beef-tea and tea, sent by Captain Noel. In a -little more comfort they tried to sleep. All three, however, were -strained and weak from their labours of the past twenty-four hours, -and they felt a numbing cold creeping up their limbs. Mr. Finch had -the happy inspiration to use oxygen, and so arranged the apparatus -that each could breathe a small quantity throughout the night. "The -result was marvellous. We slept well and warmly. Whenever the tube -delivering the gas fell out of Bruce's mouth as he slept, I could see -him stir uneasily in the eerie greenish light of the moon as it -filtered through the canvas. Then, half unconsciously replacing the -tube, he would fall once more into a peaceful slumber." - -Next morning, the 27th, they woke well and hungry, and after a -struggle with their boots, which were frozen stiff, started off at -6.30, Captain Bruce and Mr. Finch carrying each over forty pounds, -and Tejbir some fifty pounds. Their plan was to take Tejbir as far -as the North-East shoulder, and there to relieve him of his load and -send him back. It was cold clear weather, and the wind was not too -strong. Presently, however, it began to freshen, and after they had -gained a few hundred feet it was Tejbir who showed the first signs of -weakness. He collapsed entirely, and had to be relieved of his -cylinders and sent back. The height was about 26,000 feet, the -highest point which any native had yet reached. - -In order to move more quickly, Mr. Finch and Captain Bruce dispensed -with the rope. The rocks were quite easy, and at 26,500 feet they -had passed two admirable sites for a camp. But the wind was steadily -increasing in force, and they were compelled to leave the ridge and -traverse out across the great north face. This was bad luck, for the -ridge was easy climbing and the face was not. The stratification of -the rocks was most awkward, and it was hard to find any good -footholds. The climbers were unroped, and it was a severe test of -Captain Bruce, who had had no mountaineering experience to give him -confidence. Sometimes they were on treacherous slopes, sometimes on -more treacherous snow, and they often had to cross heaps of scree -that moved with every step. They stopped occasionally to replace an -empty cylinder of oxygen with a new one, each of which meant five -pounds off their load. Presently the aneroid gave their height as -27,000 feet. They now ceased traversing, and began to climb straight -upward to a point on the North-East ridge, half way between the -shoulder and the summit. Soon they were at 27,300 feet, and the top -of Everest was the only mountain they could see without looking down. -The peaks which had seemed so formidable from the glacier had now -sunk into insignificant humps. They were 1,700 feet below the -summit, well within half a mile of it, and they could distinguish -stones and a patch of scree just under its highest point. - -But it was very clear that they could go no farther. Weak with -hunger and the anxiety and labours of the past forty-eight hours, it -was plain to Mr. Finch that if they went on even for another 500 feet -they would not both get back alive. Like wise and brave men they -decided to retreat. It was now about midday, and for greater safety -they roped together. At first they followed their old tracks, and -then moved towards the North ridge at a point higher than where they -had left it. They reached the ridge at two o'clock, and there -reduced their burden by dumping four oxygen cylinders at a place to -which future climbers could be directed. - -The weather was getting worse. A violent wind from the west was -bringing up mist, but happily there was no snow. Half an hour later -they reached their camp of the night before, where they found Tejbir -sound asleep, wrapped up in all the three sleeping-bags. The porters -from the North Col were a mile below, and Tejbir was instructed to go -down with them. The rest of the descent was a nightmare. The knees -of the climbers knocked together, and their limbs did not seem to -respond to the direction of the brain. Often they staggered and -slipped, and often they were forced to sit down. But at four o'clock -in the afternoon they reached the North Col. Happily they still felt -famished; they had not yet reached the limit of a man's strength when -hunger vanishes. At the North Col they had hot tea and spaghetti, -and three-quarters of an hour later they started off for Camp 3 in -the company of Captain Noel. The journey was made in record -time--forty minutes--and at 5.30 they had reached Camp 3, having -descended since midday 6,000 feet. - -That evening made amends for the long hours of famine. "Four whole -quails, truffled in _paté de foie gras_, followed by nine sausages, -left me asking for more. The last I remember of that long day was -going to sleep, warm in the depths of our wonderful sleeping-bag, -with the remains of a tin of toffee tucked away in the crook of my -elbow." - -Captain Brace's feet were badly frost-bitten, but Mr. Finch had come -off scot-free, which was neither more nor less than a physical -miracle. - - -As Captain Bruce, on the way down to the base camp, turned to take -his last close view of Everest, his farewell was: "Just you wait, old -thing. You will be for it soon." It was the logical conclusion. He -and Mr. Finch had got to 27,300 feet after exertions and deprivations -which might well have unfitted a man for the ascent of the Rigi. -These misfortunes were accidental and not inevitable. The value--the -superlative value--of oxygen had been abundantly proved. It may be -fairly said that the 1922 expedition, though it had not set foot on -the summit, had solved the secret of Everest. The mountain could -almost certainly be climbed, provided a little luck attended the -climbers. Now that the quality of the native porters has been -proved, there seems no reason why, with the help of oxygen, a sixth -camp could not be arranged on one of the flat places under 27,000 -feet which Mr. Finch noted. A night in such a camp would be no more -trying than a night at 25,000 feet. If the climbers, starting from -27,000 feet, and, after a good night, fell in with reasonable -weather, there seems little doubt that the remaining 2,000 feet could -be ascended and the peak conquered, with a good prospect of a safe -return on the same day to the North Col. There remains, of course, -the possibility of physical breakdown, such as happened to Major -Morshead and Tejbir. But against this may be set the fact that Mr. -Mallory, Mr. Somervell, Mr. Norton, Mr. Finch, and Captain Bruce, at -great altitudes and after severe physical labour, were not specially -distressed, and suffered no bad effects afterwards. - -The conquest of Everest will always remain one of the most difficult -adventures which man can undertake. But it is a reasonable -adventure, and not a piece of crazy foolhardiness, which could only -succeed by the help of the one chance in a million. The two -reconnaissance expeditions have shown that for its achievement every -available human resource is necessary. But granted the utilization -of these resources, and the possibility, which our familiarity with -the lower slopes may soon permit, of waiting upon a spell of kindly -weather, the ultimate conquest would seem to be assured. The secret -of Everest has been solved. We know now that there is a way to the -top, and we know what that way is.* - - -* The narratives on which the above account is based will be found in -_Mount Everest: The Reconnaissance_ (Edwin Arnold, 1921), and the -papers by Mr. Mallory and Mr. Finch in the _Alpine Journal_ of -November, 1922. - - - - -THE END. - - - - PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN AT - THE PRESS OF THE PUBLISHERS. - - - - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Last Secrets, by John Buchan - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAST SECRETS *** - -***** This file should be named 60948-8.txt or 60948-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/9/4/60948/ - -Produced by Al Haines -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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