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THE  HEART  OF 
THE  ANTARCTIC 


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PORTRAIT  OF  E.  H.  SHACKLETON 


THE  HEART  OF  THE 

ANTARCTIC 

BEING  THE   STORY  OF  THE   BRITISH 
ANTARCTIC    EXPEDITION    1907-1909 

BY  E.  H.  8HACKLET0N,  C.Y.O. 

WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY  HUGH  ROBERT 
MILL,  D.Sc.  AN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  FIRST  JOURNEY 
TO   THE   SOUTH     MAGNETIC     POLE     BY     PROFESSOR 

T.  W.  EDGEWORTH    DAVID,  F.R.S. 


VOL.   I 


LONDON 

WILLIAM   HEINEMANN 

1909 


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(;opyri{fht  1909,  i/»7i*>»,  William  Heinemann,  and  Wathmgton,  U.S.A.,  by 
J.  B.  Lippincott  Company. 


TO  MY  WIFE 


PREFACE 

rriHE  scientific  results  of  the  expedition  cannot  be 
-■-  stated  in  detail  in  this  book.  The  expert  mem- 
bers in  each  branch  have  contributed  to  the  appendices 
articles  which  summarise  what  has  been  done  in  the 
domains  of  geology,  biology,  magnetism,  meteorology, 
physics,  &c.  I  will  simply  indicate  here  some  of  the 
more  important  features  of  the  geographical  work. 

We  passed  the  winter  of  1908  in  McMurdo  Sound, 
twenty  miles  north  of  the  Discovery  winter  quarters. 
In  the  autumn  a  party  ascended  Mount  Erebus  and 
surveyed  its  various  craters.  In  the  spring  and  summer 
of  1908-9  three  sledging-parties  left  winter  quarters ;  one 
went  south  and  attained  the  most  southerly  latitude 
ever  reached  by  man,  another  reached  the  South  Magnetic 
Pole  for  the  first  time,  and  a  third  surveyed  the  mountain 
ranges  west  of  McMurdo  Sound. 

The  southern  sledge- journey  planted  the  Union 
Jack  in  latitude  88°  23'  South,  within  one  hundred 
geographical  miles  of  the  South  Pole.  This  party  of 
four  ascertained  that  a  great  chain  of  mountains 
extends  from  the  82nd  parallel,  south  of  McMurdo 
Sound,  to  the  86th  parallel,  trending  in  a  south- 
easterly direction ;  that  other  great  mountain  ranges 
continue  to  the  south  and  south-west,  and  that  be- 
tween them  flows  one  of  the  largest  glaciers  in  the 
world,  leading  to  an  inland  plateau,  the  height  of  which, 

vii 


PREFACE 

at  latitude  88°  South,  is  over  11,000  ft.  above  sea-level. 
This  plateau  presumably  continues  beyond  the  geo- 
graphical South  Pole,  and  extends  from  Cape  Adare  to 
the  Pole.  The  bearings  and  angles  of  the  new  southern 
mountains  and  of  the  great  glacier  are  shown  on  the 
chart,  and  are  as  nearly  correct  as  can  be  expected 
in  view  of  the  somewhat  rough  methods  necessarily 
employed  in  making  the  survey. 

The  mystery  of  the  Great  Ice  Barrier  has  not  been 
solved,  and  it  would  seem  that  the  question  of  its  forma- 
tion and  extent  cannot  be  determined  definitely  until 
an  expedition  traces  the  hne  of  the  mountains  round 
its  southerly  edge.  A  certain  amount  of  light  has  been 
thrown  on  the  construction  of  the  Barrier,  in  that 
we  were  able,  from  observations  and  measurements, 
to  conclude  provisionally  that  it  is  composed  mainly 
of  snow.  The  disappearance  of  Balloon  Bight,  owing 
to  the  breaking  away  of  a  section  of  the  Great  Ice 
Barrier,  shows  that  the  Barrier  still  continues  its  reces- 
sion, which  has  been  observed  since  the  voyage  of  Sir 
James  Boss  in  1842.  There  certainly  appears  to  be  a 
high  snow-covered  land  on  the  163rd  meridian,  where 
we  saw  slopes  and  peaks,  entirely  snow-covered,  rising 
to  a  height  of  800  ft.,  but  we  did  not  see  any  bare 
rocks,  and  did  not  have  an  opportunity  to  take  sound- 
ings at  this  spot.  We  could  not  arrive  at  any  definite 
conclusion  on  the  point. 

The  journey  made  by  the  Northern  Party  resulted 
in  the  attainment  of  the  South  Magnetic  Pole,  the 
position  of  which  was  fixed,  by  observations  made  on 
the  spot  and  in  the  neighbourhood,  at  latitude  72°  25' 
South,  longitude  155°  16'  East.  The  first  part  of  this 
journey  was  made  along  the  coast-line  of  Victoria  Land, 
and  many  new  peaks,  glaciers  and  ice-tongues  were 
discovered,  in  addition  to  a  couple  of  small  islands. 
viii 


PREFACE 

The  whole  of  the  coast  traversed  was  carefully  triangu- 
lated, and  the  existing  map  was  corrected  in  several 
respects. 

The  survey  of  the  western  mountains  by  the  Western 
Party  added  to  the  information  of  the  topographical 
details  of  that  part  of  Victoria  Land,  and  threw  some 
new  light  on  its  geology. 

The  discovery  of  forty-five  miles  of  new  coast-line 
extending  from  Cape  North,  first  in  a  south-westerly 
and  then  in  a  westerly  direction,  was  another  important 
piece  of  geographical  work. 

During  the  homeward  voyage  of  the  Nimrod  a  careful 
search  strengthened  that  prevalent  idea  that  Emerald 
Island,  the  Nimrod  Islands  and  Dougherty  Island 
do  not  exist,  but  I  would  not  advise  their  removal  from 
the  chart  without  further  investigation.  There  is  a 
remote  possibility  that  they  lie  at  some  point  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  their  charted  positions,  and  it  is 
safer  to  have  them  charted  until  their  non-existence  has 
been  proved  absolutely. 

I  should  like  to  tender  my  warmest  thanks  to  those 
generous  people  who  supported  the  expedition  in  its 
early  days.  Miss  Dawson  Lambton  and  Miss  E.  Dawson 
Lambton  made  possible  the  first  steps  towards  the 
organisation  of  the  expedition,  and  assisted  afterwards 
in  every  way  that  lay  in  their  power.  Mr.  William 
Beardmore  (Parkhead,  Glasgow),  Mr.  G.  A.  McLean 
Buckley  (New  Zealand),  Mr.  Campbell  McKellar  (Lon- 
don), Mr.  Sydney  Lysaght  (Somerset),  Mr.  A.  M.  Fry 
(Bristol),  Colonel  Alexander  Davis  (London),  Mr. 
WiUiam  Bell  (Pendell  Court,  Surrey),  Mr.  H.  H.  Bartlett 
(London),  and  other  friends  contributed  liberally  to- 
wards the  cost  of  the  expedition.  I  wish  also  to  thank 
the  people  who  guaranteed  a  large  part  of  the  necessary 
expenditure,    and    the    Imperial    Government    for    the 

ix 


PREFACE 

grant  of  £20,000,  which  enabled  me  to  redeem  these 
guarantees.  Sir  James  Mills,  managing  director  of  the 
Union  Steam  Shipping  Company  of  New  Zealand,  gave 
very  valuable  assistance.  The  kindness  and  generosity 
of  the  Governments  and  people  of  Australia  and  New 
Zealand  will  remain  one  of  the  happiest  memories  of 
the  expedition. 

I  am  also  indebted  to  the  firms  which  presented 
supplies  of  various  sorts,  and  to  the  manufacturers  v^^ho 
so  readily  assisted  in  the  matter  of  ensuring  the  highest 
quality  and  purity  in  our  foods. 

As  regards  the  production  of  this  book,  I  am  in- 
debted to  Dr.  Hugh  Robert  Mill  for  the  introduction 
which  he  has  written  ;  to  Mr.  Edward  Saunders,  of  New 
Zealand,  who  not  only  acted  as  my  secretary  in  the 
writing  of  the  book,  but  bore  a  great  deal  of  the 
labour,  advised  me  on  literary  points  and  gave  general 
assistance  that  was  invaluable ;  and  to  my  publisher,  Mr. 
WiUiam  Heinemann,  for  much  help  and  many  kindnesses. 

I  have  to  thank  the  members  of  the  expedition  who 
have  provided  the  scientific  appendices.  I  should  like 
to  make  special  mention  of  Professor  T.  W.  Edgeworth 
David,  who  has  told  the  story  of  the  Northern  Journey, 
and  Mr.  George  Marston,  the  artist  of  the  expedition, 
represented  in  this  volume  by  the  colour-plates,  sketches 
and  some  diagrams. 

I  have  drawn  on  the  diaries  of  various  members  of 
the  expedition  to  supply  information  regarding  events 
that  occurred  while  I  was  absent  on  journeys.  The 
photographs  with  which  these  volumes  are  illustrated 
have  been  selected  from  some  thousands  taken  by 
Brocklehurst,  David,  Davis,  Day,  Dunlop,  Harbord, 
Joyce,  Mackintosh,  Marshall,  Mawson,  Murray  and 
Wild,  secured  often  under  circumstances  of  exceptional 
difficulty. 


PREFACE 

In  regard  to  the  management  of  the  affairs  of  the 
expedition  during  my  absence  in  the  Antarctic,  I  would 
hke  to  acknowledge  the  work  done  for  me  by  my  brother- 
in-law,  Mr.  Herbert  Dorman,  of  London  ;  by  Mr.  J.  J. 
Kinsey,  of  Christchurch,  New  Zealand ;  and  by  Mr. 
Alfred  Reid,  the  manager  of  the  expedition,  whose  work 
throughout  has  been  as  arduous  as  it  has  been  efHcient. 

Finally,  let  me  say  that  to  the  members  of  the 
expedition,  whose  work  and  enthusiasm  have  been  the 
means  of  securing  the  measure  of  success  recorded  in 
these  pages,  I  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  that  I  can  hardly 
find  words  to  express.  I  realise  very  fully  that  without 
their  faithful  service  and  loyal  co-operation  under 
conditions  of  extreme  difficulty  success  in  any  branch 
of  our  work  would  have  been  impossible. 

Ernest  H.  Shackleton 

LONDOIJ", 

October  1909 


XL 


INTKODUCTION 

SOUTH  POLAR  EXPLORATION  IN  THE  LAST 
HUNDRED  YEARS 

By  HUGH  ROBERT  MILL,  D.Sc,  LL.D. 

AN  outline  of  the  history  of  recent  Antarctic  exploration 
is  necessary  before  the  reader  can  appreciate  to  the  full 
the  many  points  of  originality  in  the  equipment  of  the  expedi- 
tion of  1907-1909,  and  follow  the  unequalled  advance  made 
by  that  expedition  into  the  slowly  dwindling  blank  of  the 
unknown  South  Polar  area. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  it  was  gene- 
rally believed  that  a  great  continent,  equal  in  area  to  all  the 
rest  of  the  land  of  the  globe,  lay  around  the  South  Pole,  stretch- 
ing northward  in  each  of  the  great  oceans  far  into  the  tropics. 
The  second  voyage  of  Captain  James  Cook  in  1773-75  showed 
that  if  any  continent  existed  it  must  lie  mainly  within  the 
Antarctic  Circle,  which  he  penetrated  at  three  points  in  search 
of  the  land,  and  it  could  be  of  no  possible  value  for  settlement 
or  trade.  He  reached  his  farthest  south  in  71°  10'  South,  1130 
miles  from  the  South  Pole. 

In  1819  Alexander  I,  Emperor  of  all  the  Russias,  resolved 
of  his  good  pleasure  to  explore  the  North  Polar  and  the  South 
Polar  regions  simultaneously  and  sent  out  two  ships  to  each 
destination.  The  southern  expedition  consisted  of  the  two 
ships  Vostok  and  Mirni,  under  the  command  of  Captain  Fabian 
von  Bellingshausen,  with  Lieutenant  Lazarefl  as  second  in 
command.  They  made  a  circumnavigation  of  the  world  in  a 
high  southern  latitude,  supplementing  the  voyage  of  Cook  by 
keeping  south  where  he  went  north,   but  not  attempting  to 

xiii 


INTRODUCTION 

reach  any  higher  latitudes.  On  leaving  Sydney  in  November 
1820,  Bellingshausen  went  south  in  163°  East,  a  section  of  the 
Antarctic  which  Cook  had  avoided,  and  from  the  eagerness 
with  which  the  Russian  captain  apologised  for  not  pushing  into 
the  pack  it  may  be  inferred  that  he  found  the  gate  leading  to 
Ross  Sea  only  barred  by  the  ice,  not  absolutely  locked.  Thej 
ships  went  on  in  the  direction  of  Cape  Horn  in  order  to  visit 
the  South  Shetlands,  recently  discovered  by  William  Smith. 
On  the  way  Bellingshausen  discovered  the  first  land  yet  known 
within  the  Antarctic  Circle,  the  little  Peter  I  Island  and  the 
much  larger  Alexander  I  Land,  which  he  sighted  from  a  distance 
estimated  at  forty  miles.  A  fleet  of  American  sealers  was  found 
at  work  round  the  South  Shetlands  and  some  of  the  skippers 
had  doubtless  done  much  exploring  on  their  own  account,  though 
they  kept  it  quiet  for  fear  of  arousing  competition  in  their 
trade.  Bellingshausen  returned  to  Cronstadt  in  1821  with  a 
loss  of  only  three  men  in  his  long  and  trying  voyage.  No 
particulars  of  this  expedition  were  published  for  many  years. 

In  February  1823,  James  Weddell,  a  retired  Master  in  the 
Royal  Navy,  and  part  owner  of  the  brig  Jane  of  Leith, 
160  tons,  was  sealing  round  the  South  Orkneys  with  the 
cutter  Beaufoy,  65  tons,  under  the  command  of  Matthew 
Brisbane,  in  company,  when  he  decided  to  push  south  as 
far  as  the  ice  allowed  in  search  of  new  land  where  seals  might 
be  found.  Signs  of  land  were  seen  in  the  form  of  icebergs 
stained  with  earth,  but  Weddell  sailed  through  a  perfectly  clear 
sea,  now  named  after  him,  to  74°  15'  South  in  34°  \T  W^est. 
This  point,  reached  on  February  22,  1823,  was  3°  South  of 
Cook's  farthest  and  945  miles  from  the  South  Pole.  On  his 
return  he  brought  back  to  Europe  the  first  specimen  of  the 
Weddell  seal  to  be  seen  by  any  naturalist. 

Enderby  Brothers,  a  firm  of^  London  shipowners  doing  a 
large  trade  in  seal-oil,  took  a  keen  interest  in  discovery,  and 
one  of  the  brothers  was  an  original  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Geo- 
graphical Society,  founded  in  1830.  In  that  very  year  the  firm 
despatched  John  Biscoe,  a  retired  Master  in  the  Royal  Navy,  in 
the  brig  Tula,  with  the  cutter  Lively  in  company,  on  a  two  years' 
voyage,  combining  exploration  with  sealing.  Biscoe  was  a 
man  of  the  type  of  Cook  and  Weddell,  a  first-class  navigator, 

xiv 


INTRODUCTION 

indifferent  to  comfort,  ignorant  of  fear  and  keen  on  exploring 
the  Far  South.  In  January  1831  he  commenced  a  circum- 
navigation of  the  Antarctic  Regions  eastward  from  the  South 
Atlantic  in  60°  South.  At  the  meridian  of  Greenwich  he  got 
south  of  the  Circle  and  pushed  on,  beating  against  contrary 
winds  close  to  the  impenetrable  pack  which  blocked  advance 
to  the  south.  At  the  end  of  February  he  sighted  a  coast-line 
in  49°  18'  East  and  about  66°  South,  which  has  since  been  called 
Enderby  Land,  but  it  has  never  been  revisited.  He  searched 
in  vain  for  the  Nimrod  Islands,  which  had  been  reported  in 
56°  South,  158°  West,  and  then,  crossing  the  Pacific  Ocean  well 
south  of  the  sixtieth  parallel,  he,  ignorant  of  Bellingshausen's 
voyage,  entered  Bellingshausen  Sea,  and  discovered  the  Biscoe 
Islands  and  the  coast  of  Graham  Land.  On  his  return  in  1833 
Biscoe  received  the  second  gold  medal  awarded  by  the  Royal 
Geographical  Society  for  his  discoveries  and  for  his  pertinacity 
in  sailing  for  nearly  fifty  degrees  of  longitude  south  of  the 
Antarctic  Circle. 

In  1838  the  Enderbys  sent  out  John  Baileny  in  the  sealing 
schooner  Eliza  Scott,  154  tons,  with  the  cutter  Sabrina,  54  tons, 
and  he  left  Campbell  Island,  south  of  New  Zealand,  on  January 
17,  1839,  to  look  for  new  land  in  the  south.  On  the  29th  he 
reached  the  Antarctic  Circle  in  178°  East,  and  got  to  69°  South 
before  meeting  with  heavy  ice.  Turning  westward  at  this  point 
he  discovered  the  group  of  lofty  volcanic  islands  which  bears 
his  name,  and  there  was  no  mistake  as  to  their  existence,  as  one 
of  the  peaks  rose  to  a  height  of  14,000  ft.  An  excellent 
sketch  was  made  of  the  islands  by  the  mate,  and  geological 
specimens  were  collected  from  the  beach.  Proceeding  westward 
Biscoe  reported  an  "  appearance  of  land  in  65°  South,  and 
about  121°  East,"  which  Mr.  Charles  Enderby  claimed  as  a 
discovery  and  called  Sabrina  Land  after  the  unfortunate  cutter, 
which  was  lost  with  all  hands  in  a  gale. 

The  years  1838  to  1848  saw  no  fewer  than  ten  vessels  bound 
on  exploration  to  the  ice-cumbered  waters  of  the  Antarctic,  all 
ostensibly  bent  on  scientific  research,  but  all  animated,  some 
admittedly,  by  the  patriotic  ambition  of  each  commander  to 
uphold  the  honour  of  his  flag. 

Captain  Dumont   d'Urville,  of  the  French  Navy,  was  one 

XV 


INTRODUCTION 

of  the  founders  of  the  Paris  Geographical  Society.  He  had 
been  sent  out  on  two  scientific  voyages  of  circumnavigation, 
which  lasted  from  1822  to  1825,  and  from  1826  to  1829,  and 
he  became  a  great  authority  on  the  ethnology  of  the  Pacific 
Islands.  He  planned  a  third  cruise  to  investigate  problems 
connected  with  his  special  studies  ;  but,  in  granting  the  vessels 
for  this  expedition,  King  Louis  Philippe  added  to  the  commission, 
possibly  at  the  suggestion  of  Humboldt,  a  cruise  to  the  Antarctic 
regions  in  order  to  out-distance  Weddell's  farthest  south.  It 
was  known  that  an  American  expedition  was  on  the  point  of 
starting  with  this  end  in  view,  and  that  active  steps  were  also 
being  taken  in  England  to  revive  southern  exploration.  Dumoiit 
d'Urville  got  away  first  with  two  corvettes,  the  Astrolabe, 
under  his  command,  and  the  ZeUe,  under  Captain  Jacquinot, 
which  sailed  from  Toulon  on  September  7,  1887.  The  two 
ships  reached  the  pack-ice  on  January  22,  1838,  but  were  unable 
to  do  more  than  sail  to  and  fro  along  its  edge  until  February  27, 
when  land  was  sighted  in  63°  South  and  named  Louis  Philippe 
Land  and  Joinville  Island.  These  were,  undoubtedly,  part  of 
the  Palmer  Land  of  the  American  sealers,  and  a  continuation 
of  Biscoe's  Graham  Land.  Though  he  did  not  reach  the 
Antarctic  Circle,  d'Urville  had  got  to  the  end  of  the  Antarctic 
summer  and  discharged  his  debt  of  duty  to  his  instructions. 

It  was  the  avowed  intention  of  the  American  expedition 
and  of  the  British  expedition,  since  fitted  out,  to  find  the  South 
Magnetic  Pole,  the  position  of  which  was  believed  from  the 
theoretical  investigations  of  Gauss  to  be  near  66°  South  and 
146°  East.  In  December  1839,  when  d'Urville  was  at  Hobart 
Town,  and  the  air  was  full  of  rumours  of  these  expeditions,  he 
suddenly  made  up  his  mind  to  exceed  his  instructions  and 
make  a  dash  for  the  South  Magnetic  Pole  for  the  honour  of 
France.  He  left  Hobart  on  January  1,  1840,  and  on  the  21st 
sighted  land  on  the  Antarctic  Circle  in  longitude  138°  E.  The 
weather  was  perfect,  the  icebergs  shone  and  glittered  in  the  sun 
like  fairy  palaces  in  the  streets  of  a  strange  southern  Venice  ; 
only  wind  was  wanting  to  move  the  ships.  The  snow-covered 
hills  rose  to  a  height  of  about  1500  ft.  and  received  the  name 
of  Adelie  Land,  after  Madame  Dumont  d'Urville.  A  landing 
was  made  on  one  of  a  group  of  rocky  islets  lying  off  the  icebound 
xvi 


INTRODUCTION 

shore,  and  the  ships  then  followed  the  coast  westward  for  two 
days.  In  135°  30'  West  bad  weather  and  a  northward  bend  in 
the  ice  drove  the  corvettes  beyond  the  Circle,  and  on  struggling 
south  again  on  January  28,  in  the  lift  of  a  fog,  the  Astrolabe 
sighted  a  brig  flying  the  American  flag,  one  of  Wilkes'  squadron. 
The  ships  misunderstood  each  other's  intentions  ;  each  intended 
to  salute  and  each  thought  that  the  other  wished  to  avoid  an 
interview  ;  and  they  parted  in  the  fog  full  of  bitterness  towards 
each  other  without  the  dip  of  a  flag.  All  day  on  the  30th, 
d'Urville  sailed  along  a  vertical  cliff  of  ice  120  to  130  ft.  high, 
quite  flat  on  top,  with  no  sign  of  hills  beyond ;  but  sure 
that  so  great  a  mass  of  ice  could  not  form  except  on  land  he 
did  not  hesitate  to  name  it  the  Clarie  coast,  after  Madame 
Jacquinot.  On  February  1,  the  French  ships  left  the  Antarctic 
in  longitude  130°  West. 

An  American  man  of  science,  Mr.  J.  N.  Reynolds,  had  gone 
to  Palmer  Land  in  the  early  days,  and  on  his  return  agitated 
strongly  for  a  national  exploring  expedition.  An  Act  of  Congress 
in  1836  provided  for  such  an f expedition,  but  there  had  been 
controversies  giving  rise  to  ill-feeling,  and  Mr.  Reynolds  was 
not  allowed  to  join  "  for  the  sake  of  harmony."  After  one 
and  another  of  the  naval  officers  designated  to  command  it 
had  resigned  or  declined  the  post.  Lieutenant  Charles  Wilkes, 
U.S.N.,  was  at  last  persuaded  to  take  charge  of  the  squadron 
of  six  ill-assorted  vessels  manned  by  half-hearted  crews.  His 
instructions  were  to  proceed  to  Tierra  del  Fuego  with  the 
sloops-of-war  Vincennes  and  Peacock,  the  brig  Porpoise,  the 
store-ship  Relief  and  the  pilot-boats  Sea  Gull  and  Flying  Fish  ; 
to  leave  the  larger  vessels  and  the  scientific  staff — which  they 
carried — and  proceed  with  the  Porpoise  and  the  tenders  "  to 
explore  the  southern  Antarctic  to  the  southward  of  Powell's 
group,  and  between  it  and  Sandwich  Land,  following  the  track 
of  Weddell  as  closely  as  practicable,  and  endeavouring  to  reach 
a  high  southern  latitude  ;  taking  care,  however,  not  to  be  obliged 
to  pass  the  winter  there."  He  was  then  with  all  his  squadron 
to  proceed  southward  and  westward  as  far  as  Cook's  farthest, 
or  105°  West,  and  then  retire  to  Valparaiso.  After  surveying 
in  the  Pacific  they  were  to  proceed  to  Sydney  and  then  the 
instructions  proceeded :  "  You  will  make  a  second  attempt  to 

xvii 


INTRODUCTION 

penetrate  within  the  Antarctic  region,  south  of  Van  Diemen's 
Land,  and  as  far  west  as  longitude  45°  East  or  to  Enderby's 
Land,  making  your  rendezvous  on  your  return  at  Kerguelen's 
Land."  Very  stringent  orders,  dated  August  11,  1838,  were 
given  to  Wilkes  not  to  allow  any  one  connected  with  the  ex- 
pedition to  furnish  any  other  persons  "  with  copies  of  any 
journal,  charts,  plan,  memorandum,  specimen,  drawing,  painting 
or  information  "  concerning  the  objects  and  proceedings  of  the 
expedition  or  as  to  discoveries  made.  The  ships  were  not 
fortified  for  ice  navigation  ;  they  were  not  even  in  sound  sea- 
worthy condition ;  the  stores  were  inadequate  and  of  bad 
quality  ;  the  crews  and  unhappily  some  of  the  officers  were 
disaffected,  disliking  their  commander,  and  making  things 
very  uncomfortable  for  him.  The  attempt  to  navigate  Weddell 
Sea  proved  abortive  ;  on  the  side  of  Bellingshausen  Sea  one 
ship  reached  68°  and  another  70°  South,  but  saw  nothing 
except  ice. 

At  Sydney,  Wilkes  was  most  unhappy ;  his  equipment  was 
criticised  with  more  justice  than  mercy  by  his  colonial  visitors, 
and  in  his  narrative  he  says  plainly  that  he  was  obliged  "  to 
agree  with  them  that  we  were  unwise  to  attempt  such  service 
in  ordinary  cruising  vessels ;  we  had  been  ordered  to  go  and 
that  was  enough  :  and  go  we  should."  And  they  went.  On 
January  16,  1840,  land  was  sighted  by  three  of  the  ships  in 
longitudes  about  158°  East,  apparently  just  on  or  south  of 
the  Antarctic  Circle.  The  ships  sailed  westwards  as  best  they 
could  along  the  edge  of  the  pack ;  sometimes  along  the  face 
of  a  barrier  of  great  ice-cliffs,  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  Balleny 
had  been  there  the  year  before,  but  very  anxious  that  they 
should  anticipate  any  discoveries  on  the  part  of  the  French 
squadron  then  in  those  waters.  On  January  19,  land  was 
reported  on  the  Antarctic  Circle  both  to  the  south-east  and  to 
the  south-west,  Wilkes  being  then  in  154°  30'  East,  and  its 
height  was  estimated  at  3000  ft.  The  ships  were  involved  all 
the  time  in  most  difficult  navigation  through  drifting  floes  and 
bergs,  storms  were  frequent  and  fogs  made  life  a  perpetual 
misery,  as  it  was  impossible  to  see  the  icebergs  until  the  ships 
were  almost  on  them.  The  Peacock,  the  least  seaworthy  of  the 
squadron,  lay  helpless  in  the  ice  for  three  days  while  the  rudder, 
xviii 


INTRODUCTION 

which  had  been  smashed,  was  being  repaired  on  deck,  and  on 
January  25  she  was  patched  up  enough  to  return  to  Sydney. 
Wilkes'  ship,  the  Vincennes,  got  south  of  the  Circle  on  January 
23,  and  he  hoped  to  reach  the  land,  but  the  way  was  barred 
by  ice.  On  the  28th,  land  appeared  very  distinctly  in  141°  East, 
but  the  Vincennes  was  driven  off  by  a  gale,  the  sea  being  extra- 
ordinarily encumbered  with  icebergs  and  ice-islands.  Two 
days  later  land  was  unquestionably  found  in  66°  45'  South, 
140°  2'  East,  with  a  depth  of  thirty  fathoms  ;  there  were  bare 
rocks  half  a  mile  from  the  ship,  and  the  hills  beyond  rose  to 
3000  ft. ;  but  the  weather  was  too  rough  to  get  boats  out. 
This  was  the  Adelie  Land  which  d'Urville  had  lighted  on  nine 
days  before.  This  also  is  the  only  point  of  land  reported  by 
the  American  expedition,  with  the  very  doubtful  exception  of 
Sabrina  Land,  which  has  been  confirmed  by  another  expedition. 
Against  the  written  remonstrance  of  the  surgeons,  who  said 
that  longer  exposure  to  the  heavy  work  of  ice  navigation  in 
the  severe  conditions  of  the  weather  would  increase  the  sick- 
list  to  such  an  extent  as  to  endanger  the  ships,  and  in  spite  of 
the  urgent  appeal  of  a  majority  of  the  officers,  Wilkes  held  on 
to  the  westward,  reporting  land  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
Antarctic  Circle  every  day,  observing  many  earth-stained  ice- 
bergs and  collecting  specimens  of  stones  from  the  floating  ice. 
On  February  1 6,  the  ice-barrier  which  Wilkes  had  been  following 
westward  turned  towards  the  north  and  over  it  there  w^as  "  an 
appearance  of  land  "  which  he  called  Termination  Land.  He 
was  in  97°  37'  East,  and  on  the  21st,  having  failed  to  get  farther 
west,  he  rejoiced  the  hearts  of  all  on  board  by  turning  north- 
wards and  making  for  Sydney.  Ringgold  on  the  Porpoise  had 
thought  of  running  to  the  rendezvous  in  100°  East  first,  and 
working  his  way  back  to  the  eastward  with  a  favouring  wind 
afterwards,  and  he  accomplished  the  first  part  of  the  programme 
easily  enough,  for  the  wind  helped  him,  passing  and  disdaining 
to  salute  d'Urville's  ships  on  the  way.  He  added  nothing 
material  to  the  information  obtained  by  the  Vincennes. 

Considering  the  deplorable  conditions  against  which  he  had 
to  contend  both  in  the  seas  without  and  the  men  within  his 
ships,  the  voyage  of  Wilkes  was  one  of  the  finest  pieces  of 
determined  effort  on  record.     He  erred  in  not  being  critical 

xix 


INTRODUCTION 

enough  of  appearances  of  land ;  and  his  charts  were  certainly 
faulty,  as  any  charts  of  land  dimly  seen  through  fog  were  bound 
to  be.  Subsequent  explorers  have  sailed  over  the  positions 
where  Wilkes  showed  land  between  164°  and  154°  East,  and  if 
the  land  he  saw  there  exists,  it  must  be  farther  south  than  he 
supposed.  It  is  certain  that  Wilkes  saw  land  farther  east, 
and  it  seems  that  he  was  as  harshly  judged  by  Ross  and 
as  unsympathetically  treated  by  some  other  explorers  and 
geographers  as  he  was  by  his  own  subordinates. 

Sir  Edward  Sabine  and  other  British  physicists  had  been 
trying  from  1835  onward  to  secure  the  despatch  of  a  British 
expedition  to  study  terrestrial  magnetism  in  the  Antarctic 
regions,  and  pressure  was  brought  to  bear  on  the  Royal  Society 
to  take  the  initiative  but  with  httle  effect.  An  effort  by 
Captain  Washington,  the  Secretary,  to  arouse  the  Royal 
Geographical  Society  early  in  1837  also  failed.  In  the 
following  year  the  recently  founded  British  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Science  memorialised  Government  on  the 
need  for  making  a  series  of  simultaneous  magnetic  observations 
in  all  parts  of  the  world,  particularly  by  means  of  a  special  ex- 
pedition to  high  southern  latitudes.  The  Prime  Minister,  Lord 
Melbourne,  was  impressed  ;  he  referred  the  memorial  to  the 
Royal  Society,  which  supported  it.  A  naval  expedition  was 
decided  on  and  rapidly  fitted  out  on  the  Erebus  and  Terror, 
two  vessels  of  great  strength,  designed  for  firing  large  bombs 
from  mortars  in  siege  operations,  but  clumsy  craft  to  navigate, 
with  bluff  bows  that  made  them  move  slowly  through  the  water, 
and  sluggish  in  answering  their  helms.  The  one  possible  com- 
mander was  Captain  James  Clark  Ross,  a  tried  Arctic  traveller 
and  an  enthusiastic  student  of  magnetism,  who  had  reached 
the  North  Magnetic  Pole  in  1831,  and  whose  surpassing  fitness 
for  the  position  had  been  a  potent  factor  in  the  minds  of  the 
promoters.  Captain  Crozier  was  second  in  command  on  board 
the  Terror,  and  although  all  the  magnetic  and  other  physical 
work  was  to  be  done  by  naval  officers,  the  surgeons  were 
appointed  with  regard  to  their  proficiency  in  geology,  botany 
and  zoology.  One  of  these  subsequently  took  rank  amongst  the 
greatest  men  of  science  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  in  1909 
Sir  Joseph  Hooker  retains  at  the  age  of  ninety-two  the  same 
XX 


INTRODUCTION 

interest  in  Antarctic  exploration  which  drew  him  in  1889,  as  a 
youth  of  twenty-one,  to  join  the  Navy,  in  order  to  accompany  the 
expedition.  The  ships  were  of  370  and  350  tons  respectively, 
the  whole  ship's  company  of  each  being  seventy-six  officers  and 
men,  and  they  were  well  provisioned  for  the  period,  fresh  tinned 
meats  and  vegetables  being  available.  The  instructions  of 
the  Admiralty  left  a  good  deal  of  discretion  to  the  commander. 
He  was  ordered  to  land  special  parties  of  magnetic  observers 
at  St.  Helena,  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  Van  Diemen's  Land. 
On  the  way  he  was  to  proceed  south  from  Kerguelen  Land 
and  examine  those  places  where  indications  of  land  had  been 
reported.  In  the  following  summer  he  was  to  proceed  south- 
ward from  Tasmania  towards  the  South  Magnetic  Pole,  which 
he  was  to  reach  if  possible,  and  return  to  Tasmania.  In  the 
following  year  he  was  to  attain  the  highest  latitude  he  could 
reach  and  proceed  eastward  to  fix  the  position  of  Graham  Land. 
The  Erebus  and  Terror  reached  Hobart  Town  in  August 
1840,  without  doing  any  Antarctic  exploration  on  the  way.  At 
Hobart,  Hoss  was  in  constant  communication  with  Sir  John 
Franklin,  the  governor  of  Van  Diemen's  Land  and  a  great 
authority  on  polar  exploration  in  the  north.  He  heard  of 
d'Urville's  and  Wilkes'  discoveries  and  was  very  angry  that 
others  had  taken  the  track  marked  out  for  him.  He  resolved 
that  he  would  not,  as  he  somewhat  quaintly  put  it,  "  interfere 
with  their  discoveries  "  and  in  so  doing  he  allowed  the  haze  of 
uncertainty  to  rest  over  the  region  south  of  the  Indian  Ocean 
to  this  day ;  but  he  also  resolved  to  try  to  get  south  on  the 
meridian  of  170°  East,  where  Balleny  had  found  open  sea  in 
69°  South  ;  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  previous  French  and 
American  voyages  causing  him  to  change  his  plans,  Ross  might 
conceivably  have  missed  the  great  chance  of  his  lifetime.  The 
expedition  left  Hobart  on  November  12,  1840,  sighted  the  sea 
ice  on  December  31,  lying  along  the  Antarctic  Circle,  and  after 
spending  some  time  searching  for  the  best  place  to  enter  it, 
on  January  5,  1841,  ships  for  the  first  time  in  the  southern 
hemisphere  left  the  open  sea  and  pushed  their  way  of  set  purpose 
into  the  pack.  The  vessels  having  been  strengthened  after 
the  manner  of  the  northern  whalers  to  resist  pressure  and  jftoss 
himself  fortified  by  long  experience  in  Arctic  navigation,  the 
J  c  xxi 


INTRODUCTION 

impassable  barrier  of  the  earlier  explorers  had  no  terrors  for 
him.  The  pack  which  all  other  visitors  to  the  Antarctic  had 
viewed  as  extending  right  up  to  some  remote  and  inaccessible 
land  was  found  to  be  a  belt  about  a  hundred  miles  wide,  and 
in  four  days  the  Erebus  and  Terror  passed  through  it  into  the 
open  waters  of  what  is  now  called  Ross  Sea.  The  way  seemed 
to  lie  open  to  the  magnetic  pole  when  a  mountain  appeared  on 
the  horizon.  Ross  called  it  Mount  Sabine,  after  the  originator 
of  the  expedition,  and  held  on  until  on  January  11  he  was 
within  a  few  miles  of  the  bold  mountainous  coast  of  South 
Victoria  Land  ;  in  front  of  him  lay  Cape  Adare  in  latitude  71° 
South,  from  which  one  line  of  mountains,  the  Admiralty  Range, 
ran  north-west  along  the  coast  to  Cape  North,  another,  the 
peaks  of  which  he  named  after  the  members  of  the  Councils 
of  the  Royal  Society  and  the  British  Association,  ran  along 
the  coast  to  the  south.  Ross  went  ashore  on  Possession  Island 
on  January  12  and  took  possession  of  the  first  land  discovered 
in  the  reign  of  Queen  Victoria.  The  sea  swarmed  with  whales, 
in  the  pursuit  of  which  Ross,  probably  mistaking  the  species, 
thought  that  a  great  trade  would  spring  up.  On  the  22nd  the 
latitude  of  74°  South  was  passed  and  the  expedition  was  soon 
nearer  the  Pole  than  any  human  being  had  been  before.  A 
few  days  later  Franklin  Island  was  seen  and  visited ;  but,  as 
at  Possession  Island,  no  trace  of  vegetation  was  found.  On 
the  morning  of  January  28,  a  new  mountain  emitting  volumes 
of  smoke  appeared  ahead  ;  it  was  Mount  Erebus,  named  after 
the  leading  ship,  and  on  High  Island,  as  Ross  called  the  land 
from  which  it  sprung,  appeared  a  lesser  and  extinct  volcano, 
called  Mount  Terror  after  the  second  vessel.  As  the  ships  drew 
near,  confident  of  sailing  far  beyond  the  80th  parallel,  an  ice- 
barrier  appeared  similar  to  that  reported  by  Wilkes  on  his  cruise, 
but  greater.  Vast  walls  of  ice  as  high  as  the  cliffs  of  Dover 
butted  on  to  the  new  land  at  Cape  Crozier,  its  western  limit, 
and  formed  an  absolute  bar  to  further  progress.  A  range  of 
high  land  running  south  was  seen  over  the  barrier  and  this 
Ross  called  the  Parry  Mountains  ;  to  the  west  around  the  shores 
of  an  ice-girdled  bay  (McMurdo  Bay)  the  land  seemed  to  run 
continuously  with  the  continent,  and  Ross  accordingly  repre- 
sented Mount  Erebus  as  being  on  the  mainland,  and  the  coast 
xxii 


INTRODUCTION 

as  turning  abruptly  in  McMurdo  Bay  from  its  southerly  to  an 
easterly  direction.  The  ships  cruised  eastward  for  two  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  parallel  with  the  Great  Barrier,  the  remarkable 
nature  of  which  impressed  all  on  board,  as  they  recognised  its 
uniform  flat-topped  extension  and  the  vast  height  of  the  perpen- 
dicular ice-cliffs  in  which  it  terminated,  the  height  being  some- 
thing like  200  ft.  on  the  average,  though  at  one  point  it  did  not 
exceed  50  ft.  On  February  2,  the  highest  latitude  of  the  trip 
was  reached,  78°  V  South,  or  3°  48'  beyond  Weddell's  farthest  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  Antarctic  Circle.  Two  days  later  the 
pack  became  so  dense  that  progress  was  stopped  in  167°  West. 
Ross  struggled  for  a  week  to  get  farther  east  and  then  turned 
to  look  for  a  harbour  on  the  coast  of  Victoria  Land  in  which  he 
might  winter.  Passing  by  McMurdo  Bay  without  examining 
it  closely,  he  tried  to  get  a  landing  nearer  the  Magnetic  Pole, 
being  possessed  by  a  burning  ambition  to  hoist  the  flag  which 
he  had  displayed  at  the  North  Magnetic  Pole  in  1831  at  the 
South  Magnetic  Pole  in  1841.  It  was  impossible,  however, 
to  get  within  twelve  or  fourteen  miles  of  the  land  on  account 
of  the  freezing  of  the  sea  locking  the  pack  into  a  solid  mass  ; 
it  was  too  late  to  turn  back  and  seek  a  harbour  farther  south, 
and  after  naming  the  headland  at  the  base  of  Mount  Melbourne, 
Cape  Washington,  in  honour  of  the  zealous  Secretary  of  the 
Royal  Geographical  Society,  Ross  left  the  Antarctic  regions 
after  having  remained  south  of  the  Circle  for  sixty-three  days. 
On  the  way  northward  he  sighted  high  islands,  which  were 
probably  part  of  the  Balleny  group,  and  he  sailed  across  the 
site  of  a  range  of  mountains  marked  on  a  chart  which  Wilkes 
had  given  him.  Wilkes  afterwards  explained  that  these 
mountains  were  not  intended  to  show  one  of  his  discoveries, 
and  an  unedifying  controversy  ensued,  which  did  credit  to 
neither  explorer.  Ross  returned  to  Hobart  on  April  6,  1841, 
after  the  greatest  voyage  of  Antarctic  discovery  ever  made. 
Three  months  later  the  news  reached  England,  and  the  Royal 
Geographical  Society  at  once  awarded  the  Founder's  Gold  Medal 
to  Captain  Ross. 

On  November  23,  1841,  the  Erebus  and  Terror  left  the  Bay 
of  Islands,  New  Zealand,  which  had  been  declared  a  British 
possession  the  year  before,  to  make  a  new  effort  to  get  south 

xxiii 


INTRODUCTION 

in  a  longitude  about  150°  West,  so  as  to  approach  the  Great 
Barrier  from  a  point  east  of  that  at  which  they  had  been  stopped 
the  previous  season.  The  pack  was  entered  about  60°  South 
and  146°  West  on  December  18,  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  ships 
were  never  to  get  through  it.  The  Antarctic  Circle  was  reached 
on  New  Year's  Day,  1842,  every  effort  being  made  to  work 
the  ships  through  the  lanes  between  the  floes.  For  a  time 
when  the  wind  was  favourable  the  two  ships  were  lashed  on 
each  side  of  a  small  floe  of  convenient  shape  and  with  all  sail 
set  they  were  able  to  give  it  sufficient  way  to  break  the  lighter 
ice  ahead,  using  it  as  a  battering-ram  and  as  a  buffer  to  protect 
their  bows.  Ross  did  everything  to  keep  up  the  spirits  of  the 
crews,  by  instituting  sports  and  keeping  up  visits  between  the 
two  ships,  as  in  an  Arctic  wintering.  A  terrific  storm  on 
January  18  buffeted  the  ships  unmercifully,  the  huge  masses  of 
floating  ice  being  hurled  against  them  in  a  prodigious  swell, 
and  for  twenty-four  hours  the  Erebus  and  Terror  were  almost 
out  of  control,  their  rudders  having  been  smashed  by  the  ice, 
though  the  stout  timbers  of  the  hulls  held  good.  On  January 
26,  after  being  thirty-nine  days  in  the  pack,  and  boring  their 
way  for  eight  hundred  miles  through  it,  the  Erebus  and  the 
Terror  were  only  thirty-nine  miles  farther  south  than  Cook 
had  been  in  the  Resolution  on  the  same  meridian  without  entering 
the  ice  at  all  sixty-eight  years  before.  On  February  2  the 
ships  escaped  from  the  pack  in  159°  East,  but  only  one  degree 
south  of  the  Antarctic  Circle.  The  Barrier  was  not  sighted 
until  February  22,  and  on  the  28th  the  ships  at  last  got  within 
a  mile  and  a  half  of  the  face  of  the  ice-wall,  which  was  found 
to  be  107  ft.  high  at  its  highest  point  and  the  water  290  fathoms 
deep,  in  161°  27'  West  and  78°  11'  South.  This  was  the  highest 
latitude  reached  by  Ross,  3°  55'  or  235  miles  farther  south 
than  Weddell's  farthest,  and  710  miles  from  the  South  Pole. 
Towards  the  south-east  he  saw  that  the  Barrier  surface  gradually 
rose  with  the  appearance  of  mountains  of  great  height,  but  he 
could  not  bring  himself  to  chart  this  as  land,  for  no  sign  of  bare 
rock  could  be  seen,  and  though  he  felt  that  "  the  presence  of 
land  there  amounts  almost  to  a  certainty  "  he  would  not  run 
the  risk  of  any  one  in  the  future  proving  that  he  had  been 
mistaken,  and  so  charted  it  as  an  "  appearance  of  land  "  only, 
xxiv 


INTRODUCTION 

Any  other  explorer  of  that  period,  or  of  this,  would  have  called 
it  land  and  given  it  a  name  without  hesitation,  and  had  Ross 
only  known  how  to  interpret  what  the  numerous  rock  specimens 
he  dredged  up  from  the  bottom  had  to  tell  him,  he  could  have 
marked  the  land  with  an  easy  mind. 

It  was  now  time  to  leave  the  Far  South  ;  the  work  had  been 
infinitely  harder  than  that  of  the  former  season  and  the  result 
was  disappointing.  The  coast  of  Victoria  Land  was  not  sighted 
on  this  cruise,  and  on  March  6,  1842,  the  Erebus  and  Terror 
crossed  the  Antarctic  Circle  northward,  after  having  been 
sixty-four  days  within  it.  Ross  Sea  was  not  furrowed  by 
another  keel  for  more  than  half  a  century.  Once  in  open  water 
the  Erebus  and  Terror  held  an  easterly  course  through  the 
Southern  Ocean  south  of  the  Pacific,  farther  north  than  Biscoe, 
Bellingshausen  or  Cook,  making  passage  to  the  Falkland  Islands, 
by  that  time  a  British  possession.  The  greatest  danger  of  the 
whole  cruise  occurred  suddenly  on  this  passage  when  the  two 
ships  came  into  collision  while  attempting  to  weather  an  iceberg 
in  a  gale  and  snowstorm  during  the  night ;  but  though  for  an 
hour  all  gave  themselves  up  for  lost  they  came  through,  and 
they  reached  Port  Louis  in  the  Falklands  on  April  5,  1842, 
one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  days  out  from  the  Bay  of  Islands. 

Having  received  authority  to  spend  a  third  summer  in  south 
polar  exploration,  Ross  sailed  from  the  Falklands  on  December 
17,  1842,  intending  to  survey  the  coasts  discovered  by  d'Urville 
and  follow  the  land  south  to  a  high  latitude  in  Weddell  Sea ; 
but  though  several  points  on  Louis  Philippe  Land  were  sighted 
and  mountains  named,  there  was  no  open  way  to  the  south 
and  it  was  not  until  March  1,  1843,  that  the  Antarctic  Circle 
was  reached  by  coasting  the  pack  to  12°  20'  West.  Here  a 
sounding  of  the  vast  depth  of  4000  fathoms  was  obtained, 
but  Dr.  W.  S.  Bruce,  with  improved  and  trustworthy  apparatus, 
found  sixty  years  later  that  the  real  depth  at  this  point  was 
only  2660  fathoms.  Ross  proceeded  southwards  in  open  water 
to  71°  30'  South,  thirty  miles  within  the  ice-pack,  but  there 
he  was  stopped  nearly  half-way  between  the  positions  reached 
by  Bellingshausen  in  1820  and  by  Weddell  in  1823  ;  and  here 
his  Antarctic  exploration  ended.  On  his  way  to  Cape  Town, 
Ross  searched  for  Bouvet  Island  as  unsuccessfully  as  Cook, 

XXV 


INTRODUCTION 

though  he  passed  within  a  few  miles  of  it.  Ross'  first  summer 
in  the  Antarctic  had  brought  unexpected  and  magnificent  dis- 
coveries, tearing  a  great  gap  in  the  unknown  area,  and  fortune 
smiled  without  interruption  on  the  expedition ;  his  second 
summer  brought  trouble  and  danger  with  but  a  trifling  increase 
in  knowledge,  while  the  third  led  only  to  disappointment. 
Ross  had  come  triumphantly  through  a  time  of  unparalleled 
stress,  his  personal  initiative  animated  the  whole  expedition 
and  never  were  honours  more  nobly  won  than  those  which  he 
received  on  his  return.  He  was  knighted,  feted,  and  presented 
with  many  gold  medals  ;  and  he  was  offered  and  begged  in  the 
most  flattering  way  to  accept  the  command  of  the  expedition 
to  explore  the  North- West  Passage  in  his  old  ships.  The  position, 
when  he  declined  it,  was  given  to  Sir  John  Frankhn. 

Immediately  after  Ross'  return  a  supplementary  cruise  for 
magnetic  observations  was  carried  out  by  Lieutenant  T.  E.  L. 
Moore,  R.N.,  who  had  been  mate  on  the  Terror.  He  sailed  from 
Cape  Town  in  the  hired  barque  Pagoda,  360  tons,  on  January  9, 
1845,  and,  after  the  usual  fruitless  search  for  Bouvet  Island, 
crossed  the  Antarctic  Circle  in  30°  45'  East,  but  was  stopped 
by  the  ice  in  67°  50'  South.  He  struggled  hard  against  calms 
and  head  winds  to  reach  Enderby  Land,  but  in  vain.  Moore 
believed  that  he  saw  land  in  64°  South  and  about  50°  East ;  but 
like  Ross  he  stood  on  a  pedantic  technicality,  "  there  was  no 
doubt  about  it,  but  we  would  not  say  it  was  land  without  having 
really  landed  on  it."  How  much  controversy  and  ill-feeling 
would  have  been  avoided  if  Wilkes  and  other  explorers  had 
acted  on  this  principle  ! 

In  1850,  in  one  of  the  Enderbys'  ships,  the  Brisk,  Captain_ 
Tapsell  went  to  the  BaUeny  Islands  looking  for  seals  and  sailed 
westward  at  a  higher  latitude  than  Wilkes  had  reached,  as  far 
as  the  meridian  of  143°  East,  without  sighting  land  ;    the  log 
of  the  voyage  is  lost,  and  the  exact  route  is  not  on  record. 

Though  Ross  urged  the  value  of  the  southern  whale  fishery 
in  strong  terms,  no  one  stirred  to  take  it  up.  Polar  enterprise 
was  diverted  to  the  lands  within  the  Arctic  Circle  by  the  tragedy 
of  Franklin's  fate  and  the  search  expeditions.  Efforts  were 
made  again  and  again  to  reawaken  interest  in  the  south,  notably 
by  the  great  American  hydrographer,  Captain  Maury,  and  the 
xxvi 


INTRODUCTION 

eminent  German  meteorologist,  Professor  Georg  von  Neumayer, 
but  without  effect. 

In  1875,  H.M.S.  Challenger,  on  her  famous  voyage  of  scientific 
investigation  with  Captain  George  Nares,  R.N.,  as  commander 
and  Professor  Wyville  Thomson  as  scientific  director,  made  a 
dash  south  of  Kerguelen  Land,  and  on  February  16  she  had  the 
distinction  of  being  the  first  vessel  propelled  by  steam  across 
the  Antarctic  Circle.  She  went  to  66°  40'  South  in  longitude 
78°  22'  East,  and  pushed  eastward  in  a  somewhat  lower  latitude 
to  within  fifteen  miles  of  Wilkes'  Termination  Land  as  shown 
on  the  charts,  but  nothing  resembling  land  could  be  seen.  The 
Challenger  saw  many  icebergs,  but  being  an  unprotected  vessel 
and  bent  on  other  service  she  could  make  no  serious  attempt 
to  penetrate  the  pack ;  nevertheless,  the  researches  made  on 
board  by  sounding  and  dredging  up  many  specimens  of  rocks 
proved  beyond  doubt  that  land  lay  within  the  ice  surrounding 
the  Antarctic  Circle  and  that  the  land  was  not  insular  but  a 
continent. 

In  the  same  year  a  German  company  sent  out  the  steam 
whaler  Gronland,  Captain  Dallmann,  to  try  whether  anything 
could  be  made  of  whaling  or  sealing  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
the  South  Shetlands,  and  he  went  probably  to  about  65°  South 
in  Bellingshausen  Sea  on  the  coast  of  Graham  Land.  In  the 
'eighties  of  last  century  Neumayer  continued  to  urge  the  renewal 
of  Antarctic  research  in  Germany,  and  Sir  John  Murray,  raising 
his  powerful  voice  in  Great  Britain,  sketched  out  a  scheme 
for  a  fully  equipped  naval  expedition,  but  refused  to  have 
anything  to  do  with  any  expedition  not  provided  at  the  outset 
with  funds  sufficient  to  ensure  success.  The  government  of 
Victoria  took  the  matter  up  and  offered  to  contribute  £5000 
to  an  expedition  if  the  Home  Government  would  support  it ; 
the  British  Association,  the  Royal  Society,  and  the  Royal 
Geographical  Society  reported  in  favour  of  the  scheme,  but 
in  1887  the  Treasury  definitely  declined  to  participate. 

In  1892  a  fleet  of  four  Dundee  whalers  set  out  for  Weddell 
Sea,  in  order  to  test  Ross'  belief  that  the  whalebone  whale 
existed  there,  and  two  of  them,  the  Balaena  and  Active,  were 
fitted  up  with  nautical  and  meteorological  instruments  by  the 
Royal  Geographical  Society  and  the  Meteorological  Office,  in 

xxvii 


INTRODUCTION 

the  hope  that  they  would  fix  accurate  positions  and  keep  careful 
records.  Dr.  W.  S.  Bruce,  an  enthusiastic  naturalist,  accom- 
panied the  Balaena  and  Dr.  C.  W.  Donald  accompanied  the 
Active,  commanded  by  Captain  Thomas  Robertson.  The  stiips 
made  full  cargoes  of  seals  in  Weddell  Sea,  but  did  not  go  beyond 
65°  South,  nor  did  they  repeat  the  venture.  A  Norwegian 
whaler,  the  Jason,  was  sent  out  at  the  same  time  by  a  company 
in  Hamburg,  and  her  master,  Captain  Larsen,  picked  up  a  number 
of  fossils  on  Seymour  Island,  and  saw  land  from  Weddell  Sea 
in  64°  40'  South.  The  Hamburg  Company  sent  out  three  ships 
in  1893,  the  Jason  to  Weddell  Sea,  where  Captain  Larsen 
discovered  Oscar  Land,  no  doubt  the  eastern  coast  of  Graham 
Land,  in  66°  South  and  60°  West,  and  pushing  on  farther  he 
discovered  Foyn  Land,  the  Jason  being  the  second  steamer  to 
enter  the  Antarctic  regions  proper.  On  his  way  home  along 
the  coast  he  charted  many  new  islands  and  discovered  active 
volcanoes  near  the  place  where  Ross'  officers  had  seen  smoke 
rising  from  the  mountains,  though  that  cautious  explorer 
decided  that  as  it  might  be  only  snowdrift  he  would  not 
claim  the  discovery  of  volcanoes  there.  Meanwhile,  in 
Bellingshausen  Sea,  Captain  Evenson,  of  the  Hertha,  got 
beyond  69°  10'  South  after  visiting  the  Biscoe  Islands,  and 
he  sighted  Alexander  I  Land  for  the  first  time  since  its 
discovery. 

The  next  visit  to  the  Antarctic  was  due  to  the  Norwegian 
whaler,  Svend  Foyn,  who  sent  out  the  Antarctic,  under  Captain 
Kxistensen,  with  Mr.  Bull  as  agent,  to  Ross  Sea.  They  had 
agreed  to  take  Dr.  W.  S.  Bruce,  but  he  found  it  impossible 
to  reach  Melbourne  in  time  to  join  the  ship.  A  young  Norwegian 
resident  in  Australia,  who  was  partly  English  in  ancestry, 
Carstens  Egeberg  Borchgrevink,  shipped  as  a  sailor,  having 
an  insatiable  desire  to  see  the  Antarctic  regions  and  being 
refused  a  passage  on  any  other  terms.  The  Antarctic  sighted 
the  Balleny  Islands  and  was  nearly  six  weeks  in  working 
through  the  pack,  but  on  January  14,  1895,  she  was  the  first 
steamer  to  enter  the  open  water  of  Ross  Sea.  A  landing  was 
made  on  Possession  Island,  where  Borchgrevink  discovered  a 
lichen,  the  first  trace  of  vegetation  found  within  the  Antarctic 
Circle  ;  the  ship  went  as  far  as  74°  South  looking  for  whales 
xxviii 


INTRODUCTION 

and  on  her  way  back  the  first  landing  on  the  Antarctic  continent 
was  made  on  a  low  beach  at  Cape  Adare. 

Mr.  Borchgrevink  described  this  voyage  at  the  meeting  of 
the  Sixth  International  Geographical  Congress  in  London  in 
1895,  where  a  great  discussion  on  the  possibility  of  renewing 
Antarctic  exploration  had  previously  been  arranged  for.  Dr. 
von  Neumayer  gave  an  able  historical  paper  on  Antarctic 
exploration,  Sir  Joseph  Hooker  spoke  as  a  survivor  of  Ross' 
expedition.  Sir  John  Murray  as  a  member  of  the  scientific  staff 
of  the  Challenger,  and  Sir  Clements  Markham  as  President  of 
the  Congress.  The  Congress  adopted  a  resolution  to  the  effect 
that  the  exploration  of  the  Antarctic  Regions  was  the  greatest 
piece  of  geographical  exploration  remaining  to  be  undertaken, 
and  that  it  should  be  resumed  before  the  close  of  the  nineteenth 
century. 

The  first  result  was  the  expedition  of  the  Belgica  under  the 
command  of  Lieutenant  de  Gerlache,  due  to  the  passionate 
enthusiasm  of  the  commander,  notably  aided  by  Henryk 
Ar9towski,  a  Pole,  whose  ardour  in  the  pursuit  of  physical  science 
has  never  been  surpassed.  Dr.  Cook,  an  American,  was  surgeon 
to  the  expedition  ;  the  second  in  command  was  Lieutenant 
Lecointe,  a  Belgian,  the  mate,  Roald  Amundsen,  a  Norwegian, 
and  the  crew  were  half  Belgian  and  half  Norwegian.  The 
scientific  staff  included,  besides  Ar9towski,  the  Belgian  mag- 
netician  Lieutenant  Danco,  the  Rumanian  Racovitza,  and  the 
Pole  Dobrowolski.  The  funds  were  meagre  and  raised  by 
public  subscription  with  enormous  difficulty,  and  the  equipment 
almost  less  than  the  minimum  requirement.  The  ship  was 
small,  only  two  hundred  and  fifty  tons,  but  in  her  this  cosmo- 
politan gathering  experienced  first  of  all  men  the  long  darkness 
of  the  Antarctic  night.  Much  valuable  time  was  lost  on  the 
outward  journey  amongst  the  Fuegian  Islands,  and  much  was 
occupied  in  the  archipelago  into  which  the  Belgica  resolved 
Palmer  Land,  between  64°  and  65°  South.  It  was  February  12, 
1898,  before  the  ship  proceeded  southward  along  the  coast  of 
Graham  Land.  On  the  15th  she  crossed  the  Antarctic  Circle, 
on  the  16th  Alexander  I  Land  was  sighted,  but  could  not  be 
cpproached  within  twenty  miles  on  account  of  the  ice-pack. 
The  equipment   of  tiie   ship   hardly   seems   to   have   justified 

xxix 


INTRODUCTION 

wintering ;  prudence  called  for  a  speedy  retreat,  but  a  gale 
came  down  of  such  severity  that  Gerlache  thrust  the  ship  into 
the  pack  for  shelter  from  the  heavy  breakers  on  February  28, 
and  finding  wide  lanes  opening  under  the  influence  of  wind  and 
swell,  he  pushed  southward  against  the  advice  of  the  scientific 
members  of  the  expedition,  determined  to  make  every  effort 
to  outdistance  all  previous  explorers  towards  the  pole.  On 
March  3,  1898,  the  Belgica  found  herself  in  71°  30'  South  and 
about  85°  West.  An  effort  to  return  was  unavailing  ;  on  the 
4th  she  was  fast  in  the  floe,  unable  to  move  in  any  direction, 
and  she  remained  a  prisoner  of  the  ice  until  February  14,  1899, 
and  then  took  another  month  to  clear  all  the  pack  and  reach 
the  open  sea.  For  a  year  she  had  been  drifting  north,  west, 
south  and  east,  in  Bellingshausen  Sea  ;  even  in  winter  the  floe 
was  never  at  rest,  and  almost  all  the  time  she  kept  south  of  the 
parallel  of  70°  over  water  which  shallowed  from  great  depths 
in  the  north  to  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  fathoms  in  the 
southern  stretches  of  the  drift,  evidently  on  the  sloping  ap- 
proach to  extensive  land.  The  expedition  suffered  greatly  in 
health  during  the  winter  from  inadequate  food,  and  from  the 
absence  of  proper  light  in  the  terrible  darkness  of  the  long  night. 
Despite  all  its  difficulties  the  Belgica  had  done  more  to  promote 
a  scientific  knowledge  of  the  Antarctic  regions  than  any  of  the 
costly  expeditions  that  went  before,  and  the  Belgian  Govern- 
ment, coming  to  the  rescue  after  her  return,  provided  adequate 
funds  for  working  out  the  results. 

Bellingshausen  Sea  was  visited  again  in  1904  by  Dr.  J.  B. 
Charcot  in  the  Frangais,  which  followed  the  route  of  the  Belgica 
along  the  coast  of  Graham  Land,  afterwards  wintering  in  Port 
Charcot,  a  harbour  on  Wandel  Island  in  65°  South.  Returning 
southward  in  the  summer  of  1904-5  he  discovered  land,  named 
Terre  Loubet,  between  Graham  Land  and  Alexander  I  Land, 
but  its  exact  position  has  not  been  stated.  This  French  cruise 
was  important  as  a  preliminary  to  the  expedition  under  Charcot, 
which  left  in  1908  and  is  now  in  those  waters  with  the  intention 
of  pushing  exploration  to  the  Farthest  South,  in  a  ship  named 
with  a  dash  of  humour  and  a  flash  of  hope  the  Pourquoi  Pas  ? 

Two  voyages  of  exploration  in  Weddell  Sea  may  for  con- 
venience  be   referred   to   here.     In    October    1901,    Dr.    Otto 

XXX 


INTRODUCTION 

Nordenskjold  left  Gothenberg  in  the  old  Antarctic,  under  the 
command  of  Captain  Larsen,  for  an  expedition  which  he  had 
got  up  by  his  personal  efforts.  He  arrived  at  the  South  Shetlands 
in  January  1902,  but  found  it  impossible  even  to  reach  the 
Antarctic  Circle  on  the  coast  of  Oscar  Land.  Allowing  the 
ship  to  go  north  for  work  among  the  islands,  Nordenskjold 
wintered  for  two  years,  1902  and  1903,  in  a  timber  house  on 
Snow  Hill  Island  in  64°  25'  South.  Only  one  year's  wintering 
had  been  contemplated,  but  the  Antarctic  was  crushed  in  the 
ice  and  sank,  fortunately  without  loss  of  life.  A  relief  ship 
was  despatched  from  Sweden,  but  shortly  before  she  arrived 
Nordenskjold  and  his  companions  had  been  rescued  by  the 
unprotected  Argentine  naval  vessel  Uruguay,  under  Captain 
Irizar. 

Dr.  W.  S.  Bruce,  who  had  been  to  Weddell  Sea  in  the  Balaena 
in  1892,  and  had  since  then  taken  part  in  several  Arctic  ex- 
peditions, succeeded  by  dint  of  hard  work  and  the  unceasing 
advocacy  of  the  further  exploration  of  Weddell  Sea,  in  enlisting 
the  aid  of  a  number  of  persons  in  Scotland,  and  notably  of 
Mr.  James  Coats,  Jr.,  of  Paisley,  and  Major  Andrew  Coats,  D.S.O., 
and  fitting  out  an  expedition  on  the  Scotia.  He  left  the  Clyde 
in  November  1902,  with  Captain  Thomas  Robertson  in  command 
of  the  ship,  Mr.  R.  C.  Mossman,  the  well-known  meteorologist, 
Mr.  Rudmose  Brown  and  Mr.  D.  W.  Wilton  as  naturalists, 
and  Dr.  J.  H.  H.  Pirie  as  surgeon  and  geologist.  After  calling 
at  the  South  Orkneys,  the  Scotia  got  south  to  70°  25'  South 
in  17°  West  on  February  22,  1903,  not  far  from  the  position 
reached  by  Ross.  Valuable  oceanographical  work  was  done, 
and  on  returning  to  the  South  Orkneys,  Mr.  Mossman  landed 
there  with  a  party  to  keep  up  regular  meteorological  observations 
while  the  ship  proceeded  to  the  River  Plate.  On  her  return 
in  the  following  year  the  Argentine  Government  took  over 
the  meteorological  work  in  the  South  Orkneys,  which  has  been 
kept  up  ever  since,  to  the  great  advancement  of  knowledge. 
The  Scotia  made  another  dash  to  the  south  on  the  same  meridian 
as  before,  and  on  March  2, 1904,  when  in  72°  18'  South  and  18° 
West,  a  high  ice-barrier  was  seen  stretching  from  north-east 
to  south-west,  the  depth  of  the  sea  being  1131  fathoms,  a 
marked  diminution  from  the  prevailing  depths.     The  Barrier 

xxxi 


INTRODUCTION 

was  occasionally  seen  in  intervals  of  mist,  and  March  6  being 
a  clear  day  allowed  the  edge  to  be  followed  to  the  south-west 
to  a  point  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the  place  where 
it  was  first  sighted.  The  depth,  two  and  a  half  miles  from  the 
Barrier  edge,  pack-ice  preventing  a  nearer  approach,  was  159 
fathoms.  The  description  of  the  appearance  of  the  Barrier 
given  in  the  "  Cruise  of  the  Scotia  "  is  very  brief  :  "  The 
surface  of  this  great  Inland  Ice  of  which  the  Barrier  was  the 
terminal  face  or  sea-front  seemed  to  rise  up  very  gradually  in 
undulating  slopes,  and  faded  away  in  height  and  distance  into 
the  sky,  though  in  one  place  there  appeared  to  be  the  outline 
of  distant  hills  ;  if  so  they  were  entirely  ice-covered,  no  naked 
rock  being  visible."  Ross  or  Moore  would  certainly  have 
charted  this  as  an  "  appearance  of  land  "  ;  Bruce  knew  from 
the  shoahng  water  and  the  nature  of  the  deposits  that  he  was 
in  the  vicinity  of  land  and  gave  it  the  name  of  Coats  Land 
after  his  principal  supporters.  He  could  get  no  farther  and 
returned  from  74°  1'  South  in  22°  West,  a  point  almost  as  far 
south  as  Weddell  had  got  in  his  attempt  one  hundred  and  eighty 
miles  farther  west.  The  Scotia  rendered  immense  service  to 
science  by  her  large  biological  collections,  her  unique  series  of 
deep-sea  soundings  in  high  latitudes  and  the  permanent  gain 
of  a  sub-Antarctic  meteorological  station. 

The  next  step  in  exploration  by  way  of  Ross  Sea  was 
the  fitting-out  by  Sir  George  Newnes  of  an  expedition  under 
the  leadership  of  Mr.  C.  E.  Borchgrevink,  on  board  the 
Southern  Cross,  a  stout  Norwegian  whaler  with  Captain  Jensen, 
who  had  been  chief  officer  in  the  Antarctic  when  she  went  to 
Ross  Sea  in  1895,  as  master.  Lieutenant  Colbeck,  R.N.R., 
went  as  magnetic  observer,  Mr.  L.  C.  Bernacchi,  a  resident  in 
Tasmania,  who  had  arranged  to  join  the  Belgica  if  she  had 
gone  out  by  Australia,  as  meteorologist,  and  Mr.  Nicolai  Hanson, 
of  the  British  Museum,  as  zoologist.  The  Southern  Cross  left 
Hobart  on  December  19,  1898,  and  entered  the  pack  about  the 
meridian  of  the  Balleny  Islands,  165°  East ;  but  after  being 
forced  out  again  on  the  northern  side  after  six  weeks'  struggling 
to  get  south,  she  re-entered  the  pack  in  174°  East  and  was 
through  in  the  clear  waters  of  Ross  Sea  in  six  hours  on  February 
11, 1899.  A  wooden  house  and  stores  for  the  winter  were  landed 
xxxii 


INTRODUCTION 

at  Cape  Adare  in  71°  15'  South,  and  there  the  shore-party 
went  into  winter  quarters,  the  ship  returning  to  the  north. 
An  important  series  of  meteorological  observations  was  secured 
during  the  year  of  residence,  valuable  zoological  and  geo- 
logical collections  were  made,  and  the  habits  of  the  penguins 
were  studied  ;  but  the  few  attempts  at  land  exploration  were 
without  result.  On  January  28,  1900,  Captain  Jensen  returned 
with  the  Southern  Cross  and  on  February  2,  the  Cape  Adare 
colony  embarked  and  set  out  southward  along  the  coast  of 
Victoria  Land.  Landings  were  effected  at  various  points, 
including  the  base  of  Mount  Melbourne,  where  reindeer-moss 
was  found  growing,  and  at  Cape  Crozier.  There  was  much 
less  ice  along  the  coast  than  when  Ross  had  visited  it.  The 
Southern  Cross,  after  sighting  Mount  Erebus  and  Mount  Terror, 
ran  eastward  along  the  Great  Barrier  far  closer  to  the  ice-cliffs 
than  Ross  could  go  in  his  sailing-ships,  and  Colbeck's  survey 
showed  that  the  Barrier  had  receded  on  the  whole  some  thirty 
miles  to  the  south.  Parts  of  the  Barrier  were  quite  low,  and 
Borchgrevink  landed  in  164°  Yfest,  the  ship  being  laid  alongside 
the  ice  as  if  it  had  been  a  quay,  and  made  a  short  journey  on 
ski  southward  over  the  surface  on  February  19,  1900,  reaching 
78°  50'  South,  forty  miles  beyond  Ross'  farthest  and  six  hundred 
and  seventy  miles  from  the  Pole,  the  nearest  yet  attained. 
The  sea  v/as  beginning  to  freeze  and  the  Southern  Cross  made 
haste  for  home. 

Following  on  various  less  weighty  efforts  set  in  motion  by 
the  resolution  of  the  International  Geographical  Congress  in 
1895,  all  the  eminent  men  of  science  who  had  the  renewal  of 
Antarctic  exploration  at  heart  met  in  the  rooms  of  the  Royal 
Society  in  London  in  February  1898,  when  Sir  John  Murray 
read  a  stimulating  paper.  This  was  followed  by  a  discussion 
in  which  part  was  taken  by  the  veteran  Antarctic  explorer 
Sir  Joseph  Hooker,  by  the  most  successful  of  Arctic  explorers 
Dr.  Fridtjof  Nansen,  by  Dr.  von  Neumayer,  who  had  never 
ceased  for  half  a  century  to  advocate  renewed  exploration^ 
and  by  Sir  Clements  Markham,  President  of  the  Royal  Geo- 
graphical Society.  A  Joint  Committee  of  the  Royal  Society 
and  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  undertook  the  equipment 
of  a  British  expedition  and  carried  it  through  under  the  constant 

xxxiii 


INTRODUCTION 

stimulus  and  direction  of  Sir  Clements  Markham,  while  funds 
were  subscribed  by  various  wealthy  individuals,  by  the  Royal 
Geographical  Society,  and  in  largest  measure  by  Government. 
In  Germany  a  national  expedition  was  got  up  at  the  same  time 
under  the  command  of  Professor  Erich  von  Drygalski  to  co- 
operate by  means  of  simultaneous  magnetic  and  meteorological 
observations  in  a  different  quarter  with  the  British  expedition. 
For  the  present  purpose  it  is  enough  to  say  that  the  German 
expedition  on  board  the  Gauss  descended  on  the  Antarctic 
Circle  by  the  90th  meridian,  and  was  caught  in  the  pack  at 
the  end  of  February  1902,  not  far  from  Wilkes'  "  appearance  " 
of  Termination  Land,  and  in  sight  of  a  hill  called  the  Gaussberg 
on  a  land  discovered  by  the  expedition  and  named  Kaiser 
Wilhelm  Land.  The  ship  remained  fast  for  a  year,  and  an 
immense  amount  of  scientific  investigation  was  carried  out 
with  characteristic  thoroughness.  On  her  release  in  February 
1903,  the  Gauss  tried  to  push  westward  in  a  high  latitude,  but 
could  not  reach  the  Antarctic  Circle  and,  failing  to  get  permission 
for  another  season's  work,  she  returned  laden  with  rich  scientific 
collections  and  voluminous  observations. 

The  Joint  Committee  in  London  built  the  Discovery  at  an 
expense  of  £52,000,  making  her  immensely  strong  to  resist  ice 
pressure  and  securing  the  absence  of  any  magnetic  metal  in  a 
large  area  so  that  magnetic  observations  of  high  precision 
might  be  carried  out.  Sir  Clements  Markham  selected  as 
commander  Lieutenant  Robert  F.  Scott,  R.N.,  a  most  fortunate 
choice,  for  no  one  could  have  been  better  fitted  by  disposition 
and  training  to  ensure  success.  The  second  in  command  was 
Lieutenant  Albert  Armitage,  R.N.R.,  who  had  had  Arctic 
experience,  and  the  other  officers  were  Lieutenants  C.  Royds, 
R.N. ;  M.  Barne,  R.N. ;  E.  H.  Shackleton,  R.N.R. ;  Engineer- 
Lieutenant  Skelton,  R.N. ;  Dr.  R.  Koettlitz,  who  had  been  a 
comrade  of  Armitage's  in  the  north,  and  Dr.  E.  A.  Wilson,  an 
artist  of  great  ability.  The  scientific  staff  included,  in  addition 
to  the  surgeons  who  were  also  zoologists,  Mr.  L.  C.  Bernacchi, 
who  had  been  on  the  Southern  Cross  expedition,  as  physicist ; 
as  biologist  Mr.  T.  V.  Hodgson,  and  as  geologist  Mr.  H.  T. 
Ferrar.  Meteorological  and  oceanographical  work  were  under- 
taken by  officers  of  the  ship.  The  objects  of  the  expedition 
xxxiv 


INTRODUCTION 

were  primarily  magnetic  observations,  the  costly  construction 
of  the  ship  being  largely  due  to  the  arrangements  for  this 
purpose,  then  meteorological  and  oceanographical  observations 
and  the  collection  of  zoological  and  geological  specimens,  and 
of  course  geographical  exploration.  Three  pieces  of  exploration 
were  specified  in  the  instructions,  an  attempt  to  reach  the 
land  which  Ross  believed  to  exist  east  of  the  Barrier,  though 
he  charted  it  as  an  appearance  only,  a  journey  westward  into 
the  mountains  of  Victoria  Land,  and  a  journey  southward. 
An  attempt  to  reach  the  Pole  was  neither  recommended  nor 
forbidden.  The  Royal  Geographical  Society  has  always  depre- 
cated attempts  to  attain  high  latitudes  north  or  south  unless 
as  an  incident  in  systematic  scientific  work.  The  Discovery  left 
Lyttelton  on  December  24,  1901,  met  the  pack  on  January  1, 
1902,  and  got  through  it  into  Ross  Sea  in  a  week  in  174°  East. 
Landings  were  made  at  Cape  Adare,  at  various  points  along 
the  coast  of  Victoria  Land,  and  on  January  22  at  the  base  of 
Mount  Terror,  near  Cape  Crozier.  From  this  point  the  Great 
Barrier  was  coasted  to  the  east,  close  along  its  edge,  and  on 
the  29th  in  165°  East  the  depth  of  water  was  found  to  be  less 
than  a  hundred  fathoms,  a  strong  indication  of  the  approach 
to  land.  The  Barrier  had  receded  about  thirty  miles  since 
Ross  was  in  those  seas,  and  there  was  much  less  pack-ice  than 
during  his  visit ;  the  date  also  was  earlier  and  Scott  was  able 
to  penetrate  almost  to  150°  West  before  being  stopped  by 
heavy  ice.  The  land  was  plainly  seen,  its  higher  summits 
being  2000  to  3000  ft.  above  the  sea,  and  bare  rocks  projected 
from  the  snow  covering  of  the  hills.  Thus  the  first  geographical 
problem  set  to  the  expedition  was  promptly  and  satisfactorily 
solved.  Although  no  landing  was  made  on  King  Edward  VII 
Land,  the  King's  first  godchild  of  discovery,  as  Victoria  Land  had 
been  the  late  Queen's,  the  Discovery  was  laid  alongside  a  low 
part  of  the  Barrier  in  164°  West,  and  the  captive  balloon  was 
raised  for  a  comprehensive  view.  Returning  to  McMurdo  Bay, 
Scott  showed  that  the  Parry  Mountains,  running  south  from 
Mount  Erebus,  were  not  in  fact  there ;  Ross  had  probably  seen 
the  southern  range  across  the  Barrier.  It  soon  became  evident 
that  Ross'  original  impression  that  Mount  Erebus  rose  from 
an  island  was  correct,  and  this  land  was  named  Ross  Island. 

XXXV 


INTRODUCTION 

McMurdo  Bay  also  was  found  not  to  be  a  bay  at  all,  but  the  open- 
ing of  a  strait  leading  southward  between  Ross  Island  and  the 
mainland.  By  the  middle  of  February  1902,  the  Discovery 
had  taken  up  winter  quarters  on  the  extreme  south  of  Ross 
Island,  and  a  large  hut  had  been  erected  on  shore,  with  smaller 
huts  for  the  magnetic  and  other  instruments.  The  winter,  four 
hundred  miles  farther  south  than  any  man  had  wintered  before, 
was  passed  pleasantly  by  all,  a  great  feature  being  the  appearance 
of  the  South  Polar  Times,  which  owed  much  of  its  attractiveness 
to  the  editorship  o2  E.  H.  Shackleton  and  to  the  art  of  E.  A. 
Wilson. 

With  the  spring  a  new  era  in  Antarctic  exploration  was 
inaugurated  in  the  series  of  sledge  Journeys,  for  which  elaborate 
preparations  had  been  made.  Here  Captain  Scott  showed 
himself  possessed  of  all  the  qualities  of  a  pioneer,  adapting 
the  methods  of  Sir  Leopold  McClintock  and  Dr.  Nansen  for 
Arctic  ice  travel  to  the  different  conditions  prevailing  in  the 
Antarctic.  In  preparation  for  the  great  effort  towards  the 
south  a  depot  had  been  laid  out  on  the  ice,  and  on  November  2, 
1902,  Scott,  Shackleton  and  Wilson,  with  four  sledges  and 
nineteen  dogs,  stepped  out  into  the  unknown  on  the  surface 
of  the  Barrier.  It  was  necessary  at  first  to  make  the  journeys 
by  relays,  going  over  the  ground  three  times  to  bring  up  the 
stores  ;  but  the  loads  were  lightened  as  the  food  was  used  and 
by  leaving  a  depot  in  80°  30'  South  to  be  picked  up  on  the 
return  journey.  Snowy  weather  was  experienced  but  the 
temperature  was  not  excessively  low.  The  dogs,  however, 
rapidly  weakened,  but  by  December  30,  the  little  party  reached 
latitude  82°  17'  South,  after  fifty-nine  days'  travelling  from 
winter  quarters  in  77°  49'  South.  They  had  passed  over 
comparatively  uniform  snow-covered  ice,  probably  afloat, 
and  their  track  stretched  parallel  to  a  great  mountain  range 
which  rose  on  their  right.  Whenever  they  approached  the 
position  of  the  mountains  the  surface  was  always  found  to  be 
rougher,  thrown  into  ridges  or  cleft  by  great  crevasses.  Failing 
provisions  compelled  them  to  stop  at  length,  and  a  great  chasm 
in  the  ice  prevented  them  from  reaching  the  land ;  but  they 
had  made  their  way  to  a  point  3°  27'  or  297  miles  farther  south 
than  Borchgrevink  and  were  463  miles  from  the  Pole.  It  was 
xxxvi 


INTRODUCTION 

the  greatest  advance  ever  made  over  a  previous  farthest  in 
poleward  progress  in  either  hemisphere,  and  the  first  long  land 
journey  in  the  Antarctic.  Great  mountain  summits  were  seen 
beyond  the  farthest  point  reached  ;  one  named  Mount  Markham 
rose  to  about  15,000  ft.,  another,  Mount  Longstaff,  was  lower 
but  farther  south.  The  range  appeared  to  be  trending  south- 
eastward in  the  distance.  The  return  journey  was  made  in 
thirty-four  days,  and  the  ship  was  reached  on  February  3,  1903  ; 
the  dogs  were  all  dead  and  had  long  been  useless,  the  men 
themselves  had  been  attacked  by  scurvy,  the  ancient  scourge 
of  polar  explorers,  and  Shackleton's  health  was  in  a  very  serious 
state  ;  but  a  journey  such  as  had  never  been  made  before  had 
been  accomplished,  and  new  methods  of  travel  had  been  evolved 
and  tested.  Meantime  shorter  expeditions  had  been  sent  out 
from  winter  quarters,  and  Armitage  had  pioneered  a  way  up 
one  of  the  great  glaciers  which  descended  from  the  western 
mountains.  The  relief  ship  Morning,  under  Captain  Colbeck, 
who  had  charted  the  Barrier  on  the  Southern  Cross  expedition, 
arrived  in  McMurdo  Sound  on  January  25,  1903  ;  but  unbroken 
sea  ice  prevented  the  ship  from  reaching  the  Discovery's  winter 
quarters  by  ten  miles.  On  March  3  she  sailed  for  the  north, 
leaving  Lieutenant  Mulock,  R.N.,  to  take  the  place  of  Lieutenant 
Shackleton,  who  was  a  reluctant  passenger,  invalided  home. 
In  the  second  winter  the  acetylene  gas-plant  was  brought  into 
use,  and  by  this  means  the  living-rooms  were  lighted  brilliantly, 
and  with  the  fresh  food  brought  by  the  Morning,  the  sufferers 
from  scurvy  recovered,  and  the  health  of  all  remained  excellent 
throughout  the  winter.  Sledge  expeditions  set  out  again  early 
in  the  spring,  the  most  successful  being  that  led  by  Captain 
Scott  into  the  western  mountains.  Starting  on  October  26, 
he  ascended  the  Ferrar  Glacier  to  the  summit  of  a  great  plateau 
of  which  the  mountains  formed  the  broken  edge,  and  the  party 
travelled  without  dogs,  hauling  their  own  sledges  over  a  flat 
surface  of  compacted  snow  nine  thousand  feet  above  sea-level 
to  the  longitude  of  146°  33'  East,  a  distance  of  278  statute  miles 
from  the  ship.  This  journey  proved  the  existence  of  a  surface 
beyond  the  mountains  which,  although  only  to  be  reached  by 
the  toilsome  and  dangerous  climbing  of  a  crevassed  glacier, 
and  subject  to  the  intensified  cold  of  high  altitudes,  was  as 
I  d  xxxvii 


INTRODUCTION 

practicabk  as  the  Barrier  surface  itself  for  rapid  travelling, 
as  rapidity  is  counted  in  those  regions.  Thus  Scott  was  able 
to  demonstrate  the  facility  of  both  kinds  of  ice  travel,  over  the 
Antarctic  continent  as  over  the  Antarctic  Sea. 

On  February  19,  1904,  the  Discovery  escaped  from  the 
harbour  in  which  she  had  been  frozen  for  two  years.  The 
Morning  had  again  come  south  to  meet  her  with  orders  to  desert 
the  ship  if  she  could  not  be  freed  from  the  ice  ;  and  a  larger 
ship,  the  Terra  Nova,  had  been  sent  by  the  Admiralty  to  satisfy 
the  fears  of  nervous  hearts  at  home.  The  one  thing  wanting 
to  round  off  the  expedition  was  a  supply  of  coal  to  enable  the 
Discovery  to  follow  the  track  of  Wilkes'  vessels  from  the  Balleny 
Islands  westward ;  but  the  relief  ships  were  only  able  to  spare 
a  trifling  quantity  and  the  opportunity  was  lost.  Scott  carried 
on  to  the  west  far  south  of  Wilkes'  route  to  154°  East,  showing 
that  the  land  charted  by  the  American  expedition  west  of  that 
meridian  did  not  exist  in  the  assigned  positions  ;  then  with 
barely  coal  enough  left  to  carry  her  to  New  Zealand  the  Discovery 
left  the  Antarctic  regions  and  the  great  South  Polar  expedition 
came  to  an  end.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  although  no 
catastrophe  such  as  those  which  darken  the  pages  of  Arctic 
history  has  ever  happened  in  the  Antarctic,  no  expedition  had 
gone  out  without  the  loss  of  some  of  its  members  by  accident 
or  illness.  On  the  Discovery  the  two  deaths  which  occurred 
were  by  accident  only. 

The  Gauss  and  the  Discovery  were  sold  soon  after  the  return 
of  the  expeditions  ;  the  working  up  and  publication  of  the 
scientific  results  obtained  were  for  the  most  part  entrusted  to 
museums  and  public  institutions  ;  the  members  of  the  expedi- 
tions returned  to  their  former  duties  or  sought  new  employments, 
and  the  societies  which  had  promoted  the  expeditions  turned 
their  attention  to  other  things.  The  South  Polar  regions  were 
left  as  the  arena  of  private  efforts,  and  in  this  volume  the  reader 
will  learn  how  the  enthusiasm  and  devotion  of  an  individual 
has  once  more  vindicated  the  character  of  the  British  nation 
for  going  far  and  faring  well  in  the  face  of  difficulties  before 
which  it  would  have  been  no  dishonour  to  turn  back. 


XXXVlll 


CONTEJNTS 

CHAPTER  I 

THE    INCEPTION    AND    PREPARATION     OP     THE 

EXPEDITION  I 

CHAPTER  II 

THE  STAEF  27 

CHAPTER  III 

THE  FIRST  STAGE  34 

CHAPTER  IV 

LYTTELTON  TO  THE  ANTARCTIC  CIRCLE  39 

CHAPTER  V 

THE   ATTEMPT    TO    REACH    KING    EDWARD    VII 

LAND  68 

CHAPTER  VI 

THE  SELECTION  OF  THE  WINTER  QUARTERS  82 

CHAPTER  VII 

THE  LANDING  OF  STORES  AND  EQUIPMENT  99 

CHAPTER  VIII 

A  BLIZZARD  :  THE  DEPARTURE  OF  THE  NIMROD  122 
CHAPTER  IX 

AROUND  THE  WINTER  QUARTERS :   COMPLETION 

OF  THE  HUT  132 

CHAPTER  X 

FIRST  DAYS  IN  WINTER  QUARTERS  141 

CHAPTER  XI 

SLEDGING  EQUIPMENT  :    PONIES  AND  DOGS  151 

xxxix 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  XII 

THE  CONQUEST  OF  MOUNT  EREBUS  170 

CHAPTER  XIII 

RESULTS  OF  THE  EREBUS  JOURNEY  194 

CHAPTER  XIV 

LIFE  AND  WORK  IN  WINTER  QUARTERS  202 

CHAPTER  XV 

THE  POLAR  NIGHT  219 

CHAPTER  XVI 

SPRING  SLEDGmG  JOURNEYS  225 

CHAPTER  XVII 

SOUTHERN  DEPOT  JOURNEY  237 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

PREPARATION  FOR  THE  SOUTHERN  JOURNEY  248 

CHAPTER  XIX 

FIRST  DAYS  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  MARCH  260 

CHAPTER  XX 

STEADY  PROGRESS  :  THE  SIGHTING  OF  NEW  LAND    278 
CHAPTER  XXI 

BEYOND  ALL  FORMER  FOOTSTEPS  296 

CHAPTER  XXII 

ON  THE  GREAT  GLACIER  312 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

ON  THE  PLATEAU  TO  THE  FARTHEST  SOUTH  328 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

THE  RETURN  MARCH  349 

CHAPTER  XXV 

THE  FINAL  STAGE  365 


Xl 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Portrait  of  E.  H.  ShACKLSTON  {Beresford,  London) 

COLOURED  PLATES 

The  Atjtumn  SmsrsET 

A  Quiet  Evening  on  the  Barrier 

"The  Dreadnought" 

The  "Nimrod"  returns 

The  "  Aurora  Australis  " 

Full  Moon  in  the  Winter 


Frontispiece 


To  face 

page 

46 

78 

96 

124 
216 
244 


PLATES 

Portraits:  Marston,  David,  Mawson,  Mackay,  Murray,  Armytage, 
Roberts,  Mackintosh,  Shackleton,  Adams,  Wild,  Marshall, 
Joyce,  Brocklehurst,  Day,  Priestley  28 

Their  Majesties  the  King  and  Queen  inspecttng  the  Equipment  on 

the  "  Nimrod  "  at  Cowes  34 

The  Manchurian  Ponies  on  Quail  Island,  Port  Lyttelton,  before 

THE  Expedition  left  foe  the  Antarctic  36 

Training  the  Ponies  on  Quail  Island,  Port  Lyttelton  38 

A  Photograph  taken  from  the  "  Nimrod  "  as  the  Expedition  was 

leaving  Lyttelton.  Over  30,000  People  watched  the  departure  42 
The    "  Nimrod  "    passing   H.M.S.    "  Powerful,"    Flagship   op   the 

Australasian  Squadron,  in  Lyttelton  Harbour  42 

The  Towing  Steamer  "  Koonya,"  as  seen  from  the  "  Nimrod,"  in  a 
Heavy  Sea.  This  particular  Wave  came  aboard  the  "  Nimrod  " 
and  did  considerable  damage  50 

xli 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

To  face 
page 

MoTJNTArNOtrs  Seas  54 

A  Tabuiar  Bebg  of  typical  Antaectic  form  60 

HAtriXNG  MtTTTON  FROM  THE  "  KOOKYA  "  TO  THE  "  NiMEOD  "  BEFORE  THE 

Vessels  parted  company  within  the  Antarctic  Circle  62 

The  "  NiMROD  "  pushing  through  heavy  Pack  Ice  on  her  way  South        62 
Pancake  Ice  in  the  Ross  Sea  64 

Flight  of  Antarctic  Petrels  66 

Pushing  through  heavy  Floes  in  the  Ross  Sea.  The  dark  Line  on 
THE  Horizon  is  a  "  Water-sky,"  and  indicates  the  existence  of 
Open  Sea  68 

Two  Views  op  the  Great  Ice  Barrier.    The  Wall  of  Ice  was  90  feet 

HIGH  AT  THE  PoiNT  SHOWN  IN  THE  FiRST  PICTURE,  AND  120  FEET  HIGH 

AT  THE  Point  where  the  Second  View  was  taken  70 

The  "  NiMROD  "  pushing  her  way  through  more  Open  Pack  towards 

King  Edward  VII  Land  72 

Two  Inlets  in  the  Great  Ice  Barrier  74 

The  "  NiMEOD  "  held  up  by  the  Pack  Ice  76 

Snow  thrown  on  Board  in  order  that  the  Expedition  might  have  a 

Supply  of  Fresh  Water  76 

The  Consolidated  Pack,  into  which  Bergs  had  been  frozen,  which 

prevented  the  Expedition  reaching  King  Edward  VII  Land        80 
The  Wake  op  the  "  Nimrod  "  through  Pancake  Ice  80 

Mount  Erebus  from  the  Ice-foot  82 

Sounding  Round  a  Stranded  Berg  in  order  to  see  whether  the 

Ship  could  lie  there  86 

The  "  Nimrod  "  moored  to  the  Stranded  Berg,  about  a  mile  prom 
the  Winter  Quarters.  The  "  Nimrod  "  sheltered  in  the  lee 
OP  THIS  Berg  during  Blizzards  86 

The  first  Landing    Place,  showing  Bay  Ice  breaking  out  and 

drifting  away  north  90 

A  Snow  Cornice  94 

Landing  Stores  from  the  Boat  at  the  First  Landing  Piace  after 

THE  Ice-foot  had  broken  away  100 

The  Landing -Place  Wharf  broken  up  110 

Derrick  Point,  showing  the  Method  of  hauling  Stores  up  the  Cliff  114 

xlii 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


To  face, 
page 


Digging  otjt  Stores  after  the  Cases  had  been  buried  in  Ice  during 

A  Blizzard  126 

The  "  NiMROD  "  lying  off  the  Penguin  Rookery  128 

The  Pony  "  Quan  "  about  to  draw  a  Sledge-load  op  Stores  from 

THE  Ice-foot  to  the  hut  130 

Flagstaff  Point,  with  the  Shore  Party's  Boat  hauled  up  on  the  Ice      134 

The  Vicinity  of  Cape  Royds.    A  Scene  op  Desolation  134 

The  East  Corner  of  Inaccessible  Island,  Eight  Miles  South  of  the 

Winter  Quarters  136 

High  Hill,  near  the  Winter  Quarters.    A  Lava  Flow  is  seen  in 

THE  Foreground  136 

Looking  North  towards  Cape  Royds,  from  Cape  Barne.  The 
Smooth  Ice  shown  was  the  Exercising  Ground  for  the  Ponies 
during  the  Spring  138 

Preparing  a  Sledge  during  the  Winter  140 

Cape  Barne.    The  Pillar  in  the  right  foreground  is  Volcanic  146 

A  View  of  the  Hut  looking  Northwards.  On  the  left  is  shown 
Joyce's  Hut,  made  op  Cases.  The  Stable  and  Garage  are  on 
the  right  side  op  the  hut,  and  on  the  extreme  right  is  the 
Snow  Gauge.  The  Instrument  for  recording  Atmospheric 
Electricity  projects  from  a  corner  op  the  Roof.  Open  Water 
can  be  seen  about  a  Mile  away.  This  Water  alternately 
froze  and  broke  up  during  the  winter  150 

A  GREAT  KeNYTE  BoULDER  CLOSE  TO  THE  WiNTER  QUARTERS  154 

A  Freshwater  Lake  near  Cape  Barne,  frozen  to  a  depth  of  Twenty 

Feet.    Rotifers  were  found  in  this  Lake  156 

A  Group  of  the  Shore  Party  at  the  Winter  Quarters 

Standing  (from  left) :  Joyce,  Day,  Wild,  Adams,  Brocklehurst, 
Shackleton,  Marshall,  David,  Armytage,  Marston.  Sitting : 
Priestley,    Murray,    Roberts  158 

The  pour  Ponies  out  for  exercise  on  the  Sea  Ice  160 

Interior  of  the  Stable.    Frost  can  be  seen  on  the  Bolts  in  the  Roof      160 

Day  with  the  Motor-car  on  the  Sea  Ice  164 

xliii 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

To /ace 
page 

Special  Motor  Wheels  :  the  original  form  on  the  left,  an  altered 

FORM    ON    THE    RIGHT.      ORDINARY    WHEELS    WITH    RtJBBER    TyrBS 

were  found  to  be  the  most  satisfactory  164 

The  Start  of  a   Blizzard  at  the  Winter  Quarters,  the  fuzzy 

APPEARANCE  BEING  DUB  TO  DRIFTING  SnOW  166 

The  Last  of  the  Penguins  just  before  their  Migration  in  March. 

The  Ice  is  drifting  Northwards  168 

Weddbll  Seals  on  the  Floe  Ice  170 

Skua  Gulls  feeding  near  the  Hut  170 

Mount  Erebus  as  seen  from  the  Winter  Quarters,  the  Old  Crater 

on  the  left,  and  the  acttve  cone  rising  on  the  right  172 

The  Party  which  Ascended  Mount  Erebus  leaving  the  Hut  174 

The  First  Slopes  of  Erebus  176 

The  Party  portaging  the  Sledge  over  a  Patch  of  Barb  Rock  176 

The  Camp  7000  feet  up  Mount  Erebus.    The  Steam  from  the  active 

Crater  can  bb  seen  178 

Brocklehurst  looking  down  from  a  point  9000  FEET  UP  Mount 

Erebus.    The  Clouds  lie  below,  and  Cape  Royds  can  be  seen      180 

The  Old  Crater  of  Erebus,  with  an  older  Crater  in  the  Back- 
ground.   Altitude  11,000  FEET.   The  Active  Cone  is  higher  still      182 

A  remarkable  Fumarole  in  the  old  Crater,  in  the  form  of  a 
CoucHANT  Lion.  The  Men  (from  the  left)  are  :  Mackay, 
David,  Adams,  Marshall  184 

One  Thousand  Feet  below  the  Active  Cone  186 

The  Crater  of  Erebus,  900  feet  deep  and  half  a  mile  wide.  Steam 
IS  seen  rising  on  the  left.    The  Photograph  was  taken  from 

THE   LOWER  PART   OF  THE   CRATER   EdGE  188 

Another  View  of  the  Crater  of  Erebus  190 

Going  out  to  bring  in  the  Erebus  Party's  Sledge  192 

The  Hut  in  the  Early  Winter  192 

A  Steam  Exprx)siON  on  Mount  Bird  I94 

Hauling  Seal  Meat  fob  the  Winter  Quarters  196 

xliv 


LIST     OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

To  face 
page 

An  Ice  Cavern  in  the  Wintek.    PHoroaEAPHED  by  the  Light  of 

Hurricane  Lamps  198 

Mount  Erebus  in  Eruption  on  June  14,  1908.    The  Photogeaph 

was  taken  by  moonlight  200 

Professor  David  standing  by  Mawson's  Anemometer  202 

A  Cloud  Eppbct  before  the  Sea  froze  over  204 

Music  in  the  Hut  206 

A  View  North,  towards  the  Dying  Sun,  in  March  208 

An  Ice  Cave  in  the  Winter  210 

An  Ice  Cave  in  the  Winter  212 

Murray  and  Priestley  going  down  a  Shaft  dug  in   Green  Lake 

DURING    THE    WiNTER  214 

Ice  Flowers  on  newly  formed  Sea  Ice  early  in  the  Winter  216 

The  Pull  Moon  in  the  Time  of  Autumn  Twilight.    Cape  Barne  on 

THE  left.    Inaccessible  Island  on  the  eight  218 

Mawson's  Chemical  Laboratory.     The  Bottles  were  coated  with 

Ice  by  Condensation  from  the  warm,  moist  Air  of  the  Hut  220 

The  Cubicle  occupied  by  Professor  David  and  Mawson  ;    it  was 

named  the  "  Pawn-shop  "  222 

The  Type-case  and  Printing  Press  for  the  Production  op  the 
"  Aurora  Australis  "  in  Joyce's  and  Wild's  Cubicle,  known 

as  "  The  Rogues'  Retreat  "  222 

The  Midwinter's  Day  Feast  224 

The  Stove  in  the  Hut  226 

A  Member  of  the  Expedition  taking  his  Bath  226 

Maeston  in  his  Bed  228 

The  Night-watchman  230 

Maeston  teytng  to  eevive  Memoeies  of  Other  Days  232 

The  Acetylene  Gas  Plant,  over  the  Dooe.    Maeshall  standing 

BY  the  Baeometee  234 

Sledging  on  the  Baeeier  before  the  Return  of  the  Sun.    Mount 

Erebus  in  the  Background.    Tempeeatuee  minus  58°  Fake.  236 

I                                           e  xiv 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

To  fact 

pagi 

The  Leader  op  the  Expedition  m  Winter  Gabb  238 

The  Hut,  with  Motjnt  Eeebtjs  in  the  Background,  in  the  Autumn  240 

The  Winter  Quarters  op  the  Discovery  Expedition  at  Hut  Point, 

aptbr  being  deserted  for  Six  Years  246 

Gris  250 

Quan  250 

Socks  254 

Chinaman  254 

The  Supporting  Party  at  Glacier  Tongue  260 

The  Camp  at  Hut  Point  260 

The  Start  from  the  Ice-edge  south  op  Hut  Point  266 

The  Ponies  tethered  for  the  Night  268 

A  Camp  after  a  Blizzard,  with  the  Supporting  Party  268 

The  Southern  Party  marching  into  the  White  Unknown  272 

Depot  A,  t.att>  out  in  the  Spring  282 

The  Camp  after  passing  the  previous  "  Farthest  South  "  Latitude 

— New  Land  is  seen  in  the  Background  296 

Grisi  Depot,  Latitude  82°  45"  South  300 

New  Land.  The  Party  ascended  Mount  Hope  and  sighted  the 
Great  Glacier,  up  which  they  marched  through  the  Gap.  The 
Main  Body  op  the  Glacier  joins  the  Barrier  farther  to  the 

left  306 

The  View  from  the  Summit  of  Mount  Hope,  looking  South.  Depot 
D,  ON  Lower  Glacier  Depot,  was  under  the  rock,  casting 

A    LONG    shadow    TO    THE    RIGHT.      ThE    MOUNTAIN    CALLED    "  ThE 

ClOUDMAKER  "  IS  SEEN  IN  THE  CENTRE  ON  THE  HORIZON  308 

Part  of  Queen  Alexandra  Range,  1500  feet  up  the  Glacier  314 

The  Camp  below  "  The  Cloudmakee  "  318 

A  Slope  just  above  the  Upper  Glacier  Depot,  showing  Stratification 

Lines  326 

The  Mountains  towards  the  Head  of  the  Glacier,  where  the  Coal 

was  found  326 

xlvi 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

To  face 
page 

The  Christmas  Camp  on  the  Plateaxt.    The  Figures  from  left  to 

RIGHT  ABE  AdAMS,  MARSHALL  AND  WiLD.      ThE  FbOST  CAN  BE  SEEN 

ON  THE  men's  faces  336 

Facsimile  op  Page  of  Shackleton's  Diary  342 

The  Farthest  South  Camp  after  Sixty  Hours'  Buzzard  346 

Farthest  South  343 
Parts  of  the  Cobumonwealth  and  Dominion  Ranges,  Photographed 

ON  THE  WAY  DOWN  THE  GlACIER.       PRESSURE  ICE  SHOWS  AT  THE  FOOT 

OF  THE  Mountains  350 

The   Queen  Alexandra  Range,  Photographed  on  the  way  down 

THE  Glacier  352 

The  Camp  under  the  Granite  Pillar,  half  a  mile  prom  the  Lower 

Glacier  Depot,  where  the  Party  camped  on  January  27  354 

Lower  Glacier  Depot.    The  Stores  were  buried  in  the  Snow  near 

the  Rock  in  the  Foreground  356 

Shackleton  standing  by  the  Broken  Southern  Sledge,  which  was 

replaced  by  another  at  Grisi  Depot  358 

The  Bluff  Depot  364 

Marshall  outside  a  Tent,  at  the  Camp  prom  which  Shackleton  and 

Wild  pressed  on  to  the  Ship  366 

Shackleton  and  Wild  waiting  at  Hut  Point  to  be  picked  up  by  the 

Ship  368 

The  Start  of  the  Relief  Party,  which  brought  in  Adams  and 

Marshall  368 

The  "  NiMROD  "  at  Pram  Point  on  March  4,  1909  370 

The  Southern  Party  on  Board  the  "  Nimrod."    Left  to  right  : 

Wild,  Shackleton,  Marshall,  Adams  372 


xlvii 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


DIAGRAMS    IN  THE    TEXT 

Page 

Section  sHOWiNa  Interior  of  "  Nimrod  "  18 

Snow  Goggles  26 

FiNNBSKO  67 

Barrier  Inlet  73 

Cooker  and  Primus  Stove  98 

Plan  op  Ice  Edge  106 

Winter  Quarters  131 

Plan  of  the  Hut  at  Winter  Quarters  136 

Crater  of  Mount  Erebus  and  Section  197 

Ski  Boots  277 

Plan  op  Sledge  311 


xlviii 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  INCEPTION  AND 
PREPARATION  OF  THE  EXPEDITION 

MEN  go  out  into  the  void  spaces  of  the  world  for 
various  reasons.  Some  are  actuated  simply  by 
a  love  of  adventure,  some  have  the  keen  thirst  for 
scientific  knowledge,  and  others  again  are  drawn  away 
from  the  trodden  paths  by  the  "  lure  of  little  voices,"  the 
mysterious  fascination  of  the  unknown.  I  think  that 
in  my  own  case  it  was  a  combination  of  these  factors 
that  determined  me  to  try  my  fortune  once  again  in 
the  frozen  south.  I  had  been  invalided  home  before 
the  conclusion  of  the  Discovery  expedition,  and  I  had 
a  very  keen  desire  to  see  more  of  the  vast  continent 
that  lies  amid  the  Antarctic  snows  and  glaciers.  In- 
deed the  stark  polar  lands  grip  the  hearts  of  the  men 
who  have  lived  on  them  in  a  manner  that  can  hardly 
be  understood  by  the  people  who  have  never  got  out- 
side the  pale  of  civilisation.  I  was  convinced,  moreover, 
that  an  expedition  on  the  lines  I  had  in  view  could 
justify  itself  by  the  results  of  its  scientific  work.  The 
Discovery  expedition  had  brought  back  a  great  store 
of  information,  and  had  performed  splendid  service  in 
several  important  branches  of  science.  I  believed  that 
a  second  expedition  could  carry  the  work  still  further. 
The  Discovery  expedition  had  gained  knowledge  of  the 
great  chain  of  mountains  running  in  a  north  and  south 

I  A  1 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

direction  from  Cape  Adare  to  latitude  82°  17'  South, 
but  whether  this  range  turned  to  the  south-east  or 
eastward  for  any  considerable  distance  was  not  known, 
and  therefore  the  southern  limits  of  the  Great  Ice 
Barrier  plain  had  not  been  defined.  The  glimpses 
gained  of  King  Edward  VII  Land  from  the  deck  of  the 
Discovery  had  not  enabled  us  to  determine  either  its 
nature  or  its  extent,  and  the  mystery  of  the  Barrier 
remained  unsolved.  It  was  a  matter  of  importance  to 
the  scientific  world  that  information  should  be  gained 
regarding  the  movement  of  the  ice-sheet  that  forms  the 
Barrier.  Then  I  wanted  to  find  out  what  lay  beyond 
the  mountains  to  the  south  of  latitude  82°  17'  and 
whether  the  Antarctic  continent  rose  to  a  plateau 
similar  to  the  one  found  by  Captain  Scott  beyond  the 
western  mountains.  There  was  much  to  be  done  in  the 
field  of  meteorology,  and  this  work  was  of  particular 
importance  to  Australia  and  New  Zealand,  for  these 
countries  are  affected  by  weather  conditions  that  have 
their  origin  in  the  Antarctic.  Antarctic  zoology,  though 
somewhat  limited,  as  regarded  the  range  of  species, 
had  very  interesting  aspects,  and  I  wanted  to  devote 
some  attention  to  mineralogy,  apart  from  general 
geology.  The  Aurora  Australis,  atmospheric  electricity, 
tidal  movements,  hydrography,  currents  of  the  air,  ice 
formations  and  movements,  biology  and  geology,  offered 
an  unlimited  field  for  research,  and  the  despatch  of  an 
expedition  seemed  to  be  justified  on  scientific  grounds 
quite  apart  from  the  desire  to  gain  a  high  latitude. 

The  difficulty  that  confronts  most  men  who  wish  to 
undertake  exploration  work  is  that  of  finance,  and 
in  this  respect  I  was  rather  more  than  ordinarily  handi- 
capped. The  equipment  and  despatch  of  an  Antarctic 
expedition  means  the  expenditure  of  very  many  thou- 
sands of  pounds,  without  the  prospect  of  any  speedy 
2 


PLAN    OF    CAMPAIGN 

return,  and  with  a  reasonable  probability  of  no  return 
at  all.  I  drew  up  my  scheme  on  the  most  economical 
lines,  as  regarded  both  ship  and  staff,  but  for  over  a 
year  I  tried  vainly  to  raise  sufficient  money  to  enable 
me  to  make  a  start.  I  secured  introductions  to  Avealthy 
men,  and  urged  to  the  best  of  my  ability  the  importance 
of  the  work  I  proposed  to  undertake,  but  the  money 
was  not  forthcoming,  and  it  almost  seemed  as  though 
I  should  have  to  abandon  the  venture  altogether. 
I  persisted,  and  towards  the  end  of  1906 1  was  encouraged 
by  promises  of  support  from  one  or  two  personal  friends. 
Then  I  made  a  fresh  effort,  and  on  February  12,  1907, 
I  had  enough  money  promised  to  enable  me  to  announce 
definitely  that  I  would  go  south  with  an  expedition. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  some  of  the  promises  of  support 
made  to  me  could  not  be  fulfilled,  and  I  was  faced  by 
financial  difficulties  right  up  to  the  time  Vv^hen  the 
expedition  sailed  from  England.  It  was  not  till  I 
arrived  in  New  Zealand,  and  the  Governments  of  New 
Zealand  and  Australia  came  to  my  assistance  with 
ready  generosity,  that  the  position  became  more  satis- 
factory. 

In  the  Geographical  Journal  for  March  1907  I  out- 
lined my  plan  of  campaign,  but  this  had  to  be  changed 
in  several  respects  at  a  later  date  owing  to  the  exigencies 
of  circumstances.  My  intention  was  that  the  expedi- 
tion should  leave  New  Zealand  at  the  beginning  of  1908, 
and  proceed  to  winter  quarters  on  the  Antarctic  con- 
tinent, the  ship  to  land  the  men  and  stores  and  then 
return.  By  avoiding  having  the  ship  frozen  in,  I 
would  render  the  use  of  a  relief  ship  unnecessary,  as  the 
same  vessel  could  come  south  again  the  following  summer 
and  take  us  off.  "  The  shore-party  of  nine  or  twelve 
men  will  winter  with  sufficient  equipment  to  enable 
three  separate  parties  to  start  out  in  the  spring,"   I 

8 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

announced.  "  One  party  will  go  east,  and,  if  possible, 
across  the  Barrier  to  the  new  land  known  as  King 
Edward  VII  Land,  follow  the  coast-line  there  south, 
if  the  coast  trends  south,  or  north  if  north,  returning 
when  it  is  considered  necessary  to  do  so.  The  second 
party  will  proceed  south  over  the  same  route  as  that  of 
the  southern  sledge-party  of  the  Discovery  ;  this  party 
will  keep  from  fifteen  to  twenty  miles  from  the  coast, 
so  as  to  avoid  any  rough  ice.  The  third  party  will 
possibly  proceed  westward  over  the  mountains,  and, 
instead  of  crossing  in  a  line  due  west,  will  strike  towards 
the  magnetic  pole.  The  main  changes  in  equipment 
will  be  that  Siberian  ponies  will  be  taken  for  the  sledge 
journeys  both  east  and  south,  and  also  a  specially 
designed  motor-car  for  the  southern  journey.  ...  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.  I  shall 
in  no  way  neglect  to  continue  the  biological,  meteoro- 
logical, geological  and  magnetic  work  of  the  Discovery. ^^ 
I  added  that  I  would  endeavour  to  sail  along  the  coast 
of  Wilkes  Land,  and  secure  definite  information  regard- 
ing that  coast-line. 

The  programme  was  an  ambitious  one  for  a  small 
expedition,  no  doubt,  but  I  was  confident,  and  I  think 
I  may  claim  that  in  some  measure  my  confidence  has  been 
justified.  Before  we  finally  left  England,  I  had  decided 
that  if  possible  I  would  establish  my  base  on  King 
Edward  VII  Land  instead  of  at  the  Discovery  winter 
quarters  in  McMurdo  Sound,  so  that  we  might  break 
entirely  new  ground.  The  narrative  will  show  how  com- 
pletely, as  far  as  this  particular  matter  was  concerned, 
all  my  plans  were  upset  by  the  demands  of  the  situation. 
The  journey  to  King  Edward  VII  Land  over  the  Barrier 
4. 


FINANCIAL   ARRANGEMENTS 

was  not  attempted,  owing  largely  to  the  unexpected 
loss  of  ponies  before  the  winter.  I  laid  all  my  plans 
very  carefully,  basing  them  on  experience  I  had  gained 
with  the  Discovery  expedition,  and  in  the  fitting  out  of 
the  relief  ships  Terra  Nova  and  Mornings  and  the 
Argentine  expedition  that  went  to  the  relief  of  the 
Swedes.  I  decided  that  I  would  have  no  committee, 
as  the  expedition  was  entirely  my  own  venture,  and 
I  wished  to  supervise  personally  all  the  arrangements. 

When  I  found  that  some  promises  of  support  had 
failed  me  and  had  learned  that  the  Royal  Geographical 
Society,  though  sympathetic  in  its  attitude,  could  not 
see  its  way  to  assist  financially,  I  approached  several 
gentlemen  and  suggested  that  they  should  guarantee 
me  at  the  bank,  the  guarantees  to  be  redeemed  by  me  in 
1910,  after  the  return  of  the  expedition.  It  was  on  this 
basis  that  I  secured  a  sum  of  £20,000,  the  greater  part 
of  the  money  necessary  for  the  starting  of  the  expedi- 
tion, and  I  cannot  express  too  warmly  my  appreciation 
of  the  faith  shown  in  me  and  my  plans  by  the  men  who 
gave  these  guarantees,  which  could  be  redeemed  only 
by  the  proceeds  of  lectures  and  the  sale  of  this  book 
after  the  expedition  had  concluded  its  work.  These 
preliminary  matters  settled,  I  started  to  buy  stores 
and  equipment,  to  negotiate  for  a  ship,  and  to  collect 
round  me  the  men  who  would  form  the  expedition. 

The  equipping  of  a  polar  expedition  is  a  task  demand- 
ing experience  as  well  as  the  greatest  attention  to 
points  of  detail.  When  the  expedition  has  left  ci^dlisa- 
tion,  there  is  no  opportunity  to  repair  any  omission 
or  to  secure  any  article  that  may  have  been  forgotten. 
It  is  true  that  the  explorer  is  expected  to  be  a  handy 
man,  able  to  contrive  dexterously  with  what  materials 
he  may  have  at  hand,  but  makeshift  appliances  mean 
increased    difficulty   and    added    danger.     The   aim   of 

5 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

one  who  undertakes  to  organise  such  an  expedition 
must  be  to  provide  for  every  contingency,  and  in  dealing 
with  this  work  I  was  fortunate  in  being  able  to  secure 
the  assistance  of  Mr.  Alfred  Reid,  who  had  already 
gained  considerable  experience  in  connection  with 
pre\dous  polar  ventures.  I  appointed  Mr.  Reid  manager 
of  the  expedition,  and  I  found  him  an  invaluable  assist- 
ant. I  was  fortunate,  too,  in  not  being  hampered  by 
committees  of  any  sort.  I  kept  the  control  of  all  the 
arrangements  in  my  own  hands,  and  thus  avoided  the 
delays  that  are  inevitable  when  a  group  of  men  have  to 
arrive  at  a  decision  on  points  of  detail. 

The  first  step  was  to  secure  an  ofltice  in  London, 
and  we  selected  a  furnished  room  at  9  Regent  Street, 
as  the  headquarters  of  the  expedition.  The  staff  at 
this  period  consisted  of  Mr.  Reid,  a  district  messenger 
and  myself,  but  there  was  a  typewriting  office  on  the 
same  floor,  and  the  correspondence,  which  grew  in  bulk 
day  by  day,  could  be  dealt  with  as  rapidly  as  though  I 
had  employed  stenographers  and  tjrpists  of  my  ovvTI. 
I  had  secured  estimates  of  the  cost  of  provisioning 
and  equipping  the  expedition  before  I  made  any  public 
announcement  regarding  my  intentions,  so  that  there 
were  no  delays  when  once  active  work  had  commenced. 
This  was  not  an  occasion  for  inviting  tenders,  because 
it  was  Ad  tally  important  that  we  should  have  the  best 
of  everything,  whether  in  food  or  gear,  and  I  therefore 
selected,  in  consultation  with  Mr.  Reid,  the  firms  that 
should  be  asked  to  supply  us.  Then  we  proceeded 
to  interview  the  heads  of  these  firms,  and  we  found  that 
in  nearly  every  instance  we  were  met  with  generous 
treatm.ent  as  to  prices,  and  with  ready  co-operation 
in  regard  to  details  of  manufacture  and  packing. 

Several  very  important  points  have  to  be  kept  in 
view  in  selecting  the  food-supplies  for  a  polar  expedition. 
6 


EFFICIENCY    OF    FOODS 

In  the  first  place  the  food  must  be  wholesome  and 
nourishing  in  the  highest  degree  possible.  At  one 
time  that  dread  disease  scurvy  used  to  be  regarded  as  the 
inevitable  result  of  a  prolonged  stay  in  the  ice-bound 
regions,  and  even  the  Discovery  expedition,  during  its 
labours  in  the  Antarctic  in  the  years  1902-4,  suffered 
from  this  complaint,  which  is  often  produced  by  eating 
preserved  food  that  is  not  in  a  perfectly  wholesome 
condition.  It  is  now  recognised  that  scurvy  may  be 
avoided  if  the  closest  attention  is  given  to  the  prepara- 
tion and  selection  of  food-stuffs  along  scientific  lines, 
and  I  may  say  at  once  that  our  efforts  in  this  direction 
were  successful,  for  during  the  whole  course  of  the 
expedition  we  had  not  one  case  of  sickness  attributable 
directly  or  indirectly  to  the  foods  we  had  brought 
with  us.  Indeed,  beyond  a  few  colds,  apparently  due 
to  germs  from  a  bale  of  blankets,  we  experienced  no 
sickness  at  all  at  the  winter  quarters. 

In  the  second  place  the  food  taken  for  use  on  the 
sledging  expeditions  must  be  as  light  as  possible,  remem- 
bering always  that  extreme  concentration  renders  the 
food  less  easy  of  assimilation  and  therefore  less  health- 
ful. Extracts  that  may  be  suitable  enough  for  use  in 
ordinary  climates  are  little  use  in  the  polar  regions, 
because  under  conditions  of  very  low  temperature  the 
heat  of  the  body  can  be  maintained  only  by  use  of  fatty 
and  farinaceous  foods  in  fairly  large  quantities.  Then 
the  sledging-foods  must  be  such  as  do  not  require  pro- 
longed cooking,  that  is  to  say,  it  must  be  sufficient  to 
bring  them  to  the  boiling-point,  for  the  amount  of  fuel 
that  can  be  carried  is  limited.  It  must  be  possible  to 
eat  the  foods  without  cooking  at  all,  for  the  fuel  may 
be  lost  or  become  exhausted. 

More  latitude  is  possible  in  the  selection  of  foods 
to  be  used  at  the  winter  quarters  of  the  expedition,  for 

7 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

the  ship  may  be  expected  to  reach  that  point,  and 
weight  is  therefore  of  less  importance.  My  aim  was  to 
secure  a  large  variety  of  foods  for  use  during  the  winter 
night.  The  long  months  of  darkness  impose  a  severe 
strain  on  any  men  unaccustomed  to  the  conditions, 
and  it  is  desirable  to  relieve  the  monotony  in  every  way 
possible.  A  variety  of  food  is  healthful,  moreover, 
and  this  is  especially  important  at  a  period  when  it  is 
difficult  for  the  men  to  take  much  exercise,  and  when 
sometimes  they  are  practically  confined  to  the  hut  for 
days  together  by  bad  weather. 

All  these  points  were  taken  into  consideration  in  the 
selection  of  our  food-stuffs,  and  the  list  that  I  append 
shows  the  more  important  items  of  our  provisions. 
I  based  my  estimates  on  the  requirements  of  twelve  men 
for  two  years,  but  this  was  added  to  in  New  Zealand 
when  I  increased  the  staff.  Some  important  articles 
of  food  were  presented  to  the  expedition  by  the  manu- 
facturers, and  others,  such  as  the  biscuits  and  pemmican, 
were  specially  manufactured  to  my  order.  The  ques- 
tion of  packing  presented  some  difficulties,  and  I  finally 
decided  to  use  "  Venesta "  cases  for  the  food- stuffs 
and  as  much  as  possible  of  the  equipment.  These 
cases  are  manufactured  from  composite  boards 
prepared  by  uniting  three  layers  of  birch  or  other 
hard  wood  with  waterproof  cement.  They  are  light, 
weather-proof  and  strong,  and  proved  to  be  eminently 
suited  to  our  purposes.  The  cases  I  ordered  measured 
about  two  feet  six  inches  by  fifteen  inches,  and  we  used 
about  2500  of  them.  The  saving  of  weight,  as  compared 
with  an  ordinary  packing-case,  was  about  four  pounds 
per  case,  and  we  had  no  trouble  at  all  with  breakages, 
in  spite  of  the  rough  handling  given  our  stores  in  the 
process  of  landing  at  Cape  Royds  after  the  expedition 
had  reached  the  Antarctic  regions. 
8 


MAIN   FOOD    SUPPLIES 


Food-supplies  fob  the  Shoee-party  for  Two  Years 

6720  lb.  Colman's  wheaten  flour. 

6000  lb.  various  tinned  meats. 

600  lb.  ox  and  lunch  tongues. 

800  lb.  roast  and  boiled  fowl,  roast  turJiey,  curried  fowl,  chicken 
and  ham  pat6,  &c. 

1000  lb.  York  hams. 

1400  lb.  Wiltshire  bacon. 

1400  lb.  Danish  butter. 

1000  lb.  milk. 

1000  lb.  "  Glaxo  "  milk  powder. 

1700  lb.  lard,  beef  suet  and  beef  marrow. 

1000  lb.  moist  sugar. 

700  lb.  Demerara  sugar. 

500  lb.  granulated  sugar. 

260  lb.  lump  sugar. 

2600  lb.  assorted  tinned  fish :  haddocks,  herrings,  pilchards,  salmon, 
sardines,  mackerel,  lobster,  whitebait,  mullet. 

500  lb.  Rowntree's  elect  cocoa. 

350  lb.  Lipton's  tea. 

1000  lb.  cheese,  mainly  Cheddar. 

70  lb.  coffee. 

1900  lb.  assorted  jams  and  marmalade. 

336  lb.  golden  syrup. 

3600  lb.  cereals  such  as  oatmeal,  quaker  oats,  rice,  barley,  tapioca, 
sago,  semolina,  cornflour,  petit  pois,  haricots  verts,  marrow-fat  peas, 
split  peas,  lentils,  dried  haricot  beans. 

3400  lb.  assorted  soups  in  tins. 

660  lb.  assorted  fruits :  apricots,  pears  and  pine-apple  chunks. 

1150  bottles  bottled  fruit. 

1000  lb.  dried  fruit :  prunes,  peaches,  apricots,  raisins,  sultanas, 
currants,  apples. 

500  lb.  salt. 

80  doz.  assorted  pickles,  relishes,  chutneys,  sauces,  &c.  &c. 

120  lb.  plum  puddings. 

2800  lb.  assorted  dried  vegetables  (equivalent  to  about  30,000  lb. 
of  fresh  vegetables) :  potatoes,  cabbage,  carrots,  onions,  Brussels- 
sprouts,  cauUflower,  celery,  spinach,  Scotch  kale,  parsnips,  parsley, 
mint,  rhubarb,  mushrooms,  beetroot,  artichokes. 

1000  lb.  pemmican    (best   beef  with    60   per  cent,  of  fat  added). 

9 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

The  best  pemmican  was  that  supplied  by  J.  D.  Eeauvais,  of  Copen- 
hagen. 

2240  lb.  of  wholemeal  biscuits  with  25  per  cent,  of  plarsmon  added. 

12  doz.  tins  beef  plasmon. 

6  doz.  tins  plasmon  powder. 

6  doz.  tins  plasmon  cocoa. 

448  lb.  wholemeal  biscuits. 

448  lb.  Garibaldi  biscuits. 

224  lb.  ginger  nuts. 

150  lb.  whole-egg  powder. 

20  lb.  albumen. 

200  lb.  of  0x0,  Lemco  and  other  brands  of  meat  extract.* 

Some  additions  were  made  to  our  food-supplies 
after  the  arrival  of  the  Nimrod  in  New  Zealand.  Messrs. 
Nathan  and  Company,  of  Wellington,  presented  the 
expedition  with  sixty-eight  cases  of  "  Glaxo "  dried 
milk,  and  this  preparation,  which  consists  of  the  solid 
constituents  of  fresh  milk,  was  a  valuable  addition 
to  our  food-stuffs.  The  same  firm  presented  us  with 
192  lb.  of  New  Zealand  butter  and  two  cases  of  New 
Zealand  cheese.  Some  farmers  generously  provided 
thirty- two  live  sheep,  which  were  killed  in  the  Antarctic 
and  allowed  to  freeze  for  winter  consumption.  Several 
other  acceptable  gifts  were  made  to  us  before  the 
Nimrod  left  Lyttelton. 

It  was  arranged  that  supplies  for  thirty- eight  men  for 

*  The  following  firms  presented  us  with  food-stuffs,  all  of  which 
proved  entirely  satisfactory: — Messrs.  J.  and  J.  Colman,  Ltd.,  of 
Norwich :  9  tons  wheat  flour,  |  ton  self-raising  flour,  |  ton  wheat  meal, 
1  cwt.  cornflour,  84  lb.  best  mustard,  If  gross  mixed  mustard.  Messrs. 
Rowntree  and  Co.,  Ltd.,  York :  1700  lb.  elect  cocoa  (28  per  cent,  of  fat), 
200  lb.  Queen's  chocolate.  Messrs.  Alfred  Bird  and  Sons,  Ltd., 
Birmingham :  120  doz.  custard,  baking,  egg,  crystal  jelly,  and  blanc- 
mange powders,  Liebig's  Extract  of  Meat  Co.,  Ltd.,  London  :  "  Oxo," 
"  Service  oxo  emergency  food,"  "  Lemco,"  and  Fray  Bentos  ox  tongues. 
Evans,  Sons,  Lescher  and  Webb,  Ltd.,  London :  27  cases  Montserrat 
lime-juice.     Messrs.  Lipton,  Ltd. :  350  lb.  Ceylon  tea. 

10 


RELIEF    SUPPLIES 

one  3^ear  should  be  carried  by  the  Nimrod  when  the 
vessel  went  south  for  the  second  time  to  bring  back 
the  shore-party.  This  was  a  precautionary  measure 
in  case  the  Nimrod  should  get  caught  in  the  ice  and 
compelled  to  spend  a  winter  in  the  Antarctic,  in  which 
case  we  would  still  have  had  one  year's  provisions 
in  hand.  I  append  a  list  showing  the  principal  items 
of  the  relief  supplies. 

Relief  Food-supplies,  Therty-eight  Men  for  One  Year 

3800  lb.  assorted  New  Zealand  tinned  meats. 

1300  lb.  New  Zealand  butter. 

100  lb.  tea. 

60  lb.  coffee. 

1000  lb.  Rowntree's  elect  cocoa. 

60  doz,  bottles  bottled  fruit. 

16  doz.  jars  jam. 

220  lb.  assorted  tinned  fish. 

540  lb.  sardines. 

280.  lb.  New  Zealand  cheese. 

1440  fresh  New  Zealand  eggs  packed  in  salt. 

250  lb.  dried  figs. 

11,200  lb.  Colman's  wheat  flour. 

5G0  lb.  Colman's  wheat  meal. 

28  lb.  Colman's  mustard. 

1  gross  Colman's  mixed  mustard. 

800  lb.  assorted  meats. 

1600  lb.  York  hams. 

2600  lb.  bacon. 

560  lb.  beef  suet 

1600  lb.  milk. 

2300  lb.  sugar. 

2800  lb.  assorted  tinned  fish. 

450  tins  baked  beans  and  tomato  sauce. 

3000  lb.  assorted  jams  and  marmalade. 

540  lb.  golden  syrup. 

5800  lb.  cereals  :  oatmeal,  quaker  oats,  rice,  barley,  sago,  tapioca, 
semolina,  cornflour,  haricot  verts,  marrow-fat  peas,  split  peas,  lentils, 
dried  haricot  beans. 

11 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

1050  lb.  assorted  tinned  soups. 

1050  lb.  pears,  apricots,  and  pine-apple  chunks  in  syrup. 
1500  lb.  dried  fruits. 

80  doz.  pints  assorted  pickles,  sauces,  chutneys,  &c. 
240  lb.  plum  puddings. 

3700  lb.  assorted  dried  vegetables  equal  to  about  40,000  lb.  fresh 
vegetables. 

After  placing  some  of  the  principal  orders  for  food- 
supplies,  I  went  to  Norway  with  Mr.  Reid  in  order  to 
secure  the  sledges,  fur  boots  and  mits,  sleeping-bags, 
ski,  and  some  other  articles  of  equipment.  I  was  for- 
tunate, on  the  voyage  from  Hull  to  Christiania,  in 
making  the  acquaintance  of  Captain  Pepper,  the  com- 
modore captain  of  the  Wilson  Line  of  steamers.  He 
took  a  keen  interest  in  the  expedition,  and  he  was  of 
very  great  assistance  to  me  in  the  months  that  followed, 
for  he  undertook  to  inspect  the  sledges  in  the  process 
of  manufacture.  He  was  at  Christiania  once  in  each 
fortnight,  and  he  personally  looked  to  the  lashings 
and  seizings  as  only  a  sailor  could.  We  arrived  at 
Christiania  on  April  22,  and  then  learned  that  Mr.  C.  S. 
Christiansen,  the  maker  of  the  sledges  used  on  the 
Discovery  expedition,  was  in  the  United  States.  This 
was  a  disappointment,  but  after  consultation  with  Scott- 
Han  sen,  who  was  the  first  lieutenant  of  the  Fram  on 
Nansen's  famous  expedition,  I  decided  to  place  the  work 
in  the  hands  of  Messrs.  L.  H.  Hagen  and  Company. 
The  sledges  were  to  be  of  the  Nansen  pattern,  built 
of  specially  selected  timber,  and  of  the  best  possible 
workmanship.  I  ordered  ten  twelve-foot  sledges, 
eighteen  eleven-foot  sledges!  and  two  seven-foot  sledges. 
The  largest  ones  would  be  suitable  for  pony-haulage. 
The  eleven  foot  ones  could  be  drawn  by  either  ponies 
or  men,  and  the  small  pattern  would  be  useful  for  work 
around  the  winter  quarters  and  for  short  journeys 
12 


SLEDGES    AND    FURS 

such  as  the  scientists  of  the  expedition  were  likely 
to  undertake.  The  timbers  used  for  the  sledges  were 
seasoned  ash  and  American  hickory,  and  in  addition  to 
Captain  Pepper,  Captain  Isaachsen  and  Lieutenant 
Scott-Hansen,  both  experienced  Arctic  explorers, 
watched  the  work  of  construction  on  my  behalf.  Their 
interest  was  particularly  valuable  to  me,  for  they  were 
able  in  many  little  ways  hardly  to  be  understood  by  the 
lay  reader  to  ensure  increased  strength  and  efficiency. 
I  had  formed  the  opinion  that  an  eleven- foot  sledge 
was  best  for  general  work,  for  it  was  not  so  long  as  to  be 
unwieldy,  and  at  the  same  time  was  long  enough  to 
ride  over  sastrugi  and  hummocky  ice.  Messrs.  Hagen 
and  Company  did  their  work  thoroughly  well,  and  the 
sledges  proved  all  that  I  could  have  desired. 

The  next  step  was  to  secure  the  furs  that  the  expedi- 
tion would  require,  and  for  this  purpose  we  went  to 
Drammen  and  made  the  necessary  arrangements  with 
Mr.  W.  C.  Moller.  We  selected  skins  for  the  sleeping- 
bags,  taking  those  of  young  reindeer,  with  short  thick 
fur,  less  liable  to  come  out  under  conditions  of  damp- 
ness than  is  the  fur  of  the  older  deer.  Our  furs  did  not 
make  a  very  large  order,  for  after  the  experience  of  the 
Discovery  expedition  I  decided  to  use  fur  only  for  the 
feet  and  hands  and  for  the  sleeping-bags,  relying  for  all 
other  purposes  on  woollen  garments  with  an  outer 
covering  of  wind-proof  material.  I  ordered  three 
large  sleeping-bags,  to  hold  three  men  each,  and  twelve 
one-man  bags.  Each  bag  had  the  reindeer  fur  inside, 
and  the  seams  were  covered  with  leather,  strongly  sewn. 
The  flaps  overlapped  about  eight  inches,  and  the  head 
of  the  bag  was  sewn  up  to  the  top  of  the  fly.  There 
were  three  toggles  for  fastening  the  bag  up  when  the 
man  was  inside.  The  toggles  were  about  eight  inches 
apart.     The  one-man  bags  weighed  about  ten  pounds 

'  13 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

when  dry,  but  of  course  the  weight  increased  as  they 
absorbed  moisture  when  in  use. 

The  foot-gear  I  ordered  consisted  of  eighty  pairs  of 
ordinary  finnesko,  or  reindeer  fur  boots,  twelve  pairs 
of  special  finnesko  and  sixty  pairs  of  ski  boots  of 
various  sizes.  The  ordinary  finnesko  is  made  from 
the  skin  of  the  reindeer  stag's  head,  with  the  fur  out- 
side, and  its  shape  is  roughly  that  of  a  very  large  boot 
without  any  laces.  It  is  large  enough  to  hold  the  foot, 
several  pairs  of  socks,  and  a  supply  of  sennegrass,  and 
it  is  a  wonderfully  comfortable  and  warm  form  of  foot- 
gear. The  special  finnesko  are  made  from  the  skin 
of  the  reindeer  stag's  legs,  but  they  are  not  easily 
secured,  for  the  reason  that  the  native  tribes,  not 
unreasonably,  desire  to  keep  the  best  goods  for  them- 
selves. I  had  a  man  sent  to  Lapland  to  barter  for 
finnesko  of  the  best  kind,  but  he  only  succeeded  in 
getting  twelve  pairs.  The  ski  boots  are  made  of  soft 
leather,  with  the  upper  coming  right  round  under  the 
sole,  and  a  flat  piece  of  leather  sev/n  on  top  of  the  upper. 
They  are  made  specially  for  use  "svith  ski,  and  are  very 
useful  for  summer  wear.  They  give  the  foot  plenty  of 
play  and  do  not  admit  water.  The  heel  is  very  low, 
so  that  the  foot  can  rest  firmly  on  the  ski.  I  bought 
five  prepared  reindeer  skins  for  repairing,  and  a  supply 
of  repairing  gear,  such  as  sinew,  needles  and  waxed 
thread. 

I  have  mentioned  that  sennegrass  is  used  in  the 
finnesko.  This  is  a  dried  grass  of  long  fixbre,  with  a 
special  quality  of  absorbing  moisture.  I  bought  fifty 
kilos  (109.37  lb.)  in  Norway  for  use  on  the  expedition. 
The  grass  is  sold  in  wisps,  bound  up  tightly,  and  when 
the  finnesko  are  being  put  on,  some  of  it  is  teased  out 
and  a  pad  placed  along  the  sole  under  the  foot.  Then 
when  the  boot  has  been  pulled  on  more  grass  is  stuffed 
14 


FOOTGEAR    AND    MITS 

round  the  heel.  The  grass  absorbs  the  moisture  that 
is  given  off  from  the  skin,  and  prevents  the  sock  freezing 
to  the  sole  of  the  boot,  which  would  then  be  difficult 
to  remove  at  night.  The  grass  is  pulled  out  at  night, 
shaken  loose,  and  allowed  to  freeze.  The  moisture 
that  has  been  collected  congeals  in  the  form  of  frost, 
and  the  greater  part  of  it  can  be  shaken  away  before 
the  grass  is  replaced  on  the  following  morning.  The 
grass  is  gradually  used  up  on  the  march,  and  it  is  neces- 
sary to  take  a  fairly  large  supply,  but  it  is  very  light  and 
takes  up  little  room. 

I  ordered  from  Mr.  Moller  sixty  pairs  of  wolfskin 
and  dogskin  mits,  made  with  the  fur  outside,  and  suffi- 
ciently long  to  protect  the  wrists.  The  mits  had  one 
compartment  for  the  four  fingers  and  another  for  the 
thumb,  and  they  were  worn  over  woollen  gloves.  They 
were  easily  slipped  off  when  the  use  of  the  fingers  was 
required,  and  they  were  hung  round  the  neck  with 
lamp-wick  in  order  that  they  might  not  get  lost  on  the 
march.  The  only  other  articles  of  equipment  I  ordered 
in  Norway  were  twelve  pairs  of  ski,  which  were  supplied 
by  Messrs.  Hagen  and  Company.  They  were  not  used 
on  the  sledging  journeys  at  all,  but  were  useful  around 
the  winter  quarters.  I  stipulated  that  all  the  goods 
were  to  be  delivered  in  London  by  June  15,  for  the 
Nimrod  was  to  leave  England  on  .June  30. 

At  this  time  I  had  not  finally  decided  to  buy  the 
Nimrod,  though  the  vessel  was  under  offer  to  me,  and 
before  I  left  Norway  I  paid  a  visit  to  Sandy  fjord  in 
order  to  see  whether  I  could  come  to  terms  with  Mr. 
C.  Christiansen,  the  owner  of  the  Bjorn.  This  ship  was 
specially  built  for  polar  work,  and  would  have  suited  my 
purposes  most  admirably.  She  was  a  new  vessel  of  about 
700  tons  burthen  and  with  powerful  triple-expansion 
engines,  better  equipped  in  every  way  than  the  forty- 

15 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

year-old  Nimrod,  but  I  found  that  I  could  not  afford  to 
buy  her,  much  as  I  would  have  wished  to  do  so. 
Finally,  I  placed  orders  with  some  of  the  Norwegian 
food-preserving  companies  for  special  tinned  foods  such 
as  fish  balls,  roast  reindeer  and  roast  ptarmigan,  which 
were  very  attractive  luxuries  during  the  winter  night  in 
the  south. 

When  I  returned  to  London  I  purchased  the  Nimrod, 
which  was  then  engaged  on  a  sealing  venture,  and  was 
expected  to  return  to  Newfoundland  within  a  short 
time.  The  ship  was  small  and  old,  and  her  maximum 
speed  under  steam  was  hardly  more  than  six  knots, 
but  on  the  other  hand,  she  was  strongly  built,  and 
quite  able  to  face  rough  treatment  in  the  ice.  Indeed, 
she  had  already  received  a  good  many  hard  knocks 
in  the  course  of  a  varied  career.  The  Nimrod  did  not 
return  to  Newfoundland  as  soon  as  I  had  hoped,  and 
when  she  did  arrive  she  proved  to  be  somewhat  damaged 
from  contact  with  the  ice,  which  had  overrmi  her 
and  damaged  her  bulwarks.  She  was  inspected  on  my 
behalf  and  pronounced  sound,  and,  making  a  fairly  rapid 
passage,  arrived  in  the  Thames  on  June  15.  I  must 
confess  that  I  was  disappointed  when  I  first  examined 
the  httle  ship,  to  which  I  was  about  to  commit  the 
hopes  and  aspiration  of  many  years.  She  was  very 
dilapidated  and  smelt  strongly  of  seal-oil,  and  an 
inspection  in  dock  showed  that  she  required  caulking 
and  that  her  masts  would  have  to  be  renewed.  She 
was  rigged  only  as  a  schooner  and  her  masts  were 
decayed,  and  I  wanted  to  be  able  to  sail  her  in  the 
event  of  the  engine  breaking  down  or  the  supply 
of  coal  running  short.  There  was  only  a  few  weeks 
to  elapse  before  the  date  fixed  for  our  departure, 
and  it  was  obvious  that  we  would  have  to  push  the 
work  ahead  very  quickly  if  she  was  to  be  ready  in  time. 

la 


THE    NIMROD 

I  had  not  then  become  acquainted  with  the  many  good 
qualities  of  the  Nimrod,  and  my  first  impression  hardly 
did  justice  to  the  plucky  old  ship. 

I  proceeded  at  once  to  put  the  ship  in  the  hands  of 
Messrs.  R.  and  H.  Green,  of  Blackwall,  the  famous  old 
firm  that  built  so  many  of  Britain's  "  wooden  walls,'* 
and  that  had  done  fitting  and  repair  work  for  several 
other  polar  expeditions.  She  was  docked  for  the  neces- 
sary caulking,  and  day  by  day  assumed  a  more  satis- 
factory appearance.  The  signs  of  former  conflicts 
with  the  ice-floes  disappeared,  and  the  masts  and 
nmning-gear  were  prepared  for  the  troubled  days  that 
were  to  come.  Even  the  penetrating  odour  of  seal- 
oil  ceased  to  offend  after  much  vigorous  scrubbing  of 
decks  and  holds,  and  I  began  to  feel  that  after  all  the 
Nimrod  would  do  the  expedition  no  discredit.  Later 
still  I  grew  really  proud  of  the  sturdy  little  ship. 

In  the  meantime  Mr.  Reid  and  myself  had  been  very 
busy  completing  the  equipment  of  the  expedition,  and 
I  had  been  gathering  round  me  the  men  who  were  to 
compose  the  staff.  As  I  had  indicated  when  making 
the  first  announcement  regarding  the  expedition,  I 
did  not  intend  that  the  Nimrod  should  remain  in  the 
Antarctic  during  the  winter.  The  ship  was  to  land  a 
shore-party,  with  stores  and  equipment,  and  then  to 
return  to  New  Zealand,  where  she  would  wait  until 
the  time  arrived  to  bring  us  back  to  civilisation.  It 
was  therefore  very  necessary  that  we  should  have  a 
reliable  hut  in  which  to  live  during  the  Antarctic  night 
until  the  sledging  journeys  commenced.  The  hut  would 
be  our  only  refuge  from  the  fury  of  the  blizzards  and 
the  intense  cold  of  the  winter  months.  I  thought 
then  that  the  hut  would  have  to  accommodate  twelve 
men,  though  the  number  was  later  increased  to  fifteen, 
and  I  decided  that  the  outside  measurements  should  be 
I  B  17 


THE    HUT 

thirty-three  feet  by  nineteen  feet  by  eight  feet  to  the 
eaves.  This  was  not  large,  especially  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  we  would  have  to  store  many  articles  of 
equipment  and  some  of  the  food  in  the  hut,  but  a 
small  building  meant  economy  in  fuel.  The  hut 
was  specially  constructed  to  my  order  by  Messrs. 
Humphreys,  of  Knightsbridge,  and  after  being  erected 
and  inspected  in  London  was  shipped  in  sections  in 
the  Nimrod. 

It  was  made  of  stout  fir  timbering  of  best  quality 
in  walls,  roofs,  and  floors,  and  the  parts  were  all  morticed 
and  tenoned  to  facilitate  erection  in  the  Antarctic. 
The  walls  were  strengthened  with  iron  cleats  bolted 
to  main  posts  and  horizontal  timbering,  and  the  roof 
principals  were  provided  with  strong  iron  tie  rods. 
The  hut  was  lined  with  match-boarding,  and  the  walls 
and  roof  were  covered  externally  first  with  strong  roof- 
ing felt,  then  with  one-inch  tongued  and  grooved  boards, 
and  finally  with  another  covering  of  felt.  In  addition 
to  these  precautions  against  the  extreme  cold  the  four- 
inch  space  in  framing  between  the  match-boarding  and  the 
first  covering  of  felt  was  packed  with  granulated  cork, 
which  assisted  materially  to  render  the  wall  non-con- 
ducting. The  hut  was  to  be  erected  on  wooden  piles 
let  into  the  ground  or  ice,  and  rings  were  fixed  to  the 
apex  of  the  roof  so  that  guy  ropes  might  be  used  to 
give  additional  resistance  to  the  gales.  The  hut  had 
two  doors,  connected  by  a  small  porch,  so  that  ingress 
and  egress  would  not  mean  the  admission  of  a  draught 
of  cold  air,  and  the  windows  were  double,  in  order  that 
the  warmth  of  the  hut  might  be  retained.  There  were 
two  louvre  ventilators  in  the  roof,  controlled  from 
the  inside.  The  hut  had  no  fittings,  and  we  took 
little  furniture,  only  some  chairs.  I  proposed  to  use 
cases  for  the  construction  of  benches,  beds  and  other 

19 


THE    HEART    OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

necessary  articles  of  internal  equipment.  The  hut 
was  to  be  lit  with  acetylene  gas,  and  we  took  a  generator, 
the  necessary  piping,  and  a  supply  of  carbide. 

The  cooking  -  range  we  used  in  the  hut  was 
manufactured  by  Messrs.  Smith  and  Wellstead, 
of  London,  and  was  four  feet  wide  by  two  feet  four 
inches  deep.  It  had  a  fire  chamber  designed  to  burn 
anthracite  coal  continuously  day  and  night  and  to 
heat  a  large  superficial  area  of  outer  plate,  so  that 
there  might  be  plenty  of  warmth  given  off  in  the  hut. 
The  stove  had  two  ovens  and  a  chimney  of  galvanised 
steel  pipe,  capped  by  a  revolving  cowl.  It  was  mounted 
on  legs.  This  stove  was  erected  in  the  hut  at  the 
winter  quarters,  and  with  it  we  heated  the  building  and 
did  all  our  cooking  while  we  were  there.  We  took 
also  a  portable  stove  on  legs,  with  a  hot-water  generator 
at  the  back  of  the  fire,  connected  with  a  fifteen-gallon 
tank,  but  this  stove  was  not  erected,  as  we  did  not  find 
that  a  second  stove  was  required. 

For  use  on  the  sledging  expeditions  I  took  six 
"  Nansen "  cookers  made  of  aluminium,  and  of  the 
pattern  that  has  been  adopted,  with  slight  modifica- 
tions, ever  since  Nansen  made  his  famous  journey 
in  1893-96.  The  sledging-tents,  of  which  I  bought 
six,  were  made  of  light  Willesden  rot-proof  drill, 
with  a  "  spout "  entrance  of  Burberry  gaberdine. 
They  were  green  in  colour,  as  the  shade  is  very  restful 
to  the  eyes  on  the  white  snow  plains,  and  weighed 
thirty  pounds  each,  complete  with  five  poles  and 
floorcloth. 

Each  member  of  the  expedition  was  supplied  with 
two  winter  suits  made  of  heavy  blue  pilot  cloth,  lined 
with  Jaeger  fleece.  A  suit  consisted  of  a  double-breasted 
jacket,  vest  and  trousers,  and  weighed  complete  four- 
teen and  three-quarter  pounds.  The  underclothing 
20 


TENTS    AND    CLOTHING 

was   secured   from   the   Dr.   Jaeger   Sanitary   Woollen 
Company,  and  I  ordered  the  following  articles  : 

48  double-breasted  vests.  144  pairs  socks. 

48  double-fronted  pants.  144  pairs  stockings. 

24  pyjama  suits.  48  sweaters. 

96  double-breasted  shirts  144  pairs  fleece  wool  bed-socks. 

24  colic  belts.  48  pairs  mits. 

12  cardigans.  48  pairs  gloves. 

12  lined  slippers.  48  pairs  mittens. 

48  travelling  -  caps  lined   with  12  Buxton  fleece  boots. 

zanella.  12  under  -  waistcoats  with 
48  felt  mits.  sleeves. 

An  outer  suit  of  windproof  material  is  necessary 
in  the  polar  regions,  and  I  secured  twenty-four  suits  of 
Burberry  gaberdine,  each  suit  consisting  of  a  short 
blouse,  trouser  overalls  and  a  helmet  cover.  For  use 
in  the  winter  quarters  we  took  four  dozen  Jaeger  camel- 
hair  blankets  and  sixteen  camel-hair  triple  sleeping- 
bags. 

I  decided  to  take  ponies,  dogs,  and  a  motor-car  to 
assist  in  hauling  our  sledges  on  the  long  journeys  that 
I  had  in  view,  but  my  hopes  were  based  mainly  on  the 
ponies.  Dogs  had  not  proved  satisfactory  on  the 
Barrier  surface,  and  I  had  not  expected  my  dogs  to  do  as 
well  as  they  actually  did.  The  use  of  a  motor-car  was 
an  experiment  which  I  thought  justified  by  my  experi- 
ence of  the  character  of  the  Barrier  surface,  but  I 
knew  that  it  would  not  do  to  place  much  reUance  on  the 
machine  in  view  of  the  uncertainty  of  the  conditions. 
I  felt  confident,  however,  that  the  hardy  ponies  used 
in  Northern  China  and  Manchuria  would  be  useful  if 
they  could  be  landed  on  the  ice  in  good  condition.  I 
had  seen  these  ponies  in  Shanghai,  and  I  had  heard  of 
the  good  work  they  did  on  the  Jackson-Harmsworth 
expedition.  They  are  accustomed  to  hauling  heavy 
loads  in  a  very  low  temperature,  and  they  are  hardy, 

21 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

sure-footed  and  plucky.  I  noticed  that  they  had  been 
used  with  success  for  very  rough  work  during  the 
Russo-Japanese  War,  and  a  friend  who  had  lived  in 
Siberia  gave  me  some  more  information  regarding  their 
capabilities. 

I  therefore  got  into  communication  with  the  London 
manager  of  the  Hong  Kong  and  Shanghai  Bank  (Mr. 
C.  S.  Addis),  and  he  was  able  to  secure  the  services  of 
a  leading  firm  of  veterinary  surgeons  in  Shanghai.  A 
qualified  man  went  to  Tientsin  on  my  behalf,  and  from 
a  mob  of  about  two  thousand  of  the  ponies,  brought 
down  for  sale  from  the  northern  regions,  he  selected 
fifteen  of  the  little  animals  for  my  expedition.  The 
ponies  chosen  were  all  over  twelve  and  under  seven- 
teen years  in  age,  and  had  spent  the  early  part  of 
their  lives  in  the  interior  of  Manchuria.  They  were 
practically  unbroken,  were  about  fourteen  hands  high, 
and  were  of  various  colours.  They  were  all  splendidly 
strong  and  healthy,  full  of  tricks  and  wickedness,  and 
ready  for  any  amount  of  hard  work  over  the  snow-fields. 
The  fifteen  ponies  were  taken  to  the  coast  and  shipped 
by  direct  steamer  to  Australia.  They  came  through  the 
test  of  tropical  temperatures  unscathed,  and  at  the  end 
of  October  1908  arrived  in  Sydney,  where  they  were  met 
by  Mr.  Reid  and  at  once  transferred  to  a  New  Zealand 
bound  steamer.  The  Colonial  Governments  kindly 
consented  to  suspend  the  quarantine  restrictions,  which 
would  have  entailed  exposure  to  summer  heat  for  many 
weeks,  and  thirty-five  days  after  leaving  China  the 
ponies  were  landed  on  Quail  Island  in  Port  Lyttelton, 
and  were  free  to  scamper  about  and  feed  in  idle  luxury. 

I  decided  to  take  a  motor-car  because  I  thought  it 
possible,  from  my  previous  experience,  that  we  might 
meet  with  a  hard  surface  on  the  Great  Ice  Barrier,  over 
which  the  first  part  at  any  rate  of  the  journey  towards 
22 


PONIES   AND    MOTOR-CAR 

the  south  would  have  to  be  performed.  On  a  reasonably 
good  surface  the  machine  would  be  able  to  haul  a  heavy- 
load  at  a  rapid  pace.  I  selected  a  12-15  horse-power 
New  Arrol- Johnston  car,  fitted  with  a  specially  designed 
air-cooled  four-cylinder  engine  and  Simms  Bosch 
magneto  ignition.  Water  could  not  be  used  for  cooling, 
as  it  would  certainly  freeze.  Round  the  carburetter 
was  placed  a  small  jacket,  and  the  exhaust  gases  from 
one  cylinder  were  passed  through  this  in  order  that 
they  might  warm  the  mixing  chamber  before  passing 
into  the  air.  The  exhaust  from  the  other  cylinders 
was  conveyed  into  a  silencer  that  was  also  to  act  as  a 
foot-warmer.  The  frame  of  the  car  was  of  the  standard 
pattern,  but  the  manufacturers  had  taken  care  to 
secure  the  maximum  of  strength,  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  the  car  was  Hkely  to  experience  severe  strains  at 
low  temperature.  I  ordered  a  good  supply  of  spare 
parts  in  order  to  provide  for  breakages,  and  a  special 
non-freezing  oil  was  prepared  for  me  by  Messrs.  Price  and 
Company.  Petrol  was  taken  in  the  ordinary  tins. 
I  secured  wheels  of  several  special  patterns  as  well  as 
ordinary  wheels  with  rubber  tyres,  and  I  had  manu- 
factured wooden  runners  to  be  placed  under  the 
front  wheels  for  soft  surfaces,  the  wheels  resting  in 
chocks  on  top  of  the  runners.  The  car  in  its  original 
form  had  two  bracket  seats,  and  a  large  trough  behind 
for  carrying  stores.  It  was  packed  in  a  large  case 
and  lashed  firmly  amidships  on  the  Nimrodf  in  which 
position  it  made  the  journey  to  the  Antarctic  con- 
tinent in  safety. 

I  placed  little  reliance  on  the  dogs,  as  I  have  already 
stated,  but  I  thought  it  advisable  to  take  some  of  these 
animals.  I  knew  that  a  breeder  in  Stewart  Island, 
New  Zealand,  had  dogs  descended  from  the  Siberian 
dogs   used   on   the   Newnes  -  Borchgrevink   expedition, 

23 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

and  I  cabled  to  him  to  supply  as  many  as  he  could  up  to 
forty.  He  was  only  able  to  let  me  have  nine,  but  this 
team  proved  quite  sufficient  for  the  purposes  of  the 
expedition,  as  the  arrival  of  pups  brought  the  number  up 
to  twenty-two  during  the  course  of  the  work  in  the  south. 

The  equipment  of  a  polar  expedition  on  the  scientific 
side  involved  the  expenditure  of  a  large  sum  of  money 
and  I  felt  the  pinch  of  necessary  economies  in  this 
branch.  I  approached  the  Royal  Society  with  a  view  to 
securing  the  loan  of  the  Eschenhagen  magnetic  instru- 
ments that  had  been  used  by  the  Discovery,  but  that 
body  was  unable  to  lend  them,  as  they  had  been 
promised  in  connection  with  some  other  work.  I 
was  lent  three  chronometer  watches  by  the  Royal 
Geographical  Society,  which  very  kindly  had  them 
thoroughly  overhauled  and  examined.  I  bought  one 
chronometer  watch,  and  three  wardens  of  the  Skinners' 
Company  gave  me  one  which  proved  the  most  accurate 
of  all  and  was  carried  by  me  on  the  journey  towards 
the  Pole. 

The  Geographical  Society  was  able  to  send  forward  an 
application  made  by  me  for  the  loan  of  some  instruments 
and  charts  from  the  Admiralty,  and  that  body  generously 
lent  me  the  articles  contained  in  the  following  list : 

3  Lloyd-Creak  dip  circles. 

3  marine  chronometers. 

1  station  pointer  6  ft. 

1  set  of  charts,  England  to  Cape  and  Cape  to  New  Zealand. 

1  set  of  Antarctic  charts. 

1  set  of  charts  frow  New  Zealand  through  Indian  Ocean  to  Aden. 

1  set  of  charts,  New  Zealand  to  Europe  viA  Cape  Horn. 
12  deep-sea  thermometers. 

2  marine  standard  barometers. 
1  navy-pattern  ship's  telescope. 

1  ship's  standard  compass. 

2  azimuth  mirrors  (Lord  Kelvin's  type). 
24 


SCIENTIFIC    INSTRUMENTS 

1  deep-sea  sounding-machine. 

3  heeling  error  instruments. 

1  3-in,  portable  astronomical  telescope. 

1  Lucas  deep  sea  sounding  machine. 

I  placed  an  order  for  further  scientific  instruments 
with  Messrs.  Cary,  Porter  and  Company,  Limited,  of 
London,  and  amongst  other  instruments  I  took  the 
following : 

1  6-in.  theodolite  transit  with  micrometers  to  circle  and  limb, 
reading  to  5". 

1  electric  thermometer  complete  with  440  yards  of  cable,  including 
recorder,  battery,  and  100  recorder  sheets,  recording-drum  to  record 
every  twenty-five  hours. 

3  3-in.  alt-azimuth  theodolites,  portable,  complete  with  sliding 
leg-stand. 

1  smaU  observing  sextant. 

6  explorers'  compasses  with  luminous  dial  and  shifting  needle. 

3  3-in.  surveying  aneroids  -with  altitude  scale  to  15,000  ft. 

3  pocket  aneroids. 

4  standard  thermometers. 

12  deep-sea  thermometers,  Admiralty  pattern. 
12  deep-sea  registering  Admiralty  pattern. 
4  prismatic  compasses  (R.G.S.)  pattern. 

1  portable  artificial  horizon,  aluminium. 

2  small  plane  tables  complete  with  alidade. 
2  barographs. 

2  thermographs. 

1  Oertling  balance  and  one  set  of  weights 

1  Robinson  anemometer. 

75  various  thermometers. 

1  5-in.  transit  theodolite  reading  to  20"  with  short  tripod  stand. 

15  magnifiers. 

1  pair  night  binoculars. 

1  pair  high-power  binoculars. 

Quantity  of  special  charts,  drawing  materials  and  instruments, 
steel  chains  and  tapes,  levelling  staves,  ranging  poles,  &c. 

2  microscopes. 

Amongst  other  instruments  that  we  had  with  us 
on  the  expedition  was  a  four-inch  transit  theodolite, 

25 


THE   HEART    OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

with  Reeve's  micrometers  fitted  to  horizontal  and 
vertical  circles.  The  photographic  equipment  included 
nine  cameras  by  various  makers,  plant  for  the  dark- 
room, and  a  large  stock  of  plates,  films  and  chemicals. 
We  took  also  a  cinematograph  machine  in  order  that 
we  might  place  on  record  the  curious  movements  and 
habits  of  the  seals  and  penguins,  and  give  the  people 
at  home  a  graphic  idea  of  what  it  means  to  haul  sledges 
over  the  ice  and  snow. 

The  miscellaneous  articles  of  equipment  were  too 
numerous  to  be  mentioned  here  in  any  detail.  I  had 
tried  to  provide  for  every  contingency,  and  the  gear 
ranged  from  needles  and  nails  to  a  Remington  type- 
writer and  two  Singer  sewing  machines.  There  was 
a  gramophone  to  provide  us  with  music,  and  a  printing 
press,  with  type,  rollers,  paper  and  other  necessaries, 
for  the  production  of  a  book  during  the  winter  night. 
We  even  had  hockey  sticks  and  a  football. 


Sno'W  Goggles 


26 


CHAPTER  II 

THE   STAPF 

THE  personnel  of  an  expedition  of  the  character  I  pro- 
posed is  a  factor  on  which  success  depends  to  a  very 
large  extent.  The  men  selected  must  be  qualified  for 
the  work,  and  they  must  also  have  the  special  qualifica- 
tions required  to  meet  polar  conditions.  They  must 
be  able  to  live  together  in  harmony  for  a  long  period 
without  outside  communication,  and  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  the  men  whose  desires  lead  them  to  the 
untrodden  paths  of  the  world  have  generally  marked 
individuality.  It  was  no  easy  matter  for  me  to  select  the 
staff,  although  over  four  hundred  applications  arrived 
from  persons  wishing  to  join  the  expedition.  I 
wanted  to  have  two  surgeons  with  the  shore-party, 
and  also  to  have  a  thoroughly  capable  biologist  and 
geologist,  for  the  study  of  these  two  branches  of 
science  in  the  Antarctic  seemed  to  me  to  be  of 
especial  importance.  After  much  consideration  I 
selected  eleven  men  for  the  shore-party.  Three  of 
them  only,  Adams,  Wild  and  Joyce,  had  been  known 
to  me  previously,  while  only  Wild  and  Joyce  had 
previous  experience  of  polar  work,  having  been 
members  of  the  Discovery  expedition.  Every  man, 
however,  was  highly  recommended,  and  this  was 
the  case  also  with  the  officers  whom  I  selected 
for  the  Nimrod,     The   names   of  the   men  appointed, 

27 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

with    their    particular     branches    of    work,    were    as 
follows  : 

Shore-party 

Lieutenant  J.  B.  Adams,  R.N.R.,  meteorologist. 

Sir  Philip  Brocklehurst,  Bart.,  assistant  geologist, 
and  in  charge  of  current  observations. 

Bernard  Day,  electrician  and  motor  expert. 

Ernest  Joyce,  in  charge  of  general  stores,  dogs, 
sledges  and  zoological  collections. 

Dr.  a.  F.  Mackay,  surgeon. 

Dr.  Eric  Marshall,  surgeon,  cartographer. 

G.  E.  Marston,  artist. 

James  Murray,  biologist. 

Raymond  Priestley,  geologist. 

William  Roberts,  cook. 

Frank  Wild,  in  charge  of  provisions. 

After  the  expedition  had  reached  New  Zealand  and 
the  generous  assistance  of  the  Australian  and  New 
Zealand  Governments  had  relieved  me  from  some 
financial  anxiety,  I  was  able  to  add  to  the  strength  of 
the  staff.  I  engaged  Douglas  Mawson,  lecturer  of 
mineralogy  and  petrology  at  the  Adelaide  University, 
as  physicist,  and  Bertram  Armytage  as  a  member  of 
the  expedition  for  general  work.  Professor  Edgeworth 
David,  F.R.S.,  of  Sydney  University,  consented  to 
accompany  us  as  far  as  the  winter  quarters,  with  the 
idea  of  returning  in  the  Nimrod,  but  I  persuaded  him 
eventually  to  stay  in  the  Antarctic,  and  his  assistance 
in  connection  with  the  scientific  work,  and  particularly 
the  geology,  was  invaluable.  Leo  Cotton,  a  young 
Australian,  arranged  to  come  south  with  us  and  help 
with  the  preliminary  work  before  the  Nimrod  returned 
to  New  Zealand,  and  at  the  last  moment  George  Bucldey, 
28 


Marston 


David 


Mackay 


C^^!^ 


Shack  LETON 


Marshall 


^«*-^-^ 


Murray 


Armytage 


Roberts 


Mackintosh 


Urocklehurst 


!%.-• 


Day 


TRlESTIiEY 

To/oHoie  page  28 


i 


SHIP'S   STAFF 

residing  in  New  Zealand,  accompanied  us  on  the  voyage 
south,  returning  in  the  steamer  that  towed  the  Nimrod. 
The  members  of  the  ship's  staff,  at  the  time  when  the 
Nimrod  left  Great  Britain,  were  as  follows  : 

Lieutenant  Rupert  England,  R.H.R.,  master. 

John  K.  Davis,  first  officer. 

A.  L.  A.  Mackintosh,  second  officer. 

Dr.  W.  a.  R.  Michell,  surgeon. 

H.  J.  L.  DuNLOP,  chief  engineer. 

Alfred  Cheetham,  third  officer  and  boatswain. 

Captain  England,  whom  I  placed  in  command  of  the 
Nimrod,  had  been  first  officer  of  the  Morning  when  that 
vessel  proceeded  to  the  relief  of  the  Discovery  expedition, 
and  had  therefore  had  previous  experience  of  work  in 
the  Antarctic.  Immediately  before  joining  the  Nimrod 
he  had  been  in  the  Government  service  on  the  west 
coast  of  Africa. 

Davis,  first  officer  and  later  captain,  had  not  been 
in  the  Antarctic  before,  but  he  was  a  first-class  seaman. 

Mackintosh  came  from  the  service  of  the  Peninsular 
and  Oriental  Steam  Navigation  Company.  He  was 
transferred  to  the  shore-party  at  a  later  date,  but 
an  unfortunate  accident  finally  prevented  his  remaining 
in  the  Antarctic  with  us.  Dr.  Michell,  the  ship's  surgeon, 
was  a  Canadian,  and  Dunlop  the  chief  engineer,  was  an 
Irishman.  Cheetham,  the  third  officer  and  boatswain 
had  served  on  the  Morning  and  some  of  the  men  had  also 
Antarctic  experience. 

After  the  Nimrod  reached  New  Zealand,  A.  E. 
Harbord,  an  Englishman,  joined  as  second  officer  in 
place  of  Mackintosh,  whom  I  intended  to  transfer  to  the 
shore-party. 

The  following  brief  notes  regarding  the  members 
of  the  shore-party  may  be  of  interest  to  readers  : 

29 


THE    HEART    OF   THE   ANTARCTIC 

Ernest  Henry  Shackleton,  commander  of  the 
expedition.  Born  1874,  and  educated  at  Dulwich 
College.  Went  to  sea  in  the  merchant  service  at  the 
age  of  sixteen,  became  a  lieutenant  in  the  Royal  Naval 
Reserve,  and  in  1901  joined  the  British  National  Ant- 
arctic expedition.  Was  a  member  of  the  party  which 
established  a  "  furthest  south  "  record,  and  on  return 
to  the  winter  quarters  was  invalided.  Fitted  out  the 
Discovery  relief  expeditions  under  the  Admiralty  Com- 
mittee, and  also  assisted  fitting  out  the  Argentine 
expedition  that  went  to  the  relief  of  the  Swedish 
Antarctic  expedition.  Married  in  1904,  and  became 
secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Royal  Scottish  Geo- 
graphical Society.  Resigned  to  contest  the  Dundee 
seat  as  a  Unionist  at  the  election  of  1906,  and  after 
being  defeated  became  personal  assistant  to  Mr.  William 
Beardmore,  head  of  the  Glasgow  firm  of  battleship 
builders  and  armour  plate  manufacturers.  Then  de- 
cided to  take  an  expedition  to  the  Antarctic. 

Jameson  Boyd  Adams,  born  in  1880  at  Rippingale, 
Lincolnshire.  Went  to  sea  in  the  merchant  service 
in  1893,  served  three  years  as  a  lieutenant  in  the  Royal 
Naval    Reserve,  and   joined  the  expedition  in    March 

1907.  Appointed  second  in  command    in    February 

1908.  Unmarried. 

Bertram  Armytage,  born  in  Australia  in  1869. 
Educated  at  Melbourne  Grammar  School  and  Jesus 
College,  Cambridge.  After  serving  for  several  years 
with  the  Victorian  Militia  and  one  year  with  the 
Victorian  Permanent  Artillery,  he  was  appointed  to 
the  Carabiniers,  6th  Division  Guards,  when  on  active 
service  in  South  Africa  (Queen's  medal  and  three  clasps. 
King's  medal  and  two  clasps).  Joined  the  expedition 
in  Australia.     Married. 

Sir  Philip  Lee  Brocklehurst,  Bart.,  born  at 
80 


THE    SHORE    STAFF 

Swythamley  Park,  Staffordshire,  in  1887,  educated 
at  Eton  and  Trinity  Hall,  Cambridge.  Holds  a 
commission  in  the  Derbyshire  Yeomany,  represented 
Cambridge  in  the  light  weight  boxing  competitions 
for  1905  and  1906.     Unmarried. 

Thomas  W.  Edge  worth  David,  F.R.S.,  Pro- 
fessor of  Geology  at  the  Sydney  University,  is  a  Welsh- 
man by  birth,  and  is  fifty  years  of  age.  He  was 
educated  at  New  College,  Oxford,  and  afterwards 
studied  geology  at  the  Royal  College  of  Science.  He 
went  to  Australia  to  take  up  the  post  of  Geological 
Surveyor  to  the  New  South  Wales  Government,  and 
for  the  past  eighteen  years  has  held  his  present  ap- 
pointment. He  is  an  authority  on  dynamical  geology 
and  glaciation,  and  has  made  a  study  of  Australian 
coal-fields.     Married. 

Bernard  C.  Day,  born  at  Wymondham,  Leicester- 
shire, in  August  1884 ;  educated  at  Wellingborough 
Grammar  School.  He  was  connected  with  engineer- 
ing from  1903  until  September  1907,  when  he  left 
the  service  of  the  New  Arroll  Johnston  Motor  -  Car 
Company  in  order  to  join  the  expedition.  Unmar- 
ried. 

Ernest  Joyce,  born  in  1875,  entered  the  Navy 
from  the  Greenwich  Royal  Hospital  School  in  1891, 
became  a  first-class  petty  officer,  and  served  in  South 
Africa  with  the  Naval  Brigade  (medal  and  clasp). 
Joined  the  Discovery  expedition  from  the  Cape,  and 
served  in  the  Antarctic  (polar  medal  and  clasp. 
Geographical  Society's  silver  medal).  Served  in  the 
Whale  Island  Gunnery  School.  Left  the  Navy  in 
December  1905,  rejoined  in  August  1906,  and  left 
by  purchase  in  order  to  join  to  expedition  in  May 
1907.     Unmarried. 

Alistair  Forbes  Mackay,  born  in  1878,  son  of  the 

81 


THE    HEART    OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

late  Colonel  A.  Forbes  Mackay,  of  the  92nd  Gordon 
Highlanders.  Educated  in  Edinburgh,  and  then  did 
biological  work  under  Professors  Geddes  and  D'Arcy 
Thompson  at  Dundee.  Served  in  South  Africa  as  a 
trooper  in  the  C.I.V.  (Queen's  medal  and  clasps),  and 
later  with  Baden  Powell's  police,  then  returned  to 
pass  his  final  examinations  in  medicine,  and  went  to 
the  front  again  as  a  civil  surgeon.  Entered  the  Navy 
as  a  surgeon,  retired  after  four  years'  service,  and  then 
joined  the  expedition.     Unmarried. 

^NEAS  Lionel  Acton  Mackintosh,  born  in 
Tirhoot,  Bengal,  India,  in  1881,  and  educated  at  the 
Bedford  Modern  School.  Went  to  sea  in  1894  in  the 
merchant  service,  and  in  1899,  entered  the  service  of 
the  Peninsular  and  Oriental  Steam  Navigation  Com- 
pany. Was  lent  to  the  expedition  in  1907.  Received 
commission  in  the  Royal  Naval  Reserve  in  July  1908. 
Unmarried. 

Eric  Stewart  Marshall,  born  in  1879,  educated 
at  Monckton  Combe  School  and  at  Emmanual  College, 
Cambridge.  Represented  his  college  in  rowing  and 
football.  Studied  for  the  Church.  Entered  St.  Bar- 
tholomew's Hospital  in  1899,  and  qualified  as  a  surgeon 
in  1906.  Was  captain  St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital 
Rugby  football  team,  1903-4,  and  played  for  the 
Richmond  Club;  1903-4-5.  Joined  the  expedition  as 
surgeon  and  cartographer.     Unmarried. 

George  Edward  Marston  was  born  at  Ports- 
mouth in  1882,  and  received  the  greater  part  of  his 
art  education  at  the  Regent  Street  Polytechnic.  He 
is  a  qualified  art  teacher,  and  joined  the  expedition  as 
artist.     Unmarried. 

Douglas  Mawson  was  born  in  Australia  in  1880, 
his  parents  coming  from  the  Isle  of  Man.  He  was 
educated  in  Australia  and  is  lecturer  in  mineralogy  and 
32 


THE    SHORE    STAFF 

petrology  at  the  Adelaide  University  and  honorary 
curator  of  the  South  Australian  Museum.  He  joined 
the  expedition  in  Australia.     Unmarried. 

James  Murray  was  born  in  Glasgow  in  1865.  In 
early  life  was  occupied  in  various  branches  of  art  work. 
Was  interested  in  natural  history,  especially  botany, 
and  in  1901,  turned  his  attention  to  microscopic 
zoology.  In  1902  was  engaged  by  Sir  John  Murray  as 
biologist  on  Scottish  Lake  Survey.  Was  still  engaged 
in  this  work  when  he  joined  the  expedition  as  biologist. 
Married  in  1892. 

Raymond  E.  Priestley,  born  1886,  and  educated 
at  Tewkesbury  School.  Matriculated  in  London  in 
1903,  and  held  mastership  at  Tewkesbury  until  1905. 
Then  became  a  student  at  the  Bristol  University  College, 
and  passed  the  intermediate  examination  in  science  in 
1906.  He  was  taking  the  final  course  when  appointed 
geologist  to  the  expedition. 

William  C.  Roberts,  born  in  London  in  1872,  and 
has  worked  as  cook  on  sea  and  land.  Engaged  as  cook 
for  the  expedition.     Married. 

Frank  Wild,  born  in  Yorkshire  in  1873.  His 
mother  was  a  direct  descendant  of  Captain  Cook,  and 
one  of  his  uncles  was  three  times  in  the  Arctic  regions. 
Entered  the  merchant  service  in  1889,  and  in  1900 
joined  the  Navy.  He  was  a  member  of  the  National 
Antarctic  expedition  between  1901  and  1904  (polar 
medal  and  clasp.  Royal  Geographical  Society's  silver 
medal).  Was  at  the  Sheerness  Gunnery  School  when 
the  Admiralty  consented  to  his  appointment  to  the 
British  Antarctic  expedition. 


83 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  FIRST  STAGE 

THE  work  of  preparing  for  the  expedition  made  rapid 
progress  towards  completion,  and  as  the  end  of  July- 
approached,  the  stores  and  equipment  were  stowed  away 
in  the  holds  of  the  Nimrod  in  readiness  for  the  voyage 
to  New  Zealand.  The  final  departure  for  the  south 
was  to  be  made  from  Lyttelton,  a  well-equipped  port 
at  which  I  felt  sure,  from  the  experience  of  the  three 
vessels  of  the  Discovery  expedition,  that  I  should  receive 
every  assistance  that  lay  in  the  power  of  the  authorities. 
Early  in  July  we  exhibited  in  a  room  in  Regent  Street 
samples  of  our  stores  and  equipment,  and  some  thousands 
of  people  paid  us  a  visit.  The  days  were  all  too  short, 
for  scores  of  details  demanded  attention  and  small 
difficulties  of  all  sorts  had  to  be  overcome,  but  there 
were  no  delays,  and  on  July  30,  1907,  the  Nimrod  was 
able  to  sail  from  the  East  India  Docks  for  Torquay, 
the  first  stage  of  the  journey  of  sixteen  thousand  miles 
to  New  Zealand.  Most  of  the  members  of  the  shore  staff, 
including  myself,  intended  to  make  this  journey  by 
steamer,  but  I  left  the  docks  with  the  Nimrod,  intending 
to  travel  as  far  as  Torquay. 

We  anchored  for  the  first  night  at  Greenhithe,  and 
on  the  morning  of  the  31st  continued  on  our  way  to 
Torquay,  landing  Mr.  Reid  at  Tilbury  in  order  that 
he  might  return  to  London  for  letters.  When  he  reached 
&^ 


Their  Majesties  the  King  and  Queen  inspecting  the  Equipaient  on  the  "Nimrod"  at  Cowes 

To  face  page  34 


ROYAL    VISIT    TO    THE    NIMROD 

London  that  afternoon,  he  found  at  the  office  a  telegram 
from  the  King's  equerry,  commanding  the  Nimrod  to 
visit  Cowes  in  order  to  enable  their  Majesties  the  King 
and  Queen  to  come  on  board  and  inspect  the  ship  and 
equipment  on  Sunday,  August  4.  Mr.  Reid  had 
considerable  difficulty  in  delivering  this  message  to  me, 
but  the  Admiral  Superintendent  at  Sheerness  kindly 
despatched  a  tug  which  overtook  the  Nimrod  off 
Ramsgate,  and  conveyed  the  news  that  an  alteration 
in  our  plans  was  necessary.  We  sailed  in  the  night 
for  Cowes,  and  on  the  morning  of  August  1  stopped 
for  an  hour  off  Eastbourne  in  order  to  enable  some  of 
the  supporters  of  the  expedition  to  pay  us  a  farewell 
visit.  On  the  Sunday  we  were  anchored  at  Cowes,  and 
their  Majesties  the  King  and  Queen,  their  Royal  High- 
nesses the  Prince  of  Wales,  the  Princess  Victoria,  Prince 
Edward  and  the  Duke  of  Connaught  came  on  board. 
The  King  graciously  conferred  upon  me  the  Victorian 
Order,  and  the  Queen  entrusted  me  with  a  Union  Jack, 
to  carry  on  the  southern  sledge  journey. 

The  Nimrod  sailed  for  Torquay  early  on  the  following 
morning,  and  arrived  there  on  August  6.  We  drank 
success  to  the  expedition  at  a  farewell  dinner  that 
evening,  and  on  the  morning  of  Wednesday,  August  7, 
the  ship  sailed  for  New  Zealand,  and  after  calling  at 
St.  Vincent  and  Capetown,  arrived  at  Lyttelton  on 
November  23,  the  voyage  having  occupied  three  months 
and  a  half.  Mr.  Reid  reached  Australian  waters  a 
month  ahead  of  the  Nimrod,  in  order  to  make  the 
necessary  arrangements  and  meet  the  Manchurian 
ponies,  and  I  arrived  early  in  December,  my  intention 
being  to  leave  Lyttelton  on  January  1,  1908. 

The  people  of  New  Zealand  and  Australia  took  a 
keen  and  sympathetic  interest  in  the  expedition  from 
the  first.     The   Commonwealth   Government  gave  me 

35 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

£5000  and  the  New  Zealand  Government  £1000,  and 
this  sum  of  money  placed  me  in  a  position  to  increase 
the  number  of  the  shore-party,  to  add  to  the  stores  and 
equipment  in  certain  directions  and  to  strengthen 
the  ship  still  further,  which  I  could  not  afford  to 
do  earlier.  The  New  Zealand  Government  also  agreed 
to  pay  half  the  cost  of  towing  the  Nimrod  down  to 
the  Antarctic  Circle,  so  that  coal  might  be  saved  for 
the  heavy  work  amongst  the  ice,  and  in  many  other 
ways  assisted  us.  The  Postmaster  -  General  of  the 
Dominion  had  printed  off  for  us  a  small  issue  of 
special  stamps,  and  constituted  me  a  postmaster  for 
the  period  of  my  stay  in  the  Antarctic,  an  arrangement 
that  much  simplified  the  handling  of  the  correspondence 
sent  back  from  the  winter  quarters  with  the  Nimrod. 

The  ponies  were  enjoying  their  holiday  on  Quail 
Island  and  were  becoming  sleek  and  fat,  and  it  was 
necessary  that  they  should  be  broken  to  handling  and 
sledge-hauling.  Mr.  C.  Tubman  undertook  this  work, 
with  the  assistance  of  Dr.  Mackay,  and  there  were  some 
exciting  moments  on  the  island.  The  ponies  were 
very  wild,  and  more  than  once  Mackay  and  Tubman  had 
to  make  a  rapid  retreat  from  the  animal  they  were 
schooling  at  the  time.  The  white  ponies,  which  later 
proved  the  most  hardy,  were  the  least  tractable,  and 
there  was  one  white  pony  in  particular  that  was  left 
behind,  because,  though  a  splendid  specimen  physically, 
it  could  not  be  brought  to  a  reasonable  state  of  docility 
in  the  time  at  our  disposal.  I  intended  to  take  only 
ten  ponies  out  of  the  fifteen,  having  allowed  a  margin 
for  losses  on  the  voyage  to  New  Zealand,  and  Tubman 
and  Mackay  devoted  their  attention  to  the  most 
promising  animals.  All  the  ponies  had  names,  although 
I  do  not  know  from  whom  they  received  them,  and  we 
finally  left  New  Zealand  with  "  Socks,"  "  Quan," 
36 


St". 


f  , 


#>:■»      ^ 


fK.  .-  -ii. 


OYSTER    ALLEY 

"Grisi,"   "Chinaman,"    "Billy,"    "Zulu,"    "Doctor," 
"  Sandy,"  "  Nimrod,"  and  "  Mac." 

I  had  secured  in  London  twenty  tons  of  maize  and 
ten  hundredweight  of  compressed  Maujee  ration  for 
the  feeding  of  the  ponies  in  the  Antarctic.  The  maize 
was  packed  in  about  seven  hundred  tin-lined,  air-tight 
cases,  and  the  ration  was  in  one-pound,  air-tight 
tins.  This  ration  consists  of  dried  beef,  carrots,  milk, 
currants  and  sugar,  and  it  provides  a  large  amount  of 
nourishment  with  comparatively  little  weight.  One 
pound  of  the  ration  will  absorb  four  pounds  of  water, 
and  the  ponies  were  very  fond  of  it.  We  also  secured 
in  Australia  ten  tons  of  compressed  fodder,  consisting 
of  oats,  bran  and  chaff.  This  fodder  was  packed  in 
two  hundred  and  fifty  small  bales.  I  purchased  for 
the  dogs  one  ton  and  a  half  of  dog  biscuits,  and  proposed 
to  make  up  their  rations  with  seal  meat. 

The  final  preparations  involved  an  enormous  amount 
of  work,  but  by  December  31  everything  was  readj^ 
Quarters  were  provided  on  the  Nimrod  for  the  scientific 
staff  by  enclosing  a  portion  of  the  after-hold,  and 
constructing  cabins  which  were  entered  by  a  steep 
ladder  from  the  deck-house.  The  quarters  were  certainly 
small,  in  fact  there  was  just  room  for  the  bunks  and 
nothing  else,  and  they  were  promptly  named  Oyster 
Alley,  for  some  reason  not  on  record.  As  the  day 
of  departure  approached  and  the  scientists  brought 
their  personal  belongings,  the  alley  reached  a  state  of 
congestion  that  can  hardly  be  imagined.  The  ponies 
were  to  be  carried  on  deck,  and  ten  stout  stalls  were 
built  for  them.  The  motor-car  was  enclosed  in  a  large 
case  and  made  fast  with  chains  on  the  after-hatch 
from  whence  it  could  be  transferred  easily  on  to  the 
ice  when  the  occasion  arose.  The  deck  load  was  heavy 
and  included  cases  of  maize,  tins  of  carbide  for  the 

37 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

manufacture  of  acetylene  gas,  a  certain  quantity  of 
coal  and  the  sledges.  The  Nimrod  was  low  in  the  water 
as  a  result,  and  when  we  left  Lyttelton  the  little  ship 
had  only  three  feet  six  inches  of  freeboard.  Some  Hve 
sheep  presented  to  us  by  New  Zealand  farmers  were 
placed  on  board  the  Koonya^  the  steamer  which  was  to 
tow  the  Nimrod  to  the  south. 

I  had  been  anxious  to  have  the  Nimrod  towed  south 
in  order  to  save  coal.  The  ship  could  not  take  in  a 
large  quantity  of  coal  after  our  provisions  and  equipment 
had  been  placed  on  board,  for  she  was  considerably 
overloaded,  and  it  was  important  that  there  should 
be  enough  coal  to  take  the  ship  through  the  ice  and 
back  to  New  Zealand,  and  also  to  provide  for  the 
warming  of  the  hut  during  the  winter.  The  Government 
of  the  Dominion  consented  to  pay  half  the  cost  of  the 
tow,  and  Sir  James  Mills,  chairman  of  the  Union 
Steamship  Company,  offered  to  pay  the  other  half. 
The  Koonya,  a  steel-built  steamer  of  about  1100  tons, 
was  chartered  and  placed  under  the  command  of 
Captain  F.  P.  Evans.  The  wisdom  of  this  selection 
was  proved  by  after  events.  The  pressure  of  work  was 
at  this  time  tremendous,  and  I  owed  a  very  great  deal 
to  the  assistance  and  advice  I  received  from  Mr.  J.  J. 
Kinsey,  of  Christchurch.  Before  my  departure  I  placed 
the  conduct  of  the  affairs  of  the  expedition  in  New 
Zealand  in  his  hands. 

December  81  was  the  last  day  of  our  stay  in  New 
Zealand,  for  as  I  had  stated  when  announcing  the 
expedition,  we  were  to  leave  Lyttelton  on  the  first  day 
of  the  new  year.  The  stores  and  equipment  were  on 
board  and  were  as  complete  as  we  could  make  them, 
and  I  had  written  my  final  letters,  both  business  and 
personal.  The  ponies  and  the  dogs  were  to  be  placed 
on  board  the  Nimrod  early  the  following  morning. 
38 


^^B 


Training  the  Pomes  on  Quail  Island,  Poet  Lyttelton 


CHAPTER  IV 

LYTTELTON  TO  THE  ANTARCTIC  CIRCLE 

JANUARY  1, 1908,  arrived  at  last !  Warm,  fine,  and 
clear  broke  the  morning  of  our  last  day  in  civilisation. 
Before  sunset  we  were  to  sever  all  ties  with  the  outer 
world  and  more  than  a  year  must  elapse  ere  we  could 
look  again  on  the  scenes  familiar  to  ordinary  daily  life. 
For  me  this  day  brought  a  feeling  of  relief,  after  all  the 
strenuous  work  of  the  previous  year,  though  the  new 
work  I  was  entering  upon  was  fraught  with  more  anxiety 
and  was  more  exacting  than  any  that  had  gone  before. 
We  all  looked  forward  eagerly  to  our  coming  venture, 
for  the  glamour  of  the  unknown  was  with  us  and  the 
South  was  calling. 

My  personal  belongings  were  gathered  out  of  the 
chaos  of  papers  and  odds  and  ends  in  my  office  at  the 
hotel ;  I  knew  that  the  legacy  of  unanswered  letters, 
requests  for  special  stamps,  and  the  hundred  and  one 
things  that  collect  under  such  circumstances  would  be 
faithfully  administered  by  Mr.  Reid.  Orders  had  been 
given  to  Captain  England  to  have  all  in  readiness  for 
casting  off  at  4  p.m.,  and  early  in  the  afternoon  most 
of  us  were  on  board.  It  was  Regatta  day  and  Lyttelton 
was  crowded  with  holiday-makers,  many  thousands  of 
whom  had  come  to  see  the  Nimrod.  All  day  the  deck 
of  our  little  vessel  was  thronged  by  the  general  public, 
who  evinced  the  greatest  interest  in  everything  con- 

39 


The  heart  of  the  antarctic 

nected  with  the  ship  and  her  equipment.  Naturally 
the  ten  ponies,  now  safely  housed  in  their  stalls  on  the 
forward  deck,  were  a  special  attraction.  Our  nine  dogs 
also  claimed  a  share  of  attention,  although  it  was  a 
gymnastic  feat  to  climb  through  the  supports  of  the 
pony  structure,  stretching  across  the  decks,  in  order  to 
reach  the  forecastle,  where  the  dogs  lay  panting  in  the 
hot  sun.  To  the  uninitiated  the  number  and  size  of 
the  beams  belonging  to  the  pony  structure  seemed 
excessive,  but  we  knew  we  might  encounter  heavy 
weather  which  would  tax  their  strength  to  the  utmost. 
The  Nimrod  was  deep  in  the  water,  for  every  available 
corner  had  been  stowed  with  stores  and  coal  and,  if  we 
could  have  carried  it,  we  would  have  added  at  least 
another  fifty  tons  to  our  two  hundred  and  fifty  ;  but 
the  risk  was  too  great.  Indeed  I  was  somewhat  anxious 
as  to  the  weather  she  might  make,  though  I  knew  she 
was  a  good  sea  boat  and  had  great  confidence  in  her. 
There  were  many  whose  criticisms  were  frankly  pessi- 
mistic as  to  our  chances  of  weathering  an  Antarctic 
gale  ;  and  as  I  stood  on  deck  I  could  hear  the  remarks 
of  these  Job's  comforters.  Such  criticisms,  however, 
did  not  disturb  us,  for  we  were  confident  in  the  ship. 

Oyster  Alley  was  crammed  with  the  personal 
belongings  of  at  least  fourteen  of  the  shore-party  ;  it 
was  the  temporary  resting-place  for  many  of  the  scientific 
instruments,  so  that  both  ingress  and  egress  were  matters 
of  extreme  difficulty.  The  entrance  to  this  twentieth- 
century  Black  Hole  was  through  a  narrow  doorway 
and  down  a  ladder,  which  ushered  one  into  almost 
complete  darkness,  for  the  doorway  was  practically 
filled  up  with  cases,  and  the  single  narrow  deck  light 
generally  covered  by  the  feet  of  sightseers.  The  shore 
party's  fourteen  bunks  were  crammed  with  luggage, 
which  also  occupied  the  whole  of  the  available  floor 
40 


BUCKLFY    JOINS 

space.  It  was  in  this  uncomfortable  place  that  the  spirit 
of  romance,  the  desire  for  the  wind-whitened  Southern 
Seas,  and  the  still  whiter  wastes  of  the  silent  Antarctic 
grew  stronger  in  the  heart  of  George  Buckley,  as  he  sat 
there  talking  over  the  days  and  doings  before  us,  longing 
for  a  share  in  the  work,  even  though  he  might  only  go 
as  far  as  the  Antarctic  circle.  He  knew  that  time 
would  not  permit  him  to  do  more  than  this.  Suddenly 
he  jumped  up,  came  to  me,  and  asked  if  I  would  take 
him  as  far  as  the  ice.  I  was  only  too  glad  to  consent, 
for  his  interest  in  the  expedition  showed  that  his  heart 
was  in  our  venture,  and  his  personality  had  already 
appealed  to  us  all.  It  was  2  p.m.  when  the  decision 
was  made,  and  the  Nimrod  was  to  sail  at  4  p.m.  He 
managed  to  catch  a  train  to  Christchurch,  dashed  into 
his  club,  gave  his  power  of  attorney  to  a  friend  ;  slung 
his  tooth-brush  and  some  underclothing  into  a  bag  ; 
struggled  through  one  seething  crowd  at  Christchurch 
Station  and  another  at  the  wharf,  and  arrived  on  board 
the  Nimrod,  a  few  minutes  before  sailing  time  equipped 
for  the  most  rigorous  weather  in  the  world  with  only 
the  summer  suit  he  was  wearing  :  surely  a  record  in 
the  way  of  joining  a  Polar  expedition. 

Time  was  passing  quickly,  it  was  nearing  four  o'clock 
and  all  our  party  were  on  board  save  Professor  David. 
I  had  seen  him  earlier  in  the  afternoon,  struggling  along 
the  crowded  wharf,  bending  under  the  weight  of  one 
end  of  a  long  iron  pipe,  a  railway  porter  attached  to 
the  other.  This  precious  burden,  he  had  informed  me, 
when  it  was  safely  on  board,  was  part  of  the  boring  gear 
to  be  used  in  obtaining  samples  of  ice  from  the  Great 
Ice  Barrier  ;  he  had  found  it  at  the  railway  station, 
where  it  had  been  overlooked.  Doubtless  he  was  having 
a  last  skirmish  round  in  case  there  was  anything  else 
that  had  been  left,  and  just  as  I  was  getting  anxious, 

41 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

for  I  did  not  want  to  delay  the  departure  of  the  ship* 
he  appeared.  His  arms  were  filled  with  delicate  glass 
apparatus  and  other  scientific  paraphernalia.  As  he 
was  gingerly  crossing  the  narrow  gangway  he  was  con- 
fronted by  a  stout  female,  of  whom  the  Professor  after- 
wards said  :  "  She  was  for  the  shore,  let  who  would 
be  for  the  Pole."  They  met  in  the  middle  of  the  gang- 
way. Hampered  by  the  things  he  was  carrying,  the 
Professor  could  not  move  aside  ;  he  was  simply  charged 
down  by  superior  weight,  and  clutching  his  precious 
goods,  fell  off  the  gangway  on  to  the  heads  of  some  of 
our  party.     Wonderful  to  relate  nothing  was  broken. 

At  one  minute  to  four  orders  were  given  to  stand 
by  the  engines,  at  4  p.m.  the  lines  were  cast  off  from 
the  wharf  and  the  Nimrod  moved  slowly  ahead.  Cheer 
after  cheer  broke  from  the  watching  thousands  as  we 
moved  towards  the  harbour  entrance,  with  the  Queen's 
flag  flying  at  the  fore  and  our  ensign  dipping  farewell 
at  the  stern.  The  cheering  broke  out  afresh  as  we 
passed  the  United  States'  magnetic  survey  ship  Galilee. 
She  also  was  engaged  in  a  scientific  mission,  but  her 
lines  were  laid  in  warmer  climes  and  calmer  seas.  Hearty 
as  was  this  send-off  it  seemed  mild  compared  to  that 
which  we  received  on  passing  the  pier-head  lighthouse. 
The  air  trembled  with  the  crash  of  guns,  the  piercing 
steam  whistles  and  sirens  of  every  steamship  in  the 
port ;  and  a  roar  of  cheering  from  the  throats  of  the 
thirty  thousand  people  who  were  watching  the  little 
black-hulled  barque  moving  slowly  towards  the  open 
sea.  With  our  powerful  ally,  the  Koonya,  steaming 
in  front,  and  on  each  side  passenger  boats  of  the  Union 
Company  carrying  some  six  or  seven  thousand  persons, 
we  passed  down  the  Roads,  receiving  such  a  farewell 
and  *'  God-speed  "  from  New  Zealand  as  left  no  man 
of  us  unmoved.  The  farewells  were  not  over,  for  we 
42 


A  Photograph  taken  from  the  "Nimrod"  as  the  Expedition  was  leaving  Lyttelton. 
Over  30,000  People  watched  the  departure 


The  "Ximrod"  passing  H.M.S.  'Powerful,"  Flagship  of  the  Australasian  Squadron, 

IN  Lyttelton  Harbour  To/acepa^e  42 


THE    TOW-LINE    ATTACHED 

were  to  receive  one  more  expression  of  goodwill,  and 
one  that  came  nearer  to  the  hearts  of  those  of  us  who 
were  sailors  than  any  other  could.  Lying  inside  the 
Heads  were  three  of  his  Majesty's  ships  of  the  Australian 
Squadron,  the  flagship  Powerfuly  the  Pegasus  and  the 
Pioneer.  As  we  steamed  past  the  last-named  her  crew 
mustered  on  the  forecastle  head  and  gave  us  three  hearty 
cheers  ;  we  received  the  same  from  the  Pegasus  as  we 
came  abeam  of  her,  our  party  of  thirty- nine  returning 
the  cheers  as  we  passed  each  ship  in  turn.  Then  we 
drew  abreast  of  the  flagship  and  from  the  throats  of  the 
nine  hundred  odd  bluejackets  on  board  her  we  got  a 
ringing  farewell,  and  across  the  water  came  the  sound 
of  her  band  playing  "  Hearts  of  oak  are  our  ships,'* 
followed  by  "  Auld  Lang  Syne."  We  responded  with 
three  cheers  and  gave  another  cheer  for  Lady  Fawkes, 
who  had  taken  a  kindly  interest  in  the  expedition. 

Shortly  after  passing  the  Powerful^  we  stopped  to 
pick  up  our  tow-line  from  the  Koonya,  but  before  doing 
this  we  transferred  to  the  tug-boat  Canterbury  the  few 
personal  friends  who  had  accompanied  some  of  the 
members  of  the  expedition  down  the  harbour.  We  then 
came  close  up  to  the  stern  of  the  Koonya  and  hauled 
in  the  4-in.  wire  cable  she  was  to  tow  us  with.  A  4-in 
wire  is  measured  not  as  4  in.  diameter,  but  4  in.  in  cir- 
cumference, and  is  made  of  the  finest  steel.  We  passed 
a  shackle  through  the  eye  at  the  end  of  this  wire  and 
shackled  on  to  the  free  ends  of  both  our  chain  cables. 
We  then  let  out  thirty  fathoms  of  each  cable,  one  on 
each  side  of  the  bow,  and  made  the  inner  ends  fast  round 
the  foremast  in  the  'tween  decks.  This  cable  acted 
as  a  "  spring,"  to  use  a  nautical  term  ;  that  is  to  say, 
it  lessened  the  danger  of  the  wire  snapping  if  a  sudden 
strain  were  put  upon  it,  for  the  cable  hung  down  in  the 
water  owing  to  its  weight,  even  when  the  ship  was  being 

43 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

towed  at  seven  or  eight  knots.  This  operation  being 
completed  we  signalled  the  Koonya  to  go  ahead  and 
we  were  soon  in  the  open  sea.  There  was  a  slight  breeze 
and  a  small  choppy  sea.  Before  we  had  been  under 
way  for  an  hour  water  began  to  come  in  at  the  scupper 
holes  and  through  the  wash  ports.  This  looked  ominous 
to  us,  for  if  the  Nimrod  was  going  to  be  wet  in  such  fine 
weather,  what  was  she  going  to  be  like  when  we  got  a 
southerly  gale  !  She  moved  through  the  water  astern 
of  Koonya  like  a  reluctant  child  being  dragged  to  school ; 
she  seemed  to  have  no  vitality  of  her  own.  This  was 
due  to  her  deeply  loaded  condition,  and  more  especially 
to  the  seven  tons  of  cable  and  the  weight  of  the  wire 
on  her  bows  dragging  her  nose  down  into  the  sea.  No 
Antarctic  exploring  ship  had  been  towed  to  the  ice 
before,  but  it  meant  the  saving  of  coal  to  us  for  a  time 
when  the  tons  saved  in  this  manner  might  prove  the 
salvation  of  the  expedition. 

Night  came  down  on  us,  and  the  last  we  saw  of  New 
Zealand  was  a  bold  headland  growing  fainter  and  fainter 
in  the  gathering  gloom.  The  occupants  of  Oyster  Alley, 
after  a  somewhat  sketchy  meal  in  the  wardroom,  were 
endeavouring  to  reduce  the  chaos  of  their  quarters  into 
some  sort  of  order.  The  efforts  of  some  of  the  scientific 
staff  were  interrupted  at  times  by  sudden  attacks  of  sea- 
sickness, and  indeed  one  would  not  have  been  surprised 
if  the  seafaring  portion  of  the  staff  had  also  succumbed, 
for  the  atmosphere  of  the  alley,  combined  with  the  pecu- 
liar motion  of  the  ship,  was  far  from  pleasant.  A  few  of 
the  members  of  the  party  preferred  to  sleep  on  deck  in  any 
odd  corner  they  could  find,  and  one  man  in  particular 
was  so  overcome  by  the  sea  that  for  three  days  and  nights 
he  lay  prostrate  amongst  the  vegetables  and  cases  of 
butter  and  carbide,  on  the  unused  fore-bridge  of  the  ship. 
He  seemed  to  recover  at  meal-times,  and  as  his  lair  was 
44 


MEALS    UNDER    DIFFICULTIES 

just  above  the  galley,  he  simply  appeared  from  under  his 
sodden  blankets,  reached  down  his  hand,  and  in  a 
plaintive  voice  asked  for  something  to  fill  the  yawning 
cavern  that  existed  in  his  interior.  Professor  David  was 
given  Dr.  Michell's  cabin,  the  latter  taking  up  his  abode 
in  Oyster  Alley.  The  cabin  measured  about  5  ft. 
10  in.  by  3  ft.,  and  as  the  Professor  had  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  ton  of  scientific  instruments,  books  and 
cameras,  one  can  imagine  that  he  had  not  much  room 
for  himself.  The  wardroom  of  the  Nimrod  was  about 
12  ft.  long  and  9  ft.  broad,  and  as  there  were 
twenty-two  mouths  to  feed  there  three  times  a  day,  diffi- 
culties were  present  from  the  beginning  of  the  voyage. 
Dunlop's  cabin  came  into  service  as  the  largest  overflow 
dining-room,  for  it  accommodated  three  people.  Davis 
and  Mackintosh  each  found  room  for  another  hungry 
explorer  in  his  cabin.  When  the  food  arrived  it  was 
passed  along  to  the  outside  dining-rooms  first.  Then 
people  in  the  main  room  were  served.  All  went  well 
that  first  night  out,  for  there  was  comparatively  little 
movement,  but  later  on  the  story  of  an  ordinary  meal 
became  a  record  of  adventure.  I  took  up  my  quarters 
in  the  captain's  cabin,  and  fluctuated  between  the  bunk 
and  the  settee  for  a  resting-place,  until  the  carpenter 
made  me  a  plank  bed  about  four  inches  ofi  the  deck. 
We  did  not  know  that  we  were  not  to  take  our  clothes  off 
for  the  next  two  weeks,  but  were  to  live  in  a  constant 
state  of  wetness,  wakefulness,  and  watchfulness  until  the 
Nimrod  arrived  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  winter 
quarters. 

Bad  weather  was  not  long  delayed.  As  the  night  of 
January  1  wore  on,  the  wind  began  to  freshen  from  the 
south-west,  and  the  following  morning  the  two  vessel? 
were  pitching  somewhat  heavily  and  steering  wildly. 
The  Koonya  signalled  us  to  veer,  that  is,  to  slack  out 

45 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

thirty  more  fathoms  on  each  of  our  two  cables,  and  with 
great  difficulty  we  managed  to  do  this.  The  ship  was 
pitching  and  rolling,  flinging  the  cables  from  one  side  of 
the  deck  to  the  other,  and  with  our  forty-year-old  wind- 
lass it  was  no  light  task  to  handle  the  heavy  chains. 
Then  I  felt  one  of  the  first  real  pinches  of  the  stringent 
economy  that  had  to  be  practised  from  the  inception  of 
the  expedition.  How  I  wished  for  the  splendid  modem 
gear  of  the  Discovery^  the  large,  specially  built  vessel 
that  we  had  on  the  previous  expedition.  During  the 
afternoon  the  wind  and  sea  increased  greatly,  and  the 
Nimrod  pitched  about,  shifting  everything  that  could 
be  moved  on  deck.  The  seas  began  to  break  over  her, 
and  we  were  soon  wet  through,  not  to  be  properly  dry 
again  for  the  next  fortnight.  The  decks  were  flooded 
with  heavy  seas,  which  poured,  white-capped,  over 
the  side,  and  even  the  topsail  yards  were  drenched  with 
the  spray  of  breaking  waves.  Life-lines  were  stretched 
along  the  deck,  and  it  was  a  risky  thing  to  go  forward 
without  holding  on. 

Our  chief  anxiety  was  the  care  of  the  ponies,  and  look- 
ing back  now  to  those  days,  it  remains  a  matter  of  wonder 
to  me  how  they  survived  the  hardships  that  fell  to  their 
lot.  That  night  I  arranged  for  a  two-hour  watch, 'con- 
sisting of  two  members  of  the  shore  staff,  to  be  always  in 
attendance  on  the  ponies.  The  pony  shelter  had  five 
stalls  on  the  port  side  and  five  on  the  starboard  side  of 
the  deck,  with  the  fore  hatch  between  them.  The  watch- 
keepers  named  this  place  "  The  Cavalry  Club,"  and  here 
in  the  bleak  and  bitter  stormy  nights,  swept  off  their  feet 
every  now  and  then  by  the  seas  washing  over  the  fore- 
hatch,  the  members  of  the  shore  party  passed  many  a 
bad  quarter  of  an  hour.  They  bore  all  the  buffeting  and 
discomfort  cheerfully,  even  as  those  men  of  old,  who 
*'  ever  with  a  frolic  welcome  took  the  thunder  and  the 
46 


THE  AUTUMN  SUNSET 


NIGHT    IN    THE    STABLES 

sunshine."  Night  in  the  pony-stables  was  a  weird 
experience  with  inky  blackness  all  round,  save  only  where 
the  salt-encrusted  hurricane  lamp,  jerking  to  and  fro, 
made  a  glimmer  of  light.  The  roar  of  the  tempest  rose 
into  a  shriek  as  the  wind  struck  the  rigid  rigging,  the 
creaking  and  swaying  of  the  roof  of  the  stable  and  the  boat- 
skids,  which  partly  rested  their  weight  on  it,  seemed  to 
threaten  a  sudden  collapse  with  each  succeeding  and 
heavier  roll,  and  the  seas  crashed  dully  as  they  fell  on 
board.  The  swirling  waters,  foam- white  in  the  dim  rays 
of  the  lamp,  rushed  through  the  stable  and  over  the 
hatch,  and  even  from  the  bridge  far  aft,  we  could  hear  the 
frightened  whinnies  of  the  animals,  as  they  desperately 
struggled  to  keep  their  feet  in  the  water  that  flooded  the 
rolling  stables.  Every  now  and  then  some  wave,  larger 
and  fiercer  than  the  one  before,  would  sweep  the  decks, 
tear  the  mats  from  under  the  feet  of  the  ponies,  and 
wash  the  watch-keepers  almost  under  the  struggling 
beasts.  When  the  bulk  of  the  water  had  passed,  the 
mats  were  nailed  down  again  with  difficulty,  and  the  two 
watchers  resumed  their  seats  on  a  bag  of  fodder  that  had 
been  fastened  to  the  hatch.  One  can  imagine  that  after 
a  two-hours'  watch  a  rest  was  welcome.  Oyster  Alley 
w^as  wet  enough,  and  the  beds  were  soaking,  while  the 
atmosphere  was  thick  and  heavy  ;  but  these  conditions 
did  not  prevent  the  wearied  men  from  falling  asleep  after 
wedging  themselves  into  their  bunks,  lest  some  extra 
heavy  lurch  should  send  them  to  keep  company  with  the 
miscellaneous  collection  of  articles  careering  up  and  down 
the  deck  of  the  alley. 

All  during  our  second  night  out,  the  weather  was  so 
bad  that  we  kept  going  slow,  having  requested  the 
Koonya  to  slacken  speed  late  in  the  afternoon.  Next 
morning  found  us  plunging,  swerving,  and  rolling  in  a 
high  sea,  with  a  dull  grey  stormy  sky  overhead,  and 

47 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

apparently  no  prospect  of  the  weather  becoming  settled. 
We  were  moving  little  more  than  a  mile  an  hour  towards 
the  south,  and  the  ship  seemed  to  be  straining  herself  on 
account  of  the  heavy  pull  on  her  bows,  and  the  resulting 
lack  of  buoyancy.  The  weather  moderated  somewhat 
in  the  afternoon,  and  we  signalled  the  Koonya  to  "  in- 
crease speed."  By  midnight  the  improvement  in  the 
weather  was  much  more  marked.  The  following  morning, 
January  4,  we  set  loose  the  carrier  pigeon  which 
one  of  the  New  Zealand  sailors  had  brought  with  him. 
We  attached  a  message  to  the  bird,  briefly  describing  our 
passage  so  far,  and  hoped  it  would  safely  accomplish  the 
three  hundred  odd  miles  to  the  land.  On  releasing  our 
messenger  it  made  one  or  two  wide  circles  round  the 
ship,  and  then  set  off  in  a  bee-line  towards  its  home.  We 
wondered  at  the  time  whether  any  of  the  albatrosses, 
which  were  now  fairly  numerous  about  our  stern,  espec- 
ially at  meal  times,  would  attack  the  stranger,  and  we 
heard  afterwards  that  the  pigeon  had  not  reached  its 
home. 

The  hope  that  we  were  going  to  keep  finer  weather 
was  dispelled  in  the  afternoon,  for  the  wind  began  to 
increase  and  the  rising  sea  to  break  on  board  again,  and 
within  a  couple  of  hours  we  were  bearing  the  full  brunt 
of  another  furious  gale.  The  sea-going  qualities  of  the 
Nimrod  were  severely  taxed,  but  the  little  vessel  rose  to 
the  occasion.  As  the  gale  increased  in  vehemence,  she 
seemed  to  throw  off  the  lethargy,  one  might  almost  say 
the  sulkiness,  which  possessed  her  when  she  found  herself 
outward  bound  at  the  end  of  a  tow-line,  for  the  first  time 
in  her  strenuous  life  of  forty  years.  Now  that  the  tow- 
line,  in  the  fury  of  the  gale,  was  but  of  little  use,  save  to 
steady  us,  the  Nimrod  began  to  play  her  own  hand.  It 
was  wonderful  to  see  how  she  rose  to  the  largest  oncoming 
waves.  She  was  flung  to  and  fro,  a  tiny  speck  in  this 
48 


ON   THE    NIMROD'S   POOP 

waste  of  waters,  now  poised  on  the  summit  of  a 
huge  sea,  whence  we  got  almost  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the 
gallant  Koonya  smashing  into  the  turmoil  ahead ;  now 
dipping  into  the  wave  valleys,  from  which  all  we  could 
discern  of  our  consort  was  in  very  truth  "  just  a  funnel 
and  a  mast  lurching  through  the  spray." 

As  the  afternoon  wore  on,  those  of  us  who  were  not 
still  in  the  clutches  of  sea-sickness  watched  the  grandeur 
of  the  gale.  I  shall  always  remember  Buckley,  who  stood 
for  hour  after  hour  on  the  Nimrod^s  poop,  revelling  in  the 
clash  and  strife  of  the  elements.  Keen  yachtsman  that 
he  was,  his  admiration  was  aroused  by  the  way  the  two 
ships  battled  with  the  storm.  Professor  David  also, 
hanging  to  the  dripping  rails,  was  fascinated  by  the  wild 
scene,  and  between  the  gusts,  we  spoke  of  many  things. 
Somehow  or  another  the  conversation  turned  to  one's 
favourite  poets,  and  it  is  but  natural  that,  under  these 
circumstances  of  stress  and  strain.  Browning's  verse 
was  often  the  subject  of  conversation.  Night  drew  on, 
sullen  and  black,  our  only  light  the  lamp  we  steered  by  on 
the  Koonya's  mast.  We  could  imagine  the  stalwart 
figure  of  that  splendid  seaman.  Captain  Evans,  as  he 
stood  on  his  spray- drenched  bridge,  alert,  calm  and  keen, 
doing  his  best  to  ease  the  little  ship  astern.  We  had 
nothing  but  admiration  for  the  consummate  seamanship 
that  anticipated  our  every  need  and  wish.  All  that  night 
it  blew  harder  than  ever ;  on  the  morning  of  the  5th,  I 
told  Captain  England  to  signal  the  Koonya  and  ask  her  to 
pour  oil  on  the  water  in  the  hope  that  it  might  help  us. 
To  a  certain  extent  I  think  it  did,  but  not  enough  to 
prevent  the  heaviest  seas  from  breaking  on  board.  I 
thought  that  the  gale  had  reached  its  height  on  the  pre- 
vious day,  but  certainly  this  evening  it  was  much 
stronger.  The  Nimrod  rolled  over  fifty  degrees  from  the 
perpendicular  to  each  side ;  how  much  more  than  that 
I  D  49 


THE   HEART   OF   THE   ANTARCTIC 

I  cannot  say,  for  the  indicator  recording  the  roll  of  the 
ship  was  only  marked  up  to  fifty  degrees,  and  the  pointer 
had  passed  that  mark.  Let  the  reader  hold  a  pencil  on 
end  on  a  table,  and  then  incline  it  fifty  degrees  one 
way,  and  back  again  till  it  reaches  fifty  degrees  on  the 
other  side,  and  he  will  realise  the  length  of  arc  through 
which  the  masts  and  deck  of  the  Nimrod  swung.  It  was 
only  natural,  under  these  circumstances,  that  the  sturdy 
little  ponies  had  their  strength  taxed  to  the  utmost  to 
keep  their  footing  at  all.  It  was  impracticable  to  sling 
them,  for  they  were  only  half  broken,  and  the  attempt  to 
put  a  sling  under  one  drove  it  nearly  crazy  with  fright. 
All  we  could  do  was  to  try  and  soothe  them,  and  the 
animals  evidently  appreciated  the  human  voice  and 
touch.  Buckley  had  a  wonderful  way  with  them,  and 
they  seemed  to  understand  that  he  was  trying  to  help 
them. 

Occasionally  there  were  clear  patches  of  sky  to  the 
south  and  east  between  the  squalls.  We  had  sleet  for 
the  first  time  on  January  5,  and  the  wind,  ranging 
between  west,  south,  and  south-west,  was  chilly  for  the 
height  of  summer,  the  temperature  being  about  46°  Fahr. 
We  passed  large  masses  of  floating  kelp,  which  may  have 
torn  from  the  islands  to  the  south-west  of  us,  for  at  noon 
on  January  5,  we  were  still  north  of  the  fiftieth 
parallel,  a  latitude  corresponding  to  the  South  of  England. 
Our  course  lay  practically  south,  for  I  wanted  to  enter  the 
pack  ice  somewhere  about  the  178th  meridian  east, 
previous  experience  having  shown  that  the  pack  is  less 
dense  about  that  meridian  than  it  is  further  west. 
About  9  P.M.  that  night,  during  an  extra  heavy  roll,  one 
of  the  ponies  slipped  down  in  its  stall,  and  when  the  ship 
rolled  the  opposite  way,  turned  right  over  on  its  back, 
as  it  could  not  regain  its  footing.  We  tried  everything 
in  our  power  to  get  the  poor  beast  up  again,  but  there 
50 


THE    SHOOTING    OF    DOCTOR 

was  no  room  to  work  in  the  narrow  stall,  and  in  the 
darkness  and  rushing  water  it  would  have  been  madness 
to  have  tried  to  shift  the  other  ponies  out  of  the  adjacent 
stalls  in  order  to  take  down  the  partition,  and  so  give 
the  poor  animal  room  to  get  up  itself.  We  had  perforce 
to  leave  it  for  the  night,  trusting  that  when  daylight 
came  the  weather  might  have  moderated,  and  that  with 
the  light  we  might  be  able  to  do  more.  It  speaks 
wonders  for  the  vitality  of  the  animal  that  in  spite  of  its 
cramped  position  and  the  constant  washing  of  the  cold 
seas  over  it  during  the  whole  night,  it  greedily  ate  the 
handfuls  of  hay  which  were  given  it  from  time  to  time. 
Every  now  and  then  the  pony  made  frantic  efforts  to  get  on 
to  its  feet  again,  but  without  avail,  and  before  the  morning 
its  struggles  gradually  grew  weaker  and  weaker.  The 
morning  of  January  6  broke  with  the  gale  blowing 
more  strongly  than  ever.  There  was  a  mountainous  sea 
running,  and  at  ten  o'clock,  after  having  made  another 
futile  attempt  to  get  "  Doctor,"  as  he  was  called,  on  his 
legs,  and  finding  that  he  had  no  strength  of  his  own,  I 
had  regretfully  to  give  orders  to  have  him  shot.  One 
bullet  from  a  heavy  service  revolver  ended  his  troubles. 
During  the  morning  the  gale  moderated  somewhat,  and 
at  noon  we  were  in  latitude  50°  58'  South,  and  longitude 
175°  19'  East. 

During  the  afternoon  of  January  6,  the  wind 
increased  again,  the  squalls  being  of  hurricane  force,  and 
the  wind  shifting  to  between  west  and  north-west.  The 
Koonya  ahead  was  making  bad  weather  of  it,  but  was 
steaming  as  fast  as  practicable,  for  with  the  wind  and 
sea  coming  more  abeam  she  was  able  to  make  better 
headway  than  when  she  was  plunging  into  a  head  sea 
with  the  weight  and  bulk  of  the  towing  cable  and  the 
Nimrod  astern  of  her,  factors  in  the  situation  that  made 
the  handling  and  steering  of  the  steamer  very  difficult. 

51 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

The  temperature  of  the  air  that  day  was  up  to  49°  Fahr., 
but  the  sea  temperature  had  dropped  to  44°.  This  con- 
tinuous bad  weather  was  attributed  by  some  on  board 
to  the  fact  that  we  had  captured  an  albatross  on  the 
second  day  out.  It  is  generally  supposed  by  seamen  to 
be  unlucky  to  kill  this  bird,  but  as  we  did  it  for  the  pur- 
poses of  scientific  collections  and  not  with  the  wanton- 
ness of  the  *'  Ancient  Mariner,"  the  superstitious  must 
seek  for  some  other  reason  for  the  weather.  By  this 
time  most  of  the  scientific  staff  had  recovered  from 
seasickness,  so  to  employ  their  time  when  they  were  not 
on  pony-guard,  meteorological  observations  were  taken 
every  hour.  There  sometimes  was  an  inclination  to 
obtain  the  temperature  of  the  sea- water  from  the  never- 
failing  stream  which  poured  over  the  deck,  but  to  the 
observers'  credit  this  feeling  was  sternly  suppressed,  and 
the  more  legitimate  and  accurate,  if  less  simple  means, 
that  of  drawing  it  from  over  the  side,  was  adopted.  It 
is  not  at  all  an  easy  operation  to  draw  water  in  this  way 
from  the  sea  when  a  ship  is  under  way,  and  in  our  par- 
ticular circumstances,  the  observer  often  got  premature 
knowledge  of  the  temperature  by  the  contents  of  the 
bucket,  or  the  top  of  a  sea,  drenching  him.  On  this  day 
we  began  to  feel  the  serious  effects  of  the  towing  strain 
on  the  ship.  For  days  the  sailors'  quarters  below  the 
fore-deck  had  been  in  a  state  of  constant  wetness  from 
the  leaking  of  the  fore- deck,  and  the  inhabitants  of 
Oyster  Alley  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  might 
more  suitably  be  named  "  Moisture  Alley."  But  when 
Dunlop,  the  chief  engineer,  came  on  the  poop  bridge 
that  afternoon  and  reported  that  the  ship  was  making 
about  three  feet  of  water  in  an  hour,  matters  assumed  a 
more  serious  complexion.  I  had  not  expected  that  we 
would  get  off  scot  free,  as  the  ship  had  to  endure  a  very 
severe  strain,  and  was  old,  but  three  feet  of  water  in  an 
52 


THE    GALE    INCREASES 

hour  showed  that  she  was  feehng  the  effects  of  the  towing 
very  much.  It  was  necessary  to  rig  the  hand-pump  to 
help  the  steam-pumps  to  keep  the  water  under,  and  this 
became,  as  the  Professor  remarked,  the  occasion  for  an 
additional  scientific  instrument  to  be  used  by  the  shore- 
party.  A  watch  was  set  to  use  this  pump,  and  two  mem- 
bers of  the  staff  worked  it  for  two  hours,  or  as  long  as 
occasion  demanded,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  were 
relieved  by  two  more.  The  weather  grew  steadily  worse, 
and  by  midnight  the  squalls  were  of  hurricane  force. 
Even  the  mastheads  of  the  Koonya  disappeared  from  view 
at  times,  and  the  light  we  were  steering  by  would  only  be 
seen  for  a  few  seconds,  and  would  then  disappear  behind 
the  mounting  wall  of  waters  that  separated  the  two  ships. 
A  moderate  estimate  of  the  height  of  the  waves  is  forty- 
two  feet.  During  the  squalls,  which  were  accompanied 
by  hail  and  sleet,  the  tops  of  the  seas  were  cut  off  by  the 
force  of  the  wind  and  flung  in  showers  of  stinging  spray 
against  our  faces,  drenching  even  the  topsail  yards  of 
the  Nimrod.  Each  green  wave  rushed  at  us  as  though 
it  meant  to  swamp  the  ship,  but  each  time  the  Nimrod 
rose  bravely,  and,  riding  over  the  seemingly  overwhelm- 
ing mass,  steadied  for  a  moment  on  the  other  side  as  it 
passed  on,  seething  and  white,  baffled  of  its  prey.  All 
night  there  were  squalls  of  terrific  force,  and  the  morn- 
ing of  January  7  brought  no  abatement  of  the  storm. 
The  seas  now  came  on  board  with  increasing  frequency, 
finding  out  any  odd  article  that  had  escaped  our  vigilance 
and  survived  the  rolling  of  the  ship.  A  sack  of  potatoes 
was  washed  on  to  the  deck,  and  the  contents  were  floating 
in  two  or  three  feet  of  water.  But  standing  on  the  poop 
bridge  I  heard  one  of  the  crew,  in  no  way  disheartened, 
singing,  as  he  gathered  them  up,  "  Here  we  go  gathering 
nuts  in  May." 

At  noon  we  were  in  latitude  53°  26' South  and  longitude 

53 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

127°  42'  East.  In  the  afternoon  the  weather  moderated 
slightly,  though  there  was  a  heavy,  lumpy  sea.  Alba- 
trosses were  becoming  much  more  numerous,  especially 
the  sooty  species,  the  death  of  which,  on  Shelvoke's 
voyage,  inspired  Coleridge's  memorable  poem.  I 
noticed  one,  flying  low  between  the  two  ships,  strike 
its  wings  against  the  wire  tow-line,  which  had  suddenly 
emerged  from  the  waves  owing  to  the  hft  of  the  Koonya's 
stern  upon  a  sea.  The  weather  became  fairly  moderate 
during  the  night  and  remained  so  next  morning,  with 
the  wind  in  the  north-west.  After  the  second  day  out 
we  had  shifted  the  dogs  from  the  forecastle  head  to  the 
fore  bridge,  and  one  of  these  in  its  struggles  to  get  down 
on  to  the  main  deck,  strangled  itself  before  we  knew  that 
it  was  in  trouble. 

There  was  constant  rain  during  the  morning  of 
January  8,  but  it  did  not  beat  the  sea  down  much,  and 
during  the  evening,  with  the  wind  shifting  to  the  south- 
south-west  the  gale  increased  again.  It  was  so  bad,  owing 
to  the  confused  sea,  that  we  had  to  signal  the  Koonya 
to  heave  to.  We  did  this  with  the  sea  on  our  starboard 
quarter.  Suddenly  one  enormous  wave  rushed  at  us, 
and  it  appeared  as  though  nothing  could  prevent  our 
decks  being  swept,  but  the  ship  rose  to  it,  and  missed  the 
greater  part,  though  to  us  it  seemed  as  if  the  full  weight 
of  water  had  come  on  board.  We  clung  tightly  to  the 
poop  rails,  and  as  soon  as  the  water  had  passed  over  us 
we  wiped  the  salt  from  our  eyes  and  surveyed  the  scene. 
The  sea  had  smashed  in  part  of  the  starboard  bulwarks 
and  destroyed  a  small  house  on  the  upper  deck,  pieces 
of  this  house  and  the  bulwarks  floating  out  to  the  lee- 
ward ;  the  port  washport  v/as  torn  from  its  hinges,  so 
that  water  now  surged  on  board  and  swept  away  at  its 
own  sweet  will,  and  the  stout  wooden  rails  of  the  poop 
deck,  to  which  we  had  been  clinging,  were  cracked  and 
54 


Mountainous  Seas 


To  face  page  54 


RUNNING   THE    GAUNTLET 

displaced,  but  no  vital  damage  was  done.     The  look  of 
disgust  on  the  faces  of  the  dripping  pony  watch-keepers, 
as  they  emerged  from  the  water-logged  "  Cavalry  Club," 
was  eloquent  of  their  feelings.     The  galley  was  washed 
out  and  the  fire  extinguished.     This  happened  more  than 
once,  but  so  pluckily  did  the  members  of  the  cooking- 
department  work,  that  never  during  the  whole  of  this  very 
uncomfortable  time  had  we  been  without  a  warm  meal. 
This  means  far  more  than  one  is  apt  to  think,  for  the  galley 
was  only  five  feet  square,  and  thirty-nine  persons  blessed 
with  extremely  hearty  appetites  had  to  be  provided  for. 
In  a  large  measure,  this  unbroken  routine  of  hot 
meals,  the  three  oases  of  what  I  might  call  pleasure  in 
the  daily  desert  of  discomfort,  was  due  to  Roberts,  who 
besides  being  assistant  zoologist  to  the  expedition,  was 
going  to  act  as  cook.     Seeing  that  the  ship's  staff  would 
have  more  work  to  do  than  they  could  well  carry  out 
in  providing  for  the  thirty-nine  people  on  board,  he 
volunteered  the  first  day  out  to  assist  the  ship's  cook, 
and  the  result  was  that  we  were  always  provided  with 
fresh  bread    and   hot   cocoa   and   tea,     Montague,  the 
ship's  cook,  was  ever  at  work,  though  the  galley  was  in 
a  constant  state  of  flood.     The  stewards,  Handcock  and 
Ansell,  worked  wonders  in  getting  the  food  across  the 
danger   zone   between   the   galley   and   the   wardroom. 
Ansell,  with  ten  plates  in  one  hand,  overlapping  one 
another  up  his  arm,  would  arrive  safely  at  his  destination, 
though  his  boots  were  often  filled  with  water  on  the  way 
aft.     Of  course   there   were  times  when  he  was  not  so 
successful,  and  he  would  emerge  from  a  sea  with  his 
clothes,  hair,  and  face  plentifully  sprinkled  with  food. 
As  a  rule  the  accidents  occurred  in  the  wardroom,  after 
the  arrival  of  the  food.     The  tablecloth,  after  two  or 
three  days,  assumed  an  ecru  colour,  owing  to  the  constant 
upsetting  of  tea  and  coffee.     Some  of  the  staff  had 

55 


THE    HEART    OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

perforce  to  take  their  meals  standing,  from  lack  of  seat- 
ing accommodation,  and  the  balancing  of  a  plate  of  soup 
when  the  ship  was  rolling  heavily  required  skill  and 
experience.  The  meal  was  generally  accompanied  by 
the  spurting  of  seawater  through  the  wardroom  door,  or 
through  cracks  in  the  skylight,  and  the  water  washed 
to  and  fro  unheeded  until  the  meal  was  ended,  and  the 
indefatigable  Ansell  turned  his  attention  to  it.  It  was 
in  the  wardroom  that  I  salved  a  small  wooden  case  from 
the  water,  and  found  that  it  contained  a  patent  mixture 
for  extinguishing  fires.  The  rooms  of  the  ship's  officers, 
opening  out  of  the  wardroom,  were  in  a  similar  state  of 
dampness,  and  when  an  officer  finished  his  watch  and 
tiu'ned  in  for  a  well-earned  sleep,  he  merely  substituted 
for  clothes  that  were  soaked  through,  others  which  were 
a  little  less  wet. 

The  water,  however,  did  not  damp  the  spirits  of 
those  on  board,  for  nearly  every  night  extemporary  con- 
certs were  held,  and  laughter  and  mirth  filled  the  little 
wardroom.  It  is  usual  on  Saturday  nights  at  sea  to 
drink  the  toasts,  "  Absent  Friends,"  and  "  Sweethearts 
and  Wives."  I  was  generally  at  this  time  in  the  after 
cabin  or  on  the  bridge,  and  if,  as  sometimes  happened, 
I  had  forgotten  that  particular  day,  a  gentle  hint  was 
conveyed  to  me  by  Wild  or  Dunlop  starting  a  popular 
song,  entitled  "  Sweethearts  and  Wives,"  the  chorus  of 
which  was  heartily  rendered  by  all  hands.  This  hint 
used  to  bring  my  neglect  to  my  mind,  and  I  would  pro- 
dure  the  necessary  bottle. 

On  January  10  we  had  a  clear  sky  during  the  morn- 
ing until  about  ten  o'clock,  and  then,  with  a  westerly 
wind,  the  breeze  became  heavier,  and  rain  commenced. 
Most  of  us  that  day,  taking  advantage  of  the  comparative 
steadiness  of  the  ship,  managed  to  wash  our  salt- 
encrusted  faces  and  hair ;  we  had  become  practically 
56 


A  HUGE    SEA 

pickled  during  the  past  week.  About  midnight  we  had 
a  light  wind  from  the  north-north-east,  and  the  almost 
continual  rain  of  the  previous  twelve  hours  had  flattened 
the  sea  considerably. 

At  noon,  on  January  11,  we  were  in  latitude  57°  38' 
South,  and  longitude  178°  39'  West,  and  during  the  day 
the  wind  and  sea  increased  again  from  the  north-west. 
The  nature  of  this  particular  sea  made  it  necessary  for  us 
to  keep  the  ship  away,  altering  our  course  from  south  to 
south-east,  and  before  midnight  the  gale  had  reached 
its  now  customary  force  and  violence.  As  I  was  stand- 
ing on  the  bridge  at  2  a.m.,  peering  out  to  windward 
through  a  heavy  snow-squall  that  enveloped  us,  I  saw, 
in  the  faint  light  of  breaking  day,  a  huge  sea,  apparently 
independent  of  its  companions,  rear  itself  up  alongside 
the  ship.  Fortunately  only  the  crest  of  the  wave  struck 
us,  but  away  went  the  starboard  bulwarks  forward  and 
abreast  of  the  pony  stalls,  leaving  a  free  run  for  the 
water  through  the  stables.  When  we  left  port  it  was 
our  augean  problem  how  best  to  clean  out  the  stables, 
but  after  the  first  experience  of  the  herculean  waves, 
the  difficulty  was  to  try  and  stop  the  flushing  of  them 
by  every  sea  that  came  on  board  forward,  and  now  not 
only  every  wave  that  fell  on  board,  but  the  swell  of 
the  ocean  itself  swept  the  stables  clean.  This  particular 
sea  shifted  the  heavy  starboard  whaleboat  from  its 
chocks,  landing  it  almost  amidships  on  top  of  the 
"  Cavalry  Club,"  and  swept  some  of  our  bales  of  fodder 
down  on  to  the  main  deck,  where  they  mingled  with 
the  drums  of  oil  and  cases  of  carbide  torn  from  their 
lashings.  Our  latitude  at  noon  was  59°  8'  South,  and  179° 
SO'  East.  The  squalls  of  sleet  and  snow  gave  place  later 
to  clearer  weather  with  a  mackerel  sky,  which  was  of 
special  interest  to  the  meteorologists,  as  indicating  the 
trend  of  the  upper  currents  of  the  air. 

57 


THE   HEART    OF   THE   ANTARCTIC 

During  the  afternoon  the  strength  of  the  expedition 
was  increased  by  Possum,  one  of  our  dogs,  giving  birth 
to  six  fine  puppies.  The  mother  and  family  were  found 
a  warm  bed  on  the  engine  room  skyHght,  where  a  num- 
ber of  our  cases  were  stowed.  We  signalled  the  happy 
event  to  the  Koonya  by  flags,  and  received  Captain 
Evans'  congratulations.  Signalling  by  flags  was  neces- 
sarily a  somewhat  slow  operation,  especially  as  the  com- 
mercial code  of  signals  is  not  exactly  adapted  for  this 
particular  sort  of  information,  and  we  could  see  by  the 
length  of  time  they  took  to  verify  each  signal  that  they 
were  at  a  loss  as  to  the  subject-matter  of  our  communi- 
cation, the  incident  of  a  birth  naturally  being  farthest 
removed  from  their  thoughts  at  such  a  time.  Whenever 
the  weather  moderated  at  all  the  two  ships  always  held 
short  conversations  by  flags,  and  the  Commander  of 
the  Koonya  used  to  make  inquiries  in  particular  after  the 
health  of  the  scientific  staff. 

January  13  brought  with  it  a  gentle  breeze  from  the 
eastward,  the  heavy  leaden  sky  broke  into  blue,  flecked 
with  light  cirrus  clouds,  and  the  day  seemed  warmer 
and  more  pleasant  than  any  we  had  experienced  since 
we  left  Lyttelton,  though  the  temperature  of  the  air 
and  sea  water  were  down  to  34°  and  37°  Fahr.  respec- 
tivelye  The  warm  sun  tempted  those  who  had  not  before 
been  much  in  evidence  on  to  the  poop  deck,  and  the  whole 
vessel  began  to  look  like  a  veritable  Petticoat  Lane. 
Blankets,  coats,  boots,  bags  that  might  once  have  been 
leather  but  which  now  looked  like  lumps  of  dilapidated 
brown  paper  ;  pyjamas  that  had  been  intended  to  be  worn 
when  the  owners  first  came  aboard  the  Nimrod;  books 
that  had  parted  with  their  covers  after  sundry  adventures 
in  dripping  Oyster  Alley,  but  whose  leaves  evinced  the 
strongest  disinclination  to  separate  ;  pillows  of  pulp 
that  had  once  been  pillows  of  feathers  ;  carpet  slippers, 
58 


IMPROVED    WEATHER 

now  merely  bits  of  carpet ;  in  short,  all  the  personal 
belongings  of  each  member  of  the  expedition,  including 
their  most  sacred  Penates  and  Lares,  were  lying  in  a 
heterogeneous  mass  on  the  poop  deck,  in  order  that  they 
might  dry.  A  few  of  us  ventured  on  baths,  but  it  was 
chilly  work  in  the  open  air,  with  the  temperature  only 
two  degrees  above  freezing-point. 

Some  of  our  party,  who  were  old  sailors,  had  not 
much  impedimenta  to  look  after  and  to  dry,  the  hard- won 
experience  of  early  days  having  taught  them  the  lesson 
that  the  fewer  things  you  have  to  get  wet,  the  fewer  you 
have  to  get  dry.  Adams  in  particular  observed  this  rule, 
for  he  wore  the  flannel  trousers  in  which  he  came  on 
board  the  ship  at  Lyttelton  through  all  this  weather, 
allowing  them  to  dry  on  him  after  each  successive 
wetting.  He  fondly  clung  to  them  throughout  the  period 
we  were  navigating  in  the  ice,  and  whilst  working  the  ship 
at  winter  quarters,  and  would  doubtless  have  worn  them 
on  the  ascent  of  Erebus  if  they  had  not  practically  come 
to  pieces. 

We  were  now  keeping  a  sharp  look-out  for  icebergs 
and  pack ;  we  had  been  steering  a  little  more  to  the 
east,  as  I  felt  that  our  delay  owing  to  bad  weather  would 
give  us  little  time  for  navigation  if  we  had  to  pass 
through  much  pack-ice,  and  a  few  degrees  more  easting 
might  perhaps  give  us  a  more  open  sea.  The  meeting 
with  the  pack-ice  was  to  terminate  the  Koonya^s  tow,  and 
that  also  meant  our  parting  with  Buckley,  who  had 
endeared  himself  to  every  man  on  board,  from  able 
seaman  upwards,  and  had  been  of  the  greatest  assistance 
to  us  in  the  matter  of  the  ponies.  It  was  due  to  his  prompt 
action  on  one  occasion  that  the  life  of  "  Zulu  "  was  saved. 
We  decided  to  give  a  farewell  dinner  to  our  friend  that 
night,  and  Marston  designed  special  menu  cards  for 
the  occasion.     At  noon  this  day  we  were  in  latitude 

59 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

61°  29'  South,  longitude  179°  53'  East.  During  the  after- 
noon the  weather  kept  fine  and  we  set  some  square  sail. 
Occasionally  during  the  bad  weather  of  the  previous  week 
we  had  put  "  fore  and  afters  "on  to  try  and  steady  the 
ship,  but  the  wind  had  carried  them  away.  The  Koonya 
had  done  the  same,  with  a  similar  result.  Our  dinner  that 
night  was  a  great  success,  and  it  was  early  in  the  morning 
before  we  turned  in. 

Next  morning,  January  14,  we  sighted  our  first 
iceberg,  and  passed  it  at  a  distance  of  about  two  and  a 
half  miles.  It  had  all  the  usual  characteristics  of  the 
Antarctic  bergs,  being  practically  tabular  in  form,  and  its 
sides  being  of  a  dead  white  colour.  The  sight  of  this, 
the  first  sentinel  of  the  frozen  south,  increased  Buckley's 
desire  to  stay  with  us,  and  it  was  evident  that  the  thought 
of  leaving  our  little  company  was  not  a  pleasant  one  to 
him.  There  was  a  remarkable  belt  of  clouds  across  the 
sky  during  the  morning,  and  their  direction  indicated 
the  movement  of  the  upper  air,  so  the  Professor  and 
Cotton  made  several  estimates  of  the  height  of  this 
belt  of  cloud  to  try  to  determine  the  lower  Hmit  of  the 
higher  current.  The  mean  measurements  were  taken, 
partly  with  a  sextant  and  partly  with  an  Abney  level, 
to  the  edge  of  the  belt  of  mackerel  sky.  The  result  of 
the  observations  was  that  the  height  of  this  belt  was 
fixed  at  about  thirteen  thousand  feet.  The  belt  of  cloud 
was  travelling  in  an  east-north-east  direction  at  the  rate 
of  about  fourteen  miles  an  hour.  The  surface  wind,  at 
this  time  the  longitude  was  blowing  lightly  from  the 
west.  Our  latitude  at  noon  was  63°  59'  South  and  the 
longitude  179°  47'  West,  so  we  had  crossed  the  180th 
meridian. 

During  the  afternoon  we  passed  two  more  icebergs 
with  their  usual  tails  of  brash  ice  floating  out  to  leeward. 
The  sea  had  changed  colour  from  a  leaden  blue  to  a 
60 


INSIDE    THE    ANTARCTIC    CIRCLE 

greenish  grey.  Albatrosses  were  not  nearly  so  numerous, 
and  of  those  following  the  ship  the  majority  were  the 
sooty  species.  The  Cape  pigeon  and  Wilson's  petrel  were 
occasionally  to  be  seen,  also  a  small  grey-coloured  bird, 
which  is  generally  found  near  the  pack,  the  name  of 
which  I  do  not  know.  We  called  them  "  ice-birds." 
Another  sign  of  the  nearness  of  the  ice  was  that  the 
temperature  of  the  air  and  water  had  dropped  to  32° 
Fahr.  Everything  pointed  to  our  proximity  to  the  pack, 
so  we  signalled  the  Koonya  that  we  were  likely  to  sight  the 
ice  at  any  moment.  I  also  asked  Captain  Evans  to  kill 
and  skin  the  sheep  he  was  carrying  for  our  supplies,  as 
they  would  be  much  more  easily  transported  when  the 
time  came  to  cast  off.  The  weather  remained  fine  with 
light  winds  during  the  night. 

Next  morning  it  was  fairly  thick  with  occasional 
light  squalls  of  snow,  and  about  9  a.m.  we  saw  the  ice 
looming  up  through  the  mist  to  the  southward.  It 
seemed  to  stretch  from  south-west  to  south-east,  and  was 
apparently  the  forerunner  of  the  pack.  Now  had  come 
the  time  for  the  Koonya  to  drop  us,  after  a  tow  of  1510 
miles — a  record  in  towage  for  a  vessel  not  built  for  the 
purpose.  Before  the  Koonya  finally  cast  off  from  us, 
she  had  achieved  another  record,  by  being  the  first  steel 
vessel  to  cross  the  Antarctic  Circle. 

About  10  A.M.  I  decided  to  send  Captain  England 
across  to  the  Koonya  with  Buckley  and  the  mail.  Our 
letters  were  all  stamped  with  the  special  stamp  given 
by  the  New  Zealand  Government.  The  sea  was  rising 
again,  and  the  wind  increasing,  so  we  lost  no  time  in 
making  the  necessary  communication  by  boat  between 
the  two  ships.  During  a  favourable  roll  the  whale-boat 
was  dropped  into  the  water,  and  Buckley,  with  his  week- 
end handbag,  jumped  into  her.  We  gave  him  three 
cheers  as  the  boat  pushed  off  on  its  boisterous  journey 

61 


THE   HEART    OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

to  the  Koonya.  With  his  usual  forethought,  to  make 
matters  lighter  for  the  boat  crew,  Captain  Evans  had 
floated  a  line  astern,  attached  to  a  Ufe-buoy,  and  after 
about  twenty-five  minutes'  hard  pulling  against  wind  and 
sea,  the  buoy  was  picked  up,  and  the  boat  hauled  along- 
side the  steamer.  I  was  glad  to  see  the  boat  coming 
back  again  shortly  afterwards,  for  the  wind  kept  increas- 
ing and  the  sea  was  rising  every  moment,  but  in  a  lull,  after 
pouring  oil  on  the  water,  we  hauled  the  boat  up  safely. 

A  thin  Hne  had  been  brought  back  from  the  Koonya, 
and  at  a  signal  from  us  Captain  Evans  paid  out  a  heavier 
one,  which  we  hauled  on  board.  He  then  manoeuvred 
his  ship,  so  as  to  get  her  as  near  as  possible  to  us,  in  order 
that  we  might  haul  the  carcases  of  the  sheep  on  board. 
Ten  of  these  were  lashed  on  the  line,  and  by  dint  of  pulling 
hard,  we  got  them  on  board.  Meanwhile  the  greater 
part  of  our  crew  were  working  the  old-fashioned  windlass, 
getting  in  slowly,  link  by  link,  the  port-towing  cable, 
whilst  the  Koonya  took  in  as  much  of  her  wire  hawser 
as  she  conveniently  could.  Our  heavy  line  was  carried 
away,  owing  to  a  sudden  strain,  before  we  received  the 
second  instalment  of  water-logged  mutton.  Captain 
Evans  brought  the  Koonya  round  our  stern,  and  a 
heaving-line,  to  which  the  sheep  were  attached,  was 
thrown  on  board,  but  as  soon  as  we  began  to  haul  on  it,  it 
broke,  and  we  had  the  chagrin  of  seeing  our  fresh  mutton 
floating  away  on  the  billows.  It  was  lost  to  sight  shortly 
afterwards,  but  we  could  locate  its  position  by  the  alba- 
trosses hovering  above,  doubtless  surprised  and  delighted 
with  this  feast. 

About  a  quarter  to  one  Captain  Evans  signalled  that 
he  was  going  to  cut  his  hawser,  for  in  the  rising  sea  the 
two  vessels  were  in  dangerous  proximity  to  each  other. 
We  saw  the  axe  rise  and  fall,  rise  and  fall  again,  and  the 
tie  was  severed.  The  Koonya' s  work  was  done,  and  the 
62 


Hauling  Mutton  from  the  "Koonya"  to  the  "Nimrod"  before  the  Vessels  parted 
company  within  the  antarctic  circle 


The  "Nimrod"  pushing  through  heavy  Pack  Ice  on  her  way  South 


To  face  page  62 


AMONG   THE    BERGS 

Nimrod  was  dependent  on  her  own  resources  at  last. 
Our  consort  steamed  round  us,  all  hands  on  both  ships 
cheering,  then  her  bows  were  set  north  and  she  vanished 
into  a  grey,  snowy  mist,  homeward  bound.  We  spent 
a  long  afternoon  struggling  to  get  on  board  the  one 
hundred  and  forty  fathoms  of  cable  and  thirty  fathoms 
of  wire  that  were  hanging  from  our  bows.  The  windlass 
was  worked  by  means  of  levers,  and  all  hands  were 
divided  into  two  parties,  one  section  manning  the  port 
levers,  the  other  the  starboard.  All  that  afternoon, 
and  up  to  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening,  they  unremit- 
tingly toiled  at  getting  the  cable  in  link  by  link.  At 
last  we  were  able  to  proceed,  the  ship's  head  was  put 
due  south,  and  we  prepared  to  work  our  way  through 
the  floating  belt  of  pack  that  guards  the  approach 
to  the  Ross  Sea.  The  weather  had  cleared,  and  we 
passed  the  ice  which  we  had  seen  in  the  morning.  It 
was  a  fairly  loose  patch  of  what  appeared  to  be  thick  land 
ice.  We  gradually  made  our  way  through  similar 
streams  of  ice  and  small  hummocky  bergs,  most  of  them 
between  forty  and  fifty  feet  in  height,  but  a  few  reaching 
a  hundred  feet. 

By  2  A.M.  on  the  morning  of  January  16,  the  bergs 
were  much  more  numerous  ;  perhaps  they  could  hardly 
be  classed  as  bergs,  for  their  average  height  was  only 
about  twenty  feet,  and  I  am  of  opinion,  from  what  I 
saw  later,  that  this  ice  originally  formed  part  of  an  ice- 
foot from  some  coast-line.  None  of  the  ice  that  we  passed 
through  at  this  time  had  the  slightest  resemblance  to 
ordinary  pack-ice.  About  3  a.m.,  we  entered  an  area 
of  tabular  bergs,  varying  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  in  height,  and  all  the  morning  we  steamed  in 
beautiful  weather  with  a  Ught  northerly  wind,  through 
the  lanes  and  streets  of  a  wonderful  snowy  Venice. 
Tongue  and  pen  fail  in  attempting  to  describe  the  magic 

63 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

of  such  a  scene.  As  far  as  the  eye  could  see  from  the 
crow's-nest  of  the  Nimrod,  the  great,  white,  wall-sided 
bergs  stretched  east,  west  and  south,  making  a  striking 
contrast  with  the  lanes  of  blue-black  water  between  them. 
A  stillness,  weird  and  uncanny,  seemed  to  have  fallen 
upon  everything  when  we  entered  the  silent  water  streets 
of  this  vast  unpeopled  white  city.  Here  there  was  no 
sign  of  life,  except  when  one  of  the  little  snow  petrels, 
invisible  when  flying  across  the  glistening  bergs,  flashed 
for  a  moment  into  sight,  as  it  came  against  the  dark  water, 
its  pure  white  wings  just  skimming  the  surface.  The 
threshing  of  our  screw  raised  a  small  wave  astern  of  the 
ship,  and  at  times  huge  masses  of  ice  and  snow  from  the 
bergs,  disturbed  by  the  unaccustomed  motion,  fell  thun- 
dering in  our  wake.  Some  of  these  bergs  had  been 
weathered  into  the  fantastic  shapes  more  characteristic 
of  the  Arctic  regions,  and  from  peak  and  spire  flashed 
out  the  new  caught  rays  of  the  morning  sun.  Beautiful 
as  this  scene  was,  it  gave  rise  to  some  anxiety  in  my 
mind,  for  I  knew  that  if  we  were  caught  in  a  breeze  amidst 
this  maze  of  floating  ice,  it  would  go  hard  with  us. 
Already  an  ominous  dark  cloud  was  sweeping  down  from 
the  north,  and  a  few  flakes  of  falling  snow  heralded 
the  approach  of  the  misty  northerly  wind.  I  was  un- 
feignedly  thankful,  when,  about  three  in  the  afternoon, 
I  saw  from  the  crow's-nest  open  water  ahead.  A  few 
more  turnings  and  twistings  through  the  devious  water 
lanes,  and  we  entered  the  ice  free  Ross  Sea.  This  was 
the  first  time  that  a  passage  had  been  made  into  the  Ross 
Sea  without  the  vessel  having  been  held  up  by  pack-ice. 
I  think  our  success  was  due  to  the  fact  that  we  were 
away  to  the  eastward  of  the  pack,  which  had  separated 
from  the  land  and  the  Barrier,  and  had  drifted  in  a  north- 
west direction.  All  my  experience  goes  to  prove  that  the 
easterly  route  is  the  best.  Behind  us  lay  the  long  line 
64 


L     i 


1 


PROBABLE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  BERGS 

of  bergs  through  which  we  had  threaded  our  way  for  more 
than  eighty  miles  from  north  to  south,  and  which 
stretched  east  and  west  for  an  unknown  distance,  but 
far  enough  for  me  to  say  without  exaggeration  that  there 
must  have  been  thousands  of  these  floating  masses  of 
ice.  Whence  they  had  come  was  open  to  conjecture  ; 
it  was  possible  for  them  to  have  drifted  from  a  barrier 
edge  to  the  eastward  of  King  Edward  VII  Land.  If 
that  were  so,  the  barrier  must  be  much  lower  than  the 
Great  Ice  Barrier,  and  also  much  more  even  in  height, 
for  the  vast  majority  of  the  bergs  we  passed  were  not 
more  than  one  hundred  and  thirty  feet  high,  and  seemed 
to  be  of  a  fairly  uniform  thickness.  The  lights  and 
shadows  on  the  bergs  to  the  eastward  at  times  almost 
gave  them  the  appearance  of  land,  but  as  they  were 
congregated  most  thickly  in  this  direction,  we  did  not 
venture  to  make  closer  acquaintance  with  them.  Of  one 
thing  I  am  certain,  this  ice  had  not  long  left  the  parent 
barrier  or  coast-line,  for  there  was  no  sign  of  weathering 
or  wind  action  on  the  sides  ;  and  if  they  had  been  afloat 
for  even  a  short  period  they  must  infallibly  have  shown 
some  traces  of  weathering,  as  the  soft  snow  was  at  least 
fifteen  to  twenty  feet  thick.  This  was  apparent  when 
pieces  broke  off  from  the  bergs,  and  in  one  or  two  cases, 
where  sections  had  been  sheared  off  the  top  of  particular 
bergs,  evidently  by  collision  with  their  fellows.  There 
were  no  indications  or  signs  of  embedded  rocks  or  earthy 
material  on  the  bergs,  so  I  am  led  to  believe  that  this 
great  mass  of  ice  must  have  been  set  free  only  a  short  time 
previously  from  some  barrier  edge  at  no  great  distance. 
Our  latitude  at  noon  on  the  16th  was  68°  6'  South,  and 
the  longitude  179°  21'  West. 

Before  we  entered  the  actual  line  of  bergs  a  couple 

of  seals  appeared  on  the  floe-ice.     I  did  not  see  them 

myself,  but  from  descriptions  I  gathered  that  one  was  a 

I  E  65 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

crabeater,  and  the  other  a  Weddell  seal.  A  few  of  the 
Adelie  penguins  were  observed  also,  and  their  quaint  walk 
and  insatiable  curiosity  afforded  great  amusement  to  our 
people,  the  surprise  of  the  birds  on  seeing  the  ship  was  so 
thoroughly  genuine.  Marston,  our  artist,  whose  sense  of 
the  ludicrous  is  very  fully  developed,  was  in  ecstasies 
at  their  solemn  astonishment  and  profound  concern,  and 
at  the  way  they  communicated  their  feelings  to  one  an- 
other by  flapping  their  makeshift  wings,  craning  their 
necks  forward  with  ruffled  feathers,  and  uttering  short 
squawks.  Marston's  imitation  of  the  penguin  was  per- 
fect, and  he  and  the  rest  of  us  always  responded  eagerly 
to  the  call  on  deck  whenever  we  were  passing  a  group  of 
these  polar  inhabitants. 

When  we  were  clear  of  the  icebergs  a  distinct  swell 
was  felt  coming  from  the  south,  and  for  once  the  move- 
ment of  the  ocean  was  welcome  to  us,  for  it  showed  that 
we  might  expect  open  water  ahead.  I  was  fairly  con- 
fident that  we  had  managed  to  elude  the  pack,  and 
without  doubt  for  a  ship,  well  found  and  capable  of 
fair  speed,  the  passage  between  the  bergs  on  the  meridian 
down  which  we  steered  is  preferable  to  the  slower  pro- 
gress through  the  ordinary  pack  farther  west.  I  doubt 
if  I  would,  except  under  similar  circumstances,  when 
time  and  coal  were  very  precious,  risk  an  old  vessel  like 
the  Nimrod,  which  steams  but  slowly  in  this  labyrinth 
of  heavy  ice,  but  a  faster  vessel  could  make  the  passage 
with  safety.  It  may  be  that  in  future  seasons  the  Ant- 
arctic Ocean  in  this  particular  part  will  be  found  to  be 
quite  ice-free,  and  a  later  expedition  may  be  able  to 
work  more  to  the  eastward,  and  solve  the  riddle  as  to  the 
existence  of  land  in  that  neighbourhood. 

It  was  fortunate  that  we  cleared  the  ice  that  after- 
noon, for  shortly  afterwards  the  wind  increased  from  the 
north,  and  the  weather  became  thick  with  falling  snow. 
66 


Flight  of  Antarctic  Petrels 


To  face  page  66 


THE    WEATHER    CLEARS 

The  temperature  was  just  at  freezing-point,  and  the  snow 
melted  on  the  decks  when  it  fell.  Altogether  about  an 
inch  of  snow  fell  between  2  p.m.  and  midnight.  We 
saw  no  ice  until  eight  o'clock  next  morning  (January 
17),  and  then  only  one  small  berg.  The  wind  shifted 
to  the  south-east,  the  sky  cleared  somewhat,  and  with 
an  open  horizon  all  round  we  observed  no  sign  of  ice  at 
aU. 


FiNNESKO 


67 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  ATTEMPT  TO  REACH  KING  EDWARD  VII  LAND 

WE  were  novf  in  the  Ross  Sea,  and  it  was  evident 
that  we  had  avoided  the  main  pack.  Our  position 
at  noon  was  70°  43'  South  latitude,  and  178°  58'  East  longi- 
tude. We  were  now  steering  a  little  more  westerly,  so  as 
to  strike  the  Barrier  well  to  the  east  of  Barrier  Inlet,  and 
also  to  avoid  the  heavy  pack  that  previous  expeditions 
had  encountered  to  the  east  of  meridian  160°  West,  where 
the  ice  has  always  proved  impenetrable.  In  the  after- 
noon the  wind  blew  fresh,  and  the  sky  became  overcast 
again,  and  snow  began  to  fall.  This  snow  differed  from 
that  brought  by  the  northerly  wind ;  the  northerly 
snow  had  consisted  of  flakes  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
in  diameter,  while  that  now  met  with  was  formed  of 
small  round  specks,  hard  and  dry,  like  sago — the  true 
Antarctic  type.  Birds  now  became  more  numerous. 
Large  numbers  of  Antarctic  petrels  circled  round  and 
round  the  ship.  Their  numbers  were  so  great  that  as 
the  flights  passed  close  by,  the  whirring  of  the  wings 
could  be  distinctly  heard  on  board. 

Towards  evening  we  began  to  pass  a  number  of  small 
floe-bergs  and  pack-ice.  We  could  not  see  very  far 
ahead,  as  the  weather  was  thick,  so  we  steered  more  to 
the  west  to  skirt  this  mass  of  ice.  One  berg  had  evi- 
dently been  overturned,  and  also  showed  signs  of  having 
been  aground.  The  Adelie  penguins  had  become  much 
68 


THE    TEMPERATURE    FALLS 

more  numerous,  and  we  saw  an  occasional  seal,  but  too 
far  off  to  distinguish  the  species.  During  the  early  hours 
of  January  18  we  passed  a  few  large  bergs,  and  as  morning 
progressed  the  wind  increased,  ranging  between  south  by 
west  and  south  by  east.  The  ship  was  pitching  to  a  short 
sea,  and  as  the  water  coming  on  board  froze  on  deck,  and 
in  the  stables,  we  made  shift  to  keep  it  out  by  nailing 
canvas  over  the  gaping  holes  in  the  bulwarks.  Adams 
and  Mackay  were  engaged  in  this  very  chilly  job ;  Adams, 
slung  in  a  rope  over  the  side,  every  now  and  then  got 
soaked  up  to  the  middle  when  the  ship  dipped  into  the 
sea,  and  as  the  temperature  of  the  air  was  four  degrees 
below  freezing-point,  his  tennis  trousers  were  not  of 
much  value  for  warmth  in  the  circumstances.  When  he 
got  too  cold  to  continue  outside,  Mackay  took  his  place, 
and  between  them  they  made  a  very  creditable  jury 
bulwark,  which  prevented  the  bulk  of  the  water  rushing 
into  the  stable.  The  wind  continued  with  a  force  of 
about  forty  miles  an  hour,  up  till  midday  of  the  19th, 
when  it  began  to  take  off  a  little,  and  the  sky  broke  blue 
to  the  north-east ;  the  decks  were  thickly  coated  with 
soft  ice,  and  the  fresh  water-pumps  had  frozen  up  hard. 

We  were  now  revelling  in  the  indescribable  freshness 
of  the  Antarctic  that  seems  to  permeate  one's  being, 
and  which  must  be  responsible  for  that  longing  to  go 
again  which  assails  each  returned  explorer  from  polar 
regions.  Our  position  at  noon  on  January  19  was  lati- 
tude 73°  44'  South  and  longitude  177°  19'  East.  The 
wind  had  decreased  somewhat  by  midnight,  and  though 
the  air  remained  thick  and  the  sky  overcast  during  the 
whole  of  the  20th,  the  weather  was  better.  We  passed 
through  occasional  masses  of  floating  ice  and  large 
tabular  bergs,  and  at  noon  were  in  latitude  74°  45'  South, 
longitude  179°  21'  East. 

On  the  21st  the  weather  grew  clear,  the  temperature 

69 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

was  somewhat  higher,  and  the  wind  light.  We  observed 
small  flights  of  snow  petrels  and  Antarctic  petrels,  and 
saw  a  single  giant  petrel  for  the  first  time.  There  were 
also  several  whales  spouting  in  the  distance.  The  same 
sort  of  weather  continued  throughout  the  day,  and 
similar  weather,  though  somewhat  clearer,  was  expe- 
rienced on  the  22nd.  On  the  morning  of  the  23rd  we 
saw  some  very  large  icebergs,  and  towards  evening  these 
increased  in  number.  They  were  evidently  great  masses 
broken  off  the  Barrier.  Early  in  the  morning  we  passed 
a  large  tilted  berg,  yellow  with  diatoms.  On  our  port 
side  appeared  a  very  heavy  pack,  in  which  a  number  of 
large  bergs  were  embedded.  Our  course  for  these  three 
days  was  about  due  south,  and  we  were  making  good 
headway  under  steam. 

We  were  now  keeping  a  sharp  look-out  for  the  Barrier, 
which  we  expected  to  see  at  any  moment.  A  light  south- 
easterly wind  blew  cold,  warning  us  that  we  could  not 
be  very  far  away  from  the  ice-sheet.  The  thermometer 
registered  some  twelve  degrees  of  frost,  but  we  hardly 
felt  the  cold,  for  the  wind  was  so  dry.  At  9.30  a.m.  on 
the  23rd  a  low  straight  line  appeared  ahead  of  the  ship. 
It  was  the  Barrier.  After  half  an  hour  it  disappeared 
from  view,  having  evidently  been  only  raised  into  sight 
as  an  effect  of  mirage,  but  by  eleven  o'clock  the  straight 
line  stretching  out  east  and  west  was  in  full  view,  and  we 
rapidly  approached  it.  I  had  hoped  to  make  the  Barrier 
about  the  position  of  what  we  call  the  Western  Bight, 
and  at  noon  we  could  see  a  point  on  our  starboard,  from 
which  the  Barrier  dropped  back.  This  was  evidently 
the  eastern  limit  of  the  Western  Bight.  Shortly  after 
noon  we  were  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  ice-face, 
and  exclamations  of  wonder  and  astonishment  at  the 
stupendous  bulk  of  the  Barrier  were  drawn  from  the  men 
who  had  not  seen  it  before. 
70 


Two    ViEM'S    OF   THE    GREAT    ICE    BARRIER.       THE    WALL    OF    ICE    WAS  90  FEET  HIGH  AT    THE  POINT  SHOWN 

IN  THE  First  Picture,  and  120  feet  high  at  the  Point  where  the  Second  View  was  taken 

To  face  page  70 


ALONG   THE    BARRIER 

We  slowly  steamed  along,  noting  the  various  struct- 
ures of  the  ice,  and  were  thankful  that  the  weather 
promised  to  keep  fine,  for  the  inlet  to  which  we  were 
bound  could  not  easily  have  been  picked  up  in  thick 
weather.  The  height  of  the  Barrier  about  this  point 
ranged  from  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet  to  two  hundred  feet. 
In  the  afternoon,  about  half  past  one,  we  passed  an 
opening  in  the  Barrier  trending  in  a  south-easterly 
direction,  but  its  depth  was  only  about  three-quarters 
of  a  mile.  The  eastern  point  had  the  form  of  the  bow^s 
of  a  gigantic  man-of-war,  and  reached  a  height  of  about 
two  hundred  and  thirty  feet.  It  was  appropriately 
called  "  The  Dreadnought." 

As  we  steamed  close  in  to  the  Barrier,  watching  care- 
fully for  any  sign  of  an  opening,  we  were  able  to  observe 
accurately  the  various  changes  in  the  ice-face.  In  places 
the  wall  was  perfectly  smooth,  clean  cut  from  the  top 
to  the  water-line,  in  other  places  it  showed  signs  of 
vertical  cracks,  and  sometimes  deep  caverns  appeared, 
which,  illuminated  by  the  reflected  light,  merged  from 
light  translucent  blue  into  the  deepest  sapphire.  At 
times  great  black  patches  appeared  on  the  sides  of  the 
Barrier  in  the  distance,  but  as  we  neared  them  they  were 
resolved  into  huge  caverns,  some  of  which  cut  the  water- 
line.  One  was  so  large  that  it  would  have  been  possible 
to  have  steamed  the  Nimrod  through  its  entrance  without 
touching  either  side  or  its  top  by  mast  or  yard.  Looking 
at  the  Barrier  from  some  little  distance,  one  would  ima- 
gine it  to  be  a  perfectly  even  wall  of  ice  ;  when  steaming 
along  parallel  with  it,  however^  the  impression  it  gave 
was  that  of  a  series  of  points,  each  of  which  looked  as 
though  it  might  be  the  horn  of  a  bay.  Then  when  the 
ship  came  abeam  of  it,  one  would  see  that  the  wall  only 
receded  for  a  few  hundred  yards,  and  then  new  points 
came  into  view  as  the  ship  moved  on.     In  some  places 

71 


THE    HEART    OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

a  cornice  of  snow  overhung  the  Barrier  top,  and  again 
in  others  the  vertical  cracks  had  widened  so  that  some 
portions  of  the  ice-wall  seemed  in  immediate  danger  of 
falling.  The  vagaries  of  light  and  shadow  made  appear- 
ances very  deceptive.  One  inlet  we  passed  had  the  sides 
thrown  up  in  little  hummocks,  not  more  than  ten  or 
fifteen  feet  high,  but  until  we  were  fairly  close,  these 
irregularities  had  the  appearance  of  hills. 

The  weather  continued  fine  and  calm.  During  the 
voyage  of  the  Discovery  we  always  encountered  a  strong 
westerly  current  along  the  Barrier,  but  there  was  abso- 
lutely no  sign  of  this  here,  and  the  ship  was  making  a 
good  five  knots.  To  the  northward  of  us  lay  a  very 
heavy  pack,  interspersed  with  large  ice-bergs,  one  of 
which  was  over  two  miles  long  and  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  high.  This  pack-ice  was  much  heavier  and  more 
rugged  than  any  we  had  encountered  on  the  previous 
expedition.  Evidently  there  must  have  been  an  enor- 
mous breaking  away  of  ice  to  the  eastward,  for  as  far  as 
we  could  see  from  the  crow's-nest,  to  the  north  and  east, 
this  ice  continued. 

About  midnight  we  suddenly  came  to  the  end  of  a 
very  high  portion  of  the  Barrier,  and  found  as  we 
followed  round  that  we  were  entering  a  wide  shallow  bay. 
This  must  have  been  the  inlet  where  Borchgrevink  landed 
in  1900,  but  it  had  greatly  changed  since  that  time.  He 
describes  the  bay  as  being  a  fairly  narrow  inlet.  On  our 
way  east  in  the  Discovery  in  1902  we  passed  an  inlet 
somewhat  similar,  but  we  did  not  see  the  western  end  as 
it  was  obscured  by  fog  at  the  time.  There  seemed  to  be 
no  doubt  that  the  Barrier  had  broken  away  at  the  en- 
trance of  this  bay  or  inlet,  and  so  had  made  it  much 
wider  and  less  deep  than  it  was  in  previous  years.  About 
half  a  mile  down  the  bay  we  reached  fast  ice.  It  was 
now  about  half-past  twelve  at  night,  and  the  southerly 
72 


POSSIBLE   NEW   LAND 

sun  shone  in  our  faces.  Our  astonishment  was  great  to 
see  beyond  the  six  or  seven  miles  of  flat  bay  ice,  which 
was  about  five  or  six  feet  thick,  high  rounded  ice  cliffs,  Vv^ith 
valleys  between,  running  in  an  almost  east  and  west 
direction.  About  four  miles  to  the  south  we  saw  the 
opening  of  a  large  valley,  but  could  not  say  where  it  led. 
Due  south  of  us,  and  rising  to  a  height  of  approximately 
eight  hundred  feet,  v/ere  steep  and  rounded  cliffs,  and 


E06L  OF  BAf^F^'.E-Fl 
ice:  im  •  i^og-  • 


GRELAT  MCE-  BARRILR 


Barrier  Inlet  :  Dotted  Line  snows  Position  of  Ice  in  1902 


behind  them  sharp  peaks.  The  southerly  sun  being 
lowj  these  heights  threw  shadows  which,  for  some  time, 
had  the  appearance  of  bare  rocks.  Two  dark  patches 
in  the  face  of  one  of  the  further  cliffs  had  also  this  appear- 
ance, but  a  careful  observation  taken  v/ith  a  telescope 
showed  them  to  be  caverns.  To  the  east  rose  a  long  snow 
slope  which  cut  the  horizon  at  the  height  of  about  three 
hundred  feet.  It  had  every  appearance  of  ice-covered 
land,  but  we  could  not  stop  then  to  make  certain,  for 

73 


THE    HEART    OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

the  heavy  ice  and  bergs  lying  to  the  northward  of  us 
were  setting  down  into  the  bay,  and  I  saw  that  if  we  were 
not  to  be  beset  it  would  be  necessary  to  get  away  at  once. 
All  round  us  were  numbers  of  great  whales  showing  their 
dorsal  fins  as  they  occasionally  sounded,  and  on  the  edge 
of  the  bay-ice  half  a  dozen  Emperor  penguins  stood 
lazily  observing  us.  We  named  this  place  the  Bay  of 
Whales,  for  it  was  a  veritable  playground  for  these 
monsters. 

We  tried  to  work  to  the  eastward  so  as  once  more  to 
get  close  to  the  Barrier  which  we  could  see  rising  over 
the  top  of  the  small  bergs  and  pack-ice,  but  we  found 
this  impossible,  and  so  struck  northwards  through  an 
open  lead  and  came  south  to  the  Barrier  again  about 
2  A.M.  on  the  24th.  We  coasted  eastward  along  the  wall 
of  ice,  always  on  the  look-out  for  the  inlet.  The  lashings 
had  been  taken  off  the  motor-car,  and  the  tackle  rigged 
to  hoist  it  out  directly  we  got  alongside  the  ice-foot,  to 
which  the  Discovery  had  been  moored ;  for  in  Barrier 
Inlet  we  proposed  to  place  our  winter  quarters. 

I  must  leave  the  narrative  for  a  moment  at  this  point 
and  refer  to  the  reasons  that  made  me  decide  on  this 
inlet  as  the  site  for  the  winter  quarters.  I  knew  that 
Barrier  Inlet  was  practically  the  beginning  of  King 
Edward  VII  Land,  and  that  the  actual  bare  land 
was  within  an  easy  sledge  journey  of  that  place,  and  it 
had  the  great  advantage  of  being  some  ninety  miles 
nearer  to  the  South  Pole  than  any  other  spot  that  could 
be  reached  with  the  ship.  A  further  point  of  importance 
was  that  it  would  be  an  easy  matter  for  the  ship  on  its 
return  to  us  to  reach  this  part  of  the  Barrier,  whereas 
King  Edward  VII  Land  itself  might  quite  conceivably 
be  unattainable  if  the  season  was  adverse.  Some  of  my 
Discovery  comrades  had  also  considered  Barrier  Inlet 
a  good  place  at  which  to  winter.  After  thinking  care- 
74 


Two  Inlets  in  the  Great  Ice  Barrier 


To  face  j^acje  74 


BARRIER    INLET    BROKEN    AWAY 

fully  over  the  matter  I  had  decided  in  favour  of  wintering 
on  the  Barrier  instead  of  on  actual  land,  and  on  the 
Koonya's  departure  I  had  sent  a  message  to  the  head- 
quarters of  the  expedition  in  London  to  the  effect  that, 
in  the  event  of  the  Nimrod  not  returning  at  the  usual 
time  in  1908,  no  steps  were  to  be  taken  to  provide  a  relief 
ship  to  search  for  her  in  1909,  for  it  was  only  likely  under 
those  circumstances  that  she  was  frozen  in  ;  but  that  if 
she  did  not  turn  up  with  us  in  1909,  then  the  relief 
expedition  should  start  in  December  of  that  year.  The 
point  to  which  they  should  first  direct  their  search  was  to 
be  Barrier  Inlet,  and  if  we  were  not  found  there  they 
were  to  search  the  coast  of  King  Edward  VII  Land. 
I  had  added  that  it  would  only  be  by  stress  of  most 
unexpected  circumstances  that  the  ship  would  be  unable 
to  return  to  New  Zealand. 

However,  the  best-laid  schemes  often  prove  imprac- 
ticable in  Polar  Exploration,  and  within  a  few  hours  our 
first  plan  was  found  impossible  of  fulfilment.  Within 
thirty-six  hours  a  second  arrangement  had  to  be  aban- 
doned. We  were  steaming  along  westward  close  to  the 
Barrier,  and  according  to  the  chart  we  were  due  to  be 
abreast  of  the  inlet  about  6  a.m.,  but  not  a  sign  was  there 
of  the  opening.  We  had  passed  Borchgrevink's  Bight 
at  1  A.M.,  and  at  8  p.m.  were  well  past  the  place  where 
Barrier  Inlet  ought  to  have  been.  The  Inlet  had  dis- 
appeared, owing  to  miles  of  the  Barrier  having  calved 
away,  leaving  a  long  wide  bay  joining  up  with  Borchgre- 
vink's Inlet,  and  the  whole  was  now  merged  into  what 
we  had  called  the  Bay  of  Whales.  This  was  a  great  dis- 
appointment to  us,  but  we  were  thankful  that  the  Barrier 
had  broken  away  before  we  had  made  our  camp  on  it. 
It  was  bad  enough  to  try  and  make  for  a  port  that  had 
been  wiped  off  the  face  of  the  earth,  when  all  the  intend- 
ing inhabitants  were  safe  on  board  the  ship,  but  it  would 

75 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

have  been  infinitely  worse  if  we  had  landed  there  whilst 
the  place  was  still  in  existence,  and  that  when  the  ship 
returned  to  take  us  off  she  should  find  the  place  gone. 
The  thought  of  what  might  have  been  made  me  decide 
then  and  there  that  under  no  circumstances  would  I 
winter  on  the  Barrier,  and  that  wherever  we  did  land 
we  would  secure  a  solid  rock  foundation  for  our  winter 
home. 

We  had  two  strings  to  our  bow,  and  I  decided  to  use 
the  second  at  once  and  push  forward  towards  King 
Edward  VII  Land.  Just  after  8  a.m.  on  the  24th 
we  turned  a  corner  in  the  Barrier,  where  it  receded 
about  half  a  mile,  before  continuing  to  the  eastward 
again.  The  line  of  its  coast  here  made  a  right  angle, 
and  the  ice  sloped  down  to  sea-level  at  the  apex  of  the 
angle,  but  the  slope  was  too  steep  and  too  heavily 
crevassed  for  us  to  climb  up  and  look  over  the  surface 
if  we  had  made  a  landing. 

We  tied  the  ship  up  to  a  fairly  large  floe,  and  I  went 
down  to  England's  cabin  to  talk  the  matter  over.  In 
the  corner  where  we  were  lying  there  were  comparatively 
few  pieces  of  floe  ice,  but  outside  us  lay  a  very  heavy 
pack,  in  which  several  large  bergs  were  locked.  Our 
only  chance  was  to  go  straight  on,  keeping  close  to  the 
Barrier,  as  a  lane  of  open  water  was  left  between  the 
Barrier  and  the  edge  of  the  pack  to  the  north  of  us. 
Sights  were  taken  for  longitude  by  four  separate  obser- 
vers, and  the  positions  calculated  showed  us  we  were 
not  only  well  to  the  eastward  of  the  place  where  Barrier 
Inlet  was  shown  on  the  chart,  but  also  that  the  Barrier 
had  receded  at  this  particular  point  since  January  1902. 

About  nine  o'clock  we  cast  off  from  the  floe  and 
headed  the  ship  to  the  eastward,  again  keeping  a  few 
hundred  yards  off  the  Barrier,  for  just  here  the  cliff 
overhung,  and  if  a  fall  of  ice  had  occurred  while  we  were 
76 


TriE  "Nimrod"  held  up  bv  the  1'ack  Ice 


Snow  thrown  on  Board  in  order  that  the  Expedition  might  have  a i  Supply  of  Kresh  Water 

To  fact'  page  76 


A    NARROW    ESCAPE 

close  in  the  results  would  certainly  have  been  disastrous 
for  us.  I  soon  saw  that  we  would  not  be  able  to  make 
much  easting  in  this  way,  for  the  Barrier  was  now 
trending  well  to  the  north-east,  and  right  ahead  of  us  lay 
an  impenetrably  close  pack,  set  with  huge  icebergs. 
By  10  A.M.  we  were  close  to  the  pack  and  found  that  it 
was  pressed  hard  against  the  Barrier  edge,  and,  what  was 
worse,  the  whole  of  the  northern  pack  and  bergs  at  this 
spot  were  drifting  in  towards  the  Barrier.  The  serious- 
ness of  this  situation  can  be  well  realised  by  the  reader  if 
he  imagines  for  a  moment  that  he  is  in  a  small  boat  right 
under  the  vertical  white  cliffs  of  Dover ;  that  detached 
cliffs  are  moving  in  from  seaward  slowly  but  surely,  with 
stupendous  force  and  resistless  power,  and  that  it  will 
only  be  a  question  of  perhaps  an  hour  or  two  before  the 
two  masses  came  into  contact  with  his  tiny  craft  between. 

There  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  retrace  our  way  and 
try  some  other  route.  Our  position  was  latitude  78°  20' 
South  and  longitude  162°  14'  West  when  the  ship  turned. 
The  pack  had  already  moved  inside  the  point  of  the  cliff 
where  we  had  lain  in  open  water  at  eight  o'clock,  but 
by  steaming  hard  and  working  in  and  out  of  the  looser 
floes  we  just  managed  to  pass  the  point  at  11.20  a.m. 
with  barely  fifty  yards  of  open  water  to  spare  between 
the  Barrier  and  the  pack. 

I  breathed  more  freely  when  we  passed  this  zone  of 
immediate  danger,  for  there  were  two  or  three  hundred 
yards  of  clear  water  now  between  us  and  the  pack.  We 
were  right  under  the  Barrier  cliff,  which  was  here  over 
two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high,  and  our  course  lay  well 
to  the  south  of  west,  being  roughly  south-west  true  ;  so 
as  we  moved  south  more  quickly  than  the  advancing  ice 
we  were  able  to  keep  close  along  the  Barrier,  which 
gradually  became  lower,  until  about  three  o'clock  we  were 
abreast  of  some  tilted  bergs  at  the  eastern  entrance  of 

77 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

the  Bay  of  Whales.  There  was  a  peculiar  light  which 
rendered  distances  and  the  forms  of  objects  very  decep- 
tive, and  a  great  deal  of  mirage,  which  made  things 
appear  much  higher  than  they  actually  were.  This  was 
particularly  noticeable  in  the  case  of  the  pack-ice ;  the 
whole  northern  and  western  sea  seemed  crowded  with 
huge  icebergs,  though  in  reality  there  was  only  heavy 
pack.  The  penguins  that  we  had  seen  the  previous  night 
were  still  at  the  same  place,  and  when  a  couple  of  miles 
away  from  us  they  loomed  up  as  if  they  were  about  six 
feet  high.  This  bay  ice,  on  which  many  seals  wer€  lying, 
was  cracking,  and  would  soon  float  away,  with  one  or  two 
large  icebergs  embedded  in  it. 

Skirting  along  the  seaward  edge  we  came  to  the  high 
cliff  of  ice  at  the  westerly  end,  and  passed  safely  out  of 
the  bay  at  ten  minutes  to  four.  We  then  continued 
to  the  westward,  still  having  the  heavy  pack  to  the  north. 
One  berg  that  we  passed  was  a  temporary  resting-place 
for  hundreds  of  Antarctic  and  snow  petrels,  and  these 
took  flight  as  we  approached.  About  6  p.m.  the  pack- 
ice  seemed  to  loosen  somewhat,  and  by  half-past  seven, 
from  the  crow's-nest,  I  could  see  a  lead  of  open  water  to 
the  north  through  the  belt  of  pack,  and  beyond  that 
there  appeared  to  be  a  fairly  open  sea.  About  eight 
o'clock  the  ship's  head  was  put  north,  and  we  soon  gained 
a  fairly  open  sea,  occasionally  having  to  make  dStours 
round  the  heavier  packed  floes,  though  we  were  able  to 
push  aside  the  lighter  pieces.  At  midnight,  our  easterly 
progress  was  arrested  by  a  line  of  thick  conglomerated 
pack,  and  we  had  to  steer  north  for  nearly  an  hour  before 
we  could  again  set  the  course  easterly.  It  is  remarkable 
how  limited  one's  horizon  is  at  sea,  for  from  the  crow's- 
nest,  after  passing  this  belt  of  pack,  there  appeared  to 
be  open  water  for  an  indefinite  distance,  yet  by  two 
o'clock  we  were  up  against  the  rigid  ice  again.  Low 
78 


A  QUIET  EVENING  ON  THE  BARRIER 


HELD    UP    BY   THE    ICE 

pack-ice  is  not  visible  at  any  great  distance,  and  one 
could  not  trust  an  appearance  of  open  water,  even  with 
the  wide  horizon  obtained  from  the  crow's-nest.  All 
night  long  we  followed  a  zigzag  course  in  the  endeavour 
to  penetrate  to  the  east,  at  times  steering  due  west, 
practically  doubling  on  our  tracks,  before  we  could  find 
an  opening  which  would  admit  of  our  pursuing  the  direc- 
tion we  desired  to  follow.  During  the  night  it  had  been 
somewhat  cloudy  towards  the  south,  but  about  3  a.m.  it 
became  quite  clear  over  the  Barrier,  and  we  saw  to  our 
disappointment  that  we  had  made  hardly  any  progress 
to  the  eastward,  for  we  were  at  that  hour  only  just  abeam 
of  the  Bay  of  Whales.  About  half-past  seven  in  the 
morning  we  passed  a  huge  berg,  nearly  three  miles  in 
length  and  over  two  hundred  feet  in  height,  and  at  eight 
o'clock  the  sea  became  much  more  open  ;  indeed,  there 
was  no  ice  in  sight  to  the  east  at  all.  It  was  a  bright, 
sunny  morning,  and  things  looked  much  more  hopeful 
as  I  left  the  bridge  for  a  sleep,  after  having  been  on  deck 
all  night. 

When  I  came  up  again,  just  before  noon  on  Janu- 
ary 25,  I  found  that  my  hopes  for  a  clear  run  were  vain. 
Our  noon  observations  showed  that  we  were  well  to  the 
north  of  the  Barrier,  and  still  to  the  westward  of  the 
point  we  had  reached  the  previous  morning  before  we 
had  been  forced  to  turn  round.  The  prospect  of  reach- 
ing King  Edward  VII  Land  seemed  to  grow  more 
remote  every  ensuing  hour.  There  was  high  hummocky 
pack  interspersed  with  giant  icebergs  to  the  east  and 
south  of  the  ship,  and  it  was  obvious  that  the  whole  sea 
between  Cape  Colbeck  and  the  Barrier  at  our  present 
longitude  must  be  full  of  ice.  To  the  northward  the 
strong  ice  blink  on  the  horizon  told  the  same  tale.  It 
seemed  as  if  it  would  be  impossible  to  reach  the  land,  and 
the  shortness  of  coal,  the  leaky  condition  of  the  ship,  and 

79 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

the  absolute  necessity  of  landing  all  our  stores  and 
putting  up  the  hut  before  the  vessel  left  us  made  the 
situation  an  extremely  anxious  one  for  me.  I  had  not 
expected  to  find  Barrier  Inlet  gone,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  the  way  to  King  Edward  VII  Land  absolutely 
blocked  by  ice,  though  the  latter  condition  was  not 
unusual,  for  every  expedition  in  this  longitude  up  till 
1901  had  been  held  up  by  the  pack  ;  indeed  Ross,  in  this 
locality,  sailed  for  hundreds  of  miles  to  the  northward 
along  the  edge  of  a  similar  pack  on  this  meridian.  It 
is  true  that  we  had  steam,  but  the  Discovery,  or  even  the 
Yermak,  the  most  powerful  ice-breaker  ever  built,  would 
have  made  no  impression  upon  the  cemented  field  of 
ice. 

I  decided  to  continue  to  try  and  make  a  way  to  the 
east  for  at  least  another  twenty-four  hours.  We  altered 
the  course  to  the  north,  skirting  the  ice  as  closely  as 
possible,  and  taking  advantage  of  the  slightest  trend  to 
the  eastward,  at  times  running  into  narrow  culs- de-sac  in 
the  main  pack,  only  to  find  it  necessary  to  retrace  our  way 
again.  The  wind  began  to  freshen  from  the  west,  and 
the  weather  to  thicken.  A  little  choppy  sea  washed  over 
the  edges  of  the  floes,  and  the  glass  was  falling.  About 
five  o'clock  some  heavy  squalls  of  snow  came  down,  and 
we  had  to  go  dead  slow,  for  the  horizon  was  limited  at 
times  to  a  radius  of  less  than  one  hundred  yards.  Between 
the  squalls  it  was  fairly  clear,  and  we  could  make  out 
great  numbers  of  long,  low  bergs,  one  of  which  was  over 
five  miles  in  length,  though  not  more  than  forty  feet  high. 
The  waves  were  splashing  up  against  the  narrow  end  as 
we  passed  within  a  couple  of  cables'  length  of  the  berg, 
and  almost  immediately  afterwards  another  squall  swept 
down  upon  us.  The  weather  cleared  again  shortly,  and  we 
saw  the  western  pack  moving  rapidly  towards  us  under  the 
influence  of  the  wind  ;  in  some  places  it  had  already  met 
80 


The  Consolidated  Pack,  into  wiiich  Bergs  had  been  frozen,  which  prevented  the 
Expedition  reaching  J\ing   Kdward  VII  Land 


The  Wake  of  the  "Ximrod"  through  Pancake   Ice 


KING    EDWARD    VII    LAND 

the  main  pack.  As  it  was  most  likely  that  we  would  be 
caught  in  this  great  mass  of  ice,  and  that  days,  or  even 
weeks  might  elapse  before  we  could  extricate  ourselves,  I 
reluctantly  gave  orders  to  turn  the  ship  and  make  full 
speed  out  of  this  dangerous  situation.  I  could  see  nothing 
for  it  except  to  steer  for  McMurdo  Sound,  and  there  make 
our  winter  quarters.  For  many  reasons  I  would  have 
preferred  landing  at  King  Edward  VII  Land,  as  that 
region  was  absolutely  unknown.  A  fleeting  glimpse 
of  bare  rocks  and  high  snow  slopes  was  all  that  we  ob- 
tained of  it  on  the  Discovery  expedition,  and  had  we  been 
able  to  establish  our  winter  quarters  there,  we  could  have 
added  greatly  to  the  knowledge  of  the  geography  of  that 
region.  There  would  perhaps  have  been  more  difficulty 
in  the  attempt  to  reach  the  South  Pole  from  that  base, 
but  I  did  not  expect  that  the  route  from  there  to  the 
Barrier  surface,  from  which  we  could  make  a  fair  start 
for  the  Pole,  would  have  been  impracticable.  I  did  not 
give  up  the  destined  base  of  our  expedition  without  a 
strenuous  struggle,  as  the  track  of  the  ship  given  in 
the  sketch-map  shows  ;  but  the  forces  of  these  uncon- 
trollable ice-packs  are  stronger  than  human  resolution, 
and  a  change  of  plan  was  forced  upon  us. 


81 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  SELECTION  OF  THE  WINTER  QUARTERS 

IT  was  Y,dth  a  heavy  heart  that  I  saw  our  bows  swinging 
round  to  the  west,  and  reaUsed  that  for  a  year  at  least 
we  would  see  nothing  of  the  land  which  we  had  hoped 
to  have  made  our  winter  quarters-  We  turned  to  the 
westward  about  eight  o'clock  that  night,  watching  the 
ice  carefully  as  we  went  along,  and  up  to  one  o'clock  on 
the  morning  of  January  26  there  was  not  a  break  in 
the  close-set  pack  to  the  northward  of  us.  We  then  lost 
sight  of  the  ice  in  the  mist.  The  glass  was  unsteady,  and 
the  wind  somewhat  gusty  from  the  south-west,  -with  a 
choppy  sea.  About  six  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
26th,  the  ship's  head  was  put  south,  for  I  wanted  to  pick 
up  the  Barrier  and  follow  it  along  at  least  as  far  as  the 
Western  Bight,  before  setting  the  course  direct  for  Mount 
Erebus.  We  passed  the  inlet  we  had  seen  on  our  way 
east,  and  about  twelve  o'clock  were  abreast  of  the  eastern 
point  of  Western  Bight.  We  now  laid  our  course  for 
Mount  Erebus,  and  as  I  hoped  to  examine  the  Barrier 
more  closely  in  the  following  year  we  made  a  direct 
course  west,  which  took  us  some  distance  off  the  edge 
of  the  ice.  The  weather  was  fine  and  clear,  excepting  for 
a  low  stratvis  cloud  over  the  Barrier ;  this  lifted  later 
in  the  day,  but  before  evening  we  had  entirely  lost  sight 
of  the  ice-face.  There  was  an  extraordinary  absence  of 
bird-life  of  any  description,  but  whales  were  blowing 
82 


3IOUNT  Erebus  from  the  rcF.-FooT 


To  face  page  82 


IN    SIGHT    OF    EREBUS 

all  round  us,  some  coming  right  alongside  the  ship.  We 
had  so  far  seen  fewer  of  the  snow  petrels  and  many  more 
of  the  Antarctic  petrels  than  during  the  previous  expe- 
dition. On  this  day  we  saw  one  albatross  of  the  sooty 
species,  and  a  couple  of  giant  petrels.  The  wind  was 
westerly  all  day,  and  towards  the  evening  there  were  one 
or  two  slight  snow  squalls.  Our  position  at  noon  on 
the  26th  was  latitude  78°  9'  South,  and  longitude  178°  43' 
West,  and  the  air  temperature  had  risen  to  28°  Fahr. 

On  the  28th,  the  weather  kept  fine,  though  the  sky 
was  practically  covered  with  cloud.  A  great  arch  of 
clear  sky  rose  in  the  south  about  noon  ;  shortly  before 
this  a  curious  whitish  appearance  gave  one  the  impression 
of  land,  and  as  the  sky  cleared  this  became  more  distinct, 
and  proved  to  be  Erebus  and  Terror,  the  two  huge 
mountains  we  were  approaching.  By  2  p.m.  they  had 
grown  much  more  distinct,  and  were  evidently  raised  by 
mirage  to  even  statelier  altitudes  than  their  own.  We 
could  plainly  see  the  smoke  from  Mount  Erebus,  which 
from  our  point  of  view  showed  to  the  south  of  Mount 
Terror.  We  altered  the  course  a  little  so  as  to  make 
Cape  Crozier.  I  had  some  thoughts  of  placing  a  depot 
there  to  be  handy  for  any  party  that  might  go  over  from 
winter  quarters  to  study  penguin  life,  but  on  second 
thoughts  decided  not  to  delay  the  ship.  Our  noon  posi- 
tion put  us  in  latitude  77°  6'  South,  and  longitude  175°  35' 
East.  We  passed  Cape  Crozier,  where  the  Barrier  meets 
the  land  some  distance  off,  about  ten  o'clock  that  night. 
The  weather  was  beautifully  fine  and  clear,  and  except  for 
an  occasional  berg  and  a  few  pieces  of  heavy  floe,  there 
was  no  ice  visible.  We  steamed  fairly  close  in  along 
the  coast,  and  at  3  a.m.  were  abreast  of  Erebus  Bay.  To 
the  north-west  of  us  was  Beaufort  Island,  showing 
a  precipitous  rock  face  on  its  eastern  side  ;  Cape  Bird 
was  just  on  our  port  bow.     The  weather  was  overcast 

83 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

and  snowy  as  we  turned  Cape  Bird  at  5.30  a.m.  on 
January  29.  We  hoped  to  reach  our  new  winter 
quarters  without  more  opposition  from  the  ice.  As  we 
steamed  down  McMurdo  Sound  we  passed  through 
occasional  loose  patches  of  pack-ice,  on  which  immense 
numbers  of  penguins  were  congregated. 

There  was  a  great  deal  more  ice  to  the  west,  and  a 
strong  ice  blink  gave  indication  that  it  must  be  heavily 
packed  right  up  to  the  western  shore.  Passing  down  the 
sound,  and  keeping  well  to  the  east  and  close  under  the 
land,  we  observed  a  long,  low  sandy  beach,  terminating 
landwards  in  a  steep  slope,  the  whole  place  for  an  area 
of  about  two  square  miles  yellow  and  pink  with  penguin 
guano.     It  was  a  large  penguin  rookery. 

We  passed  but  little  ice  till  about  ten  o'clock,  but 
within  an  hour  after  that  we  could  see  the  fast  ice 
ahead  of  us,  and  by  half-past  eleven  we  were  brought  up 
against  it.  It  was  now  January  29,  and  some 
twenty  miles  of  frozen  sea  separated  us  from  Hut  Point, 
where  we  hoped  to  make  our  winter  quarters.  The  ice 
at  the  spot  at  which  we  were  first  stopped  by  it  was 
very  much  decayed  and  covered  with  about  a  foot  of 
snow.  We  tried  to  break  through  it  by  ramming,  but  the 
attempt  was  not  a  success,  for  the  ship  entered  about  half 
her  length  into  the  sludgy  mass,  and  then  stuck,  without 
producing  a  crack  in  front.  We  backed  out  again,  and, 
when  some  little  distance  away,  put  on  full  speed, 
ramming  the  ship  up  against  the  ice  edge.  This  second 
attempt  was  equally  futile,  so  the  ice  anchor  was  made  fast 
to  the  floe,  while  we  considered  some  better  plan  of  action. 

The  weather  had  cleared  somewhat,  and  we  were  able 
to  see  our  surroundings.  To  the  south  lay  the  Delbridge 
Islands,  and  beyond  appeared  the  sharp  peak  of  Observa- 
tion Hill  under  which  lay  the  winter  quarters  of  the  last 
expedition.  Castle  Rock,  towering  above  other  local 
84 


ARRIVAL    IN    McMURDO    SOUND 

heights,  seemed  like  an  old  friend,  and  White  Island  was 
dimly  seen  beneath  the  rising  pall  of  cloud.  To  the 
south-west  Black  Island  and  Brown  Island  showed  up 
distinctly,  and  behind  the  former  we  could  trace  the 
rounded  lines  of  Mount  Discovery.  To  the  west  were  the 
gigantic  peaks  of  the  western  mountains  with  their  huge 
amphitheatres  and  immense  glaciers.  About  seven 
miles  to  the  eastward  lay  a  dark  mass  of  rock,  Cape 
Royds,  named  after  the  first  lieutenant  of  the  Discovery. 
So  familiar  were  they  that  it  seemed  as  though  it  were 
only  yesterday  that  I  had  looked  on  the  scene,  and  yet 
six  years  had  gone  by. 

During  the  day  we  had  occasional  falls  of  light,  dry 
snow,  and  the  air  temperature  at  times  went  down 
to  11°  Fahr,  although  this  was  the  height  of  summer. 
The  wind  continued  southerly  but  with  no  great  force, 
and  now  we  would  have  welcomed  even  a  heavy  blizzard 
to  break  up  the  ice.  A  northerly  swell  would  have  been 
better  still,  for  a  few  hours  of  this  would  make  short 
work  of  the  miles  of  ice  that  now  formed  an  impenetrable 
bar  to  our  ship.  When  the  s.y.  Morning,  the  first  relief 
ship  to  the  Discovery,  arrived  about  January  23,  1902, 
there  was  a  similar  amount  of  ice  in  the  sound,  and  it 
was  not  till  February  28  that  she  got  within  five 
miles  of  Hut  Point,  and  the  ice  did  not  break  out  up  to  the 
Point  at  all  during  that  year.  The  following  year,  both 
the  Terra  Nova  and  the  Morning  arrived  at  the  ice-face 
about  January  4,  and  found  that  the  sound  was 
frozen  over  for  twenty  miles  out  from  Hut  Point.  Yet 
by  February  15,  the  ice  had  broken  away  to  the 
south  of  Hut  Point,  and  the  Discovery  was  free.  With 
only  these  two  diverse  experiences  on  which  to  base  any 
theory  as  to  the  probable  action  of  the  ice,  it  will  easily 
De  seen  that  the  problem  was  a  difficult  one  for  me.  If  I 
kept  the  ship  for  two  weeks  in  the  hope  of  the  ice  breaking 

85 


THE    HEART    OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

up,  and  it  did  not  do  so,  we  would  then  be  in  a  very 
serious  position,  for  it  would  take  nearly  a  fortnight  to 
land  all  the  stores  and  get  the  hut  up,  and  this  could  only 
be  done  after  selecting  new  winter  quarters  somewhere 
in  the  neighbourhood,  either  on  the  west  coast  or  on 
one  of  the  bare  patches  of  rocks  Ipng  to  the  eastward 
of  us.  The  outlook  to  the  west  was  not  promising,  for 
about  five  or  six  miles  to  the  west  of  where  we  were 
lying  the  ice  was  heavily  packed.  To  the  eastward  it 
seemed  more  hopeful. 

I  decided  to  lie  off  the  ice-foot  for  a  few  days  at 
least,  and  give  Nature  a  chance  to  do  what  we  could 
not  with  the  ship,  that  is,  to  break  up  the  miles  of  ice 
intervening  between  us  and  our  goal.  We  seemed  fated 
to  meet  with  obstacles  in  every  attempt  we  made  to 
carry  out  our  plans,  but  remembered  in  these  somewhat 
anxious  times  that  obstacles  are  the  common  lot  of  Polar 
explorers,  and  that  indeed  the  game  would  not  be  worth 
playing  if  there  were  not  difficulties.  My  chief  anxiety 
was  due  to  the  fact  that  each  day's  delay  at  the  ice-foot 
would  mean  a  diminution  of  our  scanty  stock  of  coal,  for 
it  was  necessary  to  keep  up  steam  that  we  might  be 
ready  to  move  at  a  moment's  notice  in  the  event  of  the 
ice  packing  down  on  us  from  the  north,  or  the  breaking 
away  of  the  floe  to  which  we  were  fast.  The  latter  cir- 
cumstance indeed  was  a  constant  occurrence  ;  either  the 
ice  broke  bodily  av/ay,  or  a  slight  breeze  would  catch  the 
ship  and  draw  the  anchor  out  of  the  floe.  Then  we  had 
to  steam  up  and  get  a  fresh  grip.  The  plan  of  sledging 
the  stores  across  the  distance  intervening  between  us  and 
Hut  Point  I  soon  dismissed  as  impracticable,  for  even 
if  the  ponies  had  been  in  perfect  condition,  and  it  had 
been  possible  to  use  the  motor-car,  we  could  never  have 
shifted  the  hundred  and  eighty  odd  tons  of  equipment  in 
the  time  available. 
86 


Sou>DiNG  Rood  a  Stranded  Berg  in  order  to  see  whether  'ihe  Ship  could  lie  there 


Nimrod"  moored  to  the  Stranded  Berg,  about  a  Mile  from  the  Winter  Quarters. 
The  "Ximrod"  sheltered  in  the  Lee  of  this  Berg  during   Blizzards 

To  face  pnge  86 


THE    MOTOR-CAR    IN   READINESS 

I  was  troubled  at  this  time  in  regard  to  the  health 
of  Captain  England.  He  did  not  seem,  at  all  well,  and 
it  was  evident  that  the  strain  of  the  bad  weather  we  had 
encountered,  and  more  especially  of  the  difficulties  in 
the  ice  had  told  upon  him.  Our  circumstances  at  the 
time  were  not  likely  to  afford  him  much  rest.  He  was 
naturally  anxious  to  get  the  ship  away  as  soon  as  possible, 
as  he  felt  that  she  could  not  be  much  depended  on  for 
sailing,  but  I  could  not  see  my  way  to  fixing  an  actual 
date  for  the  Nimrod's  departure,  especially  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  I  did  not  even  know  where  our  winter  quarters 
were  to  be. 

On  the  evening  of  January  29  we  took  the  sides 
and  top  off  the  motor-car  case  and  put  the  wheels 
on  the  car,  for  I  hoped  to  try  it  on  the  fioe.  The  member 
of  the  staff  in  charge  was  Day,  who  soon  had  the  engine 
running,  and  the  following  morning,  the  30th,  though 
the  temperature  was  low,  it  seemed  to  go  without  any 
hitch.  Its  behaviour  on  the  floe,  where  the  snow  was 
lying  deep,  had  yet  to  be  tested.  We  put  on  the  light 
wheels  and  Dunlop  tyres  and  the  non-skid  chains,  for  we 
had  hopes  that  it  might  be  unnecessary  to  use  the  heavier 
wheels,  and  we  wished  to  have  everything  ready. 

During  the  day  a  fresh  breeze  sprang  up  from  the 
south-east  with  drifting  snow,  and  the  vessel  soon  as- 
sumed a  wintry  appearance.  At  meal  times  on  this  day 
everybody  crowded  into  the  wardroom  for  warmth,  as  it 
was  no  longer  possible  to  take  one's  food  standing  by 
the  galley  door.  The  ship  broke  from  her  anchors  two 
or  three  times,  and  the  ice  to  which  she  had  been 
attached  drifted  away  to  the  north,  and  though  the 
pieces  were  only  about  a  hundred  yards  long  our  hopes 
were  raised,  for  we  felt  that  the  ice  was  beginning  to 
break  up,  though  we  realised  that  if  only  a  few  hundred 
yards  shifted  in  a  day  it  would  take  too  long  for  a  mass 

87 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

of  ice  twenty  miles  broad  to  go  out,  and  enable  us  to 
get  to  Hut  Point  in  time  to  discharge  her  stores. 

All  day  long  Killer  whales  in  large  numbers  had  been 
rising  and  blowing  near  the  ice.  They  came  right 
alongside  the  ship,  and  every  now  and  then  we  could  see 
one  rear  itself  on  end  and  poke  its  head  over  the  ice-edge 
on  the  look-out  for  a  seal.  On  one  occasion  we  saw  a  seal 
suddenly  shoot  out  of  the  water  on  to  the  floe-edge  and 
hurry  into  safety  with  almost  incredible  speed  for  an 
animal  of  such  unwieldy  proportions.  It  travelled  at 
least  a  quarter  of  a  mile  over  the  firm  ice  before  pausing 
for  breath.  A  minute  or  two  later  the  cause  of  this 
extreme  haste  became  evident,  for  the  huge  sinister  head  of 
a  Killer  slowly  reared  itself  out  of  the  water  and  gazed 
round  for  its  intended  victim.  We  have  never  seen 
a  seal  captured  by  one  of  these  monsters,  but  undoubtedly 
they  must  fall  victims  sometimes,  for  the  Killer  is  always 
hanging  round  the  ice,  poking  his  head  up  amongst  the 
loose  floes,  and  the  manifest  alarm  of  seals  lying  there, 
and  their  quick  retreat  to  a  more  secure  position  away 
from  the  water  can  only  be  explained  as  the  struggle 
to  escape  from  a  known  danger.  There  were  many 
Adelie  penguins  about,  and  it  was  amusing  to  watch  them 
forming  up  in  line  on  the  edge  of  the  ice,  and  then 
diving  in  turn  into  the  sea,  like  swimmers  in  a  handicap 
race.  A  couple  of  minutes  might  elapse  before  they 
appeared  again. 

We  unfastened  most  of  the  beams  of  the  pony  shelter, 
so  that  there  would  be  no  difficulty  in  getting  the  ponies 
out  at  a  moment's  notice,  and  removed  a  lot  of  the  top 
hamper  from  the  skids.  Most  of  the  poor  beasts  were  in 
bad  condition.  Those  which  were  white  all  over  seemed, 
for  some  reason,  to  have  stood  the  rough  weather  better 
than  the  parti-coloured  ones,  but  all  were  enjoying  the 
steadiness  of  the  ship  after  the  terrible  rolling.  The 
88 


MACKINTOSH    LOSES    AN    EYE 

flanks  of  most  of  the  horses  had  been  skinned  by  the 
constant  knocking  and  rubbing  against  the  sides  of  their 
stalls,  and  Zulu  was  in  such  a  bad  condition  from  this 
cause  that  I  decided  to  have  him  shot  at  once.  This  left 
us  with  eight  ponies,  and  we  considered  ourselves  for- 
tunate in  reaching  winter  quarters  with  the  loss  of  only 
two  animals. 

So  far  the  voyage  had  been  without  accident  to  any 
of  the  staff,  but  on  the  morning  of  the  31st,  when  all 
hands  were  employed  getting  stores  out  of  the  after  hatch, 
preparatory  to  landing  them,  a  hook  on  the  tackle  slipped 
and,  swinging  suddenly  across  the  deck,  struck  Mackin- 
tosh in  the  right  eye.  He  fell  on  the  deck  in  great  pain, 
but  was  able,  in  a  few  minutes,  to  walk  with  help  to 
England's  cabin,  where  Marshall  examined  him.  It  was 
apparent  that  the  sight  of  the  eye  was  completely  de- 
stroyed, so  he  was  put  under  chloroform,  and  Marshall 
removed  the  eye,  being  assisted  at  the  operation  by  the 
other  two  doctors,  Michell  and  Mackay.  It  was  a  great 
comfort  to  me  to  know  that  the  expedition  had  the 
services  of  thoroughly  good  surgeons.  Mackintosh  felt 
the  loss  of  his  eye  keenly ;  not  so  much  because 
the  sight  was  gone,  but  because  it  meant  that  he 
could  not  remain  with  us  in  the  Antarctic.  He  begged 
to  be  allowed  to  stay,  but  when  Marshall  explained  that 
he  might  lose  the  sight  of  the  other  eye,  unless  great  care 
were  taken,  he  accepted  his  ill-fortune  without  further 
demur,  and  thus  the  expedition  lost,  for  a  time,  one  of 
its  most  valuable  members. 

Whilst  we  were  waiting  at  the  ice  I  thought  it  as 
well  that  a  small  party  should  proceed  to  Hut  Point,  and 
report  on  the  condition  of  the  hut  left  there  by  the 
Discovery  expedition,  for  it  was  possible  thai,  after  five 
years'  disuse,  it  might  be  drifted  up  with  snow.  I 
decided  to  send  Adams,  Joyce  and  Wild,  giving  Adams 

89 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

instructions  to  get  into  the  hut,  and  then  return  the 
next  day  to  the  ship.  We  were  then  about  sixteen 
miles  from  Hut  Point,  and  the  party  started  off  the 
next  morning  with  plenty  of  provisions  in  case  of  being 
delayed,  and  a  couple  of  spades  with  which  to  dig  out 
the  hut.  It  was  Adams'  first  experience  of  sledging, 
and  a  fifteen  or  sixteen-mile  march  with  a  fairly  heavy 
load  was  a  stiff  proposition  for  men  who  had  been 
cooped  up  in  the  ship  for  over  a  month.  They  started 
at  a  good  swinging  pace.  The  Professor  and  Cotton 
met  the  party  some  two  or  three  miles  away  from  the 
ship,  and  accompanied  them  for  another  mile.  On  their 
return  they  reported  that  the  sledge-party  had  got  on 
to  old  ice  that  had  not  broken  out  the  previous  year. 
The  ice  across  which  the  party  had  started  was  about 
four  feet  thick,  and  much  more  solid  than  that  which 
stopped  the  ship  on  our  first  arrival.  It  was  one-year 
ice,  but  I  think  it  quite  possible  that  it  had  broken  out 
earlier  and  frozen  in  again - 

During  the  previous  night  we  had  moved  somewhat 
further  west  and  tied  up  to  the  floe,  after  another  in- 
effectual attempt  to  break  through  to  the  south.  Shortly 
after  the  sledge-party  started  we  hoisted  the  motor-car 
over  the  side  and  landed  it  safely  on  the  sea-ice.  Day 
immediately  got  in,  started  the  engine,  and  off  the  car 
went  with  the  throbbing  sound  which  has  become  so 
familiar  in  the  civilised  world,  and  was  now  heard  for  the 
first  time  in  the  Antarctic.  The  run  was  but  a  short  one, 
for  within  a  hundred  yards  the  wheels  clogged  in  the  soft 
snow.  With  all  hands  pushing  and  pulling  we  managed 
to  get  the  car  across  a  crack  in  the  ice,  which  we  moment- 
arily expected  would  open  out,  and  allow  the  floe  to 
drift  away  to  the  north.  Once  over  the  crack  the  engine 
was  started  again,  and  for  a  short  distance  the  car  went 
ahead  under  its  own  power,  but  it  was  held  up  again  by 
90 


1ft 


The  riRST  Landing-Pi.aoe,  showing  Bay  Ice  breaking  out  and  drifting  away  Xorth 

To  face  pnge  90 


THE    FIRST    MOTOR   TRIP 

the  snow.  By  dint  of  more  pushing  and  pulling,  and 
with  the  help  of  its  own  engine,  the  car  reached  a  point 
about  half  a  mile  south  of  the  ship,  but  our  hopes  as 
to  the  future  practical  utility  of  the  machine  were  con- 
siderably damped.  We  could  not  accurately  judge  of 
the  merits  of  the  car  on  this  trial,  for  it  had  not  been 
fitted  w^ith  the  proper  wheels  for  travelling  in  snow,  and 
the  engine  was  not  tuned  up  to  working  efficiency. 
There  was  no  difficulty  with  the  ignition,  for  it  sparked 
at  once,  in  spite  of  there  being  at  the  time  17°  of 
frost.  We  left  the  car  at  one  o'clock  and  went  on  board 
to  lunch,  and,  on  coming  back,  found  a  couple  of  Adelie 
penguins  on  the  ice  solemnly  eyeing  the  strange  arrival. 
More  cracks  had  opened  up  near  the  car,  and  as  there 
was  no  prospect  of  it  helping  us  to  reach  the  land  at  this 
time  I  decided  to  have  it  hauled  back  to  the  ship  and 
hoisted  on  board  at  once,  to  await  a  more  favourable 
opportunity  for  a  thorough  test.  Ignominously  it  was 
hauled  through  the  snow  until  it  got  within  a  hundred 
yards  of  the  ship  where  the  ice  was  harder.  Then, 
with  a  puff  and  a  snort,  it  ran  up  alongside.  In  the 
morning  I  had  had  dreams  of  mounting  the  car  with  Day 
and  gaily  overtaking  the  sledge-party  as  they  toiled  over 
the  ice,  but  these  dreams  were  short-lived. 

In  the  afternoon  we  hauled  our  anchor  in  and 
steamed  west  to  have  a  look  at  the  situation  of  the  ice 
on  the  western  coast,  but  we  had  not  gone  four  miles 
before  we  were  brought  up  by  ice,  and  we  returned  to  our 
old  moorings.  That  evening  most  of  our  staff  tasted 
Skua  gull  for  dinner  for  the  first  time,  and  pronounced  it 
delicious.  The  method  of  catching  these  birds  was 
simple  and  efficient,  if  not  exactly  sporting.  A  baited 
hook  and  line  was  thrown  on  to  the  floe,  and  in  a  couple 
of  minutes  a  Skua  would  walk  up  to  the  bait  and  swallow 
it  only  to  find  himself  being  dragged  towards  the  ship. 

91 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

His  companions  did  not  seem  to  realise  that  their  com- 
rade was  in  any  difficulty,  but  appeared  to  think  rather 
that  he  had  some  particularly  dainty  morsel  of  which 
they  were  being  deprived,  for  they  at  once  proceeded 
to  attack  him  in  the  hope  of  making  him  disgorge.  About 
ten  or  twelve  Skuas  were  caught  in  this  way  before  they 
began  to  suspect  that  anything  was  amiss,  but  when  they 
did  realise  the  .situation,  the  lure  of  the  most  dainty  bits 
of  meat  proved  ineffectual.  In  the  afternoon  we  also 
killed  a  couple  of  Weddell  seals  and  next  morning  had 
bacon  and  fresh  seal  liver  for  breakfast. 

There  was  no  perceptible  change  in  the  state  of  the 
ice  on  February  2,  though  occasional  floes  were  breaking 
off,  and  as  the  weather  kept  fine  a  party  consisting 
of  Professor  David,  Mawson,  Cotton,  Priestley  and 
Armytage  started  off  across  the  ice  bound  for  Inaccessible 
Island.  I  went  out  with  England  towards  the  south  on 
ski  to  examine  the  ice  for  cracks,  but  the  result  of  our 
walk  was  not  at  all  satisfactory,  for  the  ice  was  firm  and 
the  only  cracks  were  those  alongside  the  ship.  I  there- 
fore decided  to  wait  no  longer  at  the  ice-face,  but,  when 
the  sledge-party  returned,  to  seek  for  winter  quarters 
on  the  east  coast  of  Ross  Island.  Early  in  the  after- 
noon a  breeze  sprang  up  from  the  eastward,  the  sky 
became  overcast,  and  a  slight  drift  blew  across  the  fast 
ice.  The  loose  ice  drifted  rapidly  from  the  eastward, 
so  the  ship  was  backed  into  clear  water,  and  it  was  well 
that  this  was  done,  for  shortly  afterwards  the  loose  ice 
over-rode  the  solid  floe  and  would  have  given  the  ship  a 
nasty  squeeze  had  she  been  lying  at  her  former  moorings. 
On  the  wind  springing  up  in  the  afternoon,  the  recall  flag 
had  been  hoisted  as  a  signal  to  the  party  ashore,  but 
they  did  not  see  it,  and  it  was  nearly  five  o'clock  before 
they  turned  up.  We  had,  by  that  time,  re-moored  the 
ship  about  a  mile  to  the  eastward  of  our  former  position. 
92 


THE    DISCOVERY    HUT 

The  Professor  reported  that  they  had  been  unable  to 
land  on  the  island,  as  about  fifty  yards  of  water  inter- 
vened between  the  ice  and  the  bare  land.  They  found 
a  sea  urchin  on  the  ice,  and  Murray  at  once  claimed  it  for 
his  collection.  They  had  learned  the  first  lesson  of  the 
Antarctic,  which  is,  that  distances  are  very  deceptive,  and 
that  land  is  always  much  more  distant  than  it  appears  to 
be. 

This  evening  we  kept  a  look-out  for  the  return  of  the 
sledge  travellers,  but  there  was  no  sign  of  them  by  bed- 
time. I  knew  that  Adams  would  be  sure  to  return  unless 
his  party  had  found  much  difficulty  in  effecting  an 
entrance  into  the  hut.  At  half-past  one  in  the  morning 
Harbord  came  down  and  reported  that  he  could  see  the 
party  coming  along  in  the  distance.  Of  course  at  this 
time  we  had  perpetual  daylight  and  there  was  practically 
no  difference  between  day  and  night.  I  had  some  cocoa 
and  sardines  prepared  for  them,  for  I  knew  from  ex- 
perience how  comforting  is  this  fare  to  a  way-worn 
sledger.  Adams,  on  his  arrival,  reported  that  they  had 
had  a  very  heavy  march  on  the  way  to  the  hut,  and  had 
not  reached  it  till  a  quarter  to  twelve  at  night,  having 
been  going  since  10  a.m.  The  surface  for  the  last  two 
miles  had  been  smooth  ice,  clear  of  snow,  and  a  large 
pool  of  open  water  lay  off  the  end  of  Hut  Point.  The 
bay  in  which  the  Discovery  had  been  frozen  in  was  covered 
with  clear  blue  ice,  showing  that  in  the  previous  season 
the  sea-ice  had  not  broken  out.  They  were  so  tired  that 
they  turned  into  their  sleeping-bags  inside  the  hut 
directly  they  made  an  entrance,  which  was  easily  done 
through  one  of  the  lee  windows.  They  found  the  hut 
practically  clear  of  snow,  and  the  structure  quite  intact. 
There  was  a  small  amount  of  ice  inside  on  the  walls, 
evidently  the  result  of  a  summer  thaw,  but  even  after 
five    years'    desertion,   the    building   was    in    excellent 

93 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

preservation.  A  few  relics  of  the  last  expedition  were 
lying  about,  including  bags  containing  remnants  of 
provisions  from  various  sledging-parties.  Amongst  these 
provisions  was  an  open  tin  of  tea,  and  the  following 
morning  the  party  made  an  excellent  brew  from  the 
contents.  It  speaks  volumes  for  the  dryness  of  the 
climate  that  the  tea  should  retain  its  flavour  after 
exposure  to  the  air  for  five  years.  A  sledging-tin  of 
petroleum  was  also  used  and  was  found  to  be  in  perfect 
condition.  The  ice  on  the  end  of  Hut  Point  was  cracked 
and  crevassed,  but  in  all  other  respects  things  seemed  to 
be  the  same  as  when  the  Discovery  steamed  away  to  the 
north  in  February  1904.  The  cross  put  up  in  memory 
of  Vince,  who  lost  his  life  close  by  in  a  blizzard,  was 
still  standing,  and  so  were  the  magnetic  huts.  At  1  p.m. 
the  following  day  the  three  sledgers  set  out  for  the  ship, 
and  though  they  had  the  assistance  of  an  extemporised 
sail,  rigged  to  take  advantage  of  the  southerly  wind, 
they  found  the  travelling  very  heavy,  and  were  heartily 
glad  to  get  on  board  the  Nimrod  again. 

In  the  morning  v/e  moved  close  in  towards  Inaccess- 
ible Island,  as  the  ice  seemed  to  have  broken  out  right 
up  to  it,  but  on  getting  near  we  saw  there  was  still  a  large 
amount  stretching  between  the  ship  and  the  island. 
Soundings  here  gave  us  298  fathoms,  with  a  bottom  of 
volcanic  pebbles.  We  tied  up  again  to  the  ice,  and 
during  the  afternoon  the  shore-party  filled  the  little  tank 
on  top  of  the  boiler-room  grating  with  snow,  and  the 
resulting  water  made  the  tea  much  more  pleasant  than 
the  water  from  the  ship's  tanks  to  which  we  had  been 
accustomed. 

About  four  o'clock  we  got  under  way  and  started 
towards  Cape  Barne  on  the  look-out  for  a  suitable  land- 
ing-place. About  two  miles  off  the  point,  at  6  p.m.,  a 
sounding  of  seventy-nine  fathoms  was  obtained,  and  half 
94 


FIRST    LANDING    AT    CAPE    ROYDS 

a  mile  further  in  the  depth  was  forty-four  fathoms.  The 
arming  of  the  lead  was  covered  with  sponge  spicules, 
suggesting  that  this  place  would  be  a  fine  hunting-ground 
for  the  biologist.  Steaming  slowly  north  along  the  coast 
we  saw  across  the  bay  a  long,  low  snow-slope,  connected 
with  the  bare  rock  of  Cape  Royds,  which  appeared  to 
be  a  likely  place  for  winter  quarters. 

About  eight  o'clock,  accompanied  by  Adams  and 
Wild  in  the  whale  boat,  and  taking  the  hand  lead  with 
us,  I  left  the  ship  and  went  in  towards  the  shore.  After 
about  ten  minutes'  pulling,  with  frequent  stops  for 
soundings,  we  came  up  against  fast  ice.  This  covered 
the  whole  of  the  small  bay  from  the  corner  of  Flagstaff 
Point,  as  we  afterwards  named  the  seaward  cliff  at  the 
southern  end  of  Cape  Royds,  to  Cape  Barne  to  the  south- 
ward. Close  up  to  the  Point  the  ice  had  broken  out, 
leaving  a  little  natural  dock.  We  ran  the  boat  into  this, 
and  Adams  and  I  scrambled  ashore,  crossing  a  well- 
defined  tide-crack  and  going  up  a  smooth  snow-slope 
about  fifteen  yards  wide,  at  the  top  of  which  was  bare 
rock.  Hundreds  of  penguins  were  congregated  on  the 
bay  ice,  and  hundreds  more  on  the  top  of  the  slope,  and 
directly  we  reached  the  bare  land  our  nostrils  were 
greeted  with  the  overbearing  stench  of  the  rookery  where 
there  were  many  hundreds  of  Adelie  penguins.  These 
were  moving  to  and  fro,  and  they  greeted  us  with  hoarse 
squawks  of  excitement.  Above  them  were  flying  many 
of  their  natural  enemies,  the  rapacious  Skua  gulls.  These 
birds  had  young,  for  as  we  walked  along,  evidently 
nearing  the  nestlings,  they  began  to  swoop  down  on  us, 
almost  touching  our  heads,  and  the  sharp  whirr  of  their 
rapidly  moving  wings  told  us  how  strongly  they  resented 
our  intrusion. 

A  very   brief   examination   of  the   vicinity   of  the 
ice-foot  was  sufficient  to  show  us  that  Cape  Royds  would 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

make  an  excellent  place  on  which  to  land  our  stores.  We 
therefore  shoved  off  in  the  boat  again,  and,  skirting 
along  the  ice-foot  to  the  south,  sounded  the  bay,  and 
found  that  the  water  deepened  from  two  fathoms  close 
in  shore  to  about  twenty  fathoms  four  hundred  yards 
further  south.  After  completing  these  soundings  we 
pulled  out  towards  the  ship,  which  had  been  coming  in 
very  slowly.  We  were  pulling  along  at  a  good  rate  when 
suddenly  a  heavy  body  shot  out  of  the  water,  struck  the 
seaman  who  was  pulling  stroke,  and  dropped  with  a  thud 
into  the  bottom  of  the  boat.  The  arrival  was  an  Adelie 
penguin.  It  was  hard  to  say  who  was  the  most  aston- 
ished— ^the  penguin,  at  the  result  of  its  leap  on  to  what 
it  had  doubtless  thought  was  a  rock,  or  we,  who  so  sud- 
denly took  on  board  this  curious  passenger.  The  sailors 
in  the  boat  looked  upon  this  incident  as  an  omen  of  good 
luck.  There  is  a  tradition  amongst  seamen  that  the 
souls  of  old  sailors,  after  death,  occupy  the  bodies  of 
penguins,  as  well  as  of  albatrosses  ;  this  idea,  however, 
does  not  prevent  the  mariners  from  making  a  hearty  meal 
off  the  breasts  of  the  former  when  opportunity  offers. 
We  arrived  on  board  at  9  p.m.,  and  by  10  p.m.  on  February  3 
the  Nimrod  was  moored  to  the  bay  ice,  ready  to  land 
the  stores. 

Immediately  after  securing  the  ship  I  went  ashore, 
accompanied  by  the  Professor,  England  and  Dunlop, 
to  choose  a  place  for  building  the  hut.  We  passed  the 
penguins,  which  were  marching  solemnly  to  and  fro,  and 
on  reaching  the  level  land,  made  for  a  huge  boulder  of 
kenyte,  the  most  conspicuous  mark  in  the  locality.  I 
thought  that  we  might  build  the  hut  under  the  lee  of  this 
boulder,  sheltered  from  the  south-east  wind,  but  the 
situation  had  its  drawbacks,  as  it  would  have  entailed  a 
large  amount  of  levelling  before  the  foundation  of  the 
hut  could  have  been  laid.  We  crossed  a  narrow  ridge 
96 


THE  DREADNOUGHT" 


i 


SELECTING    THE    HUT    SITE 

of  rock  just  beyond  the  great  boulder,  and,  turning  a 
little  to  the  right  up  a  small  valley,  found  an  ideal  spot 
for  our  winter  quarters.  The  floor  of  this  valley  was 
practically  level  and  covered  with  a  couple  of  feet  of 
volcanic  earth  ;  at  the  sides  the  bed  rock  was  exposed, 
but  a  rough  eye  measurement  was  quite  sufficient  to 
show  that  there  would  be  not  only  ample  room  for  the  hut 
itself,  but  also  for  all  the  stores,  and  for  a  stable  for  the 
ponies.  A  hill  right  behind  this  little  valley  would  serve 
as  an  excellent  shelter  to  the  hut  from  what  we  knew 
was  the  prevailing  strong  wind,  that  is,  the  south-easter. 
A  glance  at  the  illustrations  will  give  the  reader  a  much 
better  idea  of  this  place  than  will  a  written  description, 
and  he  will  see  how  admirably  Nature  had  provided  us 
with  a  protection  against  her  own  destructive  forces. 

After  deciding  on  this  place  as  our  home  for  the  winter 
we  went  round  a  ridge  to  the  south,  and  on  a  level  piece 
of  ground  overlooking  the  bay  we  came  across  the  camp 
where  Captain  Scott  and  Dr.  Wilson  spent  some  days 
in  January  1904  whilst  they  were  waiting  for  the 
arrival  of  the  relief  ship.  The  camp  had  been  placed 
in  a  splendid  position,  with  an  uninterrupted  view  of 
the  sea  to  the  north  and  the  great  panorama  of  the 
western  mountains.  We  found  all  the  camp  gear  and 
cooking  utensils  just  as  they  had  been  left,  and,  con- 
sidering the  exposed  position  of  the  camp,  it  appeared 
as  though  this  spot  could  not  have  been  subjected  to 
very  violent  storms,  otherwise  the  tent  cloths,  empty 
boxes,  and  other  things  lying  about  would  have  been 
blown  away.  From  the  top  of  the  ridge  we  could  see  a 
small  bay  inside  the  wide  one  in  which  the  ship  was 
lying,  and  a  little  more  to  the  eastward  was  a  smaller 
bay,  the  end  of  which  formed  the  sea  limit  to  this  part  of 
the  coast.  A  number  of  seals  lying  on  the  bay  ice  gave 
promise  that  there  would  be  no  lack  of  fresh  meat. 
I  G  97 


THE   HEAKT   OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

With  this  ideal  situation  for  a  camp,  and  everything 
else  satisfactory,  including  a  supply  of  water  from  a 
lake  right  in  front  of  our  little  valley,  I  decided  that 
we  could  not  do  better  than  start  getting  our  gear  ashore 
at  once.  There  was  only  one  point  that  gave  me  any 
anxiety,  and  that  was  as  to  whether  the  sea  would  freeze 
over  between  this  place  and  Hut  Point  in  ample  time 
for  us  to  get  across  for  the  southern  and  western  journeys 
in  the  following  spring.  It  was  also  obvious  that  nothing 
could  be  done  in  the  way  of  laying  out  depots  for  the 
next  season's  work,  as  directly  the  ship  left  we  would 
be  cut  off  from  any  communication  with  the  lands  to 
the  south  of  us,  by  sea  and  by  land,  for  the  heavily 
crevassed  glaciers  fringing  the  coast  were  an  effectual 
bar  to  a  march  with  sledges.  However,  time  was  press- 
ing, and  we  were  fortunate  to  get  winter  quarters  as  near 
as  this  to  our  starting-point  for  the  south. 


Cooker  and  Primus  Stove 


98 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  LANDING  OF  STORES  AND  EQUIPMENT 

WE  returned  to  the  ship  to  start  discharging  our 
equipment,  and  with  this  work  commenced  the 
most  uncomfortable  fortnight,  and  the  hardest  work,  full 
of  checks  and  worries,  that  I  or  any  other  member 
of  the  party  had  ever  experienced.  If  it  had  not 
been  for  the  whole-hearted  devotion  of  our  party,  and 
their  untiring  energy,  we  would  never  have  got  through 
the  long  toil  of  discharging.  Day  and  night,  if  such 
terms  of  low  latitudes  can  be  used  in  a  place  where 
there  was  no  night,  late  and  early,  they  were  always 
ready  to  turn  to,  in  face  of  most  trying  conditions,  and 
always  with  a  cheerful  readiness.  If  a  fresh  obstacle 
appeared  there  was  no  time  lost  in  bemoaning  the  cir- 
cumstance, but  they  all  set  to  work  at  once  to  remove  the 
obstruction.  The  first  thing  to  be  landed  was  the  motor- 
car, and  after  that  came  the  ponies,  for  it  was  probable 
that  any  day  might  see  the  break-up  of  the  bay  ice,  and 
there  being  only  two  fathoms  of  water  along  the  shore, 
as  we  had  ascertained  by  sounding  down  the  tide  crack, 
the  ship  could  not  go  very  close  in.  It  would  have  been 
practically  impossible  to  have  landed  the  ponies  in  boats, 
for  they  were  only  half-broken  in,  and  all  in  a  highly 
strung,  nervous  condition.  At  10.30  p.m.  on  February  3 
we  swung  the  motor  over  on  to  the  bay  ice,  and 
all  hands  pulled  it  up  the  snow  slope  across  the  tide- 

99 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

crack  and  left  it  safe  on  the  solid  ground.  This  done, 
we  next  landed  one  of  the  lifeboats,  which  we  intended 
to  keep  down  there  with  us.  Jo^^ce  ran  the  dogs  ashore 
and  tied  them  up  to  rocks,  all  except  Possum,  who  was 
still  engaged  with  her  little  puppies.  Then  followed 
the  foundation  pieces  of  the  hut,  for  it  was  desirable 
that  we  should  be  safely  housed  before  the  ship  went 
north.  Meanwhile,  the  carpenter  was  busily  engaged 
in  unbolting  the  framework  of  the  pony-stalls,  and  the 
animals  became  greatly  excited,  causing  us  a  lot  of 
trouble.  We  worked  till  3  a.m.,  landing  pony  fodder  and 
general  stores,  and  then  knocked  off  and  had  some  cocoa 
and  a  rest,  intending  to  turn  to  at  6  a.m. 

We  had  hardly  started  work  again  when  a  strong 
breeze  sprung  up  with  drifting  snow.  The  ship  began 
to  bump  heavily  against  the  ice-foot  and  twice  dragged 
her  anchors  out,  so,  as  there  seemed  no  possibility  of 
getting  ahead  with  the  landing  of  the  stores  under  these 
conditions,  we  steamed  out  and  tied  up  at  the  main  ice- 
face,  about  six  miles  to  the  south,  close  to  where  we 
had  lain  for  the  past  few  days.  It  blew  fairly  hard 
all  day  and  right  through  the  evening,  but  the  wind  went 
down  on  the  afternoon  of  the  5th,  and  we  returned  to 
the  bay  that  evening.  The  poor  dogs  had  been  tied  up 
all  this  time,  without  any  shelter  or  food,  so  directly 
we  made  fast,  Joyce  was  off  ashore  with  a  steaming  hot 
feed  for  them.  Scamp  came  running  down  to  meet  him, 
and  Queenie  had  got  loose  and  played  havoc  amongst  the 
penguins.  They  had  killed  over  a  hundred,  and  the 
skuas  were  massed  in  great  numbers,  taking  full  advan- 
tage of  this  disaster.  We  never  saw  Queenie  again.  She 
must  have  fallen  over  a  cliff  into  the  sea. 

We  lost  no  time  in  getting  the  ponies  ashore.  This 
was  by  no  means  an  easy  task,  for  some  of  the  animals 
were  very  restive,  and  it  required  care  to  avoid  accident 
100 


THE    PONIES    ASHORE 

to  themselves  or  to  us.  Some  time  before  we  had 
thought  of  walking  them  down  over  a  gang-plank  on  to 
the  ice,  but  afterwards  decided  to  build  a  rough  horse- 
box, get  them  into  this,  and  then  sling  it  over  the  side 
by  means  of  the  main  gaff.  We  covered  the  decks  with 
ashes  and  protected  all  sharp  projections  with  bags  and 
bales  of  fodder.  The  first  pony  went  in  fairly  quietly, 
and  in  another  moment  or  two  had  the  honour  of  being 
the  pioneer  horse  on  the  Antarctic  ice.  One  after 
another  the  ponies  were  led  out  of  the  stalls  into  the  horse- 
box and  were  slung  over  on  to  the  ice.  Presently  it 
came  to  Grisi's  turn,  and  we  looked  for  a  lively  time  with 
this  pony,  for  he  was  the  most  spirited  and  in  the  best 
condition  of  all.  Our  anticipations  proved  correct,  and 
there  were  a  few  lively  minutes  before  he  was  secured 
in  the  horse-box,  the  door  of  which  was  fastened  with  a 
rope.  It  was  only  by  Mackay  exerting  all  his  strength 
at  the  most  critical  moment  that  we  got  the  pony  in. 
As  the  box  was  being  hoisted  up,  his  violent  kicking 
threatened  to  demolish  the  somewhat  frail  structure,  and 
it  was  with  a  devout  feeling  of  thankfulness  that  I  saw 
him  safe  on  the  ice.  They  all  seemed  to  feel  themselves 
at  home,  for  they  immediately  commenced  pawing  at  the 
snow  as  they  are  wont  to  do  in  their  own  far-away  Man- 
churian  home,  where,  in  the  winter,  they  scrape  away  the 
snow  to  get  out  the  rough  tussocky  grass  that  lies  under- 
neath. It  was  3.30  A.M.  on  the  morning  of  the  6th 
before  we  got  all  the  ponies  off  the  ship,  and  they  were 
at  once  led  up  on  to  the  land.  The  poor  beasts  were 
naturally  stiff  after  the  constant  buffeting  they  had 
experienced  in  their  narrow  stalls  on  the  rolling  ship 
for  over  a  month,  and  they  walked  very  stiffly  ashore. 
They  negotiated  the  tide-crack  all  right,  the  fissure 
being  narrow,  and  were  soon  picketed  out  on  some  bare 
earth  at  the  entrance  to  a  valley  which  lay  about  fifty 

101 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

yards  from  the  site  of  our  hut.  We  thought  that  this 
would  be  a  good  place,  but  the  selection  was  to  cost  us 
dearly  in  the  future.  The  tide-crack  played  an  important 
part  in  connection  with  the  landing  of  the  stores.  In 
the  polar  regions,  both  north  and  south,  when  the  sea  is 
frozen  over,  there  always  appears  between  the  fast  ice, 
which  is  the  ice  attached  to  the  land,  and  the  sea  ice,  a 
crack  which  is  due  to  the  sea  ice  moving  up  and  down 
with  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  tide.  When  the  bottom  of 
the  sea  slopes  gradually  from  the  land,  sometimes  two 
or  three  tide  cracks  appear  running  parallel  to  each  other. 
When  no  more  tide-cracks  are  to  be  seen  landwards,  the 
snow  or  ice-foot  has  always  been  considered  as  being 
a  permanent  adjunct  to  the  land,  and  in  our  case  this 
opinion  was  further  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  our 
soundings  in  the  tide-crack  showed  that  the  ice-foot  on 
the  landward  side  of  it  must  be  aground.  I  have  ex- 
plained this  fully,  for  it  was  after  taking  into  considera- 
tion these  points  that  I,  for  convenience  sake,  landed  the 
bulk  of  the  stores  just  below  the  bare  rocks  on  what  I 
considered  to  be  the  permanent  snow-slope. 

About  9  A.M.  on  the  morning  of  February  6 
we  started  work  with  sledges,  hauling  provisions  and 
pieces  of  the  hut  to  the  shore.  The  previous  night  the 
foundation  posts  of  the  hut  had  been  sunk  and  frozen  into 
the  ground  with  a  cement  composed  of  volcanic  earth 
and  water.  The  digging  of  the  foundation  holes,  on 
which  job  Dunlop,  Adams,  Joyce,  Brocklehurst  and 
Marshall  were  engaged,  proved  hard  work,  for  in  some 
cases  where  the  hole  had  to  be  dug  the  bed-rock  was 
found  a  few  inches  below  the  coating  of  the  earth,  and 
this  had  to  be  broken  through  or  drilled  with  chisel  and 
hammer.  Now  that  the  ponies  were  ashore  it  was  neces- 
sary to  have  a  party  living  ashore  also,  for  the  animals 
would  require  looking  after  if  the  ship  were  forced  to 
102 


HEAVY    WORK    ON    THE    ICE 

leave  the  ice-foot  at  any  time,  and,  of  course,  the  building 
of  the  hut  could  go  on  during  the  absence  of  the  ship. 
The  first  shore  party  consisted  of  Adams,  Marston, 
Brocklehurst,  Mackay  and  Murray,  and  two  tents  were 
set  up  close  to  the  hut,  with  the  usual  sledging  requisites, 
sleeping-bags,  cookers,  &c.  A  canvas  cover  was  rigged 
on  some  oars  to  serve  as  a  cooking-tent,  and  this,  later 
on,  was  enlarged  into  a  more  commodious  house,  built 
out  of  bales  of  fodder. 

The  first  things  landed  this  day  were  bales  of  fodder 
for  the  ponies,  and  sufficient  petroleum  and  provisions 
for  the  shore  party  in  the  event  of  the  ship  having  to 
put  to  sea  suddenly  owing  to  bad  weather.  For  facility 
in  landing  the  stores,  the  whole  party  was  divided  into 
two  gangs.  Some  of  the  crew  of  the  ship  hoisted  the 
stores  out  of  the  hold  and  slid  them  down  a  wide  plank 
on  to  the  ice,  others  of  the  ship's  crew  loaded  the  stores 
on  to  the  sledges,  and  these  were  hauled  to  land  by  the 
shore  party,  each  sledge  having  three  men  harnessed  to 
it.  The  road  to  the  shore  consisted  of  hard,  rough  ice, 
alternating  with  very  soft  snow,  and  as  the  distance  from 
where  the  ship  was  lying  at  first  to  the  tide-crack  was 
nearly  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  it  was  strenuous  toil,  especially 
when  the  tide-crack  was  reached  and  the  sledges  had  to 
be  pulled  up  the  slope.  After  the  first  few  sledge-loads 
had  been  hauled  right  up  on  to  the  land,  I  decided  to 
let  the  stores  remain  on  the  snow  slope  beyond  the  tide- 
crack,  where  they  could  be  taken  away  at  leisure.  The 
work  was  so  heavy  that  we  tried  to  substitute  mechanical 
haulage  in  place  of  man  haulage,  and  to  achieve  this 
end  we  anchored  a  block  in  the  snow  slope  just  over  the 
tide-crack,  and  having  spliced  together  practically  all 
the  running  gear  and  all  the  spare  line  in  the  ship,  we 
rove  one  end  of  the  rope  through  the  block  and  brought 
it  back  to  the  ship.     The  other  end  was  brought  round 

103 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

the  barrel  of  the  steam  winch,  and  after  the  first  part 
had  been  made  fast  to  the  loaded  sledges,  orders  were 
given  to  heave  away  on  the  winch,  and  the  sledges  were, 
in  this  manner,  hauled  ashore.  This  device  answered 
well  enough  in  principle,  but  in  actual  practice  we  found 
that  the  amount  of  time  that  would  be  occupied  in 
doing  the  work  would  be  too  great,  especially  because  of 
the  necessity  for  hauling  back  the  rope  to  the  ship  each 
time,  as  in  our  present  position  we  could  not  make  an 
endless  haulage.  We  therefore  reverted  to  our  original 
plan,  and  all  that  morning  did  the  work  by  man  haulage. 
During  the  lunch  hour  we  shifted  the  ship  about  a 
hundred  yards  nearer  the  shore  alongside  the  ice-face, 
from  which  a  piece  had  broken  out  during  the  morning, 
leaving  a  level  edge  where  the  ship  could  be  moored 
easily. 

Just  as  we  were  going  to  commence  work  at  2  p.m.  a 
fresh  breeze  sprung  up  from  the  south-east,  and  the  ship 
began  to  bump  against  the  ice-foot,  her  movement  throw- 
ing the  water  over  the  ice.  We  were  then  lying  in  a 
rather  awkward  position  in  the  apex  of  an  angle  in  the 
bay  ice,  and  as  the  breeze  threatened  to  become  stronger, 
I  sent  the  shore-party  on  to  the  ice,  and,  with  some  diffi- 
culty, we  got  clear  of  the  ice-foot.  The  breeze  freshening 
we  stood  out  to  the  fast  ice  in  the  strait  about  six  miles 
to  the  south  and  anchored  there.  It  blew  a  fresh  breeze 
with  drift  from  the  south-east  all  that  afternoon  and 
night,  and  did  not  ease  up  till  the  following  afternoon. 
During  this  time.  Cape  Royds,  Mount  Erebus,  and 
Mount  Bird  were  quite  obscured,  and  from  where  we  were 
lying  there  appeared  to  be  bad  weather  ashore,  but  when 
we  returned  to  the  bay  the  following  night  at  10  p.m.  we 
heard  that,  except  for  a  little  falling  snow,  the  weather 
had  been  quite  fine,  and  that  the  wind  which  had  sprung 
up  at  two  o'clock  had  not  continued  for  more  than  an 
104 


THE    ICE    BREAKING    UP 

hour.  Thus,  unfortunately,  two  valuable  working  days 
were  lost. 

When  I  went  ashore  I  found  that  the  little  party 
left  behind  had  not  only  managed  to  get  up  to  the  site 
of  the  hut  all  the  heavy  timber  that  had  been  landed,  but 
had  also  stacked  on  the  bare  land  the  various  cases 
of  provisions  which  had  been  lying  on  the  snow  slope 
by  the  tide-crack.  We  worked  till  2  a.m.  on  the  morning 
of  the  9th,  and  then  knocked  off  till  9  a.m.  Then  we 
commenced  again,  and  put  in  one  of  the  hardest  day's 
work  one  could  imagine,  pulling  the  sledges  to  the  tide- 
crack  and  then  hauling  them  bodily  over.  Hour  after 
hour  all  hands  toiled  on  the  work,  the  crossing  of  the 
tide-crack  becoming  more  difficult  with  each  succeeding 
sledge-load,  for  the  ice  in  the  bay  was  loosening,  and  it 
was  over  floating,  rocking  pieces  of  floe  with  gaps  several 
feet  wide  between  them  that  we  hauled  the  sledges. 
In  the  afternoon  the  ponies  were  brought  into  action, 
as  they  had  had  some  rest,  and  their  arrival  facilitated 
th^  discharge,  though  it  did  not  lighten  the  labours  of  the 
perspiring  staff.  None  of  our  party  were  in  very  good 
condition,  having  been  cooped  up  in  the  ship,  and  the 
heavy  cases  became  doubly  heavy  to  their  arms  and 
shoulders  by  midnight. 

Next  day  the  work  continued,  the  ice  still  holding 
in,  but  threatening  every  minute  to  go  out.  If  there 
had  been  sufficient  water  for  the  ship  to  lie  right  along- 
side the  shore  we  would  have  been  pleased  to  see  the 
ice  go  out,  but  at  the  place  where  we  were  landing  the 
stores  there  was  only  twelve  feet  of  water,  and  the 
Nimrodf  at  this  time,  drew  fourteen.  We  tried  to  anchor 
one  of  the  smaller  loose  pieces  of  bay  ice  to  the  ice-foot, 
and  this  answered  whilst  the  tide  was  setting  in.  As  a 
result  of  the  tidal  movement,  the  influx  of  heavy  pack 
in  the  bay  where  we  were  lying  caused  some  anxiety,  and 

105 


THE    HEART    OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

more  than  once  we  had  to  shift  the  ship  av/ay  from  the 
landing-place  because  of  the  heavy  floes  and  hummocky 


Scale  oF  Ysrd 

220  440 


880 

=1 


Oottd  L'i 


^ 


IS    -  !ce 

•  -   CoslQspc? 

*  "  Places  of  Lan<fcg 


ar  Mma    of    1st  Landing 


Cape  Royds 


Oatic'ii  Pi 


3rdSteraD3i 


•  *-'"'  v       =   »    s 


o 


Plan  of  Ice  Edge 

WITH  DEPOTS  &  STORES 

—  \y 


ice  which  pressed  up  against  the  bay  ice.  One  large 
berg  sailed  in  from  the  north  and  grounded  about  a  mile 
108 


J 


LANDING-PLACE    INACCESSIBLE 

to  the  south  of  Cape  Royds,  and  later  another  about  the 
same  height,  not  less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet, 
did  the  same,  and  these  two  bergs  were  frozen  in  when 
they  grounded  and  remained  in  that  position  through  the 
winter.  The  hummocky  pack  that  came  in  and  out  with 
the  tide  was  over  fifteen  feet  in  height,  and,  being  of  much 
greater  depth  below  water,  had  ample  power  and  force 
to  damage  the  ship  if  a  breeze  sprang  up. 

When  we  turned  to  after  lunch,  and  before  the  first 
sledge-load  reached  the  main  landing-place,  we  found 
that  it  would  be  impossible  to  continue  working  there 
any  longer,  for  the  small  floe  which  we  had  anchored  to  the 
ice  had  dragged  out  the  anchor  and  was  being  carried 
to  sea  by  the  ebbing  tide.  Some  three  hundred  and  fifty 
yards  further  along  the  shore  of  the  bay  was  a  much 
steeper  ice-foot  at  the  foot  of  the  cliffs,  and  a  snow  slope 
narrower  than  the  one  on  which  we  had  been  landing  the 
provisions.  This  was  the  nearest  available  spot  at  which 
to  continue  discharging.  We  hoped  that  when  the  ship 
had  left  we  could  hoist  the  stores  up  over  the  cliff  ;  they 
would  then  be  within  a  hundred  yards  of  the  hut,  and,  after 
being  carried  for  a  short  distance,  they  could  be  rolled 
down  the  steep  snow  slope  at  the  head  of  the  valley  where 
it  was  being  built.  All  this  time  the  hut-party  were 
w^orking  day  and  night,  and  the  building  was  rapidly 
assuming  an  appearance  of  solidity.  The  uprights  were 
in,  and  the  brace  ties  were  fastened  together,  so  that 
if  it  came  on  to  blow  there  was  no  fear  of  the  structure 
being  destroyed. 

The  stores  had  now  to  be  dragged  a  distance  of  nearly 
three  hundred  yards  from  the  ship  to  the  landing-place, 
but  this  work  was  greatly  facilitated  by  our  being  able 
to  use  four  of  the  ponies,  working  two  of  them  for  an 
hour,  and  then  giving  these  a  spell  whilst  two  others  took 
their  place.     The  snow  was  very  deep,  and  the  ponies 

107 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

sank  in  well  above  the  knees  ;  it  was  heavy  going  for 
the  men  who  were  leading  them.  A  large  amount  of 
stores  were  landed  in  this  way,  but  a  new  and  serious 
situation  arose  through  the  breaking  away  of  the  main 
ice-foot. 

On  the  previous  day  an  ominous-looking  crack  had 
been  observed  to  be  developing  at  the  end  of  the  ice-foot 
nearest  to  Flagstaff  Point,  and  it  became  apparent  that 
if  this  crack  continued  to  widen,  it  would  cut  right 
across  the  centre  of  our  stores,  with  the  result  that, 
unless  removed,  they  would  be  irretrievably  lost  in  the 
sea.  Next  day  (the  10th)  there  was  no  further  opening 
of  the  crack,  but  at  seven  o'clock  that  night  another 
crack  formed  on  the  ice-foot  inside  of  Derrick  Point 
where  we  were  now  landing  stores.  There  was  no  imme- 
diate danger  to  be  apprehended  at  this  place,  for  the  bay 
ice  would  have  to  go  out  before  the  ice-foot  could  fall 
into  the  sea.  Prudence  suggested  that  it  would  be  better 
to  shift  the  stores  already  landed  to  a  safer  place  before 
discharging  any  more  from  the  ship,  so  at  8  p.m.  on 
the  10th  we  commenced  getting  the  remainder  of  the 
wood  for  the  hut  and  the  bales  of  cork  for  the  lining  up 
on  to  the  bare  land.  This  took  till  about  midnight, 
when  we  knocked  off  for  cocoa  and  a  sleep. 

We  turned  to  at  six  o'clock  next  morning,  and  I 
decided  to  get  the  stores  up  the  cliff  face  at  Derrick 
Point  before  dealing  with  those  at  Front  Door  Bay,  the 
first  landing-place,  for  the  former  ice-foot  seemed  in 
the  greater  peril  of  collapse  than  did  the  latter.  Adams, 
Joyce  and  Wild  soon  rigged  up  a  boom  and  tackle  from 
the  top  of  the  cliff,  making  the  heel  of  the  boom  fast  by 
placing  great  blocks  of  volcanic  rocks  on  it.  A  party 
remained  below  on  the  ice-foot  to  shift  and  hook  on  the 
cases,  whilst  another  party  on  top,  fifty  feet  above, 
hauled  away  when  the  word  was  given  from  below,  and 
108 


A    DANGEROUS    SITUATION 

on  reaching  the  top  of  the  cliff,  the  cases  were  hauled  in 
by  means  of  a  guy  rope.  The  men  were  hauling  on  the 
thin  rope  of  the  tackle  from  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning 
till  one  o'clock  the  following  morning  with  barely  a 
spell  for  a  bit  to  eat. 

We  now  had  to  find  another  and  safer  place  on  which 
to  land  the  rest  of  the  coal  and  stores.  Further  round 
the  bay  from  where  the  ship  was  lying  was  a  smaller 
bight  where  a  gentle  slope  led  on  to  bare  rocks,  and  Back 
Door  Bay,  as  we  named  this  place,  became  our  new 
depot.  The  ponies  were  led  down  the  hill,  and  from  Back 
Door  Bay  to  the  ship.  This  was  a  still  longer  journey 
than  from  Derrick  Point,  but  there  was  no  help  for  it, 
and  we  started  landing  the  coal,  after  laying  a  tarpaulin 
on  the  rocks  to  keep  the  coal  from  becoming  mixed  with 
the  earth.  By  this  time  there  were  several  ugly  looking 
cracks  in  the  bay  ice,  and  these  kept  opening  and  closing 
having  a  play  of  seven  or  eight  inches  between  the  floes. 
We  improvised  bridges  out  of  the  bottom  and  sides  of  the 
motor-car  case  so  that  the  ponies  could  cross  the  cracks, 
and  by  eleven  o'clock  were  well  under  way  with  the  work. 
Mackay  had  just  taken  ashore  a  load  with  a  pony,  Army- 
tage  was  about  to  hook  on  another  pony  to  a  loaded 
sledge  at  the  ship,  and  a  third  pony  was  standing  tied  to 
our  stern  anchor  rope  waiting  its  turn  for  sledging, 
when  suddenly,  without  the  slightest  warning,  the  greater 
part  of  the  bay  ice  opened  out  into  floes,  and  the  whole 
mass  that  had  opened  started  to  drift  slowly  out  to  sea. 
The  ponies  on  the  ice  were  now  in  a  perilous  position. 
The  sailors  rushed  to  loosen  the  one  tied  to  the  stern  rope, 
and  got  it  over  the  first  crack,  and  Armytage  also  got 
the  pony  he  was  looking  after  off  the  floe  nearest  the  ship 
on  to  the  next  floe.  Just  at  that  moment  Mackay  ap- 
peared round  the  corner  from  Back  Door  Bay  with  a  third 
pony  attached  to  an  empty  sledge,  on  his  way  back  to  the 

109 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

ship  to  load  up.  Orders  were  shouted  to  him  not  to  come 
any  further,  but  he  did  not  at  first  grasp  the  situation, 
for  he  continued  advancing  over  the  ice,  which  was  now 
breaking  away  more  rapidly.  The  party  working  on  the 
top  of  Derrick  Point,  by  shouting  and  waving,  made  him 
realise  what  had  occurred.  He  accordingly  left  his 
sledge  and  pony  and  rushed  over  towards  where  the 
other  two  ponies  were  adrift  on  the  ice,  and,  by  jumping 
the  widening  cracks,  he  reached  the  moving  floe  on  which 
they  were  standing.  This  piece  of  ice  gradually  drew 
closer  to  a  larger  piece,  from  which  the  animals  would 
be  able  to  gain  a  place  of  safety.  Mackay  started 
to  try  and  get  the  pony  Chinaman  across  the  crack  when 
it  was  only  about  six  inches  wide,  but  the  animal  sud- 
denly took  fright,  reared  up  on  his  hind  legs,  and 
backing  towards  the  edge  of  the  floe,  which  had  at  that 
moment  opened  to  a  width  of  a  few  feet,  fell  bodily  into 
the  ice-cold  water.  It  looked  as  if  it  was  all  over  with 
poor  Chinaman,  but  Mackay  hung  on  to  the  head  rope, 
and  Davis,  Mawson,  Michell  and  one  of  the  sailors  who 
were  on  the  ice  close  by,  rushed  to  his  assistance.  The 
pony  managed  to  get  his  fore  feet  on  to  the  edge  of  the 
ice-floe.  After  great  difficulty  a  rope  sling  was  passed 
underneath  him,  and  then  by  tremendous  exertion  he 
was  lifted  up  far  enough  to  enable  him  to  scramble  on  to 
the  ice.  There  he  stood,  wet  and  trembling  in  every 
hmb.  A  few  seconds  later  the  floe  closed  up  against  the 
other  one.  It  was  providential  that  it  had  not  done  so 
during  the  time  that  the  pony  was  in  the  water,  for  in 
that  case  the  animal  would  inevitably  have  been  squeezed 
to  death  between  the  two  huge  masses  of  ice.  A  bottle 
of  brandy  was  thrown  on  to  the  ice  from  the  ship,  and 
half  its  contents  were  poured  down  Chinaman's  throat. 
The  ship  was  now  turning  round  with  the  object  of  going 
bow  on  to  the  floe,  in  order  to  push  it  ashore,  so  that 
110 


The  Landing-Place  Wharf  Broken  up 


To  face  page  110 


STORES    SAVED 

the  ponies  might  cross  on  to  the  fast  ice,  and  presently, 
with  the  engine  at  full  speed,  the  floe  was  slowly  but 
surely  moved  back  against  the  fast  ice.  Directly  the 
floe  was  hard  up  against  the  unbroken  ice,  the  ponies 
were  rushed  across  and  taken  straight  ashore,  and  the 
men  who  were  on  the  different  floes  took  advantage  of 
the  temporary  closing  of  the  crack  to  get  themselves  and 
the  stores  into  safety.  I  decided,  after  this  narrow 
escape,  not  to  risk  the  ponies  on  the  sea  ice  again.  The 
ship  was  now  backed  out,  and  the  loose  floes  began  to 
drift  away  to  the  west. 

By  1  P.M.  most  of  the  ice  had  cleared  out,  and  the 
ship  came  in  to  the  edge  of  the  fast  ice,  which  was  nov/ 
abreast  of  Back  Door  Bay.  Hardly  were  the  ice-anchors 
made  fast  before  new  cracks  appeared,  and  within  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  the  ship  was  adrift  again.  As  it 
was  impossible  to  discharge  under  these  conditions,  the 
Nimrod  stood  off.  We  had  now  practically  the  whole  of 
the  wintering  party  ashore,  so  when  lunch  was  over,  the 
main  party  went  on  with  the  work  at  Derrick  Point, 
refreshed  by  the  hot  tea  and  meat,  which  they  hastily 
swallowed. 

I  organised  that  afternoon  a  small  party  to  shift  the 
main  stores  into  safety.  We  had  not  been  long  at  work 
before  I  saw  that  it  would  need  the  utmost  despatch  and 
our  most  strenuous  endeavours  to  save  the  valuable 
cases  ;  for  the  crack  previously  observed  opened  more 
each  hour.  Perspiration  poured  down  our  faces  and 
bodies  as  we  toiled  in  the  hot  sun.  After  two  hours' 
work  we  had  shifted  into  a  place  of  safety  all  our  cases 
of  scientific  instruments,  and  a  large  quantity  of  fodder, 
and  hardly  were  they  secured  when,  with  a  sharp  crack, 
the  very  place  where  they  had  been  lying  fell  with  a 
crash  into  the  sea.  Had  we  lost  these  cases  the  result 
would  have  been  verv  serious,  for  a  great  part  of  our 

111 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

scientific  work  could  not  have  been  carried  out,  and 
if  the  fodder  had  been  lost,  it  would  have  meant  the  loss 
of  the  ponies  also.  The  breaking  of  this  part  of  the  ice 
made  us  redouble  our  efforts  to  save  the  rest  of  the  stores, 
for  we  could  not  tell  when  the  next  piece  of  ice  might 
break  off,  though  no  crack  was  yet  visible.  The  breaking 
up  of  the  bay  ice  that  morning  turned  out  to  be  after  all 
for  the  best,  for  I  would  not  otherwise  have  gone  on  so 
early  with  this  work.  I  ran  up  the  hill  to  the  top  of 
Flagstaff  Point,  as  we  called  the  cliff  at  the  southern 
extremity  of  Cape  Royds,  to  call  the  ship  in,  in  order 
to  obtain  additional  help  from  the  crew ;  she  had  been 
dodging  about  outside  of  the  point  since  one  o'clock,  but 
she  was  beyond  hailing  distance,  and  it  was  not  till  about 
seven  o'clock  that  I  saw  her  coming  close  in  again.  I  at 
once  hailed  England  and  told  him  to  send  every  available 
man  ashore  immediately.  In  a  few  minutes  a  boat  came 
off  with  half  a  dozen  men,  and  I  sent  a  message  back  by 
the  officer  in  charge  for  more  members  of  the  ship's  crew 
to  be  landed  at  once,  and  only  enough  men  left  on  board 
to  steer  the  ship  and  work  the  engines.  I  had  previously 
knocked  off  the  party  working  on  the  hut,  and  with 
the  extra  assistance  we  "  smacked  things  about  "  in  a 
lively  fashion.  The  ice  kept  breaking  off  in  chunks, 
but  we  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  every  single  package 
safe  on  the  rocks  by  midnight. 

Our  party  then  proceeded  to  sledge  the  heavier  cases 
and  the  tins  of  oil  at  the  foot  of  Derrick  Point  round  the 
narrow  causeway  of  ice  between  the  perpendicular  rocks 
and  the  sea  to  the  depot  at  Back  Door  Bay.  I  was 
astonished  and  delighted  on  arriving  at  the  derrick  to 
find  the  immense  amount  of  stores  that  had  been  placed 
in  safety  by  the  efforts  of  the  Derrick  Point  party,  and 
by  1  A.M.  on  February  13  all  the  stores  landed  were 
in  safety.  About  a  ton  of  flour  in  cases  remained  to  be 
112 


A   HEAVY    SWELL 

hauled  up,  but  as  we  already  had  enough  ashore  to  last 
us  for  a  year,  and  knowing  that  at  Hut  Point  there  were 
large  quantities  of  biscuit  left  by  the  last  expedition, 
which  would  be  available  if  needed,  we  just  rolled  the 
cases  on  the  ice-foot  into  a  hollow  at  the  foot  of  the  cliff, 
where  they  were  in  comparative  safety,  as  the  ice  there 
would  not  be  likely  to  break  away  immediately.  We 
retrieved  these  after  the  ship  left. 

As  I  stated  in  the  chapter  on  the  equipment  of  the 
expedition,  I  tried  to  get  the  bulk  of  the  stores  into  cases 
of  uniform  size  and  weight,  averaging  fifty  to  sixty 
pounds  gross,  and  thus  allow  of  more  easy  handling 
than  would  have  been  the  case  if  the  stores  were  packed 
in  the  usual  way.  The  goods  packed  in  Venesta 
cases  could  withstand  the  roughest  treatment  without 
breakage  or  damage  to  the  contents.  These  Venesta 
cases  are  made  of  three  thin  layers  of  wood,  fastened 
together  by  a  patent  process  ;  the  material  is  much 
tougher  than  ordinary  wood,  weighs  much  less  than  a 
case  of  the  same  size  made  of  the  usual  deal,  and  being 
thinner,  takes  up  much  less  room,  a  consideration  of 
great  moment  to  a  Polar  expedition.  The  wood  could  not 
be  broken  by  the  direct  blow  of  a  heavy  hammer,  and 
the  empty  cases  could  be  used  for  the  making  of  the 
hundred  and  one  odds  and  ends  that  have  to  be  contrived 
to  meet  requirements  in  such  an  expedition  as  this. 

At  1  A.M.  on  the  morning  of  February  13  I  signalled 
the  ship  to  come  in  to  take  off  the  crew,  and  a  boat 
was  sent  ashore.  There  was  a  slight  breeze  blowing,  and 
it  took  them  some  time  to  pull  off  to  the  Nimrod 
which  lay  a  long  way  out.  We  on  shore  turned  in,  and 
we  were  so  tired  that  it  was  noon  before  we  woke  up. 
A  glance  out  to  sea  showed  that  we  had  lost  nothing  by 
our  sleep,  for  there  was  a  heavy  swell  running  into  the  bay 
and  it  would  have  been  quite  impossible  to  have  landed 
I  H  113 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

any  stores  at  all.  In  the  afternoon  the  ship  came  in 
fairly  close,  but  I  signalled  England  that  it  was  useless 
to  send  the  boat.  This  northerly  swell,  which  we  could 
hear  thundering  on  the  ice-foot,  would  have  been  welcome 
a  fortnight  before,  for  it  would  have  broken  up  a  large 
amount  of  fast  ice  to  the  south,  and  I  could  not  help 
imagining  that  probably  at  this  date  there  was  open  water 
up  to  Hut  Point.  Now,  however,  it  was  the  worst  thing 
possible  for  us,  as  the  precious  time  was  shpping  by,  and 
the  still  more  valuable  coal  was  being  used  up  by  the 
continual  working  of  the  ship's  engines.  Next  day  the 
swell  still  continued,  so  at  4  p.m.  I  signalled  England 
to  proceed  to  Glacier  Tongue  and  land  a  depot  there. 
Glacier  Tongue  is  a  remarkable  formation  of  ice 
which  stretches  out  into  the  sea  from  the  south-west 
slopes  of  Mount  Erebus.  About  five  miles  in  length, 
running  east  and  west,  tapering  almost  to  a  point  at  its 
seaward  end,  and  having  a  width  of  about  a  mile  where 
it  descends  from  the  land,  cracked  and  crevassed  all  over 
and  floating  in  deep  water,  it  is  a  phenomenon  which  still 
remains  a  mystery.  It  lies  about  eight  miles  to  the 
northward  of  Hut  Point,  and  about  thirteen  to  the  south- 
ward of  Cape  Royds,  and  I  thought  this  would  be  a  good 
place  at  which  to  land  a  quantity  of  sledging  stores, 
as  by  doing  so  we  would  be  saved  haulage  at  least  thirteen 
miles,  the  distance  between  the  spot  on  the  southern  route 
and  Cape  Royds.  The  ship  arrived  there  in  the  early 
evening,  and  landed  the  depot  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Tongue.  The  Professor  took  bearings  so  that  there 
might  be  no  difficulty  in  finding  the  depot  when  the 
sledging  season  commenced.  The  sounding  at  this  spot 
gave  a  depth  of  157  fathoms.  From  the  seaward  end  of 
the  glacier  it  was  observed  that  the  ice  had  broken  away 
only  a  couple  of  miles  further  south,  so  the  northerly  swell 
had  not  been  as  far  reaching  in  its  effect  as  I  had 
114 


Derrick  Point,  showing  the  Method  of  hauling  Stores  up  the  Cliff 

To  face  page  114 


A    TEMPORARY    COOK-HOUSE 

imagined.     The   ship  moored  at   the   Tongue  for  the 
night. 

During  this  day  we,  ashore  at  Cape  Royds,  were 
variously  employed  ;  one  party  continued  the  building  of 
the  hut,  whilst  the  rest  of  us  made  a  more  elaborate 
temporary  dwelling  and  cook  house  than  we  had  had  up 
to  that  time.  The  walls  were  constructed  of  bales  of 
fodder,  which  lent  themselves  admirably  for  this  purpose, 
the  cook-tent  tarpaulin  was  stretched  over  these  for  a 
roof  and  was  supported  on  planks,  and  the  outer  walls 
were  stayed  with  uprights  from  the  pony-stalls.  As  the 
roof  was  rather  low  and  people  could  not  stand  upright, 
a  trench  was  dug  at  one  end,  where  the  cook  could  move 
about  without  bending  his  back  the  whole  time.  In  this 
corner  were  concocted  the  most  delicious  dishes  that  ever 
a  hungry  man  could  wish  for.  Wild  acted  as  cook  till 
Roberts  came  ashore  permanently,  and  it  was  a  sight  to 
see  us  in  the  dim  light  that  penetrated  through  the 
door  of  the  fodder  hut  as  we  sat  in  a  row  on  cases,  each 
armed  with  a  spoon  manufactured  out  of  tin  and  wood  by 
the  ever-inventive  Day,  awaiting  with  eagerness  our 
bowl  of  steaming  hoosh  or  rich  dark-coloured  penguin 
breast,  followed  by  biscuit,  butter  and  jam  ;  tea  and 
smokes  ended  up  the  meal,  and,  as  we  lazily  stretched 
ourselves  out  for  the  smoke,  regardless  of  a  temperature 
of  16  or  18  degrees  of  frost,  we  felt  that  things  were  not 
so  bad. 

The  same  day  that  we  built  the  fodder  hut  we  placed 
inside  it  some  cases  of  bottled  fruit,  hoping  to  save 
them  from  being  cracked  by  the  severe  frost  outside. 
The  bulk  of  the  cases  containing  liquid  we  kept  on  board 
the  ship  till  the  last  moment  so  that  they  could  be  put 
into  the  main  hut  when  the  fire  was  lighted.  We 
turned  in  about  midnight,  and  got  up  at  seven  next 
morning.     The  ship  had  just  come  straight  in,  and  I  went 

115 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

off  on  board.  Marshall  also  came  off  to  attend  to  Mack- 
intosh, whose  wound  was  rapidly  healing.  He  was  now 
up  and  about.  He  was  very  anxious  to  stay  with  us,  but 
Marshall  did  not  think  it  advisable  for  him  to  risk  it. 
During  the  whole  of  this  day  and  the  next,  the  15th,  the 
swell  was  too  great  to  admit  of  any  stores  being  landed, 
but  early  on  the  morning  of  the  16th  we  found  it  possible 
to  get  ashore  at  a  small  ice-foot  to  the  north  of  Flagstaff 
Point,  and  here,  in  spite  of  the  swell,  we  managed  to 
land  six  boatloads  of  fruit,  some  oil,  and  tv/enty-four 
bags  of  coal.  The  crew  of  the  boat,  whilst  the  stores 
were  being  taken  out,  had  to  keep  to  their  oars,  and  when- 
ever the  swell  rolled  on  the  shelving  beach,  they  had 
to  back  with  all  their  might  to  keep  the  bow  of  the  boat 
from  running  under  the  overhanging  ice-foot  and  being 
crushed  under  the  ice  by  the  lifting  wave.  Davis,  the 
chief  officer  of  the  Nimrod,  worked  like  a  Titan.  A 
tall,  red-headed  Irishman,  typical  of  his  country,  he  was 
always  working  and  always  cheerful,  having  no  time-limit 
for  his  work.  He  and  Harbord,  the  second  officer,  a 
quiet,  self-reliant  man,  were  great  acquisitions  to  the 
expedition.  These  two  officers  were  ably  supported  by 
the  efforts  of  the  crew.  They  had  nothing  but  hard 
work  and  discomfort  from  the  beginning  of  the  voyage, 
and  yet  they  were  always  cheerful,  and  worked  splen- 
didly. Dunlop,  the  chief  engineer,  not  only  kept  his 
department  going  smoothly  on  board  but  was  the  prin- 
cipal constructor  of  the  hut.  A  great  deal  of  the  credit 
for  the  work  being  so  cheerfully  performed  was  due  to 
the  example  of  Cheetham,  who  was  an  old  hand  in 
the  Antarctic,  having  been  boatswain  of  the  Morning 
on  both  the  voyages  she  made  for  the  relief  of  the 
Discovery.  He  was  third  mate  and  boatswain  on  this 
expedition. 

When  I  had  gone  on  board  the  previous  day  I  found 
116 


HEAVY    WORK    CONTINUES 

that  England  was  still  poorly  and  that  he  was  feeling 
the  strain  of  the  situation.  He  was  naturally  very 
anxious  to  get  the  ship  away  and  concerned  about  the 
shrinkage  of  the  coal-supply.  I  also  would  have  been 
glad  to  have  seen  the  Nimrod  on  her  way  north,  but  it 
was  impossible  to  let  her  leave  until  the  wintering  party 
had  received  their  coal  from  her.  In  view  of  the  voyage 
home,  the  ship's  main  topmast  was  struck  to  lessen  her 
rolling  in  bad  weather.  It  was  impossible  to  ballast  the 
ship  with  rock,  as  the  time  needed  for  this  operation 
would  involve  the  consumption  of  much  valuable  coal, 
and  I  was  sure  that  the  heavy  iron-bark  and  oak  hull? 
and  the  weight  of  the  engine  and  boiler  filled  with 
water  would  be  sufficient  to  ensure  the  ship's  safety. 

We  found  it  impossible  to  continue  working  at  Cliff 
Point  later  on  in  the  day,  so  the  ship  stood  off  whilst  those 
on  shore  went  on  with  the  building  of  the  hut.  Some 
of  the  shore-party  had  come  off  in  the  last  boat  to  finish 
writing  their  final  letters  home,  and  during  the  night  we 
lay  to  waiting  for  the  swell  to  decrease.  The  weather 
was  quite  fine,  and  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  swell  we 
could  have  got  through  a  great  deal  of  work.  February 
is  by  no  means  a  fine  month  in  the  latitude  we  were  in, 
and  up  till  now  we  had  been  extremely  fortunate,  as  we 
had  not  experienced  a  real  blizzard. 

The  following  morning,  Monday,  February  17,  the 
sea  was  breaking  heavily  on  the  ice-foot  at  the  bottom 
of  Cliff  Point.  The  stores  that  had  been  landed  the 
previous  day  had  been  hoisted  up  the  overhanging  cliff 
and  now  formed  the  fourth  of  our  scattered  depots  of 
coal  and  stores.  The  swell  did  not  seem  so  heavy  in 
Front  Door  Bay,  so  we  commenced  landing  the  stores  in 
the  whale-boat  at  the  place  where  the  ice-foot  had  broken 
away,  a  party  on  shore  hauling  the  bags  of  coal  and  the 
cases  up  the  ice-face,  which  was  about  fourteen  feet 

117 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

high.  The  penguins  were  still  round  us  in  large  numbers. 
We  had  not  had  any  time  to  make  observations  on  them, 
being  so  busily  employed  discharging  the  ship,  but  just 
at  this  particular  time  our  attention  was  called  to  a 
couple  of  these  birds  which  suddenly  made  a  spring  from 
the  water  and  landed  on  their  feet  on  the  ice-edge,  having 
cleared  a  vertical  height  of  twelve  feet.  It  seemed  a 
marvellous  jump  for  these  small  creatures  to  have  made, 
and  shows  the  rapidity  with  which  they  must  move 
through  the  water  to  gain  the  impetus  that  enables  them 
to  clear  a  distance  in  vertical  height  four  times  greater 
than  their  own,  and  also  how  unerring  must  be  their 
judgment  in  estimation  of  the  distance  and  height  when 
performing  this  feat.  The  work  of  landing  stores  at  this 
spot  was  greatly  hampered  by  the  fact  that  the  bay  was 
more  or  less  filled  with  broken  floes,  through  which  the 
boat  had  to  be  forced.  It  was  impossible  to  use  the  oars 
in  the  usual  way,  so,  on  arriving  at  the  broken  ice,  they 
were  employed  as  poles.  The  bow  of  the  boat  was 
entered  into  a  likely  looking  channel,  and  then  the  crew, 
standing  up,  pushed  the  boat  forward  by  means  of  the 
oars,  the  ice  generally  giving  way  on  each  side,  but  some- 
times closing  up  and  nipping  the  boat,  which,  if  it  had 
been  less  strongly  built,  would  assuredly  have  been 
crushed.  The  Professor,  Mawson,  Cotton,  Michell  and  a 
couple  of  seamen  formed  the  boat's  crew,  and  with  Davis 
or  Harbord  in  the  stern,  they  dodged  the  ice  very  well, 
considering  the  fact  that  the  swell  was  rather  heavy  at 
the  outside  edge  of  the  floes.  When  alongside  the  ice- 
foot one  of  the  crew  hung  on  to  a  rope  in  the  bow,  and 
another  did  the  same  in  the  stern,  hauling  in  the  slack  as 
the  boat  rose  on  top  of  the  swell,  and  easing  out  as  the 
water  swirled  downwards  from  the  ice-foot.  There  was  a 
sharp-pointed  rock,  which,  when  the  swell  receded,  was 
almost  above  water,  and  the  greatest  difficulty  was  ex- 
118 


LANDING    COAL 

perienced  in  preventing  the  boat  from  crashing  down  on 
the  top  of  this.  The  rest  of  the  staff  in  the  boat  and  on 
shore  hauled  up  the  cases  and  bags  of  coal  at  every  avail- 
able opportunity.  The  coal  was  weighed  at  the  top  of 
the  ice-foot,  and  the  bags  emptied  on  to  a  heap  which 
formed  the  main  supply  for  the  winter  months.  We  had 
now  three  depots  of  coal  in  different  places  round  the 
winter  quarters.  In  the  afternoon  the  floating  ice  at  this 
place  became  impassable,  but  fortunately  it  had  worked 
its  way  out  of  Back  Door  Bay,  where,  in  spite  of  the 
heavy  swell  running  against  the  ice-foot,  we  were  able 
to  continue  adding  to  the  heap  of  coal  until  nearly  eight 
tons  had  been  landed.  It  was  a  dull  and  weary  job 
except  when  unpleasantly  enlivened  by  the  imminent 
danger  of  the  boat  being  caught  between  heavy  pieces 
of  floating  ice  and  the  solid  ice-foot.  These  masses  of 
ice  rose  and  fell  on  the  swell,  the  water  swirling  round 
them  as  they  became  submerged,  and  pouring  off  their 
top  and  sides  as  they  rose  to  the  surface.  It  required  all 
Harbord's  watchfulness  and  speediness  of  action  to 
prevent  damage  to  the  boat.  It  is  almost  needless  to 
observe  that  all  hands  were  as  grimy  as  coal-heavers, 
especially  the  boat's  crew,  who  were  working  in  the  half- 
frozen  slushy  coal-dust  and  sea  spray.  The  Professor, 
Mawson,  Cotton,  and  Michell  still  formed  part  of  the 
crew.  They  had,  by  midnight,  been  over  twelve  hours  in 
the  boat,  excepting  for  about  ten  minutes'  spell  for  lunch, 
and  after  discharging  each  time  had  a  long  pull  back  to 
the  ship.  When  each  boat-load  was  landed,  the  coal 
and  stores  had  to  be  hauled  up  on  a  sledge  over  a  very 
steep  gradient  to  a  place  of  safety,  and  after  this  was 
accomplished,  there  was  a  long  wait  for  the  next  con- 
signment. 

Work  was  continued  all  night,  though  every  one  was 
nearly  dropping  with  fatigue  ;    but  I  decided  that  the 

119 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

boat  returning  to  the  ship  at  5  a.m.  (the  18th)  should 
take  a  message  to  England  that  the  men  were  to  knock 
off  for   breakfast   and  turn  to   at    7  a.m.      Meanwhile 
Roberts  had  brewed  some  hot  coffee  in  the  hut,  where  we 
now  had  the  stove  going,  and,  after  a  drink  of  this,  our 
weary  people  threw  themselves  down  on  the  sleeping-bags 
in  order  to  snatch  a  short  rest  before  again  taking  up  the 
weary  work.      At  7  a.m.  I  went  to  the  top  of  Flagstaff 
Point,  but  instead  of  seeing  the  ship  close  in,  I  spied  her 
hull  down  on  the  horizon,  and  could  see  no  sign  of  her 
approaching  the  winter  quarters  to  resume  discharging. 
After  watching  her  for  about  half  an  hour,  I  returned  to 
the  hut,  woke  up  those  of  the  staff  who  from  utter  weari- 
ness had  dropped  asleep,  and  told  them  to  turn  into  their 
bags  and  have  a  proper  rest.     I  could  not  imagine  why 
the  ship  was  not  at  hand,  but  at  a  quarter  to  eleven 
Harbord  came  ashore  and  said  that  England  wanted  to 
see  me  on  board ;    so,  leaving  the  others  to  sleep,   I 
went  off  to  the  Nimrod.     On  asking  England  why  the 
ship  was  not  in  at  seven  to  continue  discharging,  he 
told   me   that   all   hands   were   so   dead-tired   that   he 
thought  it  best  to  let  them  have  a  sleep.     The  men 
were  certainly  worn  out.     Davis'  head    had    dropped 
on  the  wardroom  table,  and  he  had  gone  sound  asleep 
with  his  spoon  in  his  mouth,  to  which  he  had  just  con- 
veyed some  of  his  breakfast.     Cotton  had  fallen  asleep 
on  the  platform  of  the  engine-room  steps,  whilst  Mawson, 
whose  lair  was  a  Httle  store-room  in  the  engine-room, 
was   asleep   on  the   floor.      His   long   legs,    protruding 
through  the  doorway,  had  found  a  resting-place  on  the 
cross-head  of  the  engine,  and  his  dreams  were  mingled  with 
a  curious  rhythmical  motion  which  was  fully  accounted 
for  when  he  woke  up,  for  the  ship  having  got  under  way, 
the  up-and-down  motion  of  the  piston  had  moved  his 
limbs   with   every  stroke.      The  sailors  also   were  fast 
120 


ICE    CONDITIONS 

asleep  ;  so,  in  the  face  of  this  evidence  of  absolute  ex- 
haustion, I  decided  not  to  start  work  again  till  after  one 
o'clock,  and  told  England  definitely  that  when  the  ship 
had  been  reduced  in  coal  to  ninety-two  tons  as  a  minimum 
I  would  send  her  north.  According  to  our  experiences 
on  the  last  expedition,  the  latest  date  to  which  it  would 
be  sale  to  keep  the  Nimrod  would  be  the  end  of  February, 
for  the  young  ice  forming  about  that  time  on  the  sound 
would  seriously  hamper  her  getting  clear  of  the  Ross 
Sea.  Later  observations  of  the  ice  conditions  of 
McMurdo  Sound  at  our  winter  quarters  showed  us  that 
a  powerfully  engined  ship  could  have  gone  north  later 
in  the  year,  perhaps  even  in  the  winter,  for  we  had  open 
water  close  to  us  all  the  time. 

About  2  P.M.  the  Nimrod  came  close  in  to  Flagstaff 
Point  to  start  discharging  again.  I  decided  that  it  was 
time  to  land  the  more  delicate  instruments,  such  as 
watches,  chronometers,  and  all  personal  gear.  The 
members  of  the  staff  who  were  on  board  hauled  their 
things  out  of  Oyster  Alley,  and,  laden  with  its  valuable 
freight,  we  took  the  whale  boat  into  Front  Door  Bay. 
Those  who  had  been  ashore  now  went  on  board  to  collect 
their  goods  and  finish  their  correspondence.  This  party 
consisted  of  Day,  Wild,  Adams  and  Marshall.  Mackin- 
tosh and  the  carpenter  were  ashore,  the  latter  being  still 
busily  engaged  on  the  construction  of  the  hut,  which  was 
rapidly  approaching  completion.  During  the  afternoon 
we  continued  boating  coal  to  Front  Door  Bay,  which 
was  again  free  of  ice,  and  devoted  our  attention  almost 
entirely  to  this  work. 


121 


CHAPTER  VIII 

A  BLIZZARD  :  THE  DEPARTURE  OF  THE  NIMROD 

ABOUT  five  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  February  18, 
snow  began  to  fall,  with  a  light  wind  from  the 
north,  and  as  at  times  the  boat  could  hardly  be  seen 
from  the  ship,  instructions  were  given  to  the  boat's  crew 
that  whenever  the  Nimrod  was  not  clearly  visible 
they  were  to  wait  alongside  the  shore  until  the  snow 
squall  had  passed  and  she  appeared  in  sight  again.  At 
six  o'clock,  just  as  the  boat  had  come  alongside  for 
another  load,  the  wind  suddenly  shifted  to  the  south-east 
and  freshened  immediately.  The  whaler  was  hoisted  at 
once,  and  the  Nimrod  stood  off  from  the  shore,  passing 
between  some  heavy  ice-floes,  against  one  of  which  her 
propeller  struck,  but  fortunately  without  sustaining  any 
damage.  Within  half  an  hour  it  was  blowing  a  furious 
blizzard,  and  every  sign  of  land,  both  east  and  west,  was 
obscured  in  the  scudding  drift.  I  was  aboard  the  vessel 
at  the  time.  We  were  then  making  for  the  fast-ice  to 
the  south,  but  the  Nimrod  was  gaining  but  httle  headway 
against  the  terrific  wind  and  short,  rising  sea  ;  so  to 
save  coal  I  decided  to  keep  the  engines  just  going  slow 
and  maintain  our  position  in  the  sound  as  far  as  we  could 
judge,  though  it  was  inevitable  that  we  should  drift 
northward  to  a  certain  extent.  All  night  the  gale  raged 
with  great  fury.  The  speed  of  the  gusts  at  times  must 
have  approached  a  force  of  a  hundred  miles  an  hour. 
122 


BLIZZARD    IN    McMURDO    SOUND 

The  tops  of  the  seas  were  cut  off  by  the  wind,  and  fiung 
over  the  decks,  mast,  and  rigging  of  the  ship,  congeaUng 
at  once  into  hard  ice,  and  the  sides  of  the  vessel  were  thick 
with  the  frozen  sea  water.  "  The  masts  were  grey  with 
the  frozen  spray,  and  the  bows  were  a  coat  of  mail." 
Very  soon  the  cases  and  sledges  lying  on  deck  were  hard 
and  fast  in  a  sheet  of  solid  ice,  and  the  temperature  had 
dropped  below  zero.  Harbord,  who  was  the  officer  on 
watch,  on  whistling  to  call  the  crew  aft,  found  that  the 
metal  whistle  stuck  to  his  lips,  a  painful  intimation  of  the 
low  temperature.  I  spent  most  of  the  night  on  the 
bridge,  and  hoped  that  the  violence  of  the  gale  would 
be  of  but  short  duration.  This  hope  was  not  realised, 
for  next  morning,  February  19,  at  8  a.m.,  it  was  blow- 
ing harder  than  ever.  During  the  early  hours  of  the  day 
the  temperature  was  minus  16°  Fahr.,  and  consistently 
kept  below  minus  12°  Fahr.  The  motion  of  the  ship  was 
sharp  and  jerky,  yet,  considering  the  nature  of  the  sea 
and  the  trim  of  the  vessel,  she  was  remarkably  steady. 
To  a  certain  extent  this  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  main 
topmast  had  been  lowered.  We  had  constantly  to  have 
two  men  at  the  wheel,  for  the  rudder,  being  so  far  out  of 
the  water,  received  the  blows  of  the  sea  as  they  struck 
the  quarter  and  stern ;  and  the  steersman  having 
once  been  flung  right  over  the  steering-chains  against  the 
side  of  the  ship,  it  was  necessary  to  have  two  always 
holding  on  to  the  kicking  v/heel.  At  times  there  would 
be  a  slight  lull,  the  seas  striking  less  frequently  against 
the  rudder,  and  the  result  would  be  that  the  rudder- well 
soon  got  filled  with  ice,  and  it  was  found  impossible  to 
move  the  wheel  at  all.  To  overcome  this  dangerous 
state  of  things  the  steersmen  had  to  keep  moving  the 
wheel  alternately  to  port  and  starboard,  after  the  ice 
had  been  broken  away  from  the  well.  In  spite  of  this 
precaution,  the  rudder-well  occasionally  became  choked, 

123 


THE    HEART    OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

and  one  of  the  crew,  armed  with  a  long  iron  bar,  had  to 
stand  by  continually  to  break  the  frozen  sea  water  off 
the  rudder.  In  the  blinding  drift  it  was  impossible  to 
see  more  than  a  few  yards  from  the  ship,  and  once  a 
large  iceberg  suddenly  loomed  out  of  the  drift  close  to  the 
weather  bow  of  the  Nimrod  ;  fortunately  the  rudder  had 
just  been  cleared,  and  the  ship  answered  her  helm,  thus 
avoiding  a  colUsion. 

All  day  on  the  20th,  through  the  night,  and  through- 
out the  day  and  night  of  the  21st,  the  gale  raged.  Occa- 
sionally the  drift  ceased,  and  we  saw  dimly  bare  rocks, 
sometimes  to  the  east  and  sometimes  to  the  west,  but 
the  upper  parts  of  them  being  enveloped  in  snow  clouds, 
it  was  impossible  to  ascertain  exactly  what  our  position 
was.  At  these  times  we  were  forced  to  wear  ship  ;  that 
is,  to  turn  the  ship  round,  bringing  the  wind  first  astern 
and  then  on  to  the  other  side,  so  that  we  could  head 
in  the  opposite  direction.  It  was  impossible  in  face 
of  the  storm  to  tack,  i.e.,  to  turn  the  ship's  head  into  the 
wind,  and  round,  so  as  to  bring  the  wind  on  the  other 
side.  About  midnight  on  the  21  ^t,  whilst  carrying  out 
this  evolution  of  wearing  ship,  during  which  the  Nimrod 
always  rolled  heavily  in  the  trough  of  the  waves,  she 
shipped  a  heavy  sea,  and,  all  the  release- water  ports  and 
scupper  holes  being  blocked  with  ice,  the  water  had  no 
means  of  exit,  and  began  to  freeze  on  deck,  where, 
already,  there  was  a  layer  of  ice  over  a  foot  in  thickness. 
Any  more  weight  like  this  would  have  made  the  ship 
unmanageable.  The  ropes,  already  covered  with  ice, 
would  have  been  frozen  into  a  solid  mass,  so  we  were 
forced  to  take  the  drastic  step  of  breaking  holes  in  the 
bulwarks  to  allow  the  water  to  escape.  This  had  been 
done  already  in  the  forward  end  of  the  ship  by  the  gales 
we  experienced  on  our  passage  down  to  the  ice,  but  as 
the  greater  part  of  the  weight  in  the  holds  was  aft,  the 
124 


THE  ^^NIMROD"  RETURNS 


"Mvf""^ — '?!53:"'r>":" 


BREAKING   THE    BULWARKS 

water  collected  towards  the  middle  and  stern,  and  the 
job  of  breaking  through  the  bulwarks  was  a  tougher 
one  than  we  had  imagined  ;  it  was  only  by  dint  of  great 
exertions  that  Davis  and  Harbord  accomplished  it.  It 
was  a  sight  to  see  Harbord,  held  by  his  legs,  hanging  over 
the  starboard  side  of  the  Nimrod,  and  wielding  a  heavy 
axe,  whilst  Davis,  whose  length  of  limb  enabled  him  to 
lean  over  without  being  held,  did  the  same  on  the  other 
side.  The  temperature  at  this  time  was  several  degrees 
below  zero.  Occasionally  on  this  night,  as  we  ap- 
proached the  eastern  shore,  the  coast  of  Ross  Island,  we 
noticed  the  sea  covered  with  a  thick  yellowish-brown 
scum.  This  was  due  to  the  immense  masses  of  snow 
blown  off  the  mountain  sides  out  to  sea,  and  this  scum, 
to  a  certain  extent,  prevented  the  tops  of  the  waves  from 
breaking.  Had  it  not  been  for  this  unexpected  protec- 
tion we  would  certainly  have  lost  our  starboard  boat, 
which  had  been  unshipped  in  a  sea  and  was  hanging  in 
a  precarious  position  for  the  time  being.  It  was  hard  to 
realise  that  so  high  and  so  dangerous  a  sea  could  possibly 
have  risen  in  the  comparatively  narrow  waters  of  Mc- 
Murdo  Sound.  The  wind  was  as  strong  as  that  we  ex- 
perienced in  the  gales  that  assailed  us  after  we  first  left 
New  Zealand,  but  the  waves  were  not  so  huge  as  those 
which  had  the  whole  run  of  the  Southern  Ocean  in  which 
to  gather  strength  before  they  met  us.  At  2  a.m.  the 
weather  suddenly  cleared,  and  though  the  wind  still  blew 
strongly  and  gustily,  it  was  apparent  that  the  force  of  the 
gale  had  been  expended.  We  could  now  see  our  position 
clearly.  The  wind  and  current,  in  spite  of  our  efforts  to 
keep  our  position,  had  driven  us  over  thirty  miles  to  the 
north,  and  at  this  time  we  were  abeam  of  Cape  Bird. 
The  sea  was  rapidly  decreasing  in  height,  enabling  us  to 
steam  for  Cape  Royds. 

We  arrived  there  in  the  early  morning,  and  I  went 

125 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

ashore  at  Back  Door  Bay,  after  pushing  the  whale  boat 
through  pancake  ice  and  slush,  the  result  of  the  gale. 
Hurrjdng  over  to  the  hut  I  was  glad  to  see  that  it  was 
intact,  and  then  I  received  full  details  of  the  occurrences 
of  the  last  three  days  on  shore.  The  report  was  not  very 
reassuring  as  regards  the  warmth  of  the  hut,  for  the 
inmates  stated  that,  in  spite  of  the  stove  being  alight 
the  whole  time,  no  warmth  was  given  off.  Of  course 
the  building  was  really  not  at  all  complete.  It  had  not 
been  lined,  and  there  were  only  makeshift  protections 
for  the  windows,  but  what  seemed  a  grave  matter  was 
the  behaviour  of  the  stove,  for  on  the  efficiency  of  this 
depended  not  only  our  comfort  but  our  very  exist- 
ence. The  shore-party  had  experienced  a  very  heavy 
gale  indeed.  The  hut  had  trembled  and  shaken  the 
whole  time,  and  if  the  situation  had  not  been  so  admir- 
able I  doubt  whether  there  would  have  been  a  hut  at  all 
after  the  gale.  A  minor  accident  had  occurred,  for  our 
fodder  hut  had  failed  to  withstand  the  gale,  and  one  of 
the  walls  had  collapsed,  killing  one  of  Possum's  pups. 
The  roof  had  been  demolished  at  the  same  time. 

On  going  down  to  our  main  landing-place,  the  full 
effect  of  the  blizzard  became  apparent.  There  was 
hardly  a  sign  to  be  seen  of  the  greater  part  of  our  stores. 
At  first  it  appeared  that  the  drifting  snow  had  covered  the 
cases  and  bales  and  the  coal,  but  a  closer  inspection 
showed  that  the  real  disappearance  of  our  stores  from 
view  was  due  to  the  sea.  Such  was  the  force  of  the  wind 
blowing  straight  on  to  the  shore  from  the  south  that  the 
spray  had  been  flung  in  sheets  over  everything  and  had 
been  carried  by  the  wind  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
inland,  and  consequently  in  places,  our  precious  stores 
lay  buried  to  a  depth  of  five  or  six  feet  in  a  mass  of  frozen 
sea  water.  The  angles  taken  up  by  the  huddled  masses 
of  cases  and  bales  had  made  the  surface  of  this  mass  of  ice 
126 


>  o> 


Digging  out  Stores  after  the  Cases  had  bken  buried  in   Ice  during  a  Blizzard 

To  face  page  126 


STORES    BURIED    IN    ICE 

assume  a  most  peculiar  shape,  as  may  be  seen  from  the 
illustrations.  We  feared  that  it  would  take  weeks  of 
work  to  get  the  stores  clear  of  the  ice.  It  was  probable 
also  that  the  salt  water  would  have  damaged  the  fodder, 
and  worked  its  way  into  cases  that  were  not  tin-lined  or 
made  of  Venesta  wood,  and  that  some  of  the  things  would 
never  be  seen  again.  No  one  would  have  recognised  the 
landing-place  as  the  spot  on  which  we  had  been  Avorking 
during  the  past  fortnight,  so  great  was  the  change 
wrought  by  the  furious  storm.  Our  heap  of  coal  had  a 
sheet  of  frozen  salt  water  over  it,  but  this  was  a  blessing 
in  disguise,  for  it  saved  the  smaller  pieces  of  coal  from 
being  blown  away. 

There  was  no  time  then  to  do  anything  about  releasing 
the  stores  from  the  ice  ;  the  main  thing  was  to  get  the 
remainder  of  the  coal  ashore  and  send  the  ship  north. 
We  immediately  started  landing  coal  at  the  extreme  edge 
of  Front  Door  Bay.  The  rate  of  work  was  necessarily 
very  slow,  for  the  whole  place  was  both  rough  and  slip- 
pery from  the  newly  formed  ice  that  covered  everything. 
In  spite  of  the  swell  we  worked  all  the  morning,  and 
in  the  early  afternoon,  as  the  bay  became  full  of  ice, 
instructions  were  sent  to  the  ship  to  proceed  to  Glacier 
Tongue,  deposit  five  tons  of  coal  there,  and  then  report 
at  Flagstaff  Point.  The  sea  went  doA\Ti  greatly  about 
half  an  hour  after  the  ship  left,  and  we  were  much 
pleased,  about  6  p.m.,  to  see  the  Nimrod  returning,  for 
it  was  greatly  to  our  advantage  to  land  the  coal  at  winter 
quarters  instead  of  having  to  sledge  it  thirteen  miles 
from  Glacier  Tongue. 

On  the  Nimrod' s  return,  England  reported  that  loose 
floe-ice  surrounded  Glacier  Tongue,  so  that  it  was  impos- 
sible to  make  a  depot  there.  We  now  proceeded  to 
continue  discharging,  and  shortly  before  10  p.m.  on 
February  22,  the  final  boatload  of  coal   arrived.     We 

127 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

calculated  that  we  had  in  all  only  about  eighteen  tons, 
so  that  the  strictest  economy  would  be  required  to  make 
this  amount  spin  out  until  the  sledging  commenced  in 
the  following  spring.  I  should  certainly  have  liked  more 
coal,  but  the  delays  that  had  occurred  in  finding  winter 
quarters,  and  the  difficulties  encountered  in  landing  the 
stores  had  caused  the  Nimrod  to  be  kept  longer  than  I 
had  intended  already.  We  gave  our  final  letters  and 
messages  to  the  crew  of  the  last  boat,  and  said  good-bye. 
Cotton,  who  had  come  south  just  for  the  trip,  was  among 
them,  and  never  had  we  a  more  willing  worker.  At 
10  P.M.  the  Nimrod^ s  bows  were  pointed  to  the  north,  and 
she  was  moving  rapidly  away  from  the  winter  quarters 
with  a  fair  wind.  Within  a  month  I  hoped  she  would  be 
safe  in  New  Zealand,  and  her  crew  enjoying  a  well-earned 
rest.  We  were  all  devoutly  thankful  that  the  landing  of 
the  stores  had  been  finished  at  last,  and  that  the  state  of 
the  sea  would  no  longer  be  a  factor  in  our  work,  but  it 
was  with  something  of  a  pang  that  we  severed  our  last 
connection  with  the  world  of  men.  We  could  hope  for 
no  word  of  news  from  civilisation  until  the  Nimrod  came 
south  again  in  the  follo^ving  summer,  and  before  that  we 
had  a  good  deal  of  difficult  work  to  do,  and  some  risks 
to  face. 

There  was  scant  time  for  reflection,  even  if  we  had 
been  moved  that  way.  We  turned  in  for  a  good  night's 
rest  as  soon  as  possible  after  the  departure  of  the  ship, 
and  the  following  morning  we  started  digging  the  stores 
out  of  the  ice,  and  transporting  everything  to  the 
vicinity  of  the  hut.  It  was  necessary  that  the  stores 
should  be  close  by  the  building,  partly  in  order  that  there 
might  be  no  difficulty  in  getting  what  goods  we  wanted 
during  the  winter,  and  partly  because  we  would  require 
all  the  protection  that  we  could  get  from  the  cold,  and 
the  cases  would  serve  to  keep  off  the  wind  when  piled 
128 


DIGGING    OUT    THE    STORES 

around  out  little  dwelling.  We  hoped,  as  soon  as  the 
stores  had  all  been  placed  in  position,  to  make  a  start 
with  the  scientific  observations  that  were  to  be  an  im- 
portant part  of  the  work  of  the  expedition. 

The  next  four  or  five  days  were  spent  in  using  pick 
and  shovel  and  iron  crowbars  on  the  envelope  of  ice  that 
covered  our  cases,  corners  of  which  only  peeped  out  from 
the  mass.  The  whole  had  the  appearance  of  a  piece  of 
the  sweet  known  as  almond  rock,  and  there  was  as  much 
difficulty  in  getting  the  cases  clear  of  the  ice  as  w^ould 
be  experienced  if  one  tried  to  separate  almonds  from  that 
sticky  conglomerate  without  injury.  Occasionally  the 
breaking  out  of  a  case  would  disclose  another  which 
could  be  easily  extracted,  but  more  often  each  case 
required  the  pick  or  crowbars.  A  couple  of  earnest 
miners  might  be  seen  delving  and  hewing  the  ice  off  a 
case,  of  which  only  the  corner  could  be  seen,  and  after 
ten  minutes'  hard  work  it  would  be  hauled  up,  and  the 
stencilled  mark  of  its  contents  exposed  to  view.  Brockle- 
hurst  took  great  interest  in  the  recovery  of  the  chocolate, 
and  during  this  work  took  charge  of  one  particular  case 
which  had  been  covered  by  the  ice.  He  carried  it  himself 
up  to  the  hut  so  as  to  be  sure  of  its  safety,  and  he  was 
greeted  with  joy  by  the  Professor,  who  recognised  in  the 
load  some  of  his  scientific  instruments  which  were  playing 
the  part  of  the  cuckoo  in  an  old  chocolate  box.  Needless 
to  say  Brocklehurst's  joy  was  not  as  heartfelt  as  the 
Professor's. 

After  about  four  days'  hard  work  at  the  Front  Door 
Bay  landing-place,  the  bulk  of  the  stores  was  recovered, 
and  I  think  we  may  say  that  there  was  not  much  lost 
permanently,  though,  as  time  went  on,  and  one  or  two 
cases  that  were  required  did  not  turn  up,  we  used  to 
wonder  whether  they  had  been  left  on  board  the  ship, 
or  were  buried  under  the  ice.  We  do  know  for 
J  I  129 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

certain  that  our  only  case  of  beer  lies  to  this  day  under 
the  ice,  and  it  was  not  until  a  few  days  before  our  final 
departure  that  one  of  the  scientists  of  the  expedition 
dug  out  some  volumes  of  the  Challenger  reports,  which 
had  been  intended  to  provide  us  with  useful  reading- 
matter   during   the   winter   nights.     A   question   often 
debated  during  the  long,  dark  days  was  which  of  these 
stray  sheep,  the  Challenger  reports  or  the  case  of  beer, 
any  particular  individual  would  dig  for  if  the  time  and 
opportunity  were  available.     In  moving  up  tlie  recovered 
stores,  as  soon  as  a  load  arrived  within  fifteen  yards  of 
the  hut,  where,  at  this  time  of  the  year,  the  snow  ended, 
and  the  bare   earth  lay  uncovered,   the   sledges  were 
unpacked,  and  one  party  carried  the  stuff  up  to  the  south 
side  of  the  hut,  whilst  the  sledges  returned  to  the  landing- 
place  for  more      We  were  now  utilising  the  ponies  every 
day,  and  they  proved  of  great   assistance  in  moving 
things  to  and  fro.     The  stores  on  the  top  of  the  hill  at 
Derrick  Point  were  fortunately  quite  clear  of  snow,  so 
we  did  not  trouble  to  transport  them,  contenting  our- 
selves with  getting  down  things  that  were  of  immediate 
importance.     Day  by  day  we  continued  collecting  our 
scattered  goods,  and  within  ten  days  after  the  departure 
of  the  ship  we  had  practically  everything  handy  to  the 
hut,   excepting  the  coal.     The  labour  had  been  both 
heavy  and  fertile  in  minor  accidents.     Most  of  us  at  one 
time  or  another  had  wounds  and  bruises  to  be  attended  to 
by  Marshall,   who  was  kept  busy  part  of  every  day 
dressing    the    injuries.     Adams    was    severely    cut    in 
handling   some   iron-bound   cases,   and   I   managed  to 
jamb  my  fingers  in  the  motor-car.     The  annoying  feature 
about  these  simple  wounds  was  the  length  of  time  it  took 
for  them  to  heal  in   our  special  circumstances.     The 
irritation  seemed  to  be  more  pronounced  if  any  of  the 
earth  got  into  the  wound,  so  we  always  took  care  after 
130 


WINTER    STOCK    OF    PENGUINS 

our  first  experiences  to  go  at  once  to  Marshall  for  treat- 
ment, when  the  skin  was  broken.  The  day  after  the 
ship  left  we  laid  in  a  supply  of  fresh  meat  for  the  winter, 
killing  about  a  hundred  penguins  and  burying  them  in 
a  snow-drift  close  to  the  hut.  By  February  28  we  were 
practically  in  a  position  to  feel  contented  with  ourselves, 
and  to  look  further  afield  and  explore  the  neighbourhood 
of  our  winter  quarters. 


PLAN    OF 

Cafe        ROYOS  -Nimrod-auime  on- landing 

ROSS     ISLAND 

Scale   of   Chains 


o  Current  tndicator 


Winter  Quarters 


181 


CHAPTER  IX 

AROUND  THE  WINTER 
QUARTERS :  COMPLETION  OF  THE  HUT 

FROM  the  door  of  our  hut,  which  faced  the  north-west, 
we  commanded  a  splendid  view  of  the  sound  and  the 
western  mountains.  Right  in  front  of  us,  at  our  door, 
lay  a  small  lake,  which  came  to  be  known  as  Pony  Lake  ; 
to  the  left  of  that  was  another  sheet  of  ice  that  became 
snow-covered  in  the  autumn,  and  it  was  here  in  the  dark 
months  that  we  exercised  the  ponies,  and  also  ourselves. 
Six  times  up  and  down  the  "  Green  Park,"  as  it  was 
generally  called,  made  a  mile,  and  it  was  here,  before 
darkness  came  on,  that  we  played  hockey  and  football. 
To  the  left  of  Green  Park  was  a  gentle  slope  leading  down 
between  two  cliffs  to  the  sea,  and  ending  in  a  little  bay 
known  as  Dead  Horse  Bay.  On  either  side  of  this 
valley  lay  the  penguin  rookery,  the  slopes  being  covered 
v/ith  guano,  and  during  the  fairly  high  temperatures  that 
held  sway  up  to  April,  the  smell  from  these  deserted 
quarters  of  the  penguins  was  extremely  unpleasant.  On 
coming  out  of  the  hut  one  had  only  to  go  round  the  corner 
of  the  building  in  order  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  Mount 
Erebus,  which  lay  directly  behind  us.  Its  summit  was 
about  fifteen  miles  from  our  winter  quarters,  but  its 
slopes  aad  foothills  commenced  within  three-quarters  of 
a  mile  of  the  hut.  Our  view  was  cut  off  in  all  directions 
from  the  east  to  the  south-west  by  the  ridge  at  the  head 
132 


NEIGHBOURHOOD    OF    THE    HUT 

of  the  valley  where  the  hut  stood.  On  ascending  this 
ridge,  one  looked  over  the  bay  to  the  south-east,  where 
lay  Cape  Barne.  To  the  right  was  Flagstaff  Point,  and 
to  the  left  lay,  at  the  head  of  the  Bay,  the  slopes  of 
Erebus.  There  were  many  localities  which  became 
favourite  places  for  walks,  and  these  are  shown  on  the 
accompanying  map.  Sandy  Beach,  about  a  mile  away 
to  the  north-west  of  the  hut,  was  generally  the  goal  of 
any  one  taking  exercise,  when  the  uncertainty  of  the 
weather  warned  us  against  venturing  further  afield,  and 
while  the  dwindling  light  still  permitted  us  to  go  so  far. 
It  was  here  that  we  sometimes  exercised  the  ponies,  and 
they  much  enjoyed  rolling  in  the  soft  sand.  The  beach 
was  formed  of  black  volcanic  sand,  blown  from  the  sur- 
rounding hills,  and  later  on  the  pressed-up  ice,  which  had 
been  driven  ashore  by  the  southward  movement  of  the 
pack,  also  became  covered  with  the  wind-borne  dust  and 
sand.  The  coast-line  from  Flagstaff  Point  right  round 
to  Horse  Shoe  Bay,  on  the  north  side  of  Cape  Royds, 
was  jagged  and  broken  up.  At  some  points  ice-cliffs,  in 
others  bare  rocks,  jutted  out  into  the  sea,  and  here  and 
there  small  beaches  composed  of  volcanic  sand  were 
interposed.  Our  local  scenery,  though  not  on  a  grand 
scale,  loomed  large  in  the  light  of  the  moon  as  the  winter 
nights  lengthened.  Fantastic  shadows  made  the  heights 
appear  greater  and  the  valleys  deeper,  casting  a  spell  of 
unreality  around  the  place,  which  never  seemed  to  touch 
it  by  day.  The  greatest  height  of  any  of  the  numerous 
sharp-pointed  spurs  of  volcanic  rock  was  not  more  than 
three  hundred  feet,  but  we  were  infinitely  better  off  as 
regards  the  interest  and  the  scenery  of  our  winter  quar- 
ters than  the  expedition  which  wintered  in  McMurdo 
Sound  between  1901  and  1904.  Our  walks  amongst  the 
hills  and  across  the  frozen  lakes  were  a  great  source 
of  health  and  enjoyment,  and  as  a  field  of  work  for 

133 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

geologists  and  biologists,  Cape  Royds  far  surpassed  Hut 
Point.  The  largest  lake,  which  lay  about  half  a  mile  to 
the  north-east,  was  named  Blue  Lake,  from  the  intensely 
vivid  blue  of  the  ice.  This  lake  was  peculiarly  interesting 
to  Mawson,  who  made  the  study  of  ice  part  of  his  work. 
Beyond  Blue  Lake,  to  the  northward,  lay  Clear  Lake, 
the  deepest  inland  body  of  water  in  our  vicinity.  To  the 
left  as  one  looked  north,  close  to  the  coast,  was  a  circular 
basin  which  we  called  Coast  Lake,  where,  when  we  first 
arrived,  hundreds  of  skua  gulls  were  bathing  and  flying 
about.  Following  the  coast  from  this  point  back  towards 
winter  quarters  was  another  body  of  water  called  Green 
Lake.  In  all  these  various  lakes  something  of  interest  to 
science  was  discovered,  and  though  they  were  quite  small, 
they  were  very  important  to  our  work  and  in  our  eyes, 
and  were  a  source  of  continuous  interest  to  us  during  our 
stay  in  the  vicinity.  Beyond  Blue  Lake,  to  the  east,  rose 
the  lower  slopes  of  Mount  Erebus,  covered  with  ice  and 
snow.  After  passing  one  or  two  ridges  of  volcanic  rocks, 
there  stretched  a  long  snow  plain,  across  which  sledges 
could  travel  without  having  their  runners  torn  by  gravel. 
The  slope  down  to  Blue  Lake  was  picked  out  for  ski-ing 
and  it  was  here,  in  the  early  days,  when  work  was  over, 
that  some  of  our  party  used  to  slide  from  the  top  of  the 
slope  for  about  two  hundred  feet,  arriving  at  the  bottom 
in  a  few  seconds,  and  shooting  out  across  the  frozen 
surface  of  the  Lake,  until  brought  up  by  the  rising  slope 
on  the  other  side.  To  the  north  of  Clear  Lake  the  usual 
hills  of  volcanic  rock  separated  by  valleys  filled  more  or 
less  with  snow-drifts,  stretched  for  a  distance  of  about  a 
mile.  Beyond  this  lay  the  coast,  to  the  right  of  which, 
looking  north,  was  Horse  Shoe  Bay,  about  four  miles  from 
our  winter  quarters  ;  further  to  the  right  of  the  northern 
end  of  Cape  Royds  the  slopes  of  Erebus  were  reached 
again.  From  the  northern  coast  a  good  view  could 
134 


Flagstaff   Point,  with  the  Shore  Party's  Boat  hauled  dp  on  the  Ice 


The  Vicinity  of  Cape  Roy'ds.     A  Scene  of  Desolation 


To  face  page  134 


THE  FIELD  FOR  SCIENTIFIC  WORK 

be  obtained  of  Cape  Bird,  and  from  the  height  we 
could  see  Castle  Roek  to  the  south,  distant  about 
eighteen  miles  from  the  winter  quarters.  The  walk 
from  Hut  Point  to  Castle  Rock  was  familiar  to  us  on 
the  last  expedition.  It  seemed  much  nearer  than 
it  really  was,  for  in  the  Antarctic  the  distances  are 
most  deceptive,  curiously  different  effects  being  pro- 
duced by  the  variations  of  light  and  the  distortion 
of  mirage. 

As  time  went  on  we  felt  more  and  more  satisfied 
with  our  location,  for  there  was  work  of  interest  for 
every  one.  The  Professor  and  Priestley  saw  open  before 
them  a  new  chapter  of  geological  history  of  great  interest, 
for  Cape  Royds  was  a  happier  hunting-ground  for  the 
geologist  than  was  Hut  Point.  Hundreds  of  erratic 
boulders  lay  scattered  on  the  slopes  of  the  adjacent  hills, 
and  from  these  the  geologists  hoped  to  learn  something 
of  the  past  conditions  of  Ross  Island.  For  Murray,  the 
lakes  were  a  fruitful  field  for  nev/  research.  The  gradu- 
ally deepening  bay  was  full  of  marine  animal  life,  the 
species  varying  with  the  depth,  and  here  also  an  inex- 
haustible treasure-ground  stretched  before  the  biologist. 
Adams,  the  meteorologist,  could  not  complain,  for  Mount 
Erebus  was  in  full  view  of  the  meteorological  station, 
and  this  fortunate  proximity  to  Erebus  and  its  smoke- 
cloud  led,  in  a  large  measure,  to  important  results  in 
this  branch.  For  the  physicist  the  structure  of  the  ice, 
varying  on  various  lakes,  the  different  salts  in  the  earth, 
and  the  magnetic  conditions  of  the  rocks  claimed  investi- 
gation, though,  indeed,  the  magnetic  nature  of  the  rocks 
proved  a  disadvantage  in  carrying  out  magnetic  obser- 
vations, for  the  delicate  instruments  were  often  affected 
by  the  local  attraction.  From  every  point  of  view  I 
must  say  that  we  were  extremely  fortunate  in  the  winter 
quarters  to  which  we  had  been  led  by  the  state  of  the  sea 

135 


Space 

filled  v,-itli. 
Coi-k.. 


13{ 


Plan  of  the  Hut  at  Winter  QuARTiius 


The  East  Corner  of  Inaccessible  Island    Eight  Miles  South  of  the  Winter  Quarters 


High  Hill,  near  the  Winter  Quarters.     A  Lava  Flow  is  seen  in  the  Foreground 

To  face  page  136 


STORE-ROOM    AND    STABLES 

ice,  for  no  other  spot  could  have  afforded  more  scope  for 
work  and  exercise. 

Before  we  had  been  ten  days  ashore  the  hut  was 
practically  completed,  though  it  was  over  a  month  before 
it  had  been  worked  up  from  the  state  of  an  empty  shell  to 
attain  the  fully  furnished  appearance  it  assumed  after  every 
one  had  settled  down  and  arranged  his  belongings.  It  was 
not  a  very  spacious  dwelling  for  the  accommodation  of 
fifteen  persons,  but  our  narrow  quarters  were  warmer  than 
if  the  hut  had  been  larger.  The  coldest  part  of  the 
house  when  we  first  lived  in  it  was  undoubtedly  the 
floor,  which  was  formed  of  inch  tongue-and-groove  board- 
ing, but  was  not  double-lined.  There  was  a  space  of 
about  four  feet  under  the  hut  at  the  north-west  end, 
the  other  end  resting  practically  on  the  ground,  and  it 
was  obvious  to  us  that  as  long  as  this  space  remained 
we  would  suffer  from  the  cold,  so  we  decided  to  make  an 
airlock  of  the  area  under  the  hut.  To  this  end  we  decided 
to  build  a  wall  round  the  south-east  and  southerly  sides, 
which  were  to  windward,  with  the  bulk  of  the  provision 
cases.  To  make  certain  that  no  air  would  penetrate 
from  these  sides  we  built  the  first  two  or  three  tiers 
of  cases  a  little  distance  out  from  the  walls  of  the  hut, 
pouring  in  volcanic  earth  until  no  gaps  could  be  seen, 
and  the  earth  was  level  with  the  cases  ;  then  the  rest 
of  the  stores  were  piled  up  to  a  height  of  six  or  seven  feet. 
This  accounted  for  one  side  and  one  end.  On  either  side 
of  the  porch  two  other  buildings  were  gradually  erected. 
One,  built  out  of  biscuit  cases,  the  roof  covered  with  felt 
and  canvas,  was  a  store-room  for  Wild,  who  looked  after 
the  issue  of  all  food-stuffs.  The  building  on  the  other 
side  of  the  porch  was  a  much  more  ambitious  affair,  and 
was  built  by  Mawson,  to  serve  as  a  chemical  and  physical 
laboratory.  It  was  destined,  however,  to  be  used  solely 
as  a  store-room,  for  the  temperature  within  its  walls  was 

137 


THE  HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

practically  the  same  as  that  of  the  outside  air,  and  the 
warm,  moist  atmosphere  rushing  out  from  the  hut 
covered  everything  inside  this  store-room  with  fantastic 
ice  crystals. 

The  lee  side  of  the  hut  ultimately  became  the  wall 
of  the  stables,  for  we  decided  to  keep  the  ponies  sheltered 
during  the  winter.  During  the  blizzard  we  experienced 
on  February  18,  and  for  the  three  following  days, 
the  animals  suffered  somewhat,  mainly  owing  to  the 
knocking  about  they  had  received  whilst  on  the  way 
south  in  the  ship.  We  found  that  a  shelter,  not  neces- 
sarily warmed  to  a  high  temperature,  would  keep  the 
ponies  in  better  condition  than  if  they  were  allowed  to 
stand  in  the  open,  and  by  February  9  the  stable 
building  was  complete.  A  double  row  of  cases  of  maize, 
built  at  one  end  to  a  height  of  five  feet  eight  inches,  made 
one  end,  and  then  the  longer  side  of  the  shelter  was 
composed  of  bales  of  fodder.  A  wide  plank  at  the 
other  end  was  cemented  into  the  ground,  and  a  doorway 
left.  Over  all  this  was  stretched  the  canvas  tarpaulin 
which  we  had  previously  used  in  the  fodder  hut,  and 
with  planks  and  battens  on  both  side  to  make  it  wind- 
proof,  the  stable  was  complete.  A  wire  rope  was 
stretched  from  one  end  to  the  other  on  the  side  nearest 
to  the  hut,  and  the  ponies'  head-ropes  were  made  fast 
to  this.  The  first  night  that  they  were  placed  in  the 
stable  there  was  little  rest  for  any  of  us,  and  during  the 
night  some  of  the  animals  broke  loose  and  returned 
to  their  valley.  Shortly  afterwards  Grisi,  one  of  the 
most  high-spirited  of  the  lot,  pushed  his  head  through 
a  window,  so  the  lower  halves  of  the  but  windows  had 
to  be  boarded  up.  The  first  strong  breeze  we  had 
shook  the  roof  of  the  stable  so  much  that  we  expected 
every  moment  it  would  blow  away,  so  after  the  gale 
all  the  sledges  except  those  which  were  in  use  were 
138 


A   HEAVY   BLIZZARD 

laid  on  the  top  of  the  stable,  and  a  stout  rope  passed 
from  one  end  to  the  other.  The  next  snowfall  covered 
the  sledges  and  made  a  splendid  roof,  upon  which  no 
subsequent  wind  had  any  effect.  Later,  another  addition 
was  made  to  the  dwellings  outside  the  hut  in  the  shape  of 
a  series  of  dog-houses  for  those  animals  about  to  pup, 
and  as  that  was  not  an  uncommon  thing  down  there, 
the  houses  v>^ere  constantly  occupied. 

On  the  south-east  side  of  the  hut  a  store-room 
was  built,  constructed  entirely  of  cases,  and  roofed 
with  hammocks  sewn  together.  Here  we  kept  the  tool- 
chest,  shoe-makers'  outfit,  which  was  in  constant  requi- 
sition, and  any  general  stores  that  had  to  be  issued  at 
stated  times.  The  first  heavy  blizzard  found  this  place 
out,  and  after  the  roof  had  been  blown  off,  the  wall 
fell  down,  and  we  had  to  organise  a  party,  when  the 
weather  got  fine,  to  search  for  anything  that  might  be 
lost,  such  as  mufflers,  woollen  helmets,  and  so  on.  Some 
things  were  blown  more  than  a  mile  away.  I  found  a 
Russian  felt  boot,  weighing  five  pounds,  lying  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  crate  in  which  it  had  been 
stowed,  and  it  must  have  had  a  clear  run  in  the  air  for 
the  whole  of  this  distance,  for  there  was  not  a  scratch 
on  the  leather ;  if  it  had  been  blown  along  the  rocks, 
which  lay  in  the  way,  the  leather  would  certainly  have 
been  scratched  all  over.  The  chimney,  which  was  an 
iron  pipe,  projecting  two  or  three  feet  above  the  roof 
of  the  hut,  and  capped  by  a  cowl,  was  let  through  the 
roof  at  the  south-east  end,  and  secured  by  numerous 
rope  stays  supporting  it  at  every  point  from  which 
the  wind  could  blow. 

We  were  quite  free  from  the  trouble  of  down  draughts 
or  choking  with  snow,  such  as  had  been  of  common 
occurrence  in  the  large  hut  on  the  Discovery  expedition. 
Certainly  the  revolving  cowl  blew  off  during  the  first 

139 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

blizzard,  and  this  happened  again  in  the  second,  so 
we  took  the  hint  and  left  it  off  for  good,  without  detri- 
ment, as  it  happened,  to  the  efficiency  of  the  stove. 

The  dog  kennels  were  placed  close  to  the  porch  of  the 
hut,  but  only  three  of  the  dogs  were  kept  constantly 
chained  up.  The  meteorological  station  was  on  the 
weather  side  of  the  hut  on  the  top  of  a  small  ridge,  about 
twenty  feet  above  the  hut  and  forty  feet  above  sea- 
level,  and  a  natural  path  led  to  it.  Adams  laid  it 
out,  and  the  regular  readings  of  the  instruments  began 
on  March  22.  The  foundation  of  the  thermometer  screen 
consisted  of  a  heavy  wooden  case  resting  on  rocks. 
The  case  was  three-quarters  filled  with  rock,  and  round 
the  outside  were  piled  more  blocks  of  kenyte ;  the  crevices 
between  them  were  filled  with  volcanic  earth  on  to 
which  water  was  poured,  the  result  being  a  structure  as 
rigid  as  the  ground  itself.  On  each  side  of  the  box  a 
heavy  upright  was  secured  by  the  rocks  inside  the  case 
and  by  bolts  at  the  sides,  and  to  these  uprights  the  actual 
meteorological  screen,  one  of  the  Stevenson  pattern  and 
of  standard  size,  was  bolted.  As  readings  of  the  instru- 
ments were  to  be  taken  day  and  night  at  intervals  of 
two  hours,  and  as  it  was  quite  possible  that  the  weather 
might  be  so  thick  that  a  person  might  be  lost  in  making 
his  way  between  the  screen  and  the  hut,  a  line  was  rigged 
up  on  posts  which  were  cemented  into  the  ground  by  ice, 
so  that  in  the  thickest  weather  the  observer  could  be  sure 
of  finding  his  way  by  following  this  very  substantial 
clue. 


140 


fM' 


CHAPTER  X 

FIRST  DAYS  IN  WINTER  QUARTERS 

THE  inside  of  the  hut  was  not  long  in  being  fully 
furnished,  and  a  great  change  it  was  from  the  bare 
shell  of  our  first  days  of  occupancy.  The  first  thing  done 
was  to  peg  out  a  space  for  each  individual,  and  we  saw 
that  the  best  plan  would  be  to  have  the  space  allotted 
in  sections,  allowing  two  persons  to  share  one  cubicle. 
This  space  for  two  men  amounted  to  six  feet  six  inches 
in  length  and  seven  feet  in  depth  from  the  wall  of  the 
hut  towards  the  centre.  There  were  seven  of  these 
cubicles,  and  a  space  for  the  leader  of  the  expedition ; 
thus  providing  for  the  fifteen  who  made  up  the  shore- 
party.  The  accompanying  photographs  will  give  an 
idea  of  the  hut  as  finished.  One  of  the  most  im- 
portant parts  of  the  interior  construction  was  the  dark- 
room for  the  photographers.  We  were  very  short  of 
wood,  so  cases  of  bottled  fruit,  which  had  to  be  kept 
inside  the  hut  to  prevent  them  freezing,  were  utilised 
for  building  the  walls.  The  dark-room  was  constructed 
in  the  left-hand  corner  of  the  hut  as  one  entered,  and 
the  fruit- cases  were  turned  with  their  lids  facing  out,  so 
that  the  contents  could  be  removed  without  demolishing 
the  walls  of  the  building.  These  cases,  as  they  were 
emptied,  were  turned  into  lockers,  where  we  stowed  our 
spare  gear  and  so  obtained  more  room  in  the  little 
cubicles.     The  interior  of  the  dark-room  was  fitted  up 

141 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

by  Mawson  and  the  Professor.  The  sides  and  roof  were 
lined  with  the  felt  left  over  after  the  hut  was  completed. 
Mawson  made  the  fittings  complete  in  every  detail,  with 
shelves,  tanks,  &c.,  and  the  result  was  as  good  as  any 
one  could  desire  in  the  circumstances. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  doorway,  opposite  the  dark- 
room, was  my  room,  six  feet  long,  seven  feet  deep,  built 
of  boards  and  roofed,  the  roof  being  seven  feet  above 
the  floor.  I  lined  the  walls  inside  with  canvas,  and  the 
bed-place  was  constructed  of  fruit  boxes,  which,  when 
emptied,  served,  like  those  outside,  for  lockers.  My 
room  contained  the  bulk  of  our  library,  the  chronometers, 
the  chronometer  watches,  barograph,  and  the  electric- 
recording  thermometer ;  there  was  ample  room  for  a 
table,  and  the  whole  made  a  most  comfortable  cabin. 
On  the  roof  we  stowed  those  of  our  scientific  instruments 
which  were  not  in  use,  such  as  theodolites,  spare  ther- 
mometers, dip  circles,  &c.  The  gradual  accumulation  of 
weight  produced  a  distinct  sag  in  the  roof,  which  some- 
times seemed  to  threaten  collapse  as  I  sat  inside,  but  no 
notice  was  taken,  and  nothing  happened.  On  the  roof 
of  the  dark-room  we  stowed  all  our  photographic  gear 
and  our  few  cases  of  wine,  which  were  only  drawn  upon  on 
special  occasions,  such  as  Mid- winter  Day.  The  acety- 
lene gas-plant  was  set  up  on  a  platform  between  my  room 
and  the  dark-room.  We  had  tried  to  work  it  from  the 
porch,  but  the  temperature  was  so  low  there  that  the 
water  froze  and  the  gas  would  not  come,  so  we  shifted 
it  inside  the  hut,  and  had  no  further  trouble.  Four 
burners,  including  a  portable  standard  light  in  my  room, 
gave  ample  illumination.  The  simplicity  and  porta- 
bility of  the  apparatus  and  the  high  efficiency  of  the  light 
represented  the  height  of  luxury  under  polar  conditions 
and  did  much  to  render  our  sojourn  more  tolerable  than 
would  have  been  possible  in  earlier  days.  The  particular 
142 


ACETYLENE    GAS 

form  that  we  used  was  supplied  by  Mr.  Morrison,  who 
had  been  chief  engineer  on  the  Morning  on  her  voyage  to 
the  rehef  of  the  Discovery.  The  only  objectionable 
feature,  due  to  having  the  generating- plant  in  our  living- 
room,  was  the  unpleasant  smell  given  off  when  the  car- 
bide tanks  were  being  recharged,  but  we  soon  got  used 
to  this,  though  the  daily  changing  always  drew  down 
strong  remarks  on  the  unlucky  head  of  Day — who  had 
the  acetylene  plant  especially  under  his  charge.  He 
did  not  have  a  hitch  with  it  all  the  time.  Flexible 
steel  tubes  were  carried  from  the  tank,  and  after  being 
wound  round  the  beams  of  the  roof,  served  to  suspend 
the  lights  at  the  required  positions. 

A  long  ridge  of  rope  wire  was  stretched  from  one  end 
of  the  hut  to  the  other  on  each  side,  seven  feet  out  from 
the  wall ;  then  at  intervals  of  six  feet  another  wire  was 
brought  out  from  the  wall  of  the  hut,  and  made  fast  to 
the  fore  and  aft  wire.  These  lines  marked  the  boundaries 
of  the  cubicles,  and  sheets  of  duck  sewn  together  hung 
from  them,  making  a  good  division.  Blankets  were 
served  out  to  hang  in  the  front  of  the  cubicle,  in  case  the 
inhabitants  wanted  at  any  time  to  "  sport  their  oak." 
As  each  of  the  cubicles  had  distinctive  features  in  the 
furnishing  and  general  design,  especially  as  regards  beds, 
it  is  worth  while  to  describe  them  fully.  This  is  not  so 
trivial  a  matter  as  it  may  appear  to  some  readers,  for 
during  the  winter  months  the  inside  of  the  hut  was  the 
whole  inhabited  world  to  us.  The  wall  of  Adams'  and 
Marshall's  cubicle,  which  Avas  next  to  my  room,  was  fitted 
with  shelves  made  out  of  Venesta  cases,  and  there  was 
so  much  neatness  and  order  about  this  apartment  that 
it  was  known  by  the  address,  "  No.  1  Park  Lane."  In 
front  of  the  shelves  hung  little  gauze  curtains,  tied  up 
with  blue  ribbon,  and  the  hterary  tastes  of  the  occupants 
could  be  seen  at  a  glance  from  the  bookshelves.     In 

143 


THE    HEAKT    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

Adams'  quarter  the  period  of  the  French  Revolution  and 
the  Napoleonic  era  filled  most  of  his  bookshelves,  though 
a  complete  edition  of  Dickens  came  in  a  good  second. 
Marshall's  shelves  were  stocked  with  bottles  of  medi- 
cine, medical  works,  and  some  general  Hterature.  The 
dividing  curtain  of  duck  was  adorned  by  Marston  with 
life-sized  coloured  drawings  of  Napoleon  and  Joan  of 
Arc.  Adams  and  Marshall  did  Sandow  exercises  daily, 
and  their  example  was  followed  by  other  men  later  on, 
when  the  darkness  and  bad  weather  made  open- 
air  work  difficult.  The  beds  of  this  particular  cubicle 
were  the  most  comfortable  in  the  hut,  but  took  a 
little  longer  to  rig  up  at  night  than  most  of  the  others. 
This  disadvantage  was  more  than  compensated  for  by 
the  free  space  gained  during  the  day,  and  by  permission 
of  the  owners  it  was  used  as  consulting-room,  dispensary, 
and  operating  theatre.  The  beds  consisted  of  bamboos 
lashed  together  for  extra  strength,  to  which  strips  of 
canvas  were  attached,  so  that  each  bed  looked  like  a 
stretcher.  The  wall  end  rested  on  stout  cleats  screwed 
on  to  the  side  of  the  hut,  the  other  ends  on  chairs,  and 
so  supported,  the  occupants  slept  soundly  and  com- 
fortably. 

The  next  cubicle  on  the  same  side  was  occupied  by 
Marston  and  Day,  and  as  the  former  was  the  artist  and 
the  latter  the  general  handy  man  of  the  expedition, 
one  naturally  found  an  ambitious  scheme  of  decoration. 
The  shelves  were  provided  with  beading,  and  the  Venesta 
boxes  were  stained  brown.  This  idea  was  copied  from 
No.  1  Park  Lane,  where  they  had  stained  all  their  walls 
with  Condy's  Fluid.  Marston's  and  Day's  cubicle  was 
known  as  "  The  Gables,"  presumably  from  the  gabled 
appearance  of  the  shelves.  Solid  wooden  beds,  made 
out  oi  old  packing-cases  and  upholstered  with  wood 
shavings  covered  with  blankets,  made  very  comfortably 
144 


INTERIOR    ARRANGEMENTS 

couches,  one  of  which  could  be  pushed  during  meal  times 
out  of  the  way  of  the  chairs.  The  artist's  curtain  was 
painted  to  represent  a  fireplace  and  mantelpiece  in 
civilisation ;  a  cheerful  fire  burned  in  the  grate,  and  a 
bunch  of  flowers  stood  on  the  mantelpiece.  The  dividing 
curtain  between  it  and  No.  1  Park  Lane,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  cubicle,  did  not  require  to  be  decorated,  for  the 
colour  of  Joan  of  Arc,  and  also  portions  of  Napoleon, 
had  oozed  through  the  canvas.  In  The  Gables  was 
set  up  the  lithographic  press,  which  was  used  for  pro- 
ducing pictures  for  the  book  which  was  printed  at  our 
winter  quarters. 

The  next  cubicle  on  the  same  side  belonged  to  Army- 
tage  and  Brocklehurst.  Here  everything  in  the  way  of 
shelves  and  fittings  was  very  primitive.  I  lived  in 
Brocklehurst' s  portion  of  the  cubicle  for  two  months,  as 
he  was  laid  up  in  my  room,  and  before  I  left  it  I  con- 
structed a  bed  of  empty  petrol  cases.  The  smell  from 
these  for  the  first  couple  of  nights  after  rigging  them 
up  was  decidedly  unpleasant,  but  it  disappeared  after 
a  while.  Next  to  Brocklehurst's  and  Armytage's 
quarters  came  the  pantry.  The  division  between  the 
cubicle  and  the  pantry  consisted  of  a  tier  of  cases, 
making  a  substantial  wall  between  the  food  and  the  heads 
of  the  sleepers.  The  pantry,  bakery,  and  store-room,  all 
combined,  measured  six  feet  by  three,  not  very  spacious, 
certainly,  but  sufficient  to  work  in.  The  far  end  of  the 
hut  constituted  the  other  wall  of  the  pantry,  and  was 
lined  with  shelves  up  to  the  slope  of  the  roof.  These 
shelves  were  continued  along  the  wall  behind  the  stove, 
which  stood  about  four  feet  out  from  the  end  of  the  house, 
and  an  erection  of  wooden  battens  and  burlap  or  sacking 
concealed  the  biological  laboratory.  The  space  taken 
up  by  this  important  department  was  four  feet  by  four, 
but  lack  of  ground  area  was  made  up  for  by  the 
I  K  145 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

shelves,  which  contained  dozens  of  bottles  soon  to  be 
filled  with  Murray's  biological  captures. 

Beyond  the  stove,  facing  the  pantry,  was  Mackay's 
and  Roberts'  cubicle,  the  main  feature  of  which  was  a 
ponderous  shelf,  on  which  rested  mostly  socks  and  other 
light  articles,  the  only  thing  of  weight  being  our  gramo- 
phone and  records.  The  bunks  were  somewhat  feeble 
imitations  of  those  belonging  to  No.  1  Park  Lane,  and 
the  troubles  that  the  owners  went  through  before  finally 
getting  them  into  working  order  afforded  the  rest  of  the 
community  a  good  deal  of  amusement.  I  can  see  before 
me  now  the  triumphant  face  of  Mackay,  as  he  called  all 
hands  round  to  see  his  design.  The  inhabitants  of  No.  1 
Park  Lane  pointed  out  that  the  bamboo  was  not  a  rigid 
piece  of  wood,  and  that  when  Mackay's  weight  came  on  it 
the  middle  would  bend  and  the  ends  would  jump  off  the 
supports  unless  secured.  Mackay  undressed  before  a 
critical  audience,  and  he  got  into  his  bag  and  expatiated  on 
the  comfort  and  luxury  he  was  experiencing,  so  different 
to  the  hard  boards  he  had  been  lying  on  for  months. 
Roberts  was  anxious  to  try  his  couch,  which  was  con- 
structed on  the  same  principle,  and  the  audience  were 
turning  away  disappointed  at  not  witnessing  a  catas- 
trophe, when  suddenly  a  crash  was  heard,  followed  by  a 
strong  expletive.  Mackay's  bed  was  half  on  the  ground, 
one  end  of  it  resting  at  a  most  uncomfortable  angle. 
Laughter  and  pointed  remarks  as  to  his  capacity  for 
making  a  bed  were  nothing  to  him  ;  he  tried  three  times 
that  night  to  fix  it  up,  but  at  last  had  to  give  it  up  for  a 
bad  job.  In  due  time  he  arranged  fastenings,  and  after 
that  he  slept  in  comfort. 

Between  this  cubicle  and  the  next  there  was  no  divi- 
sion, neither  party  troubling  about  the  matter.  The 
result  was  that  the  four  men  were  constantly  at  war  re- 
garding alleged  encroachments  on  their  ground.  Priestley, 
146 


Cape  Barne.    The  Pillar  in  the  right  foreground  is  volca>ic 


Tuface  i)age  146 


THE    BED    QUESTION 

who  was  long-suffering,  and  who  occupied  the  cubicle 
with  Murray,  said  he  did  not  mind  a  chair  or  a  volume 
of  the  "  Encyclopaedia  Britannica "  being  occasionally 
deposited  on  him  while  he  was  asleep,  but  that  he  thought 
it  was  a  httle  too  strong  to  drop  wet  boots,  newly 
arrived  from  the  stables,  on  top  of  his  belongings. 
Priestley  and  Murray  had  no  floor- space  at  all  in  their 
cubicle,  as  their  beds  were  built  of  empty  dog-biscuit 
boxes.  A  division  of  boxes  separated  the  two  sleeping- 
places,  and  the  whole  cubicle  was  garnished  on  Priestley's 
side  with  bits  of  rock,  ice-axes,  hammers  and  chisels,  and 
on  Murray's  with  biological  requisites. 

Next  came  one  of  the  first  cubicles  that  had  been 
built.  Joyce  and  Wild  occupied  the  "  Rogues'  Retreat,'* 
a  painting  of  two  very  tough  characters  drinking  beer 
out  of  pint  mugs,  with  the  inscription  The  Rogues' 
Retreat  painted  underneath,  adorning  the  entrance  to 
the  den.  The  couches  in  this  house  were  the  first  to 
be  built,  and  those  of  the  opposite  dwelling,  The 
Gables,  were  copied  from  their  design.  The  first  bed 
had  been  built  in  Wild's  store-room  for  secrecy's  sake ;  it 
was  to  burst  upon  the  view  of  every  one,  and  to  create 
mingled  feelings  of  admiration  and  envy,  admiration  for 
the  splendid  design,  envy  of  the  unparalleled  luxury 
provided  by  it.  However,  in  building  it,  the  designer 
forgot  the  size  of  the  doorway  he  had  to  take  it  through, 
and  it  had  ignominously  to  be  sawn  in  half  before  it 
could  be  passed  out  of  the  store-room  into  the  hut.  The 
printing  press  and  type  case  for  the  polar  paper  occupied 
one  corner  of  this  cubicle. 

The  next  and  last  compartment  was  the  dwelling- 
place  of  the  Professor  and  Mawson.  It  would  be  difficult 
to  do  justice  to  the  picturesque  confusion  of  this  com- 
partment ;  one  hardly  likes  to  call  it  untidy,  for  the 
things  that  covered   the    bunks  by  daytime  could  be 

147 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

placed  nowhere  else  conveniently.  A  miscellaneous 
assortment  of  cameras,  spectroscopes,  thermometers, 
microscopes,  electrometers  and  the  like  lay  in  profusion 
on  the  blankets.  Mawson's  bed  consisted  of  bis  two 
boxes,  in  which  he  had  stowed  his  scientific  apparatus  on 
the  way  down,  and  the  Professor's  bed  was  made  out  of 
kerosene  cases.  Everything  in  the  way  of  tin  cans 
or  plug-topped,  with  straw  wrappers  belonging  to  the 
fruit  bottles,  was  collected  by  these  two  scientific  men. 
Mawson,  as  a  rule,  put  his  possessions  in  his  store-room  out- 
side, but  the  Professor,  not  having  any  retreat  like  that, 
made  a  pile  of  glittering  tins  and  coloured  wrappers  at 
one  end  of  his  bunk,  and  the  heap  looked  like  the  nest  of 
the  Australian  bower  bird.  The  straw  and  the  tins  were 
generally  cleared  away  when  the  Professor  and  Priestley 
went  in  for  a  day's  packing  of  geological  specimens  ; 
the  straw  wrappers  were  utilised  for  wrapping  round  the 
rocks,  and  the  tins  were  filled  with  paper  wrapped  round 
the  more  delicate  geological  specimens.  The  name  given, 
though  not  by  the  owners,  to  this  cubicle  was  "  The  Pawn 
Shop,"  for  not  only  was  there  always  a  heterogeneous 
mass  of  things  on  the  bunks,  but  the  wall  of  the  dark- 
room and  the  wall  of  the  hut  at  this  spot  could  not  be 
seen  for  the  multitude  of  cases  ranged  as  shelves  and 
filled  with  a  varied  assortment  of  note-books  and 
instruments. 

In  order  to  give  as  much  free  space  as  possible  in 
the  centre  of  the  hut  we  had  the  table  so  arranged 
that  it  could  be  hoisted  up  over  our  heads  after 
meals  were  over.  This  gave  ample  room  for  the 
various  carpentering  and  engineering  efforts  that  were 
constantly  going  on.  Murray  built  the  table  out  of  the 
lids  of  packing-cases,  and  though  often  scrubbed,  the 
stencilling  on  the  cases  never  came  out.  We  had  no 
table-cloth,  but  this  was  an  advantage,  for  a  well- 
148 


THE    STOVE 

scrubbed  table  had  a  cleaner  appearance  than  would  be 
obtained  with  such  washing  as  could  be  done  in  an 
Antarctic  laundry.  The  legs  of  the  table  were  detach- 
able, being  after  the  fashion  of  trestles,  and  the  whole 
affair,  when  meals  were  over,  was  slung  by  a  rope  at  each 
end  about  eight  feet  from  the  floor.  At  first  we  used  to 
put  the  boxes  containing  knives,  forks,  plates  and  bowls 
on  top  of  the  table  before  hauling  it  up,  but  after  these 
had  fallen  on  the  unfortunate  head  of  the  person  trying 
to  get  them  down,  we  were  content  to  keep  them  on  the 
floor. 

I  had  been  very  anxious  as  regards  the  stove,  the  most 
important  part  of  the  hut  equipment,  when  I  heard  that, 
after  the  blizzard  that  kept  me  on  board  the  Nimrod,  the 
temperature  of  the  hut  was  below  zero,  and  that  socks 
put  to  dry  in  the  baking- ovens  came  out  as  damp  as 
ever  the  following  morning.  My  anxiety  was  dispelled 
after  the  stove  had  been  taken  to  pieces  again,  for  it 
was  found  that  eight  important  pieces  of  its  structure 
had  not  been  put  in.  As  soon  as  this  omission  was 
rectified  the  stove  acted  splendidly,  and  the  makers 
deserve  our  thanks  for  the  particular  apparatus  they 
picked  out  as  suitable  for  us.  The  stove  was  put  to  a 
severe  test,  for  it  was  kept  going  day  and  night  for  over 
nine  months  without  once  being  out  for  more  than  ten 
minutes,  when  occasion  required  it  to  be  cleaned.  It 
supplied  us  with  sufficient  heat  to  keep  the  temperature 
of  the  hut  sixty  to  seventy  degrees  above  the  outside 
air.  Enough  bread  could  be  baked  to  satisfy  our  whole 
hungry  party  of  fifteen  every  day  ;  three  hot  meals 
a  day  were  also  cooked,  and  water  melted  from  ice  at 
a  temperature  of  perhaps  twenty  degrees  below  zero 
in  sufficient  quantity  to  afford  as  much  as  we  required 
for  ourselves,  and  to  water  the  ponies  twice  a  day, 
and  all  this  work    was    done    on  a  consumption  not 

149 


THE    HEART    OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

exceeding  five  hundredweight  of  coal  per  week.  After 
testing  the  stove  by  running  it  on  an  accurately  measured 
amount  of  coal  for  a  month,  we  were  reassured  about  our 
coal-supply  being  sufficient  to  carry  us  through  the  winter 
right  on  to  sledging  time. 

As  the  winter  came  on  and  the  light  grew  faint 
outside,  the  hut  became  more  and  more  like  a  workshop, 
and  it  seems  strange  to  me  now,  looking  back  to  those 
distant  days,  to  remember  the  amount  of  trouble  and 
care  that  was  taken  to  furnish  and  beautify  what  was 
only  to  be  a  temporary  home.  One  of  our  many  kind 
friends  had  sent  us  a  number  of  pictures,  which  were 
divided  between  the  various  cubicles,  and  these  bright- 
ened up  the  place  wonderfully.  During  our  first  severe 
blizzard,  the  hut  shook  and  trembled  so  that  every 
moment  we  expected  the  whole  thing  to  carry  away,  and 
there  is  not  the  slightest  shadow  of  a  doubt  that  if  we  had 
been  located  in  the  open,  the  hut  and  everything  in  it 
would  have  been  torn  up  and  blown  away.  Even  with 
our  sheltered  position  I  had  to  lash  the  chronometers 
to  the  shelf  in  my  room,  for  they  were  apt  to  be  shaken 
off  when  the  walls  trembled  in  the  gale.  When  the  storm 
was  over  we  put  a  stout  wire  cable  over  the  hut,  burying 
the  ends  in  the  ground  and  freezing  them  in,  so  as  to 
afford  additional  security  in  case  heavier  weather  was  in 
store  for  us  in  the  future. 


150 


CHAPTER  XI 

SLEDGING  EQUIPMENT :  PONIES  AND  DOGS 

A  T  the  commencement  of  this  narrative  I  gave  some 
-^~*-  general  information  regarding  our  equipment  and 
provisioning,  but  it  will  now  be  necessary  to  describe 
more  fully  the  sledging  outfits  used  by  the  various  expedi- 
tions that  left  our  winter  quarters.  The  first,  and  one 
of  the  most  important  of  the  items  was,  of  course,  the 
sledge,  though,  indeed,  everything  taken  on  a  sledge 
journey  is  absolutely  essential ;  one  does  not  load  up 
odds  and  ends  on  the  chance  of  their  proving  useful, 
for  the  utmost  reduction  of  weight  compatible  with 
efficiency  is  the  first  and  last  thing  for  the  polar  ex- 
plorer to  aim  at.  The  sledge  which  we  used  is  the 
outcome  of  the  experience  of  many  former  explorers, 
but  it  is  chiefly  due  to  Nansen  that  it  has  become  the 
very  useful  vehicle  that  it  is  at  the  present  day.  On 
the  Discovery  expedition  we  had  sledges  of  various 
lengths,  seven  feet,  nine  feet,  eleven  feet  and  twelve 
feet.  Our  experience  on  that  occasion  showed  that  the 
eleven-foot  sledge  was  the  best  for  all-round  use,  but 
I  had  taken  with  me  a  certain  number  of  twelve-foot 
sledges  as  being  possibly  more  suitable  for  pony  traction. 
A  good  sledge  for  Antarctic  or  Arctic  travelling  must  be 
rigid  in  its  upright  and  cross-bars,  and  yet  give  to 
uneven  surfaces,  so  that  in  travelling  over  sastrugi 
the  strain  will  not  come  on  the  whole  of  the  sledge.     A 

151 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

well-constructed  sledge,  travelling  over  an  uneven  surface, 
appears  to  have  an  undulating,  snake-like  movement, 
and  the  attainment  of  this  suppleness  without  interfering 
with  the  strength  of  the  structure  as  a  whole,  is  the 
main  point  to  be  aimed  at ;  in  our  case  there  was 
nothing  wanting  in  this  respect. 

The  wooden  runners  were  about  four  inches  wide  and 
made  of  hickory,  split  from  the  tree  with  the  grain  of  the 
wood  and  not  sawn.  Many  pieces  were  inspected  and 
rejected  and  only  those  passed  as  perfect  were  used. 
This  method  of  preparing  the  runners,  it  can  easily 
be  seen,  allows  much  greater  scope  for  bending  than 
would  be  the  case  if  the  wood  were  sawn  regardless 
of  the  run  of  the  grain.  In  pulling  the  sledge  the 
direction  of  the  grain  on  the  snow  surface  has  to  be 
observed,  and  it  is  wonderful  what  a  difference  it  makes 
whether  one  is  pulling  with  or  against  the  grain  of  the 
runner.  The  second  point  to  consider  is  the  height 
of  the  framework  of  the  sledge  above  the  surface  of 
the  snow.  Naturally,  with  a  low  framework  there  is 
less  chance  of  the  sledge-load  capsizing  when  passing 
over  rough  ground,  and  the  aim  of  the  explorer  is 
therefore  to  keep  the  load  as  low  as  possible  on  the 
sledge.  It  has  been  found  that  a  clearance  of  six  inches 
is  ample  in  all  ordinary  circumstances,  so  the  uprights 
of  our  sledges  were  only  about  six  inches  high.  These 
uprights  were  fastened  at  intervals  into  holes  on  the 
upper  side  of  the  runners,  and  instead  of  being  fastened 
on  the  underside  of  the  latter,  other  holes  were  bored 
in  the  ridge  on  the  upper  side  and  raw  hide  lashings 
passed  through  them  and  through  the  upright.  Cross- 
pieces  were  fastened  by  a  sort  of  dove-tailing  process, 
supplemented  by  marlin  lashings,  and  the  angle  made 
by  the  vertical  upright  and  horizontal  cross-piece  was 
crossed  by  a  short  iron  stay.  This  junction  of  cross- 
152 


DETAILS    OF    CONSTRUCTION -" 

piece  and  upright  was  the  only  absolutely  rigid  part  of 
the  whole  sledge.  Every  other  portion  of  a  good 
sledge  gives  somewhat  as  it  takes  up  the  various  strains, 
and  it  entirely  depends  on  good  workmanship  and 
sailor-like  lashings  whether,  on  the  strain  being  re- 
moved, the  sledge  returns  to  its  normal  shape  or  is 
permanently  distorted.  Two  long  runners  or  bearers, 
about  an  inch  square,  rested  on  the  uprights,  and  cross- 
pieces  projecting  the  whole  length  of  the  sledge  and 
fastened  by  extra  strong  marlin  lashings,  covered 
with  leather  to  protect  them  from  the  chafing  of  the 
equipment  stowed  on  top,  formed  a  sort  of  platform 
on  which  the  stores  were  placed.  The  fore  end  of  the 
sledge  had  a  bow  of  wood,  forming  practically  a  semi- 
circle, the  two  ends  being  fastened  to  the  slightly 
upturned  ends  of  the  runners.  The  upper  bearers 
were  pressed  down,  and  also  lashed  to  this  bow.  This 
upturning  at  the  forward  end  of  the  sledge  allowed 
for  the  meeting  of  unequal  surfaces,  and  the  shape 
of  the  bow  was  intended  to  prevent  the  ends  of  the 
sledge  being  driven  into  snow  or  ice  obstructions. 
The  rear  end  of  the  sledge  was  also  slightly  turned  up, 
and  the  top  bearers  bent  down  and  lashed  to  the  bare 
ends.  Of  course,  a  bow  was  not  necessary  at  that  end. 
At  each  end  of  the  sledge,  made  fast  round  the  first 
two  uprights  and  the  last  two  on  both  sides,  were  two 
pieces  of  alpine  rope,  which  combines  strength  with 
lightness.  The  bight  of  this  rope  was  formed  into  a 
becket,  and  by  this  means  a  toggle  attached  to  the 
sledge  harness  could  be  readily  put  in.  When  sledges 
are  running  in  line,  one  behind  the  other,  particular 
care  has  to  be  taken  with  these  ropes,  so  that  the  tracks 
of  the  second  sledge  coincide  with  the  first.  By  doing 
this  the  amount  of  friction  on  the  runners  of  the  second 
sledge  is  greatly  reduced,  for  the  forward  sledge  does 

153 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

practically  all  the  work  of  breaking  the  trail,  and  the 
following  ones  run  lightly  over  the  made  track.  An 
eleven-foot  sledge,  fully  loaded,  is  at  its  best  working 
weight  with  about  650  lb.  on  it,  but  this  by  no  means 
represents  its  actual  strength  capacity,  for  we  tested  ours 
most  rigorously  during  the  unloading  of  the  ship,  often 
placing  over  a  thousand  pounds'  weight  on  a  sledge 
without  it  sustaining  the  slightest  damage.  After 
our  experience  on  the  Barrier  surface  during  the  Dis- 
covery expedition,  I  had  decided  to  dispense  with  metal 
runners,  so  only  a  few  sets  of  detachable  steel  under- 
runners  were  provided,  to  be  used  for  work  on  ground 
bare  of  snow  or  on  rough  glacier-ice.  In  order  to  fasten 
the  stores  on  the  sledge  we  riveted  straps  on  to  the 
bearers,  and  thus  formed  a  handy  and  trustworthy 
means  of  fastening  things  with  the  least  possible  loss 
of  time. 

Another  vitally  important  article  of  equipment  for 
the  polar  explorer  is  the  cooker  and  cooking-stove. 
Here  again  we  were  indebted  to  the  practical  genius  of 
Nansen,  who  designed  the  form  of  cooker  that  is  now 
invariably  used  in  polar  work.  The  stove  was  the 
ordinary  "  primus,"  burning  kerosene,  vapourised  in 
the  usual  way.  This  stove  is  highly  efficient,  and, 
with  strict  economy,  one  gallon  of  oil  will  last  three 
men  for  ten  days,  allowing  three  hot  meals  per  day. 
This  economy  is  due,  in  a  large  measure,  to  the 
qualities  of  the  cooker.  The  form  we  used  consisted 
of  an  outer  cover  of  aluminium  drawn  out  of  one 
piece,  inside  which  was  a  ring-shaped  vessel  so  de- 
signed that  the  heated  air  could  circulate  round  it. 
Inside  this  vessel  was  the  centre  cooking-pot,  and 
these  pots  were  all  mounted  on  a  concave  plate  of 
aluminium  which  fitted  over  the  top  of  the  primus 
lamp.  The  middle  cooker  was  first  filled  with  snow 
154 


A  GREAT  Kentte  Boulder  CLOSE  TO  THE  WINTER  QUARTERS  To  face  page  154 


THE    COOKERS 

or  ice,  pressed  tightly  down,  the  lid  was  put  on 
and  this  vessel  placed  inside  the  outer,  ring-shaped 
cooker,  which  was  also  filled  with  snow ;  over  all  this 
apparatus  the  aluminium  outside  cover  was  placed, 
inverted.  The  heated  gases  from  the  stove,  after 
heating  the  bottom  of  the  centre  cooker,  mounted 
into  the  space  between  the  two  vessels,  and  were  then 
forced  down  the  outside  of  the  ring-shaped  cooker 
by  the  cover,  finally  escaping  at  the  lower  edge.  Ex- 
periments showed  that  about  92  per  cent,  of  the  heat 
generated  by  the  lamp  was  used  in  the  cooker,  a  most 
satisfactory  result,  for  economy  in  fuel  is  of  great  import- 
ance when  the  oil  has  to  be  carried  on  sledges.  I  did  not 
have  draw-off  taps  on  the  cookers,  but  they  were  so 
arranged  that  the  boiling-pot  in  the  centre  lifted  in  and 
out  easily.  Such  v/as  the  efficiency  of  the  cooker  and  stove 
that,  in  a  temperature  of  forty  or  fifty  degrees  below 
zero,  the  snow  or  ice,  which  would  be  at  this  tempera- 
ture, could  be  melted  and  a  hot  meal  prepared 
within  half  an  hour  from  the  time  the  cooker  was  first 
placed  on  the  primus.  The  whole  apparatus,  including 
the  primus,  did  not  weigh  more  than  fifteen  pounds. 
When  the  cooker  was  empty  after  meals,  our  feeding- 
utensils  were  placed  inside.  They  consisted  of  panni- 
kins and  spoons  only.  The  former  were  made  of 
aluminium  in  pairs,  and  fitted  one  into  another.  The 
outer  pannikin,  for  holding  the  hot  tea  or  cocoa,  was 
provided  with  handles,  and  the  other  fitted  over  the 
top  of  this  and  was  used  for  the  more  solid  food.  There 
was  no  "  washing  up  "  on  the  march,  for  spoons  were 
licked  clean  and  pannikins  scraped  assiduously  when 
sledging  appetites  had  been  developed. 

The  next  important  item  was  the  tent.  The  usual 
unit  for  sledging  consists  of  three  men,  and  our  tents 
were    designed    to    contain    that    number.     The    tent 

155 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

cloth  was  thin  Willesden  duck,  with  a  '*snow 
cloth  "  of  thicker  material  round  the  lower  edge.  This 
snow  cloth  was  spread  out  on  the  ground  and  snow^ 
or  ice  piled  on  it  so  that  the  form  of  the  tent  was  like 
that  of  an  inverted  convolvulus.  Instead  of  a  single  tent 
pole  we  used  five  male  bamboo  rods,  eight  feet  six  inches 
in  length,  fastened  together  at  one  end  in  a  cap,  over 
which  the  apex  of  the  tent  fitted.  The  bamboos 
were  stretched  out,  and  the  tent  was  slung  over  the 
top,  with  the  door,  which  took  the  form  of  a  sort  of 
spout  of  Burberry  material,  on  the  lee  side.  This 
Burberry  spout  was  loose  and  could  be  tied  up  by 
being  gathered  together  when  the  occupants  were 
inside  the  tent,  or  could  be  left  open  when  desired. 
Inside  the  tent  was  placed  on  the  snow  a  circle  of  thick 
Willesden  waterproof  canvas  to  protect  the  sleeping- 
bags  from  actual  contact  with  the  ground.  The  material 
of  which  the  tents  were  constructed  appeared  flimsy 
and  the  bamboos  were  light,  but  one  could  trust  them 
with  absolute  confidence  to  encounter  successfully  the 
fiercest  blizzards  of  this  exceptionally  stormy  part  of 
the  world.  There  was  no  instance  of  damage  to  a  tent 
owing  to  bad  weather  during  the  expedition. 

The  next  important  item  of  our  equipment  was  the 
sleeping-bag.  It  has  been  generally  assumed  by  polar 
explorers,  despite  our  experience  with  the  Discovery  ex- 
pedition, that  it  is  absolutely  necessary  for  sledge 
travellers  to  wrap  themselves  up  in  furs.  We  have 
found  this  to  be  quite  unnecessary,  and  I  think  that  I 
am  justified,  from  my  experience  during  two  expedi- 
tions in  what  is,  undoubtedly,  a  more  rigorous  climate 
than  exists  in  the  north  polar  regions,  in  stating  that, 
except  for  the  hands  and  feet,  in  the  way  of  personal 
clothing,  and  the  sleeping-bags  for  camping,  furs  are 
entirely  unnecessary.  Our  sleeping-bags,  as  I  have 
156 


SLEEPING-BAGS    AND    CLOTHING 

already  stated,  were  made  of  hides  of  young  reindeer. 
The  hide  of  the  young  reindeer  is  the  most  comfortable 
fur  that  can  be  used  for  this  purpose,  being  very  close 
and  thick.  The  term  "  bag  "  literally  describes  this 
portion  of  the  sledging-gear.  It  is  a  long  bag,  with 
closely  sewn  seams,  and  is  entered  by  means  of  a  slit 
at  the  upper  end.  A  flap  comes  down  over  the  head 
of  the  occupant,  and  a  toggle  on  the  flap  fastens  into  an 
eye  at  the  mouth  of  the  bag ;  thus  secured,  one  can 
sleep  in  more  or  less  comfort,  according  to  the  tempera- 
ture. 

The  clothing  usually  worn  for  sledging-work  con- 
sisted of  thick  Jaeger  underclothing,  heavy  blue  pilot- 
cloth  trousers,  a  Jaeger  pyjama  jacket  for  coat,  and  over 
this,  as  our  main  protection  against  cold  and  wind, 
the  Burberry  blouse  and  trousers.  On  the  hands  we 
wore  woollen  gloves  and  then  fur  mits,  and  on  the  feet 
several  pair  of  heavy  woollen  socks  and  then  finnesko. 
Any  one  feeling  the  texture  and  lightness  of  the 
Burberry  material  would  hardly  believe  that  it  answers 
so  well  in  keeping  out  the  cold  and  wind  and  in  offering, 
during  a  blizzard,  a  complete  protection  against  the 
fine  drifting  snow  that  permeates  almost  everything. 
Some  of  our  party  wore  a  pair  of  Burberry  trousers 
over  the  Jaeger  underclothing  throughout  the  winter, 
and  did  not  feel  the  need  of  the  cloth  trousers  at  all. 
The  head-gear,  which  is  another  item  of  one's  equip- 
ment, especially  important  as  regards  comfort,  was  a 
matter  upon  which  there  were  marked  differences  of 
opinion.  The  most  general  method  of  keeping  the 
head  and  ears  warm  was  to  wrap  a  woollen  muffler 
twice  round  the  chin  and  head,  thus  forming  protection 
for  the  ears,  which  are  the  first  part  of  the  body  to 
show  signs  of  frost-bite;  the  muffler  was  then  brought 
round   one's   neck,    and   over   the   muffler   was   pulled 

X57 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

what  is  known  as  a  fleecy  travelling  cap,  a  woollen 
helmet,  in  appearance  something  like  an  old-time 
helmet  without  the  visor.  If  a  blizzard  were  blowing  the 
muffler  was  discarded,  the  helmet  put  on,  and  over 
this  the  Burberry  helmet,  which  has  a  stiff  flap  in 
front  that  can  be  buttoned  into  a  funnel  shape.  The 
helmet  and  the  fur  mits  were  made  fast  to  a  length 
of  lamp-wick,  which  was  tied  round  the  neck,  so  that 
they  could  be  removed  temporarily  without  fear  of 
being  lost.  The  sledge  traveller  wearing  this  gear 
could  be  assured  that  his  featmres  and  body  would  be 
exempt  from  frost-bite  under  all  ordinary  circumstances. 
Of  course,  in  very  low  temperatures,  or  with  a  moder- 
ately low  temperature  and  a  breeze  blowing,  it  was 
necessary  occasionally  to  inspect  each  others'  faces 
for  the  sign  of  frost-bite,  and  if  the  white  patch  which 
denotes  this  was  visible,  it  had  to  be  attended  to  at 
once. 

Having  considered  the  clothing,  camping  and  cooking- 
equipment  of  a  sledge-party  we  now  come  to  the  import- 
ant item  of  food.  The  appetite  of  a  man  who  has  just 
come  to  camp  after  a  five-hours'  march  in  a  low  tempera- 
ture is  a  thing  that  the  ordinary  individual  at  home 
would  hardly  understand,  and,  indeed,  the  sledger 
himself  has  moments  of  surprise  when,  after  finishing 
his  ration,  he  feels  just  about  as  hungry  as  when  he 
started.  Much  has  been  written  on  the  subject  of 
food  in  most  books  on  polar  exploration,  and  in  Captain 
Scott's  account  of  the  Discovery  expedition  this  matter 
is  dealt  with  in  an  interesting  and  exhaustive  manner. 
In  selecting  our  supplies  I  had  based  my  plans  on  the 
experience  gained  by  the  previous  expedition,  and 
for  the  sledging  journeys  I  had  tried  to  provide  the 
maximum  amount  of  heat-giving  and  flesh-forming 
materials,  and  to  avoid  as  far  as  possible  foods  con- 
158 


2    5  t: 


a  sa.S 


o    P 


<  3 


SLEDGING    PROVISIONS 

taining  a  large  amount  of  moisture,  which  means  so 
much  dead  weight  to  be  carried.  Our  cuisine  was  not 
very  varied,  but  a  voracious  appetite  has  no  nice  dis- 
cernment and  requires  no  sauce  to  make  the  meal 
palatable ;  indeed,  all  one  wants  is  more,  and  this 
is  just  what  cannot  be  allowed  if  a  party  is  to  achieve 
anything  in  the  way  of  distance  whilst  confined  to 
man-haulage.  It  is  hard  for  a  hungry  man  to  rest 
content  with  the  knowledge  that  the  particular  food 
he  is  eating  contains  so  much  nourishment  and  is  suffi- 
cient for  his  needs,  if  at  the  same  time  he  does  not  feel 
full  and  satisfied  after  the  meal  and  if,  within  an  hour 
or  so,  the  aching  void  again  makes  itself  felt,  and  he 
has  to  wait  another  five  hours  before  he  can  again 
temporarily  satisfy  the  craving.  One  of  the  main 
items  of  our  food-supply  was  pemmican,  which  con- 
sisted of  the  finest  beef  powdered  with  60  per  cent,  of 
fat  added.  This  is  one  of  the  staple  foods  in  polar 
work,  and  the  fat  has  properties  specially  tending  to 
promote  heat.  Our  pemmican  for  use  on  the  long 
sledge  journeys  was  obtained  from  Messrs.  Beauvais, 
of  Copenhagen,  and  was  similar  to  the  pemmican  we 
had  on  the  Discovery  expedition.  Biscuits  are  a  standard 
food  also,  and  in  this  matter  I  had  made  a  departure 
from  the  example  of  the  previous  expedition.  We 
found  then  that  the  thin  wholemeal  biscuits  which 
we  used  in  sledging  work  were  apt  to  break,  and 
it  was  difficult  to  make  out  the  exact  allowance  for 
each  day,  the  result  being  that  sometimes  we  used  up 
our  supply  for  the  week  too  early.  I  secured  thicker 
biscuits,  but  the  principal  change  was  in  the  composition 
itself.  The  Plasmon  Company  supplied  a  ton  of  the 
best  wholemeal  biscuit,  containing  25  per  cent,  of  plas- 
mon ;  the  plasmon  tended  to  harden  the  biscuit,  and, 
as  is  well  known,  it  is  an  excellent  food.     These  biscuits 

159 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

were  specially  baked,  and,  with  an  allowance  of  one 
pound  for  each  man  per  day,  were  a  distinct  advance  on 
the  farinaceous  food  of  the  previous  expedition.  This 
allowance,  I  may  mention,  was  reduced  very  con- 
siderably when  food  began  to  run  short  on  the  southern 
and  northern  journeys,  but  we  had  no  fault  to  find 
with  the  quality  of  the  biscuits.  The  addition  of  the 
plasmon  certainly  increased  their  food- value.  Tea  and 
cocoa  were  selected  as  our  beverages  for  use  on  the 
march.  We  used  tea  for  breakfast  and  lunch,  and 
cocoa,  which  tends  to  produce  sleepiness,  for  dinner 
at  night.  Sugar  is  a  very  valuable  heat-forming 
substance,  and  our  allowance  of  this  amounted  to  about 
a  third  of  a  pound  for  each  man  for  a  day.  We  also 
took  chocolate,  cheese  and  oatmeal,  so  that,  though 
there  was  not  very  much  variety,  we  felt  we  were 
getting  the  most  nutritious  food  possible.  We  had  a 
much  more  varied  selection  of  foods  at  the  winter 
quarters,  and  the  supplies  taken  on  the  sledging  journeys 
could  be  varied  to  some  extent  according  to  the  neces- 
sities of  the  occasion. 

In  considering  the  various  methods  of  haulage  in 
the  Antarctic  the  experience  of  the  National  Antarctic 
Expedition  proved  of  very  great  value.  Until  the 
Discovery  wintered  at  the  head  of  McMurdo  Sound 
no  sledge  journey  had  been  made  over  the  surface 
of  the  Great  Ice  Barrier,  and,  indeed,  when  the  Dis- 
covery left  England  there  was  an  idea  amongst  many 
of  the  best  authorities  that  very  little  sledging  would 
be  necessary.  It  was  thought  that  the  main  part  of 
the  exploration  would  be  undertaken  by  the  ship 
itself.  Preparations  had  been  made  in  the  event  of  a 
landing,  and  the  equipment,  as  far  as  the  sledges, 
harness,  and  so  on,  were  concerned,  was  excellent. 
The  expedition  was  dependent,  however,  on  dogs  for 
160 


The  four  Ponies  out  for  exercise  on  the  Sea  Ice 


Interior  of  the  Stable.     Frost  can  be  seen  on  the  Bolts  in  the  Koof 

To  face  page  160 


THE    LOSS    OF    PONIES 

haulage  purposes,  and  the  use  of  these  animals  on  the 
Barrier  was  not  at  all  successful.  Only  twenty  dogs 
were  taken  with  the  Discovery^  and  the  trouble  they 
gave  and  their  eventual  collapse  and  failure  are  matters 
of  common  knowledge  amongst  those  interested  in 
Antarctic  exploration.  The  knowledge  I  gained  of 
the  Barrier  surface  on  that  occasion  suggested  to  me 
the  feasibility  of  using  ponies  for  traction  purposes, 
for  I  had  heard  that  in  Siberia  and  Northern  Manchuria 
ponies  of  a  peculiarly  hardy  and  sturdy  stock  did 
excellent  work  in  hauling  sledges  and  carrying  packs 
over  snow  and  ice  at  very  low  temperatures  and  under 
very  severe  weather  conditions. 

It  seems  to  be  generally  assumed  that  a  Manchurian 
pony  can  drag  a  sledge  over  a  broken  trail  at  the  rate 
of  twenty  to  thirty  miles  a  day,  pulling  not  less  than 
twelve  hundred  pounds.  Some  authorities  even  put 
the  weight  to  be  hauled  at  eighteen  hundred  pounds, 
but  this  is,  I  think,  far  too  heavy  a  load.  It  was  a  risk 
to  take  ponies  from  the  far  north  through  the  tropics 
and  then  across  two  thousand  miles  of  stormy  sea  on 
a  very  small  ship,  but  I  felt  that  if  it  could  be  done  it 
would  be  well  worth  the  trouble,  for,  compared  with 
the  dog,  the  pony  is  a  far  more  efficient  animal,  one 
pony  doing  the  work  of  at  least  ten  dogs  on  the  food 
allowance  for  ten  dogs,  and  travelling  a  longer  dis- 
tance in  a  day. 

We  established  ourselves  at  the  winter  quarters 
with  eight  ponies,  but  unfortunately  we  lost  four  of 
them  within  a  month  of  our  arrival.  The  loss  was 
due,  in  the  case  of  three  of  the  four,  to  the  fact  that 
they  were  picketed  when  they  first  landed  on  sandy 
ground,  and  it  was  not  noticed  that  they  were  eating 
the  sand.  I  had  neglected  to  see  that  the  animals 
had  a  supply  of  salt  given  to  them,  and  as  they  found 
I  L  161 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

a  saKne  flavour  in  the  volcanic  sand  under  their  feet, 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  bhzzards  had  sprayed  all  the 
land  near  the  shore  with  sea  water,  they  ate  it  at  odd 
moments.  All  the  ponies  seem  to  have  done  this, 
but  some  were  more  addicted  to  the  habit  than  the 
others.  Several  of  them  became  ill,  and  we  were  quite 
at  a  loss  to  account  for  the  trouble  until  Sandy  died. 
Then  a  post-mortem  examination  revealed  the  fact 
that  his  stomach  contained  many  pounds  of  sand, 
and  the  cause  of  the  illness  of  the  other  ponies  be- 
came apparent.  We  shifted  them  at  once  from  the 
place  where  they  were  picketed,  so  that  they  could 
get  no  more  sand,  and  gave  them  what  remedial  treat- 
ment lay  in  our  power,  but  two  more  died  in  spite 
of  all  our  efforts.  The  loss  of  the  fourth  pony  was  due 
to  poisoning.  The  Manchurian  ponies  will  eat  anything 
at  all  that  can  be  chewed,  and  this  particular  animal 
seems  to  have  secured  some  shavings  in  which  chemicals 
had  been  packed.  The  post-mortem  examination 
showed  that  there  were  distinct  signs  of  corrosive 
poisoning.  The  losses  were  a  matter  of  deep  concern 
to  us. 

We  were  left  with  four  ponies,  Quan,  Socks,  Grisi 
and  Chinaman,  and  it  is  a  rather  curious  fact  that  the 
survivors  were  the  white  or  light- coloured  animals, 
while  disaster  had  befallen  all  the  dark  animals. 

The  four  ponies  were  very  precious  in  our  eyes, 
and  they  were  watched  and  guarded  with  keen  atten- 
tion. At  first  we  exercised  them  daily  by  walks  across 
the  hills,  and  later  in  the  season,  when  it  became  too 
dark  to  go  across  the  rough  ground  with  safety,  they 
were  exercised  up  and  down  the  snow-covered  lake 
known  as  Green  Park  close  to  the  hut.  Before  day- 
light grew  faint  the  usual  morning  walk  was  over  the 
hills  along  the  sea-coast  to  Sandy  Beach,  where  they 
162 


QUAN'S    LITTLE    WAYS 

always  had  a  roll  on  the  soft  volcanic  sand,  and  after 
this  a  circuit  was  made  homewards  round  the  further 
side  of  Blue  Lake  and  Back  Door  Bay.  For  a  change 
sometimes  they  were  taken  on  to  the  snow  slopes  and 
foothills  of  Mount  Erebus,  on  the  level  stretches  of 
which  they  were  ridden,  but  this  was  stopped  as  soon 
as  there  was  any  fear  of  them  stumbling  in  the  fading 
daylight. 

During  the  winter  months  those  of  us  who  generally 
took  the  ponies  out  for  exercise  got  to  learn  the  different 
traits  and  character  of  each  individual  animal.  Every 
one  of  them  seemed  to  possess  more  cunning  and 
sense  than  the  ordinary  broken-in  horse  at  home,  and 
this  cunning,  when  put  into  practice  to  gain  any 
end  of  their  own,  was  a  constant  source  of  petty  annoy- 
ance to  us.  Quan  was  the  worst  offender,  his  particular 
delight  being  to  bite  through  his  head  rope  and  attack 
the  bales  of  fodder  stacked  behind  him  ;  then,  when 
we  put  a  chain  on  to  prevent  this,  he  deliberately 
rattled  it  against  the  side  of  the  hut,  which  kept  us 
awake.  The  wall  of  the  hut  was  sheathed  with  galvan- 
ised iron,  and  shortly  after  the  ponies  entered  the  stable, 
as  they  started  to  gnaw  the  ropes,  a  line  of  wire  had 
been  stretched  fore  and  aft  along  the  stables  to  which 
to  make  fast  the  head  rope.  Quan  used  to  take  this 
line  between  his  teeth  and  pull  back  as  far  as  possible 
and  then  let  it  go  with  a  bang.  We  tried  keeping 
his  nose-bag  on,  but  within  a  few  hours  he  would  have 
worked  a  hole  in  this  and  started  again  on  the  rope. 
On  going  into  the  stables  to  try  and  stop  his  mischief, 
one's  annoyance  invariably  passed  away  on  seeing  the 
intelligent  look  on  the  delinquent's  face,  as  he  rolled 
his  eye  round  and  leered  at  one  as  though  to  say  : 
"  Ha  !  Got  the  best  of  you  again."  At  last  old  Quan 
was  tethered  by  his  fore  and  hind  legs,  the  ridge  rope 

163 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

was  taken  away,  and  peace  reigned,  as  a  rule,  in  the 
stables.  He  had  at  first  suffered  from  eating  sand,  and  we 
had  to  use  great  care  to  prevent  him  getting  at  it  again, 
he  being  greatly  addicted  to  the  practice  ;  if  he  were 
given  the  smallest  opportunity  down  would  go  his 
head  and  he  would  be  crunching  a  mouthful  of  the 
loose  volcanic  material. 

Grisi  was  our  best-looking  pony,  with  a  very  pretty 
action  and  in  colour  a  dapple  grey ;  his  conduct  in 
the  stables,  however,  was  not  friendly  to  the  other 
ponies  and  we  had  to  build  him  a  separate  stall  in  the 
far  corner,  as  on  the  slightest  provocation  he  would 
lash  out  with  his  hind  feet.  He  became  rather  ner- 
vous and  high-strung  during  the  dark  months,  though 
we  kept  a  lamp  continually  burning  in  the  ponies' 
quarters.  Socks  was  a  pretty  little  pony,  shaped 
something  like  a  miniature  Clydesdale,  very  willing 
to  work  and  always  very  fiery.  After  leading  him 
along  when  out  walking,  it  seemed  a  great  change  to 
take  great  raw-boned  good-natured  old  Quan,  who, 
in  spite  of  his  ugly  appearance,  was  a  general  favourite. 
The  last  of  our  remaining  ponies.  Chinaman,  was  a 
strong  beast,  sulky  in  appearance,  but  in  reality  one 
of  the  best  of  the  horses  ;  he  also  had  a  penchant  for 
biting  through  his  head  rope,  but  a  chain  stopped  this. 
When  we  first  landed  we  had  an  idea  of  not  building  a 
stable,  as  information  from  people  in  Siberia  suggested 
that  the  ponies  were  able  to  resist  cold  unsheltered, 
but  after  the  first  blizzard  it  was  quite  obvious  that 
if  they  were  to  keep  any  sort  of  condition  it  would  be 
necessary  to  stable  them.  It  was  not  till  nearly  August 
that  we  were  forced  to  take  away  part  of  their  house  to 
feed  them  with.  Our  windows  on  that  side  of  the  hut 
where  the  stable  stood  had  been  planked  over  last, 
the  weather  side  of  the  hut  having  been  done  much 
161 


Day  with  the  Motor-car  on  the  Sea  Ice 


Special  Motor  Wheels;  the  original  form  on  the  left,  an  altered  form  on  the  right. 
Ordinary  Wheels  with  Kubber  Tyres  were  found  to  be  the  most  satisfactory 

To  face  page  164 


THE    DOGS 

earlier.  The  lower  half  of  the  lee-side  windows 
had  been  boarded  up,  when  Grisi  put  his  head 
through,  but  the  tops  had  been  left.  Amongst 
the  duties  of  the  night-watchman  was  a  two-hourly  in- 
spection of  the  stables,  and  if  he  heard  any  suspicious 
noises  between  inspection  time,  he  had  to  go  out  and 
investigate  the  cause.  After  a  couple  of  months  these 
precautions  became  unnecessary,  for  a  little  army  of 
pups  used  to  sleep  in  the  stables  during  the  cold  weather, 
and  if  by  any  means  a  pony  got  adrift,  they  at  once 
surrounded  him,  barking  furiously,  and  the  noise  con- 
veyed to  the  watchman  that  the  outside  watchers 
had  observed  something  wrong.  I  remember  one  night 
that  Grisi  got  free  and  dashed  out  of  the  stables,  followed 
by  the  whole  party  of  pups,  who  rounded  him  up  on 
the  Green  Park,  and  after  a  struggle  Mackay  secured 
the  truant  and  brought  him  back,  the  dogs  foUomng 
with  an  air  of  pride  as  though  conscious  of  having 
done  their  duty. 

We  had  been  able  to  obtain  only  nine  dogs,  five 
bitches  and  four  dogs,  but  so  prolific  were  they  that 
before  mid- winter  we  had  a  young  family  of  nine  pups, 
five  of  these  being  born  on  the  Nimrod.  There  were 
many  more  births,  but  most  of  the  puppies  came  to  an 
untimely  end,  there  being  a  marked  difference  between 
the  mothers  as  regards  maternal  instincts.  Gwendo- 
line, known  as  the  "  mad  bitch,"  took  no  care  at  all 
of  her  pups,  whilst  Daisy  not  only  mothered  her  own 
but  also  a  surviving  puppy  belonging  to  Gwen,  which 
was  taken  from  her  when  the  culpable  carelessness 
she  had  exhibited  in  the  rearing  of  her  offspring  had 
resulted  in  the  death  of  the  remainder.  The  yoimger 
pups  born  at  winter  quarters  did  not  attain  the  same 
size  when  grovfn  up  as  did  Possum's  pups,  born  on  the 
Nimrod.     This   may   be   due   either  to  the   very   cold 

165 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

world  they  were  born  into  or  to  the  fact  that  their 
mothers  were  much  smaller  than  Possum.  The  old  dogs 
that  we  brought  were  kept  tied  up  except  when  out 
for  exercise  or  training  in  a  sledge,  for  not  only  did  they 
chase  and  kill  penguins  when  we  had  these  birds  with 
us,  and  hunt  placid,  stupid  Weddell  seals,  but  two  of  the 
best  dogs  had  a  violent  antipathy  towards  each  other, 
and  more  than  once  fierce  fights  took  place  in  conse- 
quence. Tripp,  one  of  our  dogs,  was  pure  white  in 
colour,  and  was  a  fine  upstanding  beast  of  a  very  affec- 
tionate disposition.  Adams  looked  after  Tripp,  taking 
him  for  his  sledge-training,  whilst  Marshall  fancied 
Scamp,  who  was  an  older  dog,  more  set  in  his  bones 
and  with  a  black-and-white  coat.  It  was  between 
these  two  that  the  battles  raged,  and  I  think  there 
was  little  to  choose  between  them  as  far  as  strength 
and  courage  were  concerned.  On  the  occasion  of  a 
fight  the  combatants  were  surrounded  by  all  the  puppies 
and  a  couple  of  the  bitches,  the  latter  observing  the 
fight  with  the  keenest  interest,  and  I  think  some  of 
these  battles  must  be  put  down  to  the  desire  to  gain 
the  approval  of  the  females. 

The  presence  of  the  dogs  around  winter  quarters 
and  on  our  walks  was  very  cheerful,  and  gave  a  home- 
like feeling  to  the  place,  and  our  interest  in  the  pups 
was  always  fresh,  for  as  they  gradually  grew  up  each  one 
developed  characteristics  and  peculiarities  of  its  own. 
Names  were  given  to  them  regardless  of  their  sex. 
Roland,  for  example,  did  not  belong  to  the  sterner  sex, 
and  was  in  her  earlier  days  a  very  general  favourite. 
She  had  a  habit  of  watching  for  the  door  to  be  opened, 
and  then  launching  herself,  a  white  furry  ball,  into 
the  midst  of  the  party  in  the  hut.  Ambrose,  a  great 
big  sleepy  dog,  was  so  named  by  Adams,  perhaps  owing 
to  his  portly  proportions,  which  might  bear  resemb- 
1G6 


TROUBLES    OF    THE    PUPS 

lance  to  the  well-favoured  condition  of  a  monk.  Some- 
how or  another  the  name  Ambrose  seemed  to  suit 
him.  He  had  a  trick  of  putting  his  head  between 
one's  legs  whenever  we  were  standing  about  outside, 
so  when  in  the  dark  we  felt  a  dog  about  our  knees, 
we  knew  it  was  Ambrose.  Ambrose  had  a  brother 
and  sister,  but  they  were  nameless,  shining  only  in  the 
reflected  glory  of  the  great  Ambrose,  being  known  as 
"  Ambrose's  brother  "  or  "  Ambrose's  sister."  Another 
white  dog  was  called  Sissy,  and  this  particular  animal 
affected  the  company  of  Priestley  during  his  ice-digging 
expeditions.  Sissy  would  lie  on  the  ice  alongside  the 
hole  that  was  being  dug  and  was  generally  rewarded 
by  getting  a  biscuit  when  the  scientist  did  not  return 
to  the  hut  for  lunch,  taking  it  in  the  open  instead. 
Another  popular  pnppy,  also  a  female,  was  called 
Mercury,  because  of  its  rapidity  of  movement. 

All  the  pups  were  white  or  would  have  been  white 
if  some  of  them  had  not  elected  to  sleep  in  the  dust- 
bin where  the  warm  ashes  were  thrown  at  night  time  ; 
indeed,  the  resting-places  these  little  creatures  found 
were  varied  and  remarkable.  In  cold  weather  they 
always  gravitated  to  the  light  and  heat  of  the  stables 
but  if  the  temperature  was  not  much  below  zero,  they 
slept  outside,  three  or  four  bundled  together  inside  a 
cork  bale,  another  squeezed  into  an  empty  tin,  another 
in  the  dust-bin,  and  so  on.  Most  of  them  learnt  by 
sad  experience  the  truth  of  the  ancient  words  : 

Such  are  the  perils  that  environ 

The  man  who  meddles  with  cold  iron, 

for  sometimes  an  agonising  wail  would  proceed  from 
a  puppy  and  the  poor  little  beast  would  be  found 
with  its  tongue  frozen  fast  to  a  tin  in  which  it  had 
been  searching  for  some   succulent  remains.      I  have 

167 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

mentioned  the  puppies'  usefulness  in  keeping  watch 
on  the  ponies.  They  did  the  same  ser\dce  as  regards 
the  older  dogs,  which  were  tied  up,  for  if  by  chance 
one  of  these  dogs  got  adrift,  he  was  immediately  pur- 
sued by  a  howling  mob  of  puppies  ;  when  the  larger 
puppies  were  eventually  chained  up,  the  smaller  ones 
watched  them,  too,  with  jealous  eye.  After  enjoying 
some  months  of  freedom,  it  seemed  to  be  a  terrible 
thing  to  the  young  dogs  when  first  a  collar  was  put  on 
and  their  freedom  was  taken  from  them,  and  even  less 
did  they  enjoy  the  experience  of  being  taken  to  the 
sledge  and  there  taught  to  pull.  ^  remember  that  on 
the  first  day  the  dogs  simply  lay  down  in  front  of  the 
sledge,  so  another  method  was  adopted,  Ambrose 
and  his  brother  being  made  fast  to  the  rear  of  the 
sledge,  and  pulled  willy-nilly  after  it.  After  the  train- 
ing had  gone  on  some  time  on  Green  Park,  the  dogs 
were  taken  further  afield  and  a  favourite  run  was  to 
Cape  Barne  and  back.  The  Cape  lay  about  two  miles 
and  a  quarter  to  the  south-east  of  our  winter  quarters, 
and  with  a  light  load  the  dogs  would  traverse  this  dis- 
tance and  back  again  in  an  hour. 

Our  experience  on  the  Discovery  expedition,  specially 
during  the  long  southern  journey  when  we  had  so 
much  trouble  with  our  mixed  crowd  of  dogs,  rather 
prejudiced  me  against  these  animals  as  a  means  of 
traction,  and  we  only  took  them  as  a  stand-by  in  the 
event  of  the  ponies  breaking  down.  Since  we  were 
reduced  to  four  ponies,  it  became  necessary  to  con- 
sider the  dogs  as  a  possible  factor  in  our  work,  and 
so  their  training  was  important.  Peary's  account  of 
his  expeditions  show  that  in  the  Arctic  regions  dogs 
have  been  able  to  traverse  long  distances  very  quickly. 
In  one  instance  over  ninety  miles  were  accomplished 
in  twenty-three  hours,  but  this  evidently  had  been 
108 


" '"■y^i'^^pp  -"^^ 


y 


R*'-* 


THE    MOTOR-CAR    UNSUCCESSFUL 

done  on  smooth  sea  ice  or  on  the  smooth  glaciated 
surface  of  the  land,  for  it  would  be  impossible  to  ac- 
complish such  a  feat  on  the  Antarctic  Barrier  surface, 
where  the  travelling  alternates  between  hard  sastrugi 
and  soft  snow.  We  were  agreeably  surprised  with 
the  dogs,  for  it  must  be  remembered  that  their  fore- 
bears had  not  lived  under  polar  conditions  since  1899 
and  that  none  of  the  animals  had  experienced  Arctic 
weather  nor  were  they  trained  for  the  work  they  had 
to  perform  on  the  ice.  Scamp,  indeed,  had  been  a 
sheep-dog,  and  when  out  for  a  walk  with  the  other 
animals  it  was  interesting  to  watch  how  he  retained 
the  habits  learnt  in  civilisation.  He  was  always  "  round- 
ing up  "  the  other  dogs,  and  I  think  that  they  enjoyed 
their  walks  much  more  when  Scamp  was  absent. 

I  have  described  our  first  attempt  to  make  the  motor- 
car go  on  the  sea  ice.  After  that  we  made  similar 
experiments  ashore,  and  there  was  no  difficulty  in  start- 
ing the  engine  at  a  temperature  of  ten  degrees  below 
zero,  but  the  driving-wheels  were  a  great  source  of 
trouble,  and  the  weight  of  the  car  itself  made  it  almost 
impossible  to  travel  over  the  snow ;  the  heavy  rear 
wheels  sank  into  even  the  hardest  snow  and  then  spun 
round  in  the  hole  they  had  made  for  themselves.  The 
car  went  splendidly  on  the  bare  earth,  even  up  the  steep 
gradient  of  Pony  Glen,  and  we  decided  that  when  the 
spring  came  we  would  try  an  alteration  of  the  wheels. 
If  the  car  had  only  been  able  to  travel  over  the  Barrier 
surface  all  our  difficulties  would  have  been  solved, 
for  a  hundred  miles  a  day  would  not  have  been  too 
much  to  have  expected  of  it. 


169 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  CONQUEST  OF  MOUNT  EREBUS 

npHE  arrangement  of  all  the  details  relating  to  settling 
-*-  in  our  winter  quarters,  the  final  touches  to  the  hut, 
the  building  of  the  pony  stables,  and  the  meteoro- 
logical screen,  and  the  collection  of  stores,  engaged 
our  attention  up  to  March  3  Then  we  began  to  seek 
some  outlet  for  our  energies  that  would  be  useful  in 
advancing  the  cause  of  science,  and  the  work  of  the 
expedition.  I  was  very  anxious  to  make  a  depot 
to  the  south  for  the  furtherance  of  our  southern  journey 
in  the  following  summer,  but  the  sheet  of  open  water 
that  intervened  between  us  and  Hut  Point  forbade  all 
progress  in  that  direction,  neither  was  it  possible  for 
us  to  make  a  journey  towards  the  western  mountains, 
where  the  geology  might  have  been  studied  with  the 
probability  of  most  interesting  results. 

There  was  one  journey  possible,  a  somewhat  difficult 
undertaking  certainly,  yet  gaining  an  interest  and 
excitement  from  that  very  reason,  and  this  was  an 
attempt  to  reach  the  summit  of  Mount  Erebus.  For 
many  reasons  the  accomplishment  of  this  work  seemed 
to  be  desirable.  In  the  first  place,  the  observations 
of  temperature  and  wind  currents  at  the  summit  of 
this  great  mountain  would  have  an  important  bearing 
on  the  movements  of  the  upper  air,  a  meteorological 
problem  as  yet  but  imperfectly  understood.  From  a 
170 


Weddell  Seals  on  the  Floe   Ice 


Skua  Gulls  feeding  near  the  Hut 


To  face  jmge  170 


THE    EREBUS    PARTY 

geological  point  of  view  the  mountain  ought  to  reveal 
some  interesting  facts,  and  apart  from  scientific  con- 
siderations, the  ascent  of  a  mountain  over  13,000  ft. 
in  height,  situated  so  far  south,  would  be  a  matter  of 
pleasurable  excitement  both  to  those  who  were  selected 
as  climbers  and  to  the  rest  of  us  who  wished  for  our 
companions'  success.  After  consideration  I  decided 
that  Professor  David,  Mawson  and  Mackay  should 
constitute  the  party  that  was  to  try  to  reach  the  summit, 
and  they  were  to  be  provisioned  for  ten  days.  A 
supporting-party,  consisting  of  Adams,  Marshall  and 
Brocklehurst,  was  to  assist  the  main-party  as  far  as 
feasible.  The  whole  expedition  was  to  be  under  Adams' 
charge  until  he  decided  that  it  was  time  for  his  party 
to  return,  and  the  Professor  was  then  to  be  in  charge 
of  the  advance-party.  In  my  written  instructions 
to  Adams,  he  was  given  the  option  of  going  on  to  the 
summit  if  he  thought  it  feasible  for  his  party  to  push 
on,  and  he  actually  did  so,  though  the  supporting- 
party  was  not  so  well  equipped  for  the  mountain  work 
as  the  advance-party,  and  was  provisioned  for  six 
days  only.  Instructions  were  given  that  the  support- 
ing-party w^as  not  to  hamper  the  main-party,  especially 
as  regarded  the  division  of  provisions,  but,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  instead  of  hampering,  the  three  men  became  of 
great  assistance  to  the  advance  division,  and  lived 
entirely  on  their  own  stores  and  equipment  during  the 
whole  trip.  No  sooner  was  it  decided  to  make  the 
ascent,  which  was  arranged  for,  finally,  on  March  4, 
than  the  winter  quarters  became  busy  with  the  bustle 
of  preparation.  There  were  crampons  to  be  made, 
food -bags  to  be  prepared  and  filled,  sleeping-bags 
to  be  overhauled,  ice-axes  to  be  got  out  and  a 
hundred  and  one  things  to  be  seen  to  ;  yet  such  was 
the  energy  thrown  into  this  work  that  the  men  were 

171 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

ready  for  the  road  and  made  a  start  at  8.30  a.m.  on 
the  5th. 

In  a  previous  chapter  I  have  described  the  nature 
and  extent  of  equipment  necessary  for  a  sledging  trip, 
so  that  it  is  not  necessary  now  to  go  into  details  regard- 
ing the  preparations  for  this  particular  joiu-ney,  the 
only  variation  from  the  usual  standard  arrangement 
being  in  the  matter  of  quantity  of  food.  In  the  ascent 
of  a  mountain  such  as  Erebus  it  was  obvious  that  a 
limit  would  soon  be  reached  beyond  which  it  would 
be  impossible  to  use  a  sledge.  To  meet  these  circum- 
stances the  advance-party  had  made  an  arrangement 
of  straps  by  which  their  single  sleeping-bags  could 
be  slung  in  the  form  of  a  knapsack  upon  their  backs, 
and  inside  the  bags  the  remainder  of  their  equipment 
could  be  packed.  The  men  of  the  supporting-party, 
in  case  they  should  journey  beyond  ice  over  which  they 
could  drag  the  sledge,  had  made  the  same  preparations 
for  transferring  their  load  to  their  shoulders.  When  they 
started  I  must  confess  that  I  saw  but  little  prospect 
of  the  whole  party  reaching  the  top,  yet  when,  from 
the  hut,  on  the  third  day  out,  we  saw  through  Army- 
tage's  powerful  telescope  six  tiny  black  spots  slowly 
crawling  up  the  immense  deep  snow-field  to  the  base 
of  the  rugged  rocky  spurs  that  descended  to  the  edge 
of  the  field,  and  when  I  saw  next  day  out  on  the  sky- 
line the  same  small  figures,  I  realised  that  the  sup- 
porting-party were  going  the  whole  way.  On  the 
return  of  this  expedition  Adams  and  the  Professor 
made  a  full  report,  with  the  help  of  which  I  will  follow 
the  progress  of  the  party,  the  members  of  which  were 
winning  their  spurs  not  only  on  their  first  Antarctic 
campaign,  but  in  their  first  attempt  at  serious  mountain- 
eering. 

Mount  Erebus  bears  a  name  that  has  loomed  large  in 
172 


3    2 


1  5 


AN    IMPORTANT    VENTURE 

the  history  of  polar  exploration  both  north  and  south. 
Sir  James  Clark  Ross,  on  January  28,  1841,  named 
the  great  volcano  at  whose  base  our  winter  quarters 
were  placed  after  the  leading  ship  of  his  expedition. 
The  final  fate  of  that  ship  is  linked  with  the  fate  of 
Sir  John  Franklin  and  one  of  the  most  tragic  stories 
of  Arctic  exploration,  but  though  both  the  Erebus  and 
Terror  have  sunk  far  from  the  scenes  of  their  first 
exploration,  that  brilliant  period  of  Antarctic  discovery 
will  ever  be  remembered  by  the  mountains  which  took 
their  names  from  those  stout  ships.  Standing  as  a 
sentinel  at  the  gate  of  the  Great  Ice  Barrier,  Erebus 
forms  a  magnificent  picture.  The  great  mountain 
rises  from  sea-level  to  an  altitude  of  over  13,000  ft., 
looking  out  across  the  Barrier,  with  its  enormous  snow- 
clad  bulk  towering  above  the  white  slopes  that  run 
up  from  the  coast.  At  the  top  of  the  mountain  an 
immense  depression  marks  the  site  of  the  old  crater, 
and  from  the  side  of  this  rises  the  active  cone,  generally 
marked  by  steam  or  smoke.  The  ascent  of  such  a 
mountain  would  be  a  matter  of  difficulty  in  any  part  of 
the  world,  hardly  to  be  attempted  without  experienced 
guides,  but  the  difficulties  were  accentuated  by  the 
latitude  of  Erebus,  and  the  party  started  off  with  the 
full  expectation  of  encountering  very  low  temperatures. 
The  men  all  recognised,  however,  the  scientific  value 
of  the  achievement  at  which  they  were  aiming,  and 
they  were  determined  to  do  their  utmost  to  reach  the 
crater  itself.  How  they  fared  and  what  they  found 
will  be  told  best  by  extracts  from  the  report  which 
was  made  to  me. 

Erebus,  as  seen  from  our  winter  quarters,  showed 
distinctly  the  traces  of  the  three  craters  observed  from 
a  distance  by  the  scientific  staff  of  the  Discovery  ex- 
pedition.     From  sea-level  up  to  an  altitude  of  about 

173 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

5500  ft.  the  lower  slopes  ascend  in  a  gentle  but  gradu- 
ally steepening  curve  to  the  base  of  the  first  crater  ; 
they  are  largely  covered  with  snow  and  glacier-ice 
down  to  the  shore,  where  the  ice  either  breaks  off  to 
form  a  cliff  or,  as  at  Glacier  Tongue,  spreads  out  sea- 
wards in  the  form  of  a  narrow  blue  pier  about  five 
miles  in  length.  Near  Cape  Royds,  however,  there 
are  long  smooth  ridges  of  brown  glacial  gravels  and 
moraines,  mostly  bare  of  snow.  These  are  inter- 
spersed with  masses  of  black  volcanic  rock,  and  extend 
to  an  altitude  of  about  1000  ft.  Above  this  and  up 
to  about  5000  ft.  above  the  sea,  all  is  snow  and  ice, 
except  for  an  occasional  outcrop  of  dark  lava  or  a 
black  parasitic  cone  sharply  silhouetted  against  the 
light  background  of  snow  or  sky.  At  a  level  of  about 
6000  ft.  and  just  north  of  the  second  or  main  crater, 
rises  a  huge  black  fang  of  rock,  the  relic  of  the  oldest 
and  lowest  crater.  Immediately  south  of  this  the  principal 
cone  sweeps  upwards  in  that  graceful  double  curve,  con- 
cave below,  convex  above,  so  characteristic  of  volcanoes. 
Rugged  buttresses  of  dark  volcanic  rock,  with  steep 
snow  slopes  between,  jut  out  at  intervals  and  support 
the  rim  of  this  second  crater,  which  reaches  an  altitude 
of  fully  11,400  ft.  From  the  north  edge  of  this  crater 
the  ground  ascends,  at  first  gradually,  then  somewhat 
abruptly,  to  the  third  crater,  further  south.  It  is 
above  this  last  crater  that  there  continually  floats  a 
huge  steam  cloud.  At  the  time  of  Ross'  expedition 
this  cloud  was  reddened  with  the  glow  of  molten  lava, 
and  lava  streams  descending  from  the  crater  are  also 
described.  On  the  Discovery  expedition  we  saw  a 
glow  once  or  twice  during  the  winter  months,  but  we 
were  then  situated  about  twenty-eight  miles  from  the 
summit,  so  that  possibly  there  were  at  times  faint 
glows  which  we  did  not  see,  and,  besides,  it  was  neces- 
174 


VOLCANIC    ACTIVITY 

sary  to  go  two  or  three  hundred  yards  from  the  ship 
before  the  mountain,  which  was  hidden  by  the  local 
foot-hills,  appeared  in  view.  In  our  winter  quarters 
on  the  present  occasion  we  had  a  far  better  opportunity 
for  observing  the  summit  of  the  volcano,  for  we  were 
only  about  fifteen  miles  off  and  from  our  point  of  view 
the  slope  of  the  mountain  was  more  gentle  towards  the 
summit.  Immediately  we  stepped  outside  the  door  of 
the  hut  we  were  in  full  view  of  the  greater  part  of 
the  mountain.  The  observer  taking  the  meteorological 
observations  every  two  hours  had  the  mountain  in 
sight,  and  as  Erebus  was  our  high-level  meteorological 
observatory,  to  the  crown  of  which  we  always  looked 
for  indications  of  wind-currents  at  that  elevation, 
we  naturally  saw  every  phase  of  activity  produced  by 
the  fires  within.  It  was  for  this  reason,  no  doubt, 
that  during  the  period  of  our  stay  in  these  regions,  more 
especially  through  the  winter  months,  we  were  able  to 
record  a  fairly  constant  condition  of  activity  on  the 
mountain.  It  became  quite  an  ordinary  thing  to  hear 
reports  from  men  who  had  been  outside  during  the 
winter  that  there  was  a  "  strong  glow  on  Erebus." 
These  glows  at  times  were  much  more  vivid  than  at 
others.  On  one  particular  occasion,  when  the  barometer 
showed  a  period  of  extreme  depression,  the  glow  was 
much  more  active,  waxing  and  waning  at  intervals  of 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  through  the  night,  and  at  other 
times  we  have  seen  great  bursts  of  flame  crowning  the 
crater. 

The  huge  steam  column  that  rises  from  the  crater 
into  the  cold  air  shot  up  at  times  to  a  height  of  3000 
or  4000  ft.  before  spreading  out  and  receiving  its  line 
direction  from  the  air-currents  at  that  particular  hour 
holding  the  upper  atmosphere.  There  were  occasions 
when  the  view  of  this  steam  cloud  became  much  more 

175 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

vivid,  and  we  found  that  the  best  view  that  could 
be  obtained  was  when  the  moon,  rising  in  the  eastern 
sky,  passed  behind  the  summit  of  the  mountain.  Then, 
projected  on  the  disc  of  the  moon,  we  could  see  the 
great  cloud  travelling  upwards,  not  quietly,  but  impelled 
by  force  from  below.  There  were  times  also  when  it 
was  obvious  that  the  molten  lava  in  the  crater  could 
not  have  been  very  far  from  the  lip  of  the  cup,  for 
we  could  see  the  deep -red  glow  reflected  strongly  on 
the  steam  cloud.  We  often  speculated  as  to  the 
course  of  the  lava  stream  would  take  and  its  probable 
effect  on  the  great  glaciers  and  snow-fields  flanking 
the  sides  of  the  mountain,  should  it  ever  overflow. 
These  sudden  uprushes  were  obviously  the  result  of  a 
vast  steam  explosion  in  the  interior  of  the  volcano 
and  were  sufficient  proofs  that  Erebus  still  possesses 
considerable  activity. 

On  March  5,  after  the  busy  day  and  night  of  pre- 
paration, the  start  was  made.  Breakfast  was  served 
at  6  A.M.,  and  one  of  the  eleven-foot  sledges  was  packed 
and  lashed,  the  total  weight  of  the  load  and  sledge 
being  560  lb.  I  took  a  photograph  of  the  party  as 
they  started  off.  They  got  under  way  from  the  hut 
at  a  quarter  to  nine,  all  hands  accompanying  them 
across  the  rocky  ridge  at  the  back  of  the  hut,  lifting 
the  sledge  and  load  bodily  over  this,  and  then  helping 
the  party  to  pull  along  the  slopes  of  Back  Door  Bay 
across  Blue  Lake  up  the  eastern  slope  to  the  first  level. 
There  we  said  farewell  to  the  mountain  party.  They 
first  steered  straight  up  a  snow  slope  and  skirted 
closely  some  rocky  ridges  and  moraines  in  order  to 
avoid  crevassed  glaciers.  About  a  mile  out  and  four 
hundred  feet  above  sea-level  a  glacial  moraine  barred 
their  path,  and  they  had  to  portage  the  sledge  over 
it  by  slipping  ice-axes  under  the  load  between  the 
176 


•*r' 


The  First  Slopes  of  Erebus 


The  Party  portaging  the  Sledge  over  a  Patch  of  Bare  Rock 


To  face  page  176 


THE    START 

runners  and  bearers  of  the  sledge  and  lifting  it  over 
the  obstruction.  On  the  further  side  of  the  moraine 
was  a  sloping  surface  of  ice  and  neve  on  which  the 
sledge  capsized  for  the  first  time.  Light  snow  was 
falling,  and  there  was  a  slight  wind.  The  report  supplied 
to  me  by  Professor  David  and  Adams  depicts  in  a 
graphic  manner  these  first  experiences  of  this  party  in 
sledging. 

Pulling  the  sledge  proved  fairly  heavy  work  in  places ; 
at  one  spot,  on  the  steep  slope  of  a  small  glacier,  the 
party  had  a  hard  struggle,  mostly  on  their  hands  and 
knees,  in  their  efforts  to  drag  the  sledge  up  the  surface 
of  smooth  blue  ice  thinly  coated  with  loose  snow. 
This  difficulty  surmounted,  they  encountered  some 
sastrugi,  which  impeded  their  progress  somewhat. 
"  Sastrugi  "  means  wind  furrow,  and  is  the  name  given 
to  those  annojdng  obstacles  to  sledging,  due  to  the 
action  of  the  wind  on  the  snow.  A  blizzard  has  the 
effect  of  scooping  out  hollows  in  the  snow,  and  this 
is  especially  the  case  when  local  currents  are  set  up 
owing  to  some  rock  or  point  of  land  intercepting  the 
free  run  of  the  wind.  These  sastrugi  vary  in  depth 
from  two  or  three  inches  to  three  or  four  feet,  accord- 
ing to  the  position  of  any  rock  masses  that  may  be  near 
and  to  the  force  of  the  wind  forming  them.  The  raised 
masses  of  snow  between  the  hollows  are  difficult  to 
negotiate  with  a  sledge,  especially  when  they  run  more 
or  less  parallel  to  the  course  of  the  traveller.  Though 
they  have  many  disadvantages,  still  there  are  times 
when  their  presence  is  welcome;  especially  is  this  the 
case  when  the  sky  is  overcast  and  the  low  stratus  cloud 
obliterates  all  landmarks.  At  these  times  a  dull  grey 
light  is  over  everything,  and  it  is  impossible  to  see  the 
way  to  steer  unless  one  takes  the  line  of  sastrugi  and 
notes  the  angle  it  makes  with  the  compass  course,  the 
t  M  177 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

compass  for  the  moment  being  placed  on  the  snow  to 
obtain  the  direction.  In  this  way  one  can  steer  a 
fairly  accurate  course,  occasionally  verifying  it  by 
calling  a  halt  and  laying  off  the  course  again  with  the 
compass,  a  precaution  that  is  very  necessary,  for  at 
times  the  sastrugi  alter  in  direction. 

The  sledgers,  at  this  particular  juncture,  had  much 
trouble  in  keeping  their  feet,  and  the  usual  equanimity 
of  some  of  the  men  was  disturbed,  their  remarks  upon 
the  subject  of  sastrugi  being  audible  above  the  soft 
pad  of  the  finnesko,  the  scrunch  of  the  ski-boots,  and 
the  gentle  sawing  sound  of  the  sledge-runners  on  the 
soft  snow.  About  6  p.m.  the  party  camped  at  a  small 
nunatak  of  black  rock,  about  2750  ft.  above  sea- 
level  and  a  distance  of  seven  miles  from  winter  quarters. 
After  a  good  hot  dinner  they  turned  into  their  sleeping- 
bags  in  the  tents  and  were  soon  sound  asleep.  The 
following  morning,  when  the  men  got  up  for  break- 
fast, the  temperature  was  10°  below  zero  Fahr.,  whilst 
at  our  winter  quarters  at  the  same  time  it  was  zero. 
They  found,  on  starting,  that  the  gradient  was  becom- 
ing much  steeper,  being  1  in  5,  and  sastrugi,  running 
obliquely  to  their  course,  caused  the  sledge  to  capsize 
frequently.  The  temperature  was  8°  below  zero 
Fahr.,  but  the  pulling  was  heavy  work  and  kept  the 
travellers  warm.  They  camped  that  night,  March  6, 
at  an  altitude  of  5630  ft.,  having  travelled  only  three 
miles  during  the  whole  day,  but  they  had  ascended 
over  2800  ft.  above  their  previous  camp.  The  tempera- 
ture that  night  was  28°  below  zero  Fahr.  The  second 
camp  was  in  a  line  with  the  oldest  crater  of  Erebus, 
and  from  the  nature  of  the  volcanic  fragments  lying 
around,  the  Professor  was  of  the  opinion  that  Erebus 
had  been  producing  a  little  lava  within  its  crater  quite 
recently. 
178 


1  -i 


>     o 


ADEPOTMADE 

On  the  following  morning  Adams  decided  that  the 
supporting-party  should  make  the  attempt  with  the 
forward-party  to  reach  the  summit.  I  had  left  the 
decision  in  this  matter  to  his  discretion,  but  I  myself 
had  not  considered  there  would  be  much  chance  of 
the  three  men  of  the  supporting-party  gaining  the 
summit,  and  had  not  arranged  their  equipment  with 
that  object  in  view.  They  were  thus  handicapped 
by  having  a  three-man  sleeping-bag,  which  bulky 
article  one  man  had  to  carry  ;  they  also  were  not  so 
well  equipped  for  carrying  packs,  bits  of  rope  having 
to  act  as  substitutes  for  the  broad  straps  provided 
for  the  original  advance-party.  The  supporting-party 
had  no  crampons,  and  so  found  it  more  difficult,  in 
places,  to  get  a  grip  with  their  feet  on  the  slippery 
surface  of  the  snow  slopes.  However,  the  Professor, 
who  had  put  bars  of  leather  on  his  ski-boots,  found 
that  these  answered  as  well  as  crampons,  and  lent 
the  latter  to  Marshall.  Both  Adams  and  the  Pro- 
fessor wore  ski-boots  during  the  whole  of  the  ascent. 
Ski  could  not  be  used  for  such  rough  climbing,  and 
had  not  been  taken.  All  the  men  were  equipped  with 
both  finnesko  and  ski-boots  and  with  the  necessaries 
for  camping,  and  individual  tastes  had  been  given 
some  latitude  in  the  matter  of  the  clothing  worn  and 
carried. 

The  six  men  made  a  depot  of  the  sledge,  some  of 
the  provisions  and  part  of  the  cooking-utensils  at  the 
second  camp,  and  then  resumed  the  climb  again. 
They  started  off  with  tent-poles  amongst  other  equip- 
ment, but  after  going  for  half  a  mile  they  realised  it 
would  be  impossible  to  climb  the  mountain  with  these 
articles,  which  were  taken  back  to  the  depot.  Each 
man  carried  a  weight  of  about  40  lb.,  the  party's  gear 
consisting  chiefly  of  sleeping-bags,  two  tents,  cooking 

179 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

apparatus,  and  provisions  for  three  days.  The  snow 
slopes  became  steeper,  and  at  one  time  Mackay,  who 
was  cutting  steps  on  the  hard  snow  with  his  ice- 
axe,  shpped  and  gUssaded  with  his  load  for  about  a 
hundred  feet,  but  his  further  downward  career  was 
checked  by  a  projecting  ledge  of  snow,  and  he  was 
soon  up  again.  On  the  third  evening,  March  7,  the 
party  camped  about  8750  ft.  above  sea-level,  the 
temperature  at  that  time  being  20°  below  zero  Fahr. 

Between  9  and  10  p.m.  that  night  a  strong  wind 
sprang  up,  and  when  the  men  awoke  the  following 
morning  they  found  a  fierce  blizzard  blowing  from 
the  south-east.  It  increased  in  fury  as  the  day  wore 
on,  and  swept  with  terrific  force  down  the  rocky  ravine 
where  they  were  camped.  The  whirling  snow  was  so 
dense  and  the  roaring  wind  so  loud  that,  although 
the  two  sections  were  only  about  ten  yards  apart,  they 
could  neither  see  nor  hear  each  other.  Being  without 
tent-poles,  the  tents  were  just  doubled  over  the  top 
ends  of  the  sleeping-bags  so  as  to  protect  the  openings 
from  the  drifting  snow,  but,  in  spite  of  this  precaution, 
a  great  deal  of  snow  found  its  way  into  the  bags.  In 
the  afternoon  Brocklehurst  emerged  from  the  three- 
man  sleeping-bag,  and  instantly  a  fierce  gust  whirled 
away  one  of  his  wolfskin  mits  ;  he  dashed  after  it, 
and  the  force  of  the  wind  swept  him  some  way  down 
the  ravine.  Adams,  who  had  left  the  bag  at  the  same 
time  as  Brocklehurst,  saw  the  latter  vanish  suddenly, 
and  in  endeavouring  to  return  to  the  bag  to  fetch 
Marshall  to  assist  in  finding  Brocklehurst  he  also 
was  blown  down  by  the  wind.  Meanwhile,  Marshall, 
the  only  remaining  occupant  of  the  bag,  had  much 
ado  to  keep  himself  from  being  blown,  sleeping-bag 
and  all,  down  the  ravine.  Adams  had  just  succeeded 
in  reaching  the  sleeping-bag  on  his  hands  and  knees 
180 


A    BLIZZARD    EXPERIENCE 

when  Brocklehurst  appeared,  also  on  his  hands  and 
knees,  having,  by  desperate  efforts,  pulled  himself  back 
over  the  rocks.  It  was  a  close  call,  for  he  was  all 
but  completely  gone,  so  biting  was  the  cold,  before  he 
reached  the  haven  of  the  sleeping-bag.  He  and  Adams 
crawled  in,  and  then,  as  the  bag  had  been  much  twisted 
up  and  drifted  with  snow  while  Marshall  had  been 
holding  it  down,  Adams  and  Marshall  got  out  to  try 
and  straighten  it  out.  The  attempt  was  not  very 
successful,  as  they  were  numb  with  cold  and  the  bag, 
with  only  one  person  inside,  blew  about,  so  they  got 
into  it  again.  Shortly  afterwards  Adams  made  another 
attempt,  and  whilst  he  was  working  at  it  the  wind 
got  inside  the  bag,  blowing  it  open  right  way  up.  Adams 
promptly  got  in  again,  and  the  adventure  thus  ended 
satisfactorily.  The  men  could  do  nothing  now  but  lie 
low  whilst  the  bhzzard  lasted.  At  times  they  munched 
a  plasmon  biscuit  or  some  chocolate.  They  had 
nothing  to  drink  all  that  day,  March  8,  and  during  the 
following  night,  as  it  would  have  been  impossible  to 
have  kept  a  lamp  alight  to  thaw  out  the  snow.  They 
got  some  sleep  during  the  night  in  spite  of  the  storm. 
On  awaking  at  4  a.m.  the  following  day,  the  travellers 
found  that  the  blizzard  was  over,  so,  after  breakfast, 
they  started  away  again  at  about  5.30  a.m. 

The  angle  of  ascent  was  now  steeper  than  ever, 
being  thirty-four  degrees,  that  is,  a  rise  of  1  in  1^.  As 
the  hard  snow  slopes  were  much  too  steep  to  climb 
without  cutting  steps  with  an  ice-axe,  they  kept  as 
much  as  possible  to  the  bare  rocks.  Occasionally 
the  ar§te  would  terminate  upwards  in  a  large  snow 
slope,  and  when  this  was  the  case  they  cut  steps  across 
the  slope  to  any  other  bare  rocks  which  seemed 
to  persist  for  some  distance  in  an  upward  direction. 
Brocklehurst,    who   was    wearing    ski-boots     began    to 

181 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

feel  the  cold  attacking  his  feet,  but  did  not  think  it 
was  serious  enough  to  change  into  finnesko.  At 
noon  they  found  a  fair  camping-ground,  and  made  some 
tea.  They  were,  at  this  time,  some  800  ft.  below  the 
rim  of  the  old  crater  and  were  feeling  the  effects  of 
the  high  altitude  and  the  extreme  cold.  Below  them 
was  a  magnificent  panorama  of  clouds,  coast  and  Barrier 
snow,  but  they  could  not  afford  to  spend  much  time 
admiring  it.  After  a  hasty  meal  they  tackled  the 
ascent  again.  When  they  were  a  little  distance  from 
the  top  of  the  rim  of  the  main  crater,  Mackay  elected 
to  work  his  way  alone  with  his  ice-axe  up  a  long  and 
very  steep  neve  slope  instead  of  following  the  less 
difficult  and  safer  route  by  the  rocks  where  the  rest 
of  the  party  were  proceeding.  He  passed  out  of  sight, 
and  then  the  others  heard  him  call  out  that  he  was 
getting  weak  and  did  not  think  he  could  carry  on  much 
longer.  They  made  haste  to  the  top  of  the  ridge,  and 
Marshall  and  the  Professor  dropped  to  the  point  where 
he  would  be  likely  to  be.  Happily,  they  found  him 
coming  toward  them,  and  Marshall  took  his  load,  for  he 
looked  very  done  up.  It  appeared  that  Mackay  had 
found  the  work  of  cutting  steps  with  his  heavy  load 
more  difficult  than  he  had  anticipated,  and  he  only 
just  managed  to  reach  safety  when  he  fell  and  fainted. 
No  doubt  this  was  due,  in  part,  to  mountain  sickness, 
which,  under  the  severe  conditions  and  at  the  high 
altitude  the  party  had  attained,  also  affected  Brockle- 
hurst. 

Having  found  a  camping-place,  they  dropped  their 
loads,  and  the  members  of  the  party  were  at  leisure 
to  observe  the  nature  of  their  surroundings.  They 
had  imagined  an  even  plain  of  neve  or  glacier  ice  filling 
the  extinct  crater  to  the  brim  and  sloping  up  gradually 
to  the  active  cone  at  its  southern  end,  but  instead  of 
182 


ife":',' 


J 


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K    S 


s  « 


THE    OLD    CRATER 

this  they  found  themselves  on  the  very  brink  of  a 
precipice  of  black  rock,  forming  the  inner  edge  of  the 
old  crater.  This  wall  of  dark  lava  was  mostly  vertical, 
while,  in  some  places,  it  overhung,  and  was  from  eighty 
to  a  hundred  feet  in  height.  The  base  of  the  cHff  was 
separated  from  the  snow  plain  beyond  by  a  deep  ditch 
like  a  huge  dry  moat,  which  was  evidently  due  to  the 
action  of  blizzards.  These  winds,  striking  fiercely  from 
the  south-east  against  the  great  inner  wall  of  the  old 
crater,  had  given  rise  to  a  powerful  back  eddy  at  the 
edge  of  the  cliff,  and  it  was  this  eddy  which  had  scooped 
out  the  deep  trench  in  the  hard  snow.  The  trench 
was  from  thirty  to  forty  feet  deep,  and  was  bounded 
by  more  or  less  vertical  sides.  Around  our  winter 
quarters  any  isolated  rock  or  cliff  face  that  faced  the 
south-east  blizzard- wind  exhibited  a  similar  pheno- 
menon, though,  of  course,  on  a  much  smaller  scale. 
Beyond  the  wall  and  trench  was  an  extensive  snow- 
field  with  the  active  cone  and  crater  at  its  southern 
end,  the  latter  emitting  great  volumes  of  steam,  but 
what  surprised  the  travellers  most  were  the  extra- 
ordinary structures  which  rose  here  and  there  above 
the  surface  of  the  snow-field.  They  were  in  the  form 
of  mounds  and  pinnacles  of  the  most  varied  and  fan- 
tastic appearance.  Some  resembled  beehives,  others 
were  like  huge  ventilating  cowls,  others  like  isolated 
turrets,  and  others  again  in  shape  resembled  various 
animals.  The  men  were  unable  at  first  sight  to  under- 
stand the  origin  of  these  remarkable  structures,  and  as 
it  was  time  for  food,  they  left  the  closer  investigation 
for  later  in  the  day. 

As  they  walked  along  the  rampart  of  the  old  crater 
wall  to  find  a  camping-ground,  their  figures  were  thrown 
up  against  the  sky-line,  and  down  at  our  winter 
quarters  they  were  seen  by  us,  having  been  sighted  by 

183 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

Armytage  with  his  telescope.  He  had  followed  the 
party  for  the  first  two  days  with  the  glasses,  but  they 
were  lost  to  view  when  they  began  to  work  through 
the  rocky  ground,  and  it  was  just  on  the  crater  edge 
that  they  were  picked  up  by  the  telescope  again. 

The  camp  chosen  for  the  meal  was  in  a  little  rocky 
gully  on  the  north-west  slope  of  the  main  cone,  and 
about  fifty  feet  below  the  rim  of  the  old  crater.     Whilst 
some  cooked  the  meal,  Marshall  examined  Brocklehurst's 
feet,  as  the  latter  stated  that  for  some  time  past  he 
had  lost  all  feeling  in  them.     AVhen  his  ski-boots  and 
socks  had  been  taken  off,  it  was  found  that  both  his 
big  toes  were  black,  and  that  four  more  toes,  though 
less    severely    affected,   were    also    frost-bitten.     From 
their  appearance  it  was  evident  that  some  hours  must 
have  elapsed  since  this  had  occurred.     Marshall  and 
Mackay  set  at  work  at  once  to  restore  circulation  in 
the  feet  by  warming  and  chafing  them.     Their  efforts 
were,   under  the   circumstances,   fairly  successful,   but 
it  was  clear  that  ultimate  recovery  from  so  severe  a 
frost-bite    would   be  both  slow  and  tedious.     Brockle- 
hurst's   feet,    having   been   thoroughly   warmed,    were 
put  into  dry  socks  and  finnesko  stuffed  with  sennegrass, 
and  then  all  hands  went  to  lunch  at  3.30  p.m.     It  must 
have  required  great  pluck  and  determination  on  his 
part  to  have  climbed  almost  continuously  for  nine  hom*s 
up  the  steep  and  difficult  track  they  had  followed  with 
his   feet   so   badly   frost-bitten.     After  lunch  Brockle- 
hurst  was  left  safely  tucked  up  in  the  three-man  sleep- 
ing-bag, and  the  remaining  five  members  of  the  party 
started  off  to  explore  the  floor  of  the  old  crater.     As- 
cending to  the  crater  rim,  they  climbed  along  it  until 
they  came  to  a  spot  where  there  was  a  practicable 
breach  in  the  crater  wall  and  where  a  narrow  tongue 
of  snow  bridged  the  n^v^  trench  at  its  base. 
184 


FROZEN    FUMAROLES 

They   all   roped   up   directly   they   arrived   on    the 
hard  snow  in  the  crater  and  advanced  cautiously  over 
the  snow-plain,  keeping  a  sharp  look-out  for  crevasses. 
They    steered    for    some    of    the    remarkable    mounds 
already  mentioned,  and  when  the  nearest  was  reached 
and    examined,    they    noticed    some    curious    hollows, 
like    partly    roofed-in    drains,    running     towards     the 
mound.     Pushing  on  slowly,   they  reached  eventually 
a  small  parasitic  cone,  about   1000  ft.  above  the  level 
of  their  camp  and  over  a  mile  distant  from  it.     Sticking 
out  from  under  the  snow  were  lumps  of  lava,   large 
felspar  crystals,   from  one  to  three  inches  in  length, 
and  fragments  of  pumice  ;    both  felspar  and  pumice 
were    in    many    cases    coated    with    sulphur.     Having 
made  as  complete  an  examination  as  time  permitted, 
they    started    to    return    to    camp,    no    longer    roped 
together,  as  they  had   not  met  any  definite   crevasses 
on  their  way  out.     They  directed  their  steps   towards 
one   of  the   ice   mounds,  which   bore   a  whimsical   re- 
semblance to  a  lion  couch  ant,  and  from  which  smoke 
appeared  to  be  issuing.     To  the  Professor  the  origin 
of   these    peculiar   structures    was    now    no   longer   a 
mystery,  for  he  recognised  that  they  were  the  outward 
and  visible  signs  of  fumaroles.     In  ordinary  climates, 
a  fumarole,  or  volcanic   vapour-well,  may  be  detected 
by  the  thin  cloud  of  steam  above  it,  and  usually  one 
can  at  once  feel  the  warmth  by  passing  one's  hand 
into  the  vapour  column,  but  in  the  rigour  of  the  Ant- 
arctic   climate    the    fumaroles    of    Erebus    have    their 
vapour  turned  into  ice  as  soon  as  it  reaches  the  surface 
of  the  snow-plain.     Thus  ice  mounds,  somewhat  similar 
in  shape  to  the  sinter  mounds  formed  by  the  geysers 
of  New  Zealand,  of  Iceland  and  of  Yellowstone  Park, 
are  built  up  round  the  orifices  of  the  fumaroles  of  Erebus. 
Whilst  exploring  one  of  these  fumaroles,  Mackay  fell 

185 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

suddenly  up  to  his  thighs  into  one  of  its  concealed  con- 
duits, and  only  saved  himself  from  falling  in  deeper 
still  by  means  of  his  ice-axe.  Marshall  had  a  similar 
experience  at  about  the  same  time. 

The  party  arrived  at  camp  shortly  after  6  p.m., 
and  found  Brocklehurst  progressing  as  well  as  could  be 
expected.  They  sat  on  the  rocks  after  tea  admiring 
the  glorious  view  to  the  west.  Below  them  was  a  vast 
rolling  sea  of  cumulus  cloud,  and  far  away  the  western 
mountains  glowed  in  the  setting  sun.  Next  morning, 
when  they  got  up  at  4  a.m.,  they  had  a  splendid  view  of 
the  shadow  of  Erebus  projected  on  the  field  of  cumulus 
cloud  below  them  by  the  rising  sun.  Every  detail  of 
the  profile  of  the  mountain  as  outlined  on  the  clouds 
could  be  readily  recognised.  After  breakfast,  while 
Marshall  was  attending  to  Brocklehurst's  feet,  the 
hypsometer,  which  had  become  frozen  on  the  way  up, 
was  thawed  out  and  a  determination  of  the  boiling- 
point  made.  This,  when  reduced  and  combined  with 
the  mean  of  the  aneroid  levels,  made  the  altitude  of 
the  old  crater  rim,  just  above  the  camp,  11,400  ft. 
At  6  A.M.  the  party  left  the  camp  and  made  all  speed 
to  reach  the  summit  of  the  present  crater.  On  their 
way  across  the  old  crater,  Mawson  photographed  the 
fumarole  that  resembled  the  lion  and  also  took  a  view 
of  the  active  crater  about  one  and  a  half  miles  distant, 
though  there  was  considerable  difficulty  in  taking 
photographs  owing  to  the  focal  plane  shutter  having 
become  jammed  by  frost.  Near  the  furthest  point 
reached  by  the  travellers  on  the  preceding  afternoon  they 
observed  several  patches  of  yellow  ice  and  found  on 
examination  that  the  colour  was  due  to  sulphur.  They 
next  ascended  several  rather  steep  slopes  formed  of 
alternating  beds  of  hard  snow  and  vast  quantities  of 
large  and  perfect  felspar  crystals,  mixed  with  pumice. 
186 


One  Thousand  Feet  below  the  Active  Cone 


To  face  page  186 


THE    ACTIVE    CONE 

A  little  further  on  they  reached  the  base  of  the  vol- 
cano's active  cone.  Their  progress  now  was  painfully 
slow,  as  the  altitude  and  cold  combined  to  make  respira- 
tion difficult.  The  cone  of  Erebus  is  built  up  chiefly 
of  blocks  of  pumice,  from  a  few  inches  to  a  few  feet 
in  diameter.  Externally  these  were  grey  or  often 
yellow  owing  to  incrustations  of  sulphur,  but  when  broken 
they  were  of  a  resinous  brown  colour.  At  last,  a  little 
after  10  a.m.,  on  March  10,  the  edge  of  the  active  crater 
was  reached,  and  the  little  party  stood  on  the  summit  of 
Erebus,  the  first  men  to  conquer  perhaps  the  most 
remarkable  summit  in  the  world.  They  had  travelled 
about  two  and  a  half  miles  from  the  last  camp,  and 
had  ascended  just  2000  ft.,  and  this  journey  had  taken 
them  over  four  hours.  The  report  describes  most  vividly 
the  magnificent  and  awe-inspiring  scene  before  them. 

"  We  stood  on  the  verge  of  a  vast  abyss,  and  at 
first  could  see  neither  to  the  bottom  nor  across  it  on 
account  of  the  huge  mass  of  steam  filling  the  crater 
and  soaring  aloft  in  a  column  500  to  1000  ft.  high. 
After  a  continuous  loud  hissing  sound,  lasting  for 
some  minutes,  there  would  come  from  below  a  big  dull 
boom,  and  immediately  great  globular  masses  of  steam 
would  rush  upwards  to  swell  the  volume  of  the  snow- 
white  cloud  which  ever  sways  over  the  crater.  This 
phenomenon  recurred  at  intervals  during  the  whole  of 
our  stay  at  the  crater.  Meanwhile,  the  air  around  us 
was  extremely  redolent  of  burning  sulphur.  Presently 
a  pleasant  northerly  breeze  fanned  away  the  steam 
cloud,  and  at  once  the  whole  crater  stood  revealed  to 
us  in  all  its  vast  extent  and  depth.  Mawson's  angular 
measurement  made  the  depth  900  ft.  and  the  greatest 
width  about  half  a  mile.  There  were  at  least  three 
well-defined  openings  at  the  bottom  of  the  cauldron, 
and    it    was    from   these   that    the    steam    explosions 

187 


THE    HEART    OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

proceeded.  Near  the  south-west  portion  of  the  crater 
there  was  an  immense  rift  in  the  rim,  perhaps  300  to 
400  ft.  deep.  The  crater  wall  opposite  the  one  at  the 
top  of  which  we  were  standing  presented  features  of 
special  interest.  Beds  of  dark  pumiceous  lava  or  pumice 
alternated  with  white  zones  of  snow.  There  was  no 
direct  evidence  that  the  snow  was  bedded  with  the 
lava,  though  it  was  possible  that  such  may  have  been 
the  case.  From  the  top  of  one  of  the  thickest  of  the 
lava  or  pumice  beds,  just  where  it  touched  the  belt  of 
snow,  there  rose  scores  of  small  steam  jets  all  in  a  row. 
They  were  too  numerous  and  too  close  together  to 
have  been  each  an  independent  fumarole  ;  the  appear- 
ance was  rather  suggestive  of  the  snow  being  con- 
verted into  steam  by  the  heat  of  the  layer  of  rock 
immediately  below  it." 

While  at  the  crater's  edge  the  party  made  a  boiling- 
point  determination  by  the  hypsometer,  but  the  result 
was  not  so  satisfactory  as  that  made  earlier  in  the 
morning  at  the  camp.  As  the  result  of  averaging 
aneroid  levels,  together  with  the  hypsometer  deter- 
mination at  the  top  of  the  old  crater,  Erebus  may  be 
calculated  to  rise  to  a  height  of  13,370  ft.  above  sea- 
level.  As  soon  as  the  measurements  had  been  made 
and  some  photographs  had  been  taken  by  Mawson,  the 
party  returned  to  the  camp,  as  it  had  been  decided 
to  descend  to  the  base  of  the  main  cone  that  day,  a 
drop  of  8000  ft. 

On  the  way  back  a  traverse  was  made  of  the  main 
crater  and  levels  taken  for  constructing  a  geological 
section.  Numerous  specimens  of  the  unique  felspar 
crystals  and  of  the  pumice  and  sulphur  were  collected. 
On  arriving  in  camp  the  travellers  made  a  hasty  meal, 
packed  up,  shouldered  their  burdens  once  more  and 
started  down  the  steep  mountain  slope.  Brocklehurst 
188 


The  Crater  of  Erebus,  900  feet  deep  and  half  a  mile  m'ide.    Steam  is  seen  rising  ox  the 
LEFT.     The  Photograph  was  taken  from  the  lower  part  of  the  Crater  Edge 

To  face  page  188 


A   GLISSADE 

insisted  on  carrying  his  own  heavy  load  in  spite  of  his 
frost-bitten  feet.  They  followed  a  course  a  little  to  the 
west  of  the  one  they  took  when  ascending.  The  rock 
was  rubbly  and  kept  slipping  under  their  feet,  so  that 
falls  were  frequent.  After  descending  a  few  hundred 
feet  they  found  that  the  rubbly  spur  of  rock  down 
which  they  were  floundering  ended  abruptly  in  a  long 
and  steep  neve  slope.  Three  courses  were  now  open 
to  them  :  they  could  retrace  their  steps  to  the  point 
above  them  where  the  rocky  spur  had  deviated  from 
the  main  arete  ;  cut  steps  across  the  neve  slope  ;  or 
glissade  down  some  five  or  six  hundred  feet  to  a  rocky 
ledge  below.  In  their  tired  state  preference  was  given 
to  the  path  of  least  resistance,  which  was  offered  by  the 
glissade,  and  they  therefore  rearranged  their  loads  so 
that  they  would  roll  down  easily.  They  were  now 
very  thirsty,  but  they  found  that  if  they  gathered 
a  little  snow,  squeezed  it  into  a  ball  and  placed  it  on 
the  surface  of  a  piece  of  rock,  it  melted  at  once  almost 
on  account  of  the  heat  of  the  sun  and  thus  they  obtained 
a  makeshift  drink.  They  launched  their  loads  down 
the  slope  and  v/atched  them  as  they  bumped  and 
bounded  over  the  wavy  ridges  of  neve.  Brockle- 
hurst's  load,  which  contained  the  cooking-utensils, 
made  the  noisiest  descent,  and  the  aluminium  cookers 
were  much  battered  when  they  finally  fetched  up 
against  the  rocks  below.  Then  the  members  of  the 
party,  grasping  their  ice-axes  firmly,  followed  their 
gear.  As  they  gathered  speed  on  the  downward  course 
and  the  chisel-edge  of  the  ice-axe  bit  deeper  into  the 
hard  neve,  their  necks  and  faces  were  sprayed  with  a 
shower  of  ice.  All  reached  the  bottom  of  the  slope 
safely,  and  they  repeated  this  glissade  down  each 
succeeding  snow  slope  towards  the  foot  of  the  main 
cone.     Here  and  there  they  bumped  heavily  on  hard 

189 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

sastrugi  and  both  clothes  and  equipment  suffered 
in  the  rapid  descent ;  unfortunately,  also,  one  of  the 
aneroids  was  lost  and  one  of  the  hypsometer  thermo- 
meters broken.  At  last  the  slope  flattened  out  to  the 
gently  inclined  terrace  where  the  depot  lay,  and  they 
reached  it  by  walking.  Altogether  they  had  dropped 
down  5000  ft.  between  three  in  the  afternoon  and  seven 
in  the  evening. 

Adams  and  Marshall  were  the  first  to  reach  the 
depot,  the  rest  of  the  party,  with  the  exception  of 
Brocklehurst,  having  made  a  detour  to  the  left  in  con- 
sequence of  having  to  pursue  some  lost  luggage  in  that 
direction.  At  the  depot  they  found  that  the  blizzard 
of  the  8th  had  played  havoc  with  their  gear,  for  the 
sledge  had  been  overturned  and  some  of  the  load  scat- 
tered to  a  distance  and  covered  partly  with  drift-snow. 
After  dumping  their  packs,  Adams  and  Marshall  went 
to  meet  Brocklehurst,  for  they  noticed  that  a  slight 
blizzard  was  springing  up.  Fortunately,  the  wind 
soon  died  down,  the  weather  cleared,  and  the  three 
v/ere  able  to  regain  the  camp.  Tea  was  got  ready, 
and  the  remainder  of  the  party  arrived  about  10  p.m. 
They  camped  that  night  at  the  depot  and  at  3  a.m. 
next  day  got  up  to  breakfast.  After  breakfast  a  hunt 
was  made  for  some  articles  that  were  still  missing, 
and  then  the  sledge  was  packed  and  the  march  home- 
wards commenced  at  5.30  a.m.  They  now  found  that 
the  sastrugi  caused  by  the  late  blizzard  were  very 
troublesome,  as  the  ridges  were  from  four  to  five  feet 
above  the  hollows  and  lay  at  an  oblique  angle  to  the 
course.  Rope  brakes  were  put  on  the  sledge-runners, 
and  two  men  went  in  front  to  pull  when  necessary, 
while  two  steadied  the  sledge,  and  two  were  stationed 
behind  to  pull  back  when  required.  It  was  more  than 
trying  to  carry  on  at  this  juncture,  for  the  sledge  either 
190 


Another  view  of  the  Crater  of  Erebus 


To  face  page  190 


BAD    WEATHER    THREATENS 

refused  to  move  or  suddenly  it  took  charge  and  over- 
ran those  who  were  dragging  it,  and  capsizes  occurred 
every  few  minutes.  Owing  to  the  sHppery  nature  of 
the  ground,  some  members  of  the  party  who  had  not 
crampons  or  barred  ski-boots  were  badly  shaken  up, 
for  they  sustained  numerous  sudden  falls.  One  has 
to  experience  a  surface  like  this  to  realise  how  severe 
a  jar  a  fall  entails.  The  only  civilised  experience  that 
is  akin  to  it  is  when  one  steps  unknowingly  on  a  slide 
which  some  small  street  boy  has  made  on  the  pavement. 
Marshall  devised  the  best  means  of  assisting  the  pro- 
gress of  the  sledge.  When  it  took  charge  he  jumped 
on  behind  and  steered  it  with  his  legs  as  it  bumped 
and  jolted  over  the  sastrugi,  but  he  found  sometimes 
that  his  thirteen-stone  weight  did  not  prevent  him 
from  being  bucked  right  over  the  sledge  and  flung  on 
the  neve  on  the  other  side. 

They  reached  the  nunatak  where  they  had  made 
their  first  camp  on  the  way  up,  six  miles  distant  from 
Cape  Royds,  at  about  7.30  a.m.  By  this  time  there 
was  every  symptom  of  the  approach  of  a  blizzard, 
and  the  snow  was  beginning  to  drift  before  a  gusty 
south-easterly  wind.  This  threatened  soon  to  cut  them 
off  from  all  view  of  the  winter  quarters.  They  were 
beginning  to  feel  very  tired,  one  of  the  tents  had  a  large 
hole  burnt  in  it,  the  oil-supply  was  almost  done,  and 
one  of  the  primus  stoves  had  been  put  out  of  action 
as  the  result  of  the  glissade  ;  so,  in  the  circumstances, 
they  decided  to  make  a  dash  for  Cape  Royds,  leaving 
their  sledge  and  equipment  to  be  picked  up  later.  In 
the  grey  uncertain  light  the  sastrugi  did  not  show  up 
in  relief,  and  every  few  feet  some  member  of  the  party 
stumbled  and  fell,  sprawling  over  the  snow.  At  last 
their  eyes  were  gladdened  by  the  shining  surface  of  the 
Blue  Lake  only  half  a  mile  distant  from  winter  quarters. 

in 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

Now  that  the  haven  was  at  hand,  and  the  stress  and 
strain  over,  their  legs  grew  heavy  and  leaden,  and 
that  last  half-mile  seemed  one  of  the  hardest  they  had 
covered.  It  was  fortunate  that  the  weather  did  not 
become  worse. 

Meanwhile,  at  winter  quarters,  we  had  been  very 
busy  opening  cases  and  getting  things  ship-shape  out- 
side, with  the  result  that  the  cubicles  of  the  absentees 
were  more  or  less  filled  with  a  general  accumulation 
of  stores.  When  Armytage  reported  that  he  saw  the 
party  on  their  way  down  the  day  before  they  arrived 
at  the  hut,  we  decided  to  make  the  cubicles  tidy  for 
the  travellers.  We  had  just  begun  on  the  Professor's 
cubicle  when,  about  11  a.m.,  I  left  the  hut  for  a  moment 
and  was  astonished  to  see  within  thirty  yards  of  me, 
coming  over  the  brow  of  the  ridge  by  the  hut,  six  slowly 
moving  figures.  I  ran  towards  them  shouting  :  "Did 
you  get  to  the  top  ?  "  There  was  no  answer,  and  I 
asked  again.  Adams  pointed  with  his  hand  upwards, 
but  this  did  not  satisfy  me,  so  I  repeated  my  question. 
Then  Adams  said  :  "  Yes,"  and  I  ran  back  to  the  hut 
and  shouted  to  the  others,  who  all  came  streaming 
out  to  cheer  the  successful  venturers.  We  shook  hands 
all  round  and  opened  some  champagne,  which  tasted 
like  nectar  to  the  way-worn  people.  Marshall  pre- 
scribed a  dose  to  us  stay-at-home  ones,  so  that  we 
might  be  able  to  listen  quietly  to  the  tale  the  party  had 
to  tell. 

Except  to  Joyce,  Wild  and  myself,  who  had  seen 
similar  things  on  the  former  expedition,  the  eating 
and  drinking  capacity  of  the  returned  party  was  a 
matter  of  astonishment.  In  a  few  minutes  Roberts 
had  produced  a  great  saucepan  of  Quaker  oats  and 
milk,  the  contents  of  which  disappeared  in  a  moment, 
to  be  followed  by  the  greater  part  of  a  fresh-cut  ham 
192 


W" 


Going  out  to  being  in  the  Erebus  Party's  Sledge 


1 


The  Hut  in  the  Early  Winter 


Tofacepacje  192 


ABANDONED    GEAR    RECOVERED 

and  home-made  bread,  with  New  Zealand  fresh  butter. 
The  six  had  evidently  found  on  the  slopes  of  Erebus 
six  fully  developed,  polar  sledging  appetites.  The 
meal  at  last  ended,  came  more  talk,  smokes  and  then 
bed  for  the  weary  travellers. 

After  some  days'  delay  on  account  of  unfavourable 
weather,  a  party  consisting  of  Adams,  the  Professor, 
Armytage,  Joyce,  Wild  and  Marshall,  equipped  with  a 
seven-foot  sledge,  tent  and  provisions,  as  a  precaution 
against  possible  bad  weather,  started  out  to  fetch  in 
the  eleven-foot  sledge  with  the  explorers'  equipment. 
After  a  heavy  pull  over  the  soft,  new-fallen  snow,  in 
cloudy  weather,  with  the  temperature  at  mid-day  20° 
below  zero  Fahr.,  and  with  a  stiff  wind  blowing  from 
the  south-east,  they  sighted  the  nunatak,  recovered 
the  abandoned  sledge  and  placing  the  smaller  one  on  top, 
pulled  them  both  back  as  far  as  Blue  Lake.  I  went 
out  to  meet  the  party,  and  we  left  the  sledge  at  Blue 
Lake  until  the  following  day,  when  two  of  the 
Manchurian  ponies  were  harnessed  to  the  sledges  and 
the  gear  was  brought  into  winter  quarters. 


N  193 


CHAPTER  XIII 

RESULTS  OF  THE  EREBUS  JOURNEY 

IN  closing  the  report  the  Professor  and  Adams  men- 
tion the  impression  made  upon  them  by  the  scenes 
that  unfolded  themselves  during  the  journey.  "  The 
glorious  sunsets,  the  magic  of  the  sunrise  seen  from  our 
camp  above  the  clouds  when  the  great  shadow  of  Erebus 
swept  across  McMurdo  Sound,  and  touched  the  far-off 
western  mountains;  the  weird  shapes  of  the  green  and 
white  ice  mounds  built  around  the  fumaroles  of  the  old 
crater,  with  its  pavement  of  sparkling  crystals  inter- 
spersed with  snow  and  pumice  ;  the  hissing  and  booming 
cauldron  of  the  modern  crater  with  its  long  line  of  steam 
jets  and  its  snow-white  pillow  of  steam,  are  all  memories 
that  will  never  fade  from  our  minds." 

It  must  be  said  that,  considering  the  time  of  year, 
the  party  were  extremely  fortunate  in  the  weather 
encountered  on  their  journey.  In  the  first  place  the 
route  followed  proved  satisfactory,  for  v>^hile  it  gave  a 
good  snow  surface  for  the  sledge  it  kept  the  partj^ 
entirely  free  from  any  dangerously  crevassed  ice.  Next, 
the  blizzard,  though  very  trying  while  it  lasted  on 
account  of  its  violence  and  low  temperature,  commenc- 
ing at  30°  below  zero  Fahr.,  really  proved  a  blessing  in 
disguise,  for  it  lasted  just  long  enough  to  raise  the 
temperature  considerably,  as  well  as  to  check  the  high- 
level  south-westerly  wind,  and  so  produce  a  calm. 
191 


A  Steam  Explosion  on  Mount  Bird 


To  face  page  194 


HEIGHT    OF    EREBUS 

Naturally  I  was  much  pleased  to  have  all  our  party 
back  after  so  fine  a  piece  of  work  and  without  any 
serious  accident,  though,  indeed,  Brocklehurst's  foot 
did  not  look  at  all  promising,  for  two  of  the  toes  on  the 
right  foot  were  very  much  swollen  and  discoloured, 
whilst  the  big  toe  remained  black,  and  Marshall  was 
of  the  opinion  that  part  would  have  to  be  amputated 
later.  Except  for  this  accident  every  one  was  in  the 
best  of  health.  I  asked  the  Professor  to  give  me  a  short 
summary  of  the  scientific  results  of  the  ascent,  and  I 
think  they  will  not  be  out  of  place  in  this  narrative, 
for  the  object  of  the  ascent  was  mainly  to  gather  scien- 
tific information,  though,  of  course,  there  was  a  strong 
desire  to  reach  the  summit  of  a  hitherto  unclimbed 
mountain,  of  great  height  and  unknown  nature. 

"  Among  the  scientific  results,"  wrote  Professor 
David,  "may  be  mentioned  in  the  first  place  the  cal- 
culation of  the  height  of  the  mountain.  Sir  James 
Clark  Ross,  in  1841,  estimated  the  height  to  be  12,367 
ft.  The  National  Antarctic  Expedition  of  1901  deter- 
mined its  height  at  first  to  be  13,120  ft.,  but  this  was 
subsequently  altered  to  12,922  ft.,  the  height  now 
given  on  the  Admiralty  chart  of  the  region.  Our 
observations  for  altitude  were  made  partly  with  aneroids 
and  partly  with  a  hypsometer.  All  the  aneroid  levels 
and  hypsometer  observations  have  been  calculated 
by  means  of  simultaneous  readings  of  the  barometer 
taken  at  our  winter  quarters.  Cape  Royds.  These 
observations  show  that  the  rim  of  the  second  or  main 
crater  of  Erebus  is  about  11,350  ft.  above  sea-level, 
and  that  the  height  of  the  summit  of  the  active  crater 
is  about  13,350  ft.  above  sea-level.  The  fact  may  be 
emphasised  that  in  both  the  methods  adopted  by  us 
for  estimating  the  altitude  of  the  mountain,  atmospheric 
pressure  was  the  sole  factor  on  which  we  relied.     The 

195 


THE   HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

determination  arrived  at  by  the  Discovery  expedition 
was  based  on  measurements  made  with  a  theodohte 
from  sea-level.  It  is,  of  course,  quite  possible  that 
Ross'  original  estimate  of  the  height  of  Erebus  may 
have  been  correct,  and  this  active  volcano  may  have 
gained  in  height  by  about  a  thousand  feet  during  the 
sixty-seven  years  which  have  elapsed  since  the  time 
of  his  expedition.  In  the  next  place  among  features  of 
geological  interest  may  be  mentioned  the  fact  that  the 
old  moraines  left  by  a  former  gigantic  ancestor  of  the 
Great  Ice  Barrier,  ascend  the  western  slopes  of  Erebus 
to  a  height  of  fully  1000  ft.  above  sea-level.  As  the 
adjacent  McMurdo  Sound  is  at  least  three  hundred 
fathoms  deep,  this  ice  sheet  when  at  its  maximum 
development  must  have  been  at  least  2800  ft.  in 
thickness.  We  noticed  that  in  addition  to  these  old 
ice  barrier  moraines,  there  were  moraines  newer  than 
the  period  of  greatest  glaciation.  They  had  evidently 
been  formed  by  glaciers  radiating  from  Erebus. 

"  As  regards  the  geological  structure  of  Erebus,  we 
have  concluded  provisionally  that  there  is  evidence  of 
the  existence  of  four  superimposed  craters.  The  oldest 
and  lowest  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  largest  of  these 
attained  an  altitude  of  between  6000  and  7000  ft. 
above  sea-level,  and  was  fully  six  miles  in  diameter. 
The  second  rises  to  a  height  of  11,350  ft.  and  has  a 
diameter  of  over  two  miles  ;  its  rim  is  bounded  inwards 
by  a  vertical  cliff,  which  no  doubt  descended  originally 
into  a  crater  of  vast  depth.  This  second  crater  has  now 
been  filled  up  almost  to  the  brim,  partly  with  snow, 
partly  with  large  crystals  of  felspar  and  fragments  of 
pumice,  and  partly  with  the  numerous  funnel-shaped 
ice  mounds  already  described.  The  third  crater  rises 
to  a  height  of  fully  12,200  ft.  above  sea-level,  and  its 
former  outline  has  now  been  almost  obliterated  by  the 
196 


GEOLOGICAL    STRUCTURE 

material  of  the  modern  active  cone  and  crater.     The 
latter,  which  rises  about  800  ft.  above  the  former,  is 


March   G'-Toia^lSOS 
Route  Followed  ■■ 


SCALE       OF       GEOGRAPHICAL      MILES 
5       4       3       2        10  S 

I  ■  I 


Present  active  crater 


Campltl 
Second  cr^ter-^^^      !^''"'°""  "ty — 
Camp  1 1 


^t  Third  crater 


•^  Parasitic  Cone 


t> — 

Camp  I 


0  farasitic  Ckjne 


M^  Erebus 

J^resent  active  crater 
hird  crater 


^^ 


yp\\\\CAPE 


Sketch     Section      on      line       A      B. 


Crater  of  Mount  Ekebds  and  Section 


composed  chiefly  of  fragments  of  pumice.  These  vary 
in  size  from  an  inch  or  so  up  to  a  yard  in  diameter. 
Quantities  of  felspar  crystals  are  interspersed  with 
them,    and    both    are    incrusted    with    sulphur.     The 

197 


THE    HEART    OF    THE   ANTARCTIC 

fumes  rising  from  the  crater  at  the  time  of  our  visit 
smelt  strongly  of  sulphur,  and  this  fact,  considered  in 
conjunction  with  the  yellow  coating  of  sulphur  round 
the  rim  of  the  active  crater,  shows  that  the  volcano  is 
partly  in  a  solfataric  stage.  At  the  same  time  the  fre- 
quent glows  on  the  steam  cloud  above  the  crater,  and 
at  the  actual  edge,  as  seen  from  our  winter  quarters 
during  the  winter  months,  prove  that  molten  lava  still 
wells  up  into  the  crater.  The  fresh  volcanic  bombs 
picked  up  by  us  at  spots  four  miles  distant  from  the 
crater  and  lying  on  the  surface  of  comparatively  new 
snow  are  evidence  that  Erebus  has  recently  been  pro- 
jecting lava  to  great  heights. 

"  As  regards  size,  as  already  mentioned,  the  active 
crater  measures  about  half  a  mile  by  one-third  of  a  mile 
in  diameter,  and  is  about  900  ft.  in  depth.  If  the  active 
crater  of  Erebus  be  compared  with  that  of  Vesuvius 
it  will  be  found  that  the  former  is  about  three  times 
as  deep  as  that  of  the  latter.  One  of  the  most  striking 
features  observed  at  the  summit  was  the  long  row  of 
steam  jets  about  300  ft.  below  the  inside  rim  of  the 
crater.  There  were  many  scores  of  these  developed  at 
the  upper  surface  of  a  thick  bed  of  dark  lava  or  pumice, 
which  projected  slightly  into  the  crater.  Possibly 
the  horizon  of  the  steam  jets  represented  a  high- 
water  mark,  so  to  speak,  of  lava  within  the  crater, 
and  the  steam  may  have  been  due  to  the  vapourising 
of  snow  in  contact  with  the  hot  rock;  certainly  there 
was  a  white  band  of  snow  above  the  zone  of  dark  rock 
which  gave  origin  to  the  steam  jets,  but  whether  this 
snow  formed  a  definite  bed  intercalated  in  the  pumice 
beds  or  whether  it  was  a  superficial  layer  caught  in  the 
projecting  ledge  of  dark  rock  is  uncertain.  It  is  evident 
from  the  mineralogical  character  of  the  recently  erupted 
pumice  of  the  active  crater  that  Erebus  is  still  producing 
198 


An  Ice  Cavern  in  the  Winter.     Photographed  by  thi:  J.iciit  of  Hi  rkicam:  Lamps 

Tofiici-pcifie  198 


FELSPAR    CRYSTALS 

that  rare  type  of  lava  known  as  kenyte.  Two  features 
on  the  geology  of  Erebus  wliich  are  specially  distinctive 
are  the  vast  quantities  of  large  and  perfect  felspar 
crystals,  and  the  ice  fumaroles.  The  crystals  are  from 
two  to  three  inches  in  length.  Many  of  them  have  had 
their  angles  and  edges  slightly  rounded  by  attrition, 
through  clashing  against  one  another  when  they  were 
originally  projected  from  the  funnel  of  the  volcano,  but 
numbers  of  them  are  beautifully  perfect.  The  fluid 
lava  which  once  surrounded  them  has  been  blown  away 
in  the  form  of  fine  dust  by  the  force  of  steam  explo- 
sions, and  the  crystals  have  been  left  behind  intact. 

"  The  ice  fumaroles  are  specially  remarkable.  About 
fifty  of  these  were  visible  to  us  on  the  track  which  we 
followed  to  and  from  the  crater,  and  doubtless  there 
were  numbers  that  we  did  not  see.  These  unique 
ice-mounds  have  resulted  from  the  condensation  of 
vapour  around  the  orifices  of  the  fumaroles.  It  is 
only  under  conditions  of  very  low  temperature  that 
such  structures  could  exist.  No  structures  like  them 
are  known  in  any  other  part  of  the  world. 

"  It  would  be  hard  to  overestimate  the  scientific 
importance  of  knowledge  of  the  meteorological  con- 
ditions obtaining  at  Erebus.  Erebus  is  the  Pisgah  of 
the  meteorologist.  The  details  of  the  phenomena 
observed  there  will,  of  course,  be  given  in  the  meteoro- 
logical memoirs  of  this  expedition,  and  they  are  too 
bulky  to  quote  here.  Mention,  however,  may  be  made 
of  four  phenomena  which  specially  impressed  them- 
selves upon  us  during  our  ascent  of  Erebus.  In  the 
first  place  we  noticed  that  the  whole  of  the  snow-field 
lying  within  the  rim  of  the  second  crater  is  strongly 
ridged  with  sastrugi,  which  trend  from  west  by  south 
to  east  by  north.  These  sastrugi  have  a  sharp  edge 
directed  tov/ards  the  west.     The  latter  is  the  quarter 

199 


THE   HEART    OF   THE   ANTARCTIC 

from  which  the  prevalent  wind  blows  near  the  summit 
of  Erebus.  This  is  the  return  current  of  air  blowing 
back  from  the  South  Pole  towards  the  Equator.  Next 
our  experience  on  Erebus  showed  that  the  south-easterly 
blizzard  sometimes  extends  from  sea-level  up  to  at  least 
as  high  as  the  top  of  the  second  crater,  that  is,  to  over 
11,000  ft.  in  height.  Thirdly,  it  may  be  noticed  that 
on  the  day  we  reached  the  summit  of  Erebus,  March 
10,  we  found  ourselves,  at  a  level  of  13,300  ft.,  within 
the  lower  limit  of  the  upper  wind  which  at  that  time 
was  blowing  gently  from  a  northerly  direction.  It  may 
be  remembered  that  this  date  was  one  and  a  half  days 
after  a  strong  south-east  blizzard.  These  conditions 
seem  to  indicate  that  after  a  blizzard,  and  probably 
during  its  later  phases,  the  great  middle  air  current 
normally  travelling  from  near  the  South  Pole  towards 
the  Equator,  is  temporarily  abolished,  having  become 
absorbed  into  the  immense  stream  of  the  blizzard. 

"  Fourthly,  it  may  be  recorded  that  the  temperatures 
taken  by  us  demonstrate  the  following  fact,  obviously 
of  considerable  importance  :  From  sea-level  at  Cape 
Royds  up  to  the  summit  of  Erebus,  for  the  first  6000 
ft.,  the  temperature  falls  at  the  rate  of  about  4°  Fahr. 
per  thousand  feet,  but  above  the  altitude  the  fall  is 
much  less  rapid,  being  at  the  rate  of  less  than  1°  Fahr. 
per  thousand  feet,  and  in  one  case  the  temperature 
curve  on  Erebus  was  found  to  be  inverted. 

''  Finally,  we  had  an  opportunity,  when  in  our  camp 
on  Erebus  on  the  morning  of  March  10,  of  seeing  an 
explanation  of  the  remarkable  phenomena  called  '  earth 
shadows '  by  Captain  Scott.  On  that  occasion  we 
saw  that  the  rising  sun  projected  across  McMurdo  Sound 
a  great  conical  shadow  of  Erebus,  some  forty  miles 
wide,  on  to  the  western  mountains.  If  now  an  observer 
were  to  stand  within,  or  near  to  the  base  of  this  shadow, 
200 


EARTH    SHADOWS 

and  looking  towards  the  apex  of  it  westwards,  he  would 
see  a  conic  section  like  that  of  a  slightly  inverted  cone, 
seen  very  obliquely.  We  noticed  subsequently  when 
viewing  the  earth  shadows  from  our  winter  quarters 
at  Cape  Royds  that  the  two  barbs  of  the  broad  arrow 
of  the  earth  shadows  were  not  equally  inclined  to  the 
vertical,  but  that  their  relative  angles  of  slope  were 
directly  proportional  to  the  angles  of  slope  of  the  north 
and  south  side  respectively  of  Erebus.  It  is  evident, 
therefore,  that  these  dark  barbs  are  a  shadow  pro- 
jection of  the  cone  of  Erebus.  The  central  vertical 
dark  beam  figured  by  Captain  Scott  has  not  yet  been 
definitely  observed  by  us. 

"  From  the  above  brief  notes  it  will  be  obvious  that 
Erebus  is  very  interesting  geologically  on  account  of 
its  unique  fumaroles,  its  remarkable  felspar  crystals 
and  rare  lavas,  as  well  as  on  account  of  its  having 
served  as  a  gigantic  tide  gauge  to  record  the  flood  level 
of  the  greatest  recent  glaciation  of  Antarctica,  when  the 
whole  of  Ross  Island  was  but  a  nunatak  in  a  gigantic 
field  of  ice.  From  a  meteorological  point  of  view,  its 
situation  between  the  belt  of  polar  calms  and  the 
South  Pole  ;  its  isolation  from  the  disturbing  influence 
of  large  land  masses  ;  its  great  height,  which  enables 
it  to  penetrate  the  whole  system  of  atmospheric 
circulation,  and,  above  all,  the  constant  steam  cloud 
at  its  summit,  swinging  to  and  fro  like  a  huge  wind 
vane,  combine  to  make  Erebus  one  of  the  most  interest- 
ing places  on  earth  to  the  meteorologist." 


201 


CHAPTER  XIV 

LIFE  AND  WORK  IN  WINTER  QUARTERS 

AFTER  the  journey  to  the  summit  of  Erebus  we 
began  to  settle  down  and  prepare  for  the  long  winter 
months  that  were  rapidly  approaching.  Already  the 
nights  were  lengthening  and  stars  becoming  familiar 
objects  in  the  sky.  Our  main  work  was  to  secure 
the  hut  firmly  against  possible  damage  from  the  south- 
east blizzards.  After  everything  had  been  made  safe 
as  far  as  it  lay  in  our  power,  we  felt  that  if  anything 
untoward  happened  it  would  not  be  our  fault,  so  we 
turned  our  attention  to  the  scientific  studies  that  lay 
to  our  hand.  As  we  were  only  a  small  party,  it  was 
impossible  for  all  of  us  to  carry  on  scientific  work  and, 
at  the  same  time,  attend  to  what  I  might  call  the  house- 
hold duties.  It  was  most  important  for  the  geologists 
of  the  expedition  to  get  as  far  afield  as  practicable 
before  the  winter  night  closed  in  on  us,  so  every  day 
both  the  Professor  and  Priestley  were  out  early  and 
late,  with  their  collecting-bags  and  geological  hammers, 
finding  on  every  successive  trip  they  made  within 
a  radius  of  three  or  four  miles  of  the  winter  quarters 
new  and  interesting  geological  specimens,  the  examina- 
tion of  which  would  give  them  plenty  of  work  in  the 
winter  months.  Scattered  around  Cape  Royds  were 
large  numbers  of  granite  boulders  of  every  size  and 
colour,  deposited  there  by  the  great  receding  ice-sheet 
202 


•p[  \ 


Professor  David  standing  by  JMawson's  Anemometer 


To  face  page  202 


SCIENTISTS    AT   WORK 

that  once  filled  McMurdo  Sound  and  covered  the  lower 
slopes  of  Erebus.  The  geologists  were  full  of  delight 
that  circumstances  should  have  placed  our  winter 
quarters  at  a  spot  so  fruitful  for  their  labours.  Murray 
was  equally  pleased  at  the  prospect  of  the  biological 
work  which  lay  before  him,  for  hardly  a  day  passed 
without  some  one  bringing  in  a  report  of  the  existence 
of  another  lake  or  tarn,  and  soon  we  realised  that 
around  us  lay  more  than  a  dozen  of  these  lakelets, 
which  might  possibly  prove  a  fruitful  field  for  biological 
study.  To  Mawson  the  many  varied  forms  of  ice 
and  snow,  both  in  the  lakes  and  on  the  surrounding 
hills,  gave  promise  of  encouraging  results  in  that  branch 
of  physics  in  which  he  was  particularly  interested. 
The  lengthening  nights  also  gave  us  indications  that  the 
mysterious  Aurora  Australis  would  soon  be  waving  its 
curtains  and  beams  over  our  winter  quarters,  and  as 
information  on  this  phenomenon  was  greatly  needed, 
Mawson  made  preparations  for  recording  the  displays. 

I  have  already  stated  that  the  meteorological  screen 
had  been  set  up  and  observations  begun  before  the 
Erebus  party  left.  Now  that  all  hands  were  back  at  the 
hut,  a  regular  system  of  recording  the  observations 
was  arranged.  Adams,  who  was  the  meteorologist 
of  the  expedition,  took  all  the  observations  from  8  a.m. 
to  8  P.M.  The  night-watchman  took  them  from  10  p.m. 
to  6  a.m.  These  observations  were  taken  every  two 
hours,  and  it  may  interest  the  reader  to  learn  what 
was  done  in  this  way,  though  I  do  not  wish  to  enter 
here  into  a  lengthy  dissertation  on  meteorology.  The 
observations  on  air  temperature,  wind  and  direction 
of  cloud  have  an  important  bearing  on  similar  observa- 
tions taken  in  more  temperate  climes,  and  in  a  place 
like  the  Antarctic,  where  up  till  now  our  knowledge 
has  been  so  meagre,  it  was  most  essential  that  every 

203 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

bit  of  information  bearing  on  meteorological  pheno- 
mena should  be  noted.  We  were  in  a  peculiarly  favour- 
able position  for  observing  not  only  the  changes  that 
took  place  in  the  lower  atmosphere  but  also  those 
which  took  place  in  the  higher  strata  of  the  atmosphere. 
Erebus,  with  steam  and  smoke  always  hanging  above 
it,  indicated  by  the  direction  assumed  by  the  cloud 
what  the  upper  air- currents  were  doing,  and  thus  we 
were  in  touch  with  an  excellent  high-level  observatory. 
The  instruments  under  Adams'  care  were  as  com- 
plete as  financial  considerations  had  permitted.  The 
meteorological  screen  contained  a  maximum  ther- 
mometer, that  is,  a  thermometer  which  indicates  the 
highest  temperature  reached  during  the  period  elapsing 
between  two  observations.  It  is  so  constructed  that 
when  the  mercury  rises  in  the  tube  it  remains  at  its 
highest  point,  though  the  temperature  might  fall 
greatly  shortly  afterwards.  After  reading  the  recorded 
height,  the  thermometer  is  shaken,  and  this  operation 
causes  the  mercury  to  drop  to  the  actual  temperature 
obtaining  at  the  moment  of  observation  ;  the  thermo- 
meter is  then  put  back  into  the  screen  and  is  all  ready 
for  the  next  reading  taken  two  hours  later.  A  mini- 
mum thermometer  registered  the  lowest  temperature 
that  occurred  between  the  two-hourly  readings,  but 
this  thermometer  was  not  a  mercury  one,  as  mercury 
freezes  at  a  temperature  of  about  39°  below  zero,  and 
we  therefore  used  spirit  thermometers.  V^Tien  the 
temperature  drops  the  surface  of  the  column  of  spirit 
draws  down  a  little  black  indicator  immersed  in  it, 
and  if  the  temperature  rises  and  the  spirit  advances 
in  consequence,  the  spirit  flows  past  the  indicator,  which 
remains  at  the  lowest  point,  and  on  the  observations 
being  taken  its  position  is  read  on  the  graduated  scale. 
By  these  instruments  we  were  always  able  to  ascertain 
204 


A  Cloud  Effect  before  the  Sea  froze  over 


To  face  page  204 


RECORDING    TEMPERATURES 

what  the  highest  temperature  and  what  the  lowest 
temperature  had  been  throughout  the  two  hours  during 
which  the  observation  screen  had  not  been  visited. 
In  addition  to  the  maximum  and  minimum  thermo- 
meters, there  were  the  wet  and  dry  bulb  thermometers. 
The  dry  bulb  records  the  actual  temperature  of  the  air 
at  the  moment,  and  we  used  a  spirit  thermometer  for 
this  purpose.  The  wet  bulb  consisted  of  an  ordinary 
thermometer,  round  the  bulb  of  which  was  tied  a  little 
little  piece  of  muslin  that  had  been  dipped  in  water 
and  of  course  froze  at  once  on  exposure  to  the  air. 
The  effect  of  the  evaporation  from  the  ice  which  covered 
the  bulb  was  to  cause  the  temperature  recorded  to  be 
lower  than  that  recorded  by  the  dry  bulb  thermo- 
meter in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  water  present 
in  the  atmosphere  at  the  time.  To  ensure  accuracy 
the  wet  bulb  thermometers  were  changed  every  two 
hours,  the  thermometer  which  was  read  being  brought 
back  to  the  hut  and  returned  to  the  screen  later  freshly 
sheathed  in  ice.  It  was,  of  course,  impossible  to  wet 
the  exposed  thermometer  with  a  brush  dipped  in  water, 
as  is  the  practice  in  temperate  climates,  for  water  could 
not  be  carried  from  the  hut  to  the  screen  without 
freezing  into  solid  ice.  To  check  the  thermometers 
there  was  also  kept  in  the  screen  a  self-recording  thermo- 
meter, or  thermograph.  This  is  a  delicate  instrument 
fitted  with  metal  discs,  which  expand  or  contract 
readily  with  every  fluctuation  of  the  temperature. 
Attached  to  these  discs  is  a  delicately  poised  lever 
carrying  a  pen  charged  with  ink,  and  the  point  of  this 
pen  rests  against  a  graduated  roll  of  paper  fastened 
to  a  drum,  which  is  revolved  by  clockwork  once  in  every 
seven  days.  The  pen  thus  draws  a  line  on  the  paper, 
rising  and  falling  in  sympathy  with  the  changes  in  the 
temperature  of  the  air. 

205 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

All   these   instruments    were    contained   inside   the 
meteorological  screen,  which  was  so  constructed  that  while 
there  was  free  access  of  air,  the  wind  could  not  strike 
through  it  with   any  violence,   neither  could  the  sun 
throw  its  direct  beams  on  the  sensitive  thermometers 
inside.     On  the  flat  top  of  the  screen  were  nailed  two 
pieces  of  wood  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  the  long  axis  of 
which  lay  in  the  true  meridian,  that  is,  one  end  pointing 
due  south,  the  other  end  due  north.     On  a  small  rod 
attached  to  the  fore  end  of  the  screen  was  a  vane  that 
floated  out  in  the  opposite  direction  to  that  from  which 
the  wind  was  blowing,  and  by  reference  to  the  vane  and 
the  cross  the   direction  of  the  wind   was   ascertained 
and  noted  when  the  other   observations  were  taken. 
To  record  the  force  of  the  wind  and  the  number  of 
miles    it    travelled    between    each    observation,    there 
was  an  instrument  called  an  anemometer,  which  rested 
on  one  of  the  uprights  supporting  the  meteorological 
screen  ;   the  type  of  anemometer  used  by  the  expedition 
is  known  as  the  '*  Robinson."     It  consists  of  four  cups 
or  hemispheres  revolving  on  a  pivot  which  communicates 
by  a  series  of  cogs  with  a  dial  having  two  hands  like  the 
hands  of  a  watch.     The  long  hand  makes  one  revolu- 
tion and  records  five  miles,  and  the  smaller  hand  records 
up  to  five  hundred  miles.     At  a  glance  we  could  thus 
tell  the  number  of  miles  the  wind   had  blown  during 
the    time    elapsing    between    successive    observations. 
In  ordinary  climates  the  work  of  reading  these  instru- 
ments was  a  matter  of  little  difficulty  and  only  took  a 
few  minutes,  but  in  the  Antarctic,  especially  when  a 
blizzard  was  blowing,  the  difficulty  was  much  increased 
and   the    strong   wind    often   blew   out   the   hurricane 
lamp  which  was  used  to  read  the  instruments  in  the 
darkness.     On    these    occasions    the    unfortunate    ob- 
server had  to  return  to  the  hut,  relight  the  lamp  and 
206 


THE    SNOW    GAUGE 

again  struggle  up  the  windy  ridge  to  the  screen.  In 
order  to  try  and  facilitate  the  reading  of  the  various 
instruments  during  the  long  polar  night  the  dry  cells 
from  the  motor-car  were  connected  with  a  cable  from 
the  hut  to  the  screen,  but  the  power  was  not  sufficient 
to  give  a  satisfactory  light. 

In  addition  to  the  meteorological  screen,  there  was 
another  erection  built  on  the  top  of  the  highest  ridge 
by  Mawson,  who  placed  there  an  anemometer  of  his 
own  construction  to  register  the  strength  of  the  heaviest 
gusts  of  wind  during  a  blizzard.  We  found  that  the 
squalls  frequently  blew  with  a  force  of  over  a  hundred 
miles  an  hour.  There  remained  still  one  more  outdoor 
instrument  connected  with  weather  observation,  that 
was  the  snow  gauge.  The  Professor,  by  utilising  some 
spare  lengths  of  stove  chimney,  erected  a  snow  gauge 
into  which  was  collected  the  falling  snow  whenever 
a  blizzard  blew.  The  snow  was  afterwards  taken  into 
the  hut  in  the  vessel  into  which  it  had  been  deposited, 
and  when  it  was  melted  down  we  were  able  to  calculate 
fairly  accurately  the  amount  of  the  snowfall.  This 
observation  was  an  important  one,  for  much  depends 
on  the  amount  of  precipitation  in  the  Antarctic  regions. 
It  is  on  the  precipitation  in  the  form  of  snow,  and  on 
the  rate  of  evaporation,  that  calculations  regarding  the 
formation  of  the  huge  snow-fields  and  glaciers  depend. 
We  secured  our  information  regarding  the  rate  of 
evaporation  by  suspending  measured  cubes  of  ice  and 
snow  from  rods  projecting  at  the  side  of  the  hut,  where 
they  were  free  from  the  influence  of  the  interior  warmth. 
Inside  the  hut  was  kept  a  standard  mercurial  baro- 
meter, which  was  also  read  every  two  hours,  and  in 
addition  to  this  there  was  a  barograph  which  registered 
the  varying  pressure  of  the  atmosphere  in  a  curve 
for  a  week  at  a  time.     Every  Monday  morning  Adams 

207 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

changed  the  paper  on  both  thermograph  and  barograph, 
and  every  day  recorded  the  observations  in  the  meteoro- 
logical log.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  meteorologist  had 
plenty  to  occupy  his  time,  and  generally  when  the 
men  came  in  from  a  walk  they  had  some  information 
as  to  the  movement  of  the  smoke  cloud  on  Erebus  or 
the  observation  of  a  parhelion  or  parselene  to  record. 
As  soon  as  the  ice  was  strong  enough  to  bear  in  the 
bay,  Murray  commenced  his  operations  there.  His 
object  was  the  collection  of  the  different  marine  crea- 
tures that  rest  on  the  bottom  of  the  sea  or  creep  about 
there,  and  he  made  extensive  preparations  for  their 
capture.  A  hole  was  dug  through  the  ice,  and  a  trap 
let  down  to  the  bottom  ;  this  trap  was  baited  with  a 
piece  of  penguin  or  seal,  and  the  shell-fish,  Crustacea 
and  other  marine  animals  found  their  way  in  through 
the  opening  in  the  top,  and  the  trap  was  usually  left 
down  for  a  couple  of  days.  When  it  was  hauled  up, 
the  contents  were  transferred  to  a  tin  containing  water, 
and  then  taken  to  the  hut  and  thawed  out,  for  the 
contents  always  froze  during  the  quarter  of  a  mile 
walk  homeward.  As  soon  as  the  animals  thawed  out 
they  were  sorted  into  bottles  and  then  killed  by  various 
chemicals,  put  into  spirits  and  bottled  up  for  examina- 
tion when  they  reached  England.  Later  on  Murray 
found  that  the  trap  business  was  not  fruitful  enough, 
so  whenever  a  crack  opened  in  the  bay  ice,  a  line  was 
let  down,  one  end  being  made  fast  at  one  end  of  the 
crack,  and  the  length  of  the  line  allowed  to  sink  in  the 
water  horizontally  for  a  distance  of  sixty  yards.  A 
hole  was  dug  at  each  end  of  the  line  and  a  small  dredge 
was  let  down  and  pulled  along  the  bottom,  being  hauled 
up  through  the  hole  at  the  far  end.  By  this  means 
much  richer  collections  were  made,  and  rarely  did  the 
dredge  come  up  without  some  interesting  specimens. 
208 


PLANT-LIFE 

When  the  crack  froze  over  again,  the  work  could  still  be 
continued  so  long  as  the  ice  was  broken  at  each  end  of 
the  line,  and  Priestley  for  a  long  time  acted  as  Murray's 
assistant,  helping  him  to  open  the  holes  and  pull  the 
dredge. 

When  we  took  our  walks  abroad,  every  one  kept 
their  eyes  open  for  any  interesting  specimen  of  rock  or 
any  signs  of  plant-life,  and  Murray  was  greatly  pleased 
one  day  when  we  brought  back  some  moss.  This  was 
found  in  a  fairly  sheltered  spot  beyond  Back  Door  Bay 
and  was  the  only  specimen  that  we  obtained  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  winter  quarters  before  the  de- 
parture of  the  sun.  Occasionally  we  came  across  a 
small  lichen  and  some  curious  algae  growing  in  the 
volcanic  earth,  but  these  measured  the  extent  of  the 
terrestrial  vegetation  in  this  latitude.  In  the  north 
polar  regions,  in  a  corresponding  latitude,  there  are 
eighteen  different  kinds  of  flowering  plants,  and  there 
even  exists  a  small  stunted  tree,  a  species  of  willow. 

Although  terrestrial  vegetation  is  so  scanty  in  the 
Antarctic,  the  same  cannot  be  said  of  the  sub-aqueous 
plant-life.  When  we  first  arrived  and  some  of  us  walked 
across  the  north  shore  of  Cape  Royds,  we  saw  a  great 
deal  of  open  water  in  the  lakes,  and  a  little  later,  when 
all  these  lakes  were  frozen  over,  we  walked  across 
them,  and  looking  down  through  the  clear  ice,  could 
see  masses  of  brilliantly  coloured  algse  and  fungi.  The 
investigation  of  the  plant-life  in  the  lakes  was  one  of  the 
principal  things  undertaken  by  Murray,  Priestley  and 
the  Professor  during  the  winter  months.  The  reader 
has  the  plan  of  our  winter  quarters  and  can  follow 
easily  the  various  places  that  are  mentioned  in  the 
course  of  this  narrative. 

After  the  Erebus  party  returned,  a  regular  winter 

routine    was    arranged    for    the    camp.     Brocklehurst 

I  O  209 


THE    HEART    OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

took  no  part  in  the  duties  at  this  time,  for  his  frost- 
bitten foot  prevented  his  moving  about,  and  shortly 
after  his  return  Marshall  saw  that  it  would  be  necessary 
to  amputate  at  least  part  of  the  big  toe.  The  rest  of  the 
party  all  had  a  certain  amount  of  work  for  the  common 
weal,  apart  from  their  own  scientific  duties.  From 
the  time  we  arrived  we  always  had  a  night-watchman, 
and  now  took  turns  to  carry  out  this  important  duty. 
Roberts  was  exempt  from  night-watchman's  duties, 
as  he  was  busy  with  the  cooking  all  day,  so  for  the 
greater  part  of  the  winter  every  thirteenth  night  each 
member  took  the  night  w^atch.  The  ten-o'clock  obser- 
vations was  the  night-watchman's  first  duty,  and 
from  that  hour  till  nine  o'clock  next  morning  he  was 
responsible  for  the  well-being  and  care  of  the  hut, 
ponies  and  dogs.  His  most  important  duties  were 
the  two-hourly  meteorological  observations,  the  upkeep 
of  the  fire  and  the  care  of  the  acetylene  gas-plant. 
The  fire  was  kept  going  all  through  the  night,  and  hot 
water  was  ready  for  making  the  breakfast  when  Roberts 
was  called  at  7.30  in  the  morning.  The  night  watch 
was  by  no  means  an  unpleasant  duty,  and  gave  us 
each  an  opportunity,  when  our  turn  came  round,  of 
washing  clothes,  darning  socks,  writing  and  doing 
little  odd  jobs  which  could  not  receive  much  attention 
during  the  day.  The  night-watchman  also  generally 
took  his  bath  either  once  a  fortnight,  or  once  a  month 
as  his  inclination  prompted  him. 

Some  individuals  had  a  regular  programme  which 
they  adhered  to  strictly.  For  instance,  one  member, 
directly  the  rest  of  the  staff  had  gone  to  bed,  cleared 
the  small  table  in  front  of  the  stove,  spread  a  rug  on 
it  and  settled  down  to  a  complicated  game  of  patience, 
having  first  armed  himself  with  a  supply  of  coffee 
against  the  wiles  of  the  drowsy  god.  After  the  regula- 
210 


^mmM 


REPAIRING    CLOTHING 

tion  number  of  games  had  been  played,  the  despatch 
box  was  opened  and  letters,  private  papers  and  odds 
and  ends  were  carefully  inspected  and  replaced  in  their 
proper  order,  after  which  the  journal  was  written  up. 
These  important  matters  over,  a  ponderous  book  on 
historical  subjects  received  its  share  of  attention. 

Socks  were  the  only  articles  of  clothing  that  had  con- 
stantly to  be  repaired  and  various  were  the  expedients 
used  "t J  replace  the  heels,  which,  owing  to  the  hard  foot- 
gear, were  always  showing  gaping  holes.  These  holes 
had  to  be  constantly  covered,  for  we  were  not  possessed 
of  an  unlimited  number  of  any  sort  of  clothes,  and 
many  and  varied  were  the  patches.  Some  men  used 
thin  leather,  others  canvas,  and  others  again  a  sort 
of  coarse  flannel  to  sew  on  instead  of  darning  the  heels 
of  the  socks.  Towards  the  end  of  the  winter,  the 
wardrobes  of  the  various  members  of  the  expedition 
were  in  a  very  patched  condition. 

During  the  earlier  months  the  night-watchman 
was  kept  pretty  busy,  for  the  ponies  took  a  long  time 
to  get  used  to  the  stable  and  often  tried  to  break  loose 
and  upset  things  out  there  generally.  These  sudden 
noises  took  the  watchman  out  frequently  during  the 
night,  and  it  was  a  comfort  to  us  when  the  animals  at 
last  learned  to  keep  fairly  quiet  in  their  stable.  Every 
two  hours  the  observations  and  the  fire  and  acetylene 
gas  required  attention.  The  individual  was  fortunate 
who  obtained  a  good  bag  of  coal  for  his  night  watch, 
with  plenty  of  lumps  in  it,  for  there  was  then  no  diffi- 
culty in  keeping  the  temperature  of  the  hut  up  to  40° 
Fahr.,  but  a  great  deal  of  our  coal  was  very  fine  and 
caused  much  trouble  during  the  night.  To  meet  this 
difficulty  we  had  recourse  to  lumps  of  seal  blubber, 
the  watchman  generally  laying  in  a  stock  for  himself 
before  his  turn  came   for  night  duty.     When  placed 

211 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

on  top  of  the  hot  coal  the  blubber  burned  fiercely, 
and  it  was  a  comfort  to  know  that  with  the  large  supply 
of  seals  that  could  easily  be  obtained  in  these  latitudes, 
no  expedition  need  fear  the  lack  of  emergency  fuel. 
There  was  no  perceptible  smell  from  the  blubber  in 
burning,  though  fumes  came  from  the  bit  of  hairy 
hide  generally  attached  to  it.  The  thickness  of  the 
blubber  varied  from  two  to  four  inches.  Some  watch- 
men during  the  night  felt  disinclined  to  do  anything 
but  read  and  take  the  observations,  and  I  was  amongst 
this  number,  for  though  I  often  made  plans  and  resolu- 
tions as  to  washing  and  other  necessary  jobs,  when  the 
time  came  these  plans  fell  through,  with  the  exception 
of  the  bath. 

Towards  the  middle  of  winter  some  of  our  party 
stayed  up  later  than  during  the  time  when  there  was 
more  work  outside,  and  there  gradually  grew  into 
existence  an  institution  known  as  eleven  o'clock  tea. 
The  Professor  was  greatly  attached  to  his  cup  of  tea 
and  generally  undertook  the  work  of  making  it  for  men 
who  were  still  out  of  bed.  Some  of  us  preferred  a  cup 
of  hot  fresh  milk,  which  was  easily  made  from  the 
excellent  dried  milk  of  which  we  had  a  large  quantity. 
By  one  o'clock  in  the  morning,  however,  nearly  all  the 
occupants  of  the  hut  were  wrapped  in  deep  and  more 
or  less  noisy  slumber.  Some  had  a  habit  of  talking 
in  their  sleep,  and  their  fitful  phrases  were  carefully 
treasured  up  by  the  night-watchman  for  retailing  at  the 
breakfast-table  next  morning;  sometimes  also  the 
dreams  of  the  night  before  were  told  by  the  dreamer  to 
his  own  great  enjoyment,  if  not  to  that  of  his  audience. 
About  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  came  the  most  trying 
time  for  the  watchman.  Then  one's  eyes  grew  heavy 
and  leaden,  and  it  took  a  deal  of  effort  to  prevent  one- 
self from  falling  fast  asleep.  Some  of  us  went  in  for 
212 


THE    HUT    ROUTINE 

cooking  more  or  less  elaborate  meals.  Marshall,  who 
had  been  to  a  school  of  cookery  before  we  left  England, 
turned  out  some  quite  respectable  bread  and  cakes. 
Though  people  jeered  at  the  latter  when  placed  on 
the  table,  one  noticed  that  next  day  there  were  never 
any  left.  At  7.30  a.m.  Roberts  was  called,  and  the 
watchman's  night  was  nearly  over.  At  this  hour  also 
Armytage  or  Mackay  was  called  to  look  after  the  feeding 
of  the  ponies,  but  before  mid-winter  day  Armytage 
had  taken  over  the  entire  responsibility  of  the  stables 
and  ponies,  and  he  was  the  only  one  to  get  up.  At 
8.30  A.M.  all  hands  were  called,  special  attention  being 
paid  to  turning  out  the  messman  for  the  day,  and  after 
some  minutes  of  luxurious  half-wakefulness,  people 
began  to  get  up,  expressing  their  opinions  forcibly 
if  the  temperature  of  the  hut  was  below  freezing-point, 
and  informing  the  night-watchman  of  his  affinity  to 
Jonah  if  his  report  was  that  it  was  a  windy  morning. 
Dressing  was  for  some  of  the  men  a  very  simple  affair, 
consisting  merely  in  putting  on  their  boots  and  giving 
themselves  a  shake  ;  others,  who  undressed  entirely, 
got  out  of  their  pyjamas  into  their  cold  underclothing. 
At  a  quarter  to  nine  the  call  came  to  let  down  the 
table  from  its  position  near  the  roof,  and  the  messman 
then  bundled  the  knives,  forks  and  spoons  on  to  the 
board,  and  at  nine  o'clock  sharp  every  one  sat  down  to 
breakfast. 

The  night-watchman's  duties  were  over  for  a  fort- 
night, and  the  messman  took  on  his  work.  The  duties 
of  the  messman  were  more  onerous  than  those  of  the 
night-watchman.  He  began,  as  I  have  stated,  by  laying 
the  table — a  simple  operation  owing  to  the  primitive 
conditions  under  which  we  lived.  He  then  garnished 
this  with  three  or  four  sorts  of  hot  sauces  to  tickle 
the  tough  palates  of  some  of  our  party.     At  nine  o'clock, 

213 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

when  we  sat  down,  the  messman  passed  up  the  bowls  of 
porridge  and  the  big  jug  of  hot  milk,  which  was  the 
standing  dish  every  day.  Little  was  heard  in  the  way 
of  conversation  until  this  first  course  had  been  dis- 
posed of.  Then  came  the  order  from  the  messman, 
"  up  bowls,"  and  reserving  our  spoons  for  future  use, 
the  bowls  were  passed  along.  If  it  were  a  "  fruit  day," 
that  is  a  day  when  the  second  course  consisted  of  bottled 
fruit,  the  bowls  were  retained  for  this  popular  dish. 

At  twenty-five  minutes  to  ten  breakfast  was  over 
and  we  had  had  our  smokes.  All  dishes  were  passed 
up,  the  table  hoisted  out  of  the  way,  and  the  messman 
started  to  wash  up  the  breakfast-things,  assisted  by  his 
cubicle  companion  and  by  one  or  two  volunteers  who 
would  help  him  to  dry  up.  Another  of  the  party  swept 
out  the  hut ;  and  this  operation  was  performed  three 
times  a  day,  so  as  to  keep  the  building  in  a  tidy  state. 
After  finishing  the  breakfast-things,  the  duty  of  the  man 
in  the  house  was  to  replenish  the  melting-pots  with  ice, 
empty  the  ashes  and  tins  into  the  dust-box  outside 
and  get  in  a  bag  of  coal.  By  half -past  ten  the  morning 
work  was  accomplished  and  the  messman  was  free  until 
twenty  minutes  to  one,  when  he  put  the  water  on  for  the 
mid-day  tea.  At  one  o'clock  tea  was  served  and  we  had 
a  sort  of  counter  lunch.  This  was  a  movable  feast,  for 
scientific  and  other  duties  often  made  some  of  our  party 
late,  and  after  it  was  over  there  was  nothing  for  the 
messman  to  do  in  the  afternoon  except  to  have  sufficient 
water  ready  to  provide  tea  at  four  o'clock.  At  a  quarter 
past  six  the  table  was  brought  down  again  and  dinner, 
the  longest  meal  of  the  day,  was  served  sharp  at  6.30. 
One  often  heard  the  messman  anxiously  inquiring  what 
the  dinner  dishes  were  going  to  consist  of,  the  most 
popular  from  his  point  of  view  being  those  which  resulted 
in  the  least  amount  of  grease  on  the  plates.  Dinner 
214 


Murray  and  Peiestlev  going  down  a  Shaft  dug  in  Green  Lake  during  the   Winter 

To  face  page.  214 


THE    MESSMAN'S    WORK 

was  over  soon  after  seven  o'clock  and  then  tea  was 
served.  Tobacco  and  conversation  kept  us  at  table 
until  7.80,  after  which  the  same  routine  of  washing  up 
and  sweeping  out  the  hut  was  gone  through.  By 
8.80  the  messman  had  finished  his  duties  for  the  day, 
and  his  turn  did  not  come  round  again  for  another 
thirteen  days.  The  state  of  the  weather  made  the 
duties  lighter  or  heavier,  for  if  the  day  happened  to  be 
windy,  the  emptying  of  dish-water  and  ashes  and  the 
getting  in  of  fresh  ice  was  an  unpleasant  job.  In  a 
blizzard  it  was  necessary  to  put  on  one's  Burberries 
even  to  walk  the  few  yards  to  the  ice-box  and  back. 
In  addition  to  the  standing  jobs  of  night-watchman 
and  messman  there  were  also  special  duties  for  various 
members  of  the  expedition  who  had  particular  depart- 
ments to  look  after.  Adams  every  morning,  directly 
after  breakfast,  wound  up  the  chronometers  and  chrono- 
meter watches,  and  rated  the  instruments.  He  then 
attended  to  the  meteorological  work  and  took  out  his 
pony  for  exercise.  If  he  were  going  far  afield  he  dele- 
gated the  readings  to  some  members  of  the  scientific 
staff  who  were  generally  in  the  vicinity  of  winter  quarters. 
Marshall,  as  surgeon,  attended  to  any  wounds,  and 
issued  necessary  pills,  and  then  took  out  one  of  the  ponies 
for  exercise.  Wild,  who  was  store-keeper,  was  respon- 
sible for  the  issuing  of  all  stores  to  Roberts,  and  had  to 
open  the  cases  of  tinned  food  and  dig  out  of  the  snow 
drifts  in  which  it  was  buried  the  meat  required  for  the 
day,  either  penguin,  seal  or  mutton.  Joyce  fed  the 
dogs  after  breakfast,  the  puppies  getting  a  dish  of 
scraps  over  from  our  meals  after  breakfast  and  after 
dinner.  When  daylight  returned  after  our  long  night, 
he  worked  at  training  the  dogs  to  pull  a  sledge  every 
morning.  The  Professor  generally  went  off  to  "  geolo- 
gise "   or  to  continue  the  plane-table  survey  of  our 

2U 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

winter  quarters,  whilst  Priestley  and  Murray  worked 
on  the  floe  dredging  or  else  took  the  temperatures  of 
the  ice  in  shafts  which  the  former  had  energetically 
sunk  in  the  various  lakes  around  us.  Mawson  was 
occupied  with  his  physical  work,  which  included  auroral 
observations  and  the  study  of  the  structure  of  the  ice, 
the  determination  of  atmospheric  electricity  and  many 
other  things.  In  fact,  we  were  all  busy,  and  there 
was  little  cause  for  us  to  find  the  time  hang  heavy 
on  our  hands  ;  the  winter  months  sped  by  and  this 
without  our  having  to  sleep  through  them,  as  has  often 
been  done  before  by  polar  expeditions.  This  was  due 
to  the  fact  that  we  were  only  a  small  party  and  that 
our  household  duties,  added  to  our  scientific  work, 
fully  occupied  our  time.  In  another  chapter  the 
reader  will  find  a  short  summary  of  the  scientific  work 
of  each  department,  and  will  see  from  this  that  in  a 
practically  unknown  country  and  under  such  peculiar 
v/eather  conditions,  there  were  many  things  of  interest 
in  natural  science  to  be  studied. 

It  would  only  be  repetition  to  chronicle  our  doings 
from  day  to  day  during  the  months  that  elapsed  from 
the  disappearance  of  the  sun  until  the  time  arrived 
when  the  welcome  daylight  came  back  to  us.  We 
lived  under  conditions  of  steady  routine,  affected  only 
by  short  spells  of  bad  weather,  and  found  amply  suffi- 
cient to  occupy  ourselves  in  our  daily  work,  so  that 
the  spectre  known  as  "  polar  ennui  "  never  made  its 
appearance.  Mid-winter's  day  and  birthdays  were  the 
occasions  of  festivals,  when  our  teetotal  regime  was 
broken  through  and  a  sort  of  mild  spree  indulged  in. 
Before  the  sun  finally  went  hockey  and  football  were 
the  outdoor  games,  while  indoors  at  night  some  of  us 
played  bridge,  poker  and  dominoes.  Joyce,  Wild, 
Marston  and  Day  during  the  winter  months  spent  much 
216 


THE  "AURORA  AUSTRALIS 


THE    AURORA    AUSTRALIS 

time  in  the  production  of  the  "  Aurora  AustraHs,"  the 
first  book  ever  written,  printed,  illustrated  and  bound 
in  the  Antarctic.  Through  the  generosity  of  Messrs. 
Joseph  Causton  and  Sons,  Limited,  we  had  been  pro- 
vided with  a  complete  printing  outfit  and  the  necessary- 
paper  for  the  book,  and  Joyce  and  Wild  had  been 
given  instruction  in  the  art  of  type-setting  and  printing, 
Marston  being  taught  etching  and  lithography.  They 
had  hardly  become  skilled  craftsmen,  but  they  had 
gained  a  good  working  knowledge  of  the  branches  of 
the  business.  When  we  had  settled  down  in  the  winter 
quarters,  Joyce  and  Wild  set  up  the  little  hand-press 
and  sorted  out  the  type,  these  preliminary  operations 
taking  up  all  their  spare  time  for  some  days,  and  then 
they  started  to  set  and  print  the  various  contributions 
that  were  sent  in  by  members  of  the  expedition.  The 
early  days  of  the  printing  department  were  not  exactly 
happy,  for  the  two  amateur  type-setters  found  them- 
selves making  many  mistakes,  and  when  they  had  at 
last  "  set  up  "  a  page,  made  all  the  necessary  corrections, 
and  printed  off  the  necessary  required  number  of 
copies,  they  had  to  undertake  the  laborious  work  of 
"  dissing,"  that  is,  of  distributing  the  type  again. 
They  plodded  ahead  steadily,  however,  and  soon  became 
more  skilful,  until  at  the  end  of  a  fortnight  or  three 
weeks  they  could  print  two  pages  in  a  day.  A  lamp 
had  to  be  placed  under  the  type-rack  to  keep  it  warm, 
and  a  lighted  candle  was  put  under  the  inking-plate, 
so  that  the  ink  would  keep  reasonably  thin  in  con- 
sistency. The  great  trouble  experienced  by  the  printers 
at  first  was  in  securing  the  right  pressure  on  the 
printing -plate  and  even  inking  of  the  page,  but  experi- 
ence showed  them  where  they  had  been  at  fault.  Day 
meanwhile  prepared  the  binding  by  cleaning,  planing, 
and  polishing  wood  taken  from  the  Venesta  cases  in 

217 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

which  our  provisions  were  packed.  Marston  repro- 
duced the  illustrations  by  algraphy,  or  printing  from 
aluminium  plates.  He  had  not  got  a  proper  lithographing 
press,  so  had  to  use  an  ordinary  etching  press,  and  he 
was  handicapped  by  the  fact  that  all  our  water  had  a 
trace  of  salt  in  it.  This  mineral  acted  on  the  sensitive 
plates,  but  Marston  managed  to  produce  what  we  all 
regarded  as  creditable  pictures.  In  its  final  form  the 
book  had  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  pages,  and 
it  had  at  least  assisted  materially  to  guard  us  from  the 
danger  of  lack  of  occupation  during  the  polar  night. 


218 


The  Full  Moon  in  the  Time  of  Autumn  Twilight.     Cape  Barne  on  the  left. 

Inaccessible  Island  on  the  right  To  face  2)age  21S 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  POLAR  NIGHT 

ON  March  13  we  experienced  a  very  fierce  blizzard. 
The  hut  shook  and  rocked  in  spite  of  our  sheltered 
position,  and  articles  that  we  had  left  lying  loose  outside 
were  scattered  far  and  wide.  Even  cases  weighing  from 
fifty  to  eighty  pounds  were  shifted  from  where  they  had 
been  resting,  showing  the  enormous  velocity  of  the  wind. 
When  the  gale  was  over  we  put  everything  that  was  likely 
to  blow  away  into  positions  of  greater  safety.  It  was 
on  this  day  also  that  Murray  found  living  microscopical 
animals  on  some  fungus  that  had  been  thawed  out  from  a 
lump  of  ice  taken  from  the  bottom  of  one  of  the  lakes.  This 
was  one  of  the  most  interesting  biological  discoveries 
that  had  been  made  in  the  Antarctic,  for  the  study  of 
these  minute  creatures  occupied  our  biologist  for  a  great 
part  of  his  stay  in  the  south,  and  threw  a  new  light  on 
the  capability  of  life  to  exist  under  conditions  of  ex- 
treme cold  and  in  the  face  of  great  variations  of  tempera- 
ture. We  all  became  vastly  interested  in  the  rotifers 
during  our  stay,  and  the  work  of  the  biologist  in  this 
respect  was  watched  with  keen  attention.  From  our 
point  of  view  there  was  an  element  of  humour  in  the 
endeavours  of  Murray  to  slay  the  little  animals  he  had 
found.  He  used  to  thaw  them  out  from  a  block  of  ice, 
freeze  them  up  again,  and  repeat  this  process  several 
times  without  producing  any  result  as  far  as  the  rotifers 

219 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

were  concerned.  Then  he  tested  them  in  brine  so 
strongly  saline  that  it  would  not  freeze  at  a  temperature 
above  minus  7°  Fahr.,  and  still  the  animals  lived.  A 
good  proportion  of  them  survived  a  temperature  of 
200°  Fahr.  It  became  a  contest  between  rotifers  and 
scientist,  and  generally  the  rotifers  seemed  to  triumph. 
The  biologist  will  tell  his  own  story  in  another  chapter. 
I  noted  in  my  diary  that  in  the  middle  of  March, 
when  daylight  lasted  eight  hours,  we  still  had  the  skua 
gulls  with  us.  The  young  birds  were  now  nearly  all 
flying,  but  in  some  cases  there  were  backward  youngsters 
that  had  not  yet  gained  the  use  of  their  wings  and 
were  still  under  the  protection  of  their  parents.  The 
Adelie  penguins  had  practically  deserted  us,  only 
about  thirty  remaining  in  the  rookery  at  this  time. 
These  birds  had  been  moulting,  but  all  except  six  had 
finished  the  operation.  We  observed  that  when  moult- 
ing the  penguin  does  not  enter  the  sea  for  food,  and 
seems  to  live  on  its  own  blubber,  taking  no  food  but 
eating  large  quantities  of  snow.  On  March  17,  after 
snow  had  been  falling  all  night,  Murray  walked  over 
to  the  rookery  and  saw  only  half  the  penguins  remaining, 
as  he  thought,  but  suddenly  the  others  rose  up  from 
under  his  feet.  They  had  been  lying  down  and  had 
been  covered  with  snow,  their  bills  only  protruding. 
Therewere  large  numbers  of  Weddell  seals  about  at  this 
time,  and  from  the  top  of  the  cliff  we  saw  one  lying 
asleep  in  the  water,  with  his  nostrils  just  showing 
above  the  surface.  There  was  still  open  water  close 
to  our  winter  quarters,  but  young  ice  was  beginning 
to  form  in  the  bay  again,  and  beautiful  ice  flowers 
appeared  on  the  surface  of  this  young  ice.  About 
this  time  on  the  slopes  of  Erebus,  a  mile  and  a  half 
from  the  hut,  a  most  interesting  find  of  marine 
serpulse  was  made  on  a  moraine  about  320  ft.  above 
220 


Mawson's  Chemical  Labobatoey.    The  Bottles  were  coated  with  Ice  by  condensation  from 


THE   WARM,    moist    AiR    OF   TEIE    HUT 


To ^fw^e.  page  220 


THE    AURORA 

sea-level  and  near  this  deposit  was  some  yellow  earth 
containing  diatoms.  We  could  not  at  the  time  deter- 
mine the  cause  of  this  peculiar  deposit,  but  it  was 
certainly  not  what  one  might  expect  on  such  a  place 
as  Ross  Island,  and  both  to  geologists  and  biologists 
was  a  matter  of  interest.  So  far  we  had  not  had  any 
dearth  of  animal  life  when  viewed  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  replenishing  of  our  larder,  but  towards  the  end 
of  March  the  seals  became  less  numerous  and  the  appear- 
ance of  one  of  these  was  generally  followed  by  its  death. 
Towards  the  end  of  the  month  Erebus  became  very 
active,  shooting  out  huge  clouds  of  steam,  which  rose 
to  the  height  of  2000  ft.  above  the  crater  and  were 
then  caught  by  the  upper  winds,  giving  us  very  definite 
information  as  to  the  trend  of  the  upper  air-currents. 

About  the  same  time  we  began  to  see  the  aurora, 
and  night  after  night,  except  when  the  moon  was  at  its 
full  or  the  sky  overcast,  the  waving  mystic  lines  of 
light  were  thrown  across  the  heavens,  waxing  and 
waning  rapidly,  falling  into  folds  and  curtains,  spread- 
ing out  into  great  arches  and  sometimes  shooting 
vertical  beams  almost  to  the  zenith.  Sometimes,  indeed 
often,  the  aurora  hovered  over  Mount  Erebus,  attracted 
no  doubt  by  this  great  isolated  mass  of  rock,  sometimes 
descending  to  the  lower  slopes  and  always  giving  us 
an  interest  that  never  failed.  When  the  familiar 
cry  of  "  aurora  "  was  uttered  by  some  one  who  had 
been  outside,  most  of  us  rushed  out  to  see  what  new 
phase  this  mysterious  phenomenon  would  take,  and 
we  were  indeed  fortunate  in  the  frequency  and  brilliancy 
of  the  displays.  Mawson,  as  physicist,  obtained  a 
number  of  interesting  notes  which  throw  new  light  on 
this  difficult  subject. 

At  the  end  of  March  there  was  still  open  water  in 
the  bay  and  we  observed  a  killer  whale  chasing  a  seal. 

221 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

About  this  time  we  commenced  digging  a  trench  in 
Clear  Lake  and  obtained,  when  we  came  to  water, 
samples  of  the  bottom  mud  and  fungus,  which  was 
simply  swarming  with  living  organisms.  The  sunsets 
at  the  beginning  of  April  were  wonderful ;  arches  of 
prismatic  colours,  crimson  and  golden-tinged  clouds, 
hung  in  the  heavens  nearly  all  day,  for  time, was  going 
on  and  soon  the  sun  would  have  deserted  us.  The 
days  grew  shorter  and  shorter,  and  the  twilight  longer. 
During  these  sunsets  the  western  mountains  stood 
out  gloriously  and  the  summit  of  Erebus  was  wrapped 
in  crimson  when  the  lower  slopes  had  faded  into  grey. 
To  Erebus  and  the  western  mountains  our  eyes  turned 
when  the  end  of  the  long  night  grew  near  in  the  month 
of  August,  for  the  mighty  peaks  are  the  first  to  catch 
up  and  tell  the  tale  of  the  coming  glory  and  the  last 
to  drop  the  crimson  mantle  from  their  high  shoulders 
as  night  draws  on.  Tongue  and  pencil  would  sadly 
fail  in  attempting  to  describe  the  magic  of  the  colour- 
ing in  the  days  when  the  sun  was  leaving  us.  The 
very  clouds  at  this  time  were  iridescent  with  rainbow 
hues.  The  sunsets  were  poems.  The  change  from 
twilight  into  night,  sometimes  lit  by  a  crescent  moon, 
was  extraordinarily  beautiful,  for  the  white  cliffs  gave 
no  part  of  their  colour  away,  and  the  rocks  beside  them 
did  not  part  with  their  blackness,  so  the  effect  of  deepen- 
ing night  over  these  contrasts  was  singularly  weird. 
In  my  diary  I  noted  that  throughout  April  hardly  a 
day  passed  without  an  auroral  display.  On  more 
than  one  occasion  the  auroral  showed  distinct  lines  of 
colour,  merging  from  a  deep  red  at  the  base  of  the 
line  of  light  into  a  greenish  hue  on  top.  About  the 
beginning  of  April  the  temperature  began  to  drop  con- 
siderably, and  for  some  days  in  calm,  still  weather  the 
thermometer  often  registered  40°  below  zero. 
222 


^J^ 


The  Chbicle  occupied  by  Professor  David  and  Mawson  ;  it  was  named  "The  Pawn-Shop' 


The  Type-case  and  Printing  Press  for  the  production  of  the  "Aurora.  Australis"  in 
Joyce's  and  Wild's  Cubicle,  known  as  "  The  Kogues'  Ketreat" 

To  Jace  page  222 


SEA- LEOPARDS 

On  April  6,  Marshall  decided  that  it  was  necessary 
to  amputate  Brocklehurst's  big  toe,  as  there  was  no 
sign  of  it  recovering  like  the  other  toes  from  the  frost- 
bite he  had  received  on  the  Erebus  journey.  The  patient 
was  put  under  chloroform  and  the  operation  was  wit- 
nessed by  an  interested  and  sympathetic  audience. 
After  the  bone  had  been  removed,  the  sufferer  was 
shifted  into  my  room,  where  he  remained  till  just 
before  Mid-winter's  day,  when  he  was  able  to  get  out 
and  move  about  again.  We  had  about  April  8  one  of 
the  peculiar  southerly  blizzards  so  common  during  our 
last  expedition,  the  temperature  varying  rapidly  from 
minus  23°  to  plus  4°  Fahr.  This  blizzard  continued 
till  the  evening  of  the  11th,  and  when  it  had  abated 
we  found  the  bay  and  sound  clear  of  ice  again.  I  began 
to  feel  rather  worried  about  this  and  wished  for  it  to 
freeze  over,  for  across  the  ice  lay  our  road  to  the  south. 
We  observed  occasionally  about  this  time  that  peculiar 
phenomenon  of  McMurdo  Sound  called  "  earth  shadows." 
Long  dark  bars,  projected  up  into  the  sky  from  the 
western  mountains,  made  their  appearance  at  sunrise. 
These  lines  are  due  to  the  shadow  of  the  giant  Erebus 
being  cast  across  the  western  mountains.  Our  days 
were  now  getting  very  short  and  the  amount  of  daylight 
was  a  negligible  quantity.  We  boarded  up  the  re- 
mainder of  the  windows,  and  depended  entirely  upon 
the  artificial  light  in  the  winter  quarters.  The  light 
given  by  the  acetylene  gas  was  brilliant,  the  four  burners 
lighting  the  whole  of  the  hut. 

We  saw  only  two  sea-leopards  during  the  whole  period 
of  our  stay  in  the  Antarctic,  and  both  these  specimens 
were  secured.  The  first  was  killed  soon  after  the  sun  left 
us.  A  seal  was  reported  to  have  been  seen  on  the  ice 
near  the  winter  quarters,  and  Joyce  went  down  to  kill  it, 
as  we  wanted  fresh  meat  and  blubber.     When  he  got 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

close  he  found  that  the  animal  was  a  sea-leopard.  He 
was  armed  only  with  a  club,  and  came  running  for  a 
pistol,  for  the  sea-leopards  are  savage  and  aggressive, 
and  can  move  very  rapidly  on  the  ice.  When  he  got 
back,  carrying  a  heavy  revolver,  the  animal  was  still 
in  the  same  position,  and  he  shot  it  twice  through  the 
heart,  and  then  twice  through  the  skull.  It  had  remark- 
able tenacity  of  life,  for  it  still  struggled,  and  even 
after  a  fifth  ball  had  been  put  through  its  brain  some 
minutes  elapsed  before  it  turned  over  and  lay  still. 
Joyce  skinned  the  carcase,  and  he  found  that  the  first 
two  bullets  had  actually  gone  through  the  heart.  He 
also  reported  that  it  seemed  to  have  two  hearts,  one 
of  which  had  not  been  injured,  but  unfortunately  the 
organs  that  he  brought  back  to  the  hut  were  found  and 
promptly  devoured  by  some  of  the  dogs,  so  that  it  is  not 
possible  to  produce  evidence  on  the  point.  The  specimen 
was  a  very  fine  one,  and  was  a  welcome  addition  to  our 
zoological  collection.  Soon  after  the  sun  returned  in 
the  spring  I  sighted  a  seal  that  seemed  to  be  out  of  the 
ordinary  off  Cape  Barne,  about  two  miles  and  a  half 
from  the  hut.  I  found  that  it  was  a  young  sea-leopard,  ap- 
parently suffering  from  starvation  and  I  sent  Joyce  down 
to  kill  it.  I  fancy  that  it  had  got  on  to  the  ice  and  had 
been  unable  to  find  its  way  into  the  water  again.  Joyce 
killed  it,  and  found  that  the  stomach  was  quite  empty. 
When  daylight  returned  and  sledging  began  about 
the  middle  of  August,  on  one  of  our  excursions  on  the 
Cape  Royds  peninsula,  we  found  growing  under  volcanic 
earth  a  large  quantity  of  fungus.  This  was  of  great 
interest  to  Murray,  as  plant-life  of  any  sort  is  extremely 
rare  in  the  Antarctic.  Shortly  after  this  a  strong 
blizzard  cast  up  a  quantity  of  seaweed  on  our  ice -foot ; 
this  was  another  piece  of  good  fortune,  for  on  the  last 
expedition  we  obtained  very  little  seaweed. 
224 


CHAPTER  XVI 

SPRING  SLEDGING  JOURNEYS 

WHEN  Midwinter's  Day  had  passed  and  the  twilight 
that  presaged  the  return  of  the  sun  began  to  be 
more  marked  day  by  day,  I  set  on  foot  the  arrangements 
for  the  sledging  work  in  the  forthcoming  spring.  It  was 
desirable  that,  at  as  early  a  date  as  possible,  we  should 
place  a  depot  of  stores  at  a  point  to  the  south,  in  pre- 
paration for  the  departure  of  the  Southern  Party,  which 
was  to  march  towards  the  Pole.  I  hoped  to  make  this 
depot  at  least  one  hundred  miles  from  the  winter 
quarters.  Then  it  was  desirable  that  we  should  secure 
some  definite  information  regarding  the  condition  of 
the  snow  surface  on  the  Barrier,  and  I  was  also  anxious 
to  afford  the  various  members  of  the  expedition  some 
practice  in  sledging  before  the  serious  work  commenced. 
Some  of  us  had  been  in  the  Antarctic  before,  but  the 
majority  of  the  men  had  not  yet  had  any  experience  of 
marching  and  camping  on  snow  and  ice  in  low  tempera- 
tures. 

The  ponies  had  been  kept  in  good  training  by  means 
of  regular  exercise  and  constant  attention  during  the 
winter,  but  although  they  were  thoroughly  fit,  and, 
indeed,  apparently  anxious  for  an  opportunity  to  work 
off  some  of  their  superfluous  energy,  I  did  not  propose 
to  take  them  on  the  preliminary  sledging  journeys. 
It  seemed  to  be  unwise  to  take  any  unnecessary  risk  of 


THE    HEART    OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

further  loss  now  that  we  had  only  four  ponies  left,  few 
enough  for  the  southern  journey  later  in  the  season. 
Sledging  work  in  the  spring,  when  the  temperature  is 
very  low,  the  light  bad,  and  the  weather  uncertain,  is 
a  rather  severe  strain  on  man  and  beast.  For  this 
reason,  man-hauling  was  the  order  for  the  first  journeys. 

Diu*ing  the  winter  I  had  given  a  great  deal  of  earnest 
consideration  to  the  question  of  the  date  at  which  the 
party  that  was  to  march  towards  the  Pole  should  start 
from  the  hut.  The  goal  that  we  hoped  to  attain  lay  over 
880  statute  miles  to  the  south,  and  the  brief  sununer 
was  all  too  short  a  time  in  which  to  march  so  far  into 
the  unknown  and  return  to  winter  quarters.  The  ship 
would  have  to  leave  for  the  north  about  the  end  of 
February,  for  the  ice  would  then  be  closing  in,  and, 
moreover,  we  could  not  hope  to  carry  on  our  sledges 
much  more  than  a  three  months'  supply  of  provisions, 
on  anything  like  full  rations.  I  finally  decided  that 
the  Southern  Party  should  leave  the  winter  quarters 
about  October  28,  for  if  we  started  earlier  it  was  probable 
that  the  ponies  would  suffer  from  the  severe  cold  at 
nights,  and  we  would  gain  no  advantage  from  getting 
away  early  in  the  season  if,  as  a  result,  the  ponies  were 
incapacitated  before  we  had  made  much  progress.  The 
ponies  would  be  sure  to  sweat  when  pulling  their  heavy 
loads  during  the  day,  and  a  very  low  temperature  when 
they  were  resting  would  be  dangerous  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  we  could  not  hope  to  provide  them  with 
shelter  from  the  winds. 

The  date  for  the  departure  of  the  Southern  Party 
having  been  fiLxed,  it  became  necessary  to  arrange  for 
the  laying  of  the  depot  during  the  early  spring,  and  I 
thought  that  the  first  step  towards  this  should  be  a 
preliminary  journey  on  the  Barrier  surface,  in  order  to 
gain  an  idea  of  the  conditions  that  would  be  met  with, 
226 


'11  r   S   ovv   IN   -fir.   Hr-r 


A  Member  of  the  Expeeition  taking  his  Bath 


To  fact'  page  226 


THE    FIRST    JOURNEY 

and  to  ascertain  whether  the  motor-car  would  be  of 
service,  at  any  rate  for  the  early  portion  of  the  journey. 
The  sun  had  not  yet  returned  and  the  temperature  was 
very  low  indeed,  but  we  had  proved  in  the  course  of  the 
Discovery  expedition  that  it  is  quite  possible  to  travel 
under  these  conditions.  I  therefore  started  on  this 
preliminary  journey  on  August  12,  taking  with  me 
Professor  David,  who  was  to  lead  the  Northern  Party 
towards  the  South  Magnetic  Pole,  and  Bertram  Army- 
tage,  who  was  to  take  charge  of  the  party  that  was  to 
make  a  journey  into  the  mountains  of  the  west  later 
in  the  year.  The  reader  can  imagine  that  it  was  not 
with  feelings  of  unalloyed  pleasure  that  we  turned  our 
backs  on  the  warm,  well-found  hut  and  faced  our  little 
journey  out  into  the  semi-darkness  and  intense  cold, 
but  we  did  get  a  certain  amount  of  satisfaction  from 
the  thought  that  at  last  we  were  actually  beginning 
the  work  we  had  come  south  to  undertake. 

We  were  equipped  for  a  fortnight  with  provisions 
and  camp  gear,  packed  on  one  sledge,  and  had  three 
gallons  of  petroleum  in  case  we  should  decide  to  stay 
out  longer.  A  gallon  of  oil  will  last  a  party  of  three 
men  for  about  ten  days  under  ordinary  conditions,  and 
we  could  get  more  food  at  Hut  Point  if  we  required  it. 
We  took  three  one-man  sleeping-bags,  believing  that 
they  would  be  sufficiently  warm  in  spite  of  the  low 
temperature.  The  larger  bags,  holding  two  or  three 
men,  certainly  give  greater  warmth,  for  the  occupants 
warm  one  another,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  one's  rest 
is  very  likely  to  be  disturbed  by  the  movements  of 
a  companion.  We  were  heavily  clothed  for  this  trip, 
because  the  sun  would  not  rise  above  the  horizon  until 
another  ten  days  had  passed. 

Our  comrades  turned  out  to  see  us  off,  and  the  pony 
Quan  pulled  the  sledge  with  our  camp  gear  over  the  sea 

227 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

ice  until  we  got  close  to  the  glacier  south  of  Cape  Barne, 
about  five  miles  from  the  winter  quarters.  Then  he 
was  sent  back,  for  the  weather  was  growing  thick,  and, 
as  already  explained,  I  did  not  want  to  run  any  risk  of 
losing  another  pony  from  our  sadly  diminished  team. 
We  proceeded  close  in  by  the  skuary,  and  a  little  further 
on  pitched  camp  for  lunch.  Professor  David,  whose 
thirst  for  knowledge  could  not  be  quenched,  imme- 
diately went  off  to  investigate  the  geology  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood. After  lunch  we  started  to  pull  our  sledge 
round  the  coast  towards  Hut  Point,  but  the  weather 
became  worse,  making  progress  difficult,  and  at  6  p.m. 
we  camped  close  to  the  tide-crack  at  the  south  side  of 
Turk's  Head.  We  slept  well  and  soundly,  although 
the  temperature  was  about  forty  degrees  below  zero, 
and  the  experience  made  me  more  than  ever  convinced 
of  the  superiority  of  one-man  sleeping-bags. 

On  the  following  morning,  August  13,  we  marched 
across  to  Glacier  Tongue,  having  to  cross  a  wide  crack 
that  had  been  ridged  up  by  ice-pressure  between  Tent 
Island  and  the  Tongue.  As  soon  as  we  had  crossed  we 
saw  the  depot  standing  up  clear  against  the  sky-line  on 
the  Tongue.  This  was  the  depot  that  had  been  made 
by  the  ship  soon  after  our  first  arrival  in  the  sound. 
We  found  no  difficulty  in  getting  on  to  the  Tongue,  for 
a  fairly  gentle  slope  led  up  from  the  sea-ice  to  the  glacier 
surface.  The  snow  had  blown  over  from  the  south 
during  the  winter  and  made  a  good  way.  We  found  the 
depot  intact,  though  the  cases,  lying  on  the  ice,  had 
been  bleached  to  a  light  yellow  colour  by  the  wind  and 
sun.  We  had  lunch  on  the  south  side  of  the  Tongue, 
and  found  there  another  good  way  down  to  the  sea  ice. 
There  is  a  very  awkward  crack  on  the  south  side,  but 
this  can  hardly  be  called  a  tide-crack.  I  think  it  is 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  tide  has  more  effect  on  the 
228 


AT    HUT    POINT 

sea  ice  than  on  the  heavy  mass  of  the  Tongue,  though 
there  is  no  doubt  this  also  is  afloat ;  the  rise  and  fall 
of  the  two  sections  of  ice  are  not  coincident,  and  a 
crack  is  produced.  The  unaccustomed  pulling  made 
us  tired,  and  we  decided  to  pitch  a  camp  about  four 
miles  off  Hut  Point,  before  reaching  Castle  Rock. 
Castle  Rock  is  distant  three  miles  and  a  half  from  Hut 
Point,  and  we  had  always  noticed  that  after  we  got 
abeam  of  the  rock  the  final  march  on  to  the  hut  seemed 
very  long,  for  we  were  always  weary  by  that  time.  The 
temperature  was  now  about  forty-five  degrees  below  zero 
Fahr.,  and  my  two  companions  were  feeling  for  the 
first  time  the  discomfort  of  using  metal  utensils  in  this 
extreme  cold.  The  Professor's  fingers  seemed  to  have 
a  wonderful  power  of  resisting  frost-bite.  We  were 
travelling  in  a  light  that  resembled  broad  twilight,  but 
as  the  sun  was  still  below  the  horizon  there  were  no 
shadows,  and  we  stumbled  a  great  deal  amongst  the 
rough  ice. 

We  reached  the  old  Discovery  winter  quarters  at 
Hut  Point  on  the  morning  of  August  14,  and  after  a  good 
breakfast  I  took  the  Professor  and  Armytage  over  all 
the  familiar  ground.  It  was  very  interesting  to  me 
to  revisit  the  old  scenes.  There  was  the  place  where, 
years  before,  when  the  Discovery  was  lying  fast  in  the 
ice  close  to  the  shore,  we  used  to  dig  for  the  ice  that 
was  required  for  the  supply  of  fresh  water.  The  marks 
of  the  picks  and  shovels  were  still  to  be  seen.  I  noticed 
an  old  case  bedded  in  the  ice,  and  remembered  the  day 
when  it  had  been  thrown  away.  Round  the  hut  was 
collected  a  very  large  amount  of  debris,  including  seal- 
skins and  the  skeletons  of  seals  and  penguins.  Some 
of  the  seal-skins  had  still  blubber  attached,  though  the 
skuas  had  evidently  been  at  work  on  them.  We  went 
up  towards  the  Gap  and  had  a  look  at  the  only  lake, 

229 


Tllfi    HEART    OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

or  rather  pool,  that  lay  near  these  winter  quarters.  It 
was  quite  a  tiny  sheet  of  water  in  comparison  with  the 
large  lakes  at  Cape  Royds,  and  I  realised  more  fully 
the  special  advantages  we  had  at  our  winter  quarters 
as  far  as  biological  and  zoological  work  were  concerned. 
Through  the  Gap  we  saw  the  Barrier  stretched  out 
before  us — ^the  long  white  road  that  we  were  shortly 
to  tread.  The  fascination  of  the  unknown  was  strong 
upon  me,  and  I  longed  to  be  away  towards  the  south 
on  the  journey  that  I  hoped  would  lay  bare  the  mysteries 
of  the  place  of  the  pole. 

We  climbed  to  the  top  of  Crater  Hill  with  a  collecting- 
bag  and  the  Professor's  camera,  and  here  we  took  some 
photographs  and  made  an  examination  of  the  cone. 
Professor  David  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  ice- 
sheet  had  certainly  passed  over  this  hill,  which  is  about 
1100  ft.  high,  for  there  was  distinct  evidence  of  glacia- 
tion.  We  climbed  along  the  ridge  to  Castle  Rock,  about 
four  miles  to  the  north,  and  made  an  examination  of 
the  formation  there.  Then  we  returned  to  the  hut  to 
have  a  square  meal  and  get  ready  for  our  journey  across 
the  Barrier. 

The  old  hut  had  never  been  a  very  cheerful  place, 
even  when  we  were  camped  alongside  it  in  the  Dis- 
covery^ and  it  looked  doubly  inhospitable  now,  after 
having  stood  empty  and  neglected  for  six  years.  One 
side  was  filled  with  cases  of  biscuit  and  tinned  meat, 
and  the  snow  that  had  found  its  way  in  was  lying  in 
great  piles  around  the  walls.  There  was  no  stove,  for 
this  had  been  taken  away  with  the  Discoveryy  and  coal 
was  scattered  about  the  floor  with  other  dibris  and 
rubbish.  Besides  the  biscuits  and  the  tinned  beef  and 
mutton  there  was  some  tea  and  coffee  stored  in  the  hut. 
We  cleared  a  spot  on  which  to  sleep,  and  decided  that 
we  would  use  the  cases  of  biscuit  and  meat  to  build 
230 


ON   TO    THE    BARRIER 

another  hut  inside  the  main  one,  so  that  the  quarters 
would  be  a  little  more  cosy.  I  proposed  to  use  this 
hut  as  a  stores  depot  in  connection  with  the  southern 
journey,  for  if  the  ice  broke  out  in  the  Sound  unexpec- 
tedly early,  it  would  be  difficult  to  convey  provisions 
from  Cape  Royds  to  the  Barrier,  and,  moreover.  Hut 
Point  was  twenty  miles  further  south  than  our  winter 
quarters.  We  spent  that  night  on  the  floor  of  the  hut, 
and  slept  fairly  comfortably,  though  not  as  well  as  on 
the  previous  night  in  the  tent,  because  we  were  not  so 
close  to  one  another. 

On  the  morning  of  the  following  day  (August  15)  we 
started  away  about  9  a.m.,  crossed  the  smooth  ice  to 
Winter  Harbour,  and  passed  close  round  Cape  Armitage. 
We  there  found  cracks  and  pressed-up  ice,  showing  that 
there  had  been  Barrier  movement,  and  about  three  miles 
further  on  we  crossed  the  spot  at  which  the  sea  ice  joins 
the  Barrier,  ascending  a  slope  about  eight  feet  high. 
Directly  we  got  on  to  the  Barrier  ice  we  noticed  undula- 
tions on  the  surface.  We  pushed  along  and  got  to  a 
distance  of  about  twelve  miles  from  Hut  Point  in  eight 
hours.  The  surface  generally  was  hard,  but  there  were 
very  marked  sastrugi,  and  at  times  patches  of  soft 
snow.  The  conditions  did  not  seem  favourable  for  the 
use  of  the  motor-car  because  we  had  already  found 
that  the  machine  could  not  go  through  soft  snow  for 
more  than  a  few  yards,  and  I  foresaw  that  if  we  brought 
it  out  on  to  the  Barrier  it  would  not  be  able  to  do  much 
in  the  soft  surface  that  would  have  to  be  traversed. 
The  condition  of  the  surface  varied  from  mile  to  mile, 
and  it  would  be  impracticable  to  keep  changing  the 
wheels  of  the  car  in  order  to  meet  the  requirements  of 
each  new  surface. 

The  temperature  was  very  low,  although  the  weather 
was  fine.     At  6  p.m.  the  thermometer  showed  fifty-six 

231 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

degrees  below  zero,  and  the  petroleum  used  for  the  lamp 
had  become  milky  in  colour  and  of  a  creamy  consistency, 
That  night  the  temperature  fell  lower  still,  and  the 
moisture  in  our  sleeping-bags,  from  our  breath  and 
Burberries,  made  us  very  uncomfortable  when  the  bags 
had  thawed  out  with  the  warmth  of  our  bodies.  Every- 
thing we  touched  was  appallingly  cold,  and  we  got  no 
sleep  at  all.  The  next  morning  (August  16)  the  weather 
was  threatening,  and  there  were  indications  of  the 
approach  of  a  blizzard,  and  I  therefore  decided  to  march 
back  to  Hut  Point,  for  there  was  no  good  purpose  to  be 
served  by  taking  unnecessary  risks  at  that  stage  of  the 
expedition.  We  had  some  warm  food,  of  which  we 
stood  sorely  in  need  after  the  severe  night,  and  then 
started  at  8  a.m.  to  return  to  Hut  Point.  By  hard 
marching,  which  had  the  additional  advantage  of 
warming  us  up,  we  reached  the  old  hut  again  at  three 
o'clock  that  afternoon,  and  we  were  highly  delighted  to 
get  into  its  shelter.  The  sun  had  not  yet  returned,  and 
though  there  was  a  strong  light  in  the  sky  during  the  day, 
the  Barrier  was  not  friendly  under  winter  conditions. 

We  reached  the  hut  none  too  soon,  for  a  blizzard 
sprang  up,  and  for  some  days  we  had  to  remain  in  shelter. 
We  utilised  the  time  by  clearing  up  the  portion  of  the 
hut  that  we  proposed  to  use,  even  sweeping  it  with  an 
old  broom  we  found,  and  building  a  shelter  of  the 
packing-cases,  piling  them  right  up  to  the  roof  round  a 
space  about  twenty  feet  by  ten ;  and  thus  we  made 
comparatively  cosy  quarters.  We  rigged  a  table  for  the 
cooking-gear,  and  put  everything  neatly  in  order.  My 
two  companions  were,  at  this  time,  having  their  first 
experience  of  polar  life  under  marching  conditions  as 
far  as  equipment  was  concerned,  and  they  were  gaining 
knowledge  that  proved  very  useful  to  them  on  the 
later  journeys. 
232 


Marston  trying  to  revive  Mejiories  of  Other  Day? 


To  face  page  232 


PREPARING    A    DEPOT 

On  the  morning  of  August  22,  the  day  on  which 
the  sun  once  more  appeared  above  the  horizon,  we 
started  back  for  the  winter  quarters,  leaving  Hut  Point 
at  5  A.M.  in  the  face  of  a  bitterly  cold  wind  from  the 
north-east,  with  low  drift.  We  marched  without  a 
stop  for  nine  miles,  until  we  reached  Glacier  Tongue, 
and  then  had  an  early  lunch.  An  afternoon  march  of 
fourteen  miles  took  us  to  the  winter  quarters  at  Cape 
Royds,  where  we  arrived  at  5  p.m.  We  were  not  ex- 
pected at  the  hut,  for  the  weather  was  thick  and  windy, 
but  our  comrades  were  delighted  to  see  us,  and  we 
had  a  hearty  dinner  and  enjoyed  the  luxury  of  a 
good  bath. 

The  chief  result  of  this  journey  was  to  convince  me 
that  we  could  not  place  much  reliance  on  the  motor-car 
for  the  southern  journey.  Professor  David  and  Army- 
tage  had  received  a  good  baptism  of  frost,  and  as  it 
was  very  desirable  that  all  the  members  of  the  expedi- 
tion should  have  personal  experience  of  travelling  over 
the  ice  and  snow  in  low  temperatures  before  the  real 
work  began,  I  arranged  to  despatch  a  small  party  every 
week  to  sledge  stores  and  equipment  south  to  Hut 
Point.  These  journeys  were  much  alike  in  general 
character,  though  they  all  gave  rise  to  incidents  that 
were  afterwards  related  in  the  winter  quarters,  and  it 
will  be  sufficient  if  I  describe  briefly  one  trip  as  a  speci- 
men. 

On  September  1,  Wild,  Day  and  Priestley  started 
for  Hut  Point  via  Glacier  Tongue  with  450  lb.  of  gear 
and  provisions,  their  instructions  being  to  leave  280  lb. 
of  provisions  at  the  Discovery  hut  in  readiness  for  the 
southern  journey.  They  made  a  start  at  10.20  a.m., 
being  accompanied  by  Brocklehurst  with  a  pony  for 
the  first  five  miles.  The  weather  was  fine,  but  a  very 
low  barometer  gave  an  indication  that  bad  weather 

233 


THE    HEART    OF   THE   ANTARCTIC 

was  coining.  I  did  not  hesitate  to  let  these  parties  face 
bad  weather,  because  the  road  they  were  to  travel  was 
well  known,  and  a  rough  experience  would  be  very  useful 
to  the  men  later  in  the  expedition's  work.  The  party 
camped  for  lunch  at  Inaccessible  Island,  with  a  tempera- 
ture at  seventeen  degrees  below  zero  Fahr.,  and  a  fresh 
wind  blowing  from  the  north,  with  light  drift.  At  2.30  p.m. 
they  left  the  island  and  started  for  Glacier  Tongue,  the 
weather  growing  thicker,  but  they  had  no  trouble  with 
the  tide-cracks,  and  at  the  Tongue  depot  had  a  short 
rest,  breaking  a  bottle  of  frozen  preserved  cherries. 
Then  they  crossed  the  Tongue,  but  as  the  drift  was 
obscuring  all  landmarks,  decided  to  camp  in  the  snow 
close  to  the  south  side  of  the  Tongue. 

Next  morning  the  weather  was  still  bad,  and  they 
were  not  able  to  make  a  start  until  after  noon.  At 
1.20  P.M.  they  ran  out  of  the  northerly  wind  into  light 
southerly  airs  with  intervals  of  calm,  and  they  noticed 
that  at  the  meeting  of  the  two  winds  the  clouds  of  drift 
were  formed  into  whirling  columns,  some  of  them  over 
forty  feet  high.  They  reached  the  Discovery  hut  at 
4.30  P.M.,  and  soon  turned  in,  the  temperature  being 
forty  degrees  below  zero.  When  they  dressed  at  5.30 
A.M.  the  next  day  they  found  that  a  southerly  wind 
with  heavy  drift  rendered  a  start  on  the  return  journey 
inadvisable.  After  breakfast  they  walked  over  to 
Observation  Hill,  where  they  examined  a  set  of  stakes 
which  Ferrar  and  Wild  had  placed  in  the  Gap  glacier 
in  1902.  The  stakes  showed  that  the  movement  of  the 
glacier  during  the  six  years  since  the  stakes  had  been 
put  into  position  had  amounted  to  a  few  inches  only. 
The  middle  stake  had  advanced  eight  inches  and  those 
next  it  on  either  side  about  six  inches.  At  noon  the 
wind  dropped,  and  although  the  drift  was  still  thick, 
the  party  started  back,  steering  by  the  sastrugi  till  the 
2d4i 


The  Acetylene  Gas  Plant,  over  the  Door.     Marshall  standing  by  the  Barometer 

Tojacepage  234 


A    PARTY'S    EXPERIENCE 

Tongue  was  reached.  At  the  point  at  which  they  had 
run  out  of  the  north  wind  on  the  outward  journey, 
they  again  picked  up  a  strong  northerly  breeze.  They 
did  not  sight  Glacier  Tongue  till  they  were  close  to  it, 
and  they  found  that  owing  to  their  fear  of  going  outside 
it,  they  had  got  too  far  east,  and  were  about  a  mile  and 
a  half  from  the  depot.  They  started  to  march  alongside 
the  Tongue  towards  the  depot,  but  a  strong  south- 
easterly wind  came  up,  with  heavy  drift,  so  they  decided 
to  cross  the  Tongue,  and  managed  to  climb  up  a  drift 
after  just  missing  a  twenty-foot  drop  into  a  hollow 
scooped  out  by  the  wind  in  the  snow.  By  this  time 
the  men  could  not  see  more  than  a  yard  or  two  before 
them,  and  they  hurried  across  the  Tongue,  taking  the 
small  crevasses  in  their  stride,  and  after  travelling  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  pulled  up  the  sledge  within  half  a 
dozen  yards  of  the  other  edge  of  the  Tongue,  at  a  point 
where  they  afterwards  found  there  was  a  forty-foot 
precipice.  Wild  felt  his  way  along  the  edge  with  the 
ice-axe  until  he  came  to  a  steep  slope  that  seemed  to 
promise  a  means  of  descent,  and  then  all  three  tobogganed 
down  on  the  sledge  and  camped  for  the  night  in  the 
lee  of  the  glacier,  with  a  blizzard  blowing  over  them 
and  the  temperature  rising,  the  result  being  that  every- 
thing was  uncomfortably  wet.  They  managed  to  sleep, 
however,  and  when  they  awoke  the  next  morning  the 
weather  was  clear,  and  they  had  an  easy  march  in,  being 
met  beyond  Cape  Barne  by  Joyce,  Brocklehurst  and 
the  dogs.     They  had  been  absent  four  days. 

Each  party  came  back  with  adventures  to  relate, 
experiences  to  compare,  and  its  own  views  on  various 
matters  of  detail  connected  with  sledge-travelling. 
The  conversation  in  the  hut  after  the  return  of  a  party 
would  become  very  animated,  for  each  man  had  definite 
opinions,  born  of  experience,  on  such  important  questions 

235 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

as  how  to  dress  and  how  to  get  into  a  sleeping-bag  with 
the  minimum  of  discomfort.  Curiously  enough,  every- 
one of  the  parties  encountered  bad  weather,  but  there 
were  no  accidents,  and  all  the  men  seemed  to  enjoy 
the  work. 

Early  in  September  a  party  consisting  of  Adams, 
Marshall  and  myself  started  for  Hut  Point,  and  we 
decided  to  make  one  march  of  the  twenty-three  miles, 
and  not  camp  on  the  way.  We  started  at  8  a.m.,  and 
when  we  were  nearly  at  the  end  of  the  journey,  and 
were  struggling  slowly  through  bad  snow  towards  the 
hut,  close  to  the  end  of  Hut  Point,  a  strong  blizzard 
came  up.  Fortunately  I  knew  the  bearings  of  the  hut, 
and  how  to  get  over  the  ice-foot.  We  abandoned  the 
extra  weights  we  were  pulling  for  the  depot,  and 
managed  to  get  to  the  hut  at  10  p.m.  in  a  sorely  frost- 
bitten condition,  almost  too  tired  to  move.  We  were 
able  to  get  ourselves  some  hot  food,  however,  and  were 
soon  all  right  again.  I  mention  the  incident  merely 
to  show  how  constantly  one  has  to  be  on  guard  against 
the  onslaughts  of  the  elements  in  the  inhospitable 
regions  of  the  south. 


236 


Sledging  on  the  Barrier  before  the  Uetiun  or  the  Sun.     Mount  Erebus  in  the  Back- 
ground.    Temperature  minus  58°  Fahr.  To  face  jiac/e  236 


CHAPTER  XVII 

SOUTHERN  DEPOT  JOURNEY 

BY  the  middle  of  September  a  good  supply  of  provisions, 
oil,  and  gear  had  been  stored  at  Hut  Point  in  prepara- 
tion for  the  sledge  journeys.  All  the  supplies  required  for 
the  southern  journey  had  been  taken  there,  in  order  that 
the  start  might  be  made  from  the  most  southern  base 
available.  During  this  period,  while  the  men  were 
gaining  experience  and  getting  into  training,  the  ponies 
were  being  exercised  regularly  along  the  sea  ice  from 
winter  quarters  across  to  Cape  Barne,  and  I  was  more 
than  satisfied  with  the  way  in  which  they  did  their 
work.  I  felt  that  the  little  animals  were  going  to  justify 
the  confidence  I  had  reposed  in  them  when  I  had  brought 
them  all  the  way  from  Manchuria  to  the  bleak  Antarctic. 
I  tried  the  ponies  with  loads  of  varying  weights  in  order 
to  ascertain  as  closely  as  possible  how  much  they  could 
haul  with  maximum  efficiency,  and  after  watching  the 
results  of  the  experiments  very  carefully  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  a  load  of  650  lb.  per  pony  should  be  the 
maximum.  It  was  obvious  that  if  the  animals  were 
overloaded  their  speed  would  be  reduced,  so  that  there 
would  be  no  gain  to  us,  and  if  we  were  to  accomplish  a 
good  journey  to  the  south  it  was  important  that  they 
should  not  be  tired  out  in  the  early  stages  of  the  march 
over  the  Barrier  surface.  The  weight  I  have  mentioned 
was  to  include  that  of  the  sledge  itself,  which  I  have 

237 


THE    HEART    OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

already  stated  was  about  60  lb.  When  I  came  to 
consider  the  question  of  weight,  I  realised  the  full 
seriousness  of  the  loss  the  expedition  had  sustained 
when  the  other  four  ponies  were  lost  during  the  winter, 
for  I  saw  that  we  would  not  be  able  to  take  with  us 
towards  the  Pole  as  much  food  as  I  should  have  liked. 

The  dogs,  whose  numbers  had  been  increased  by 
births  until  we  had  a  fairly  large  team,  were  trained, 
but  I  did  not  see  much  scope  for  them  on  the  southern 
journey.  I  knew  from  past  experience  that  dogs  would 
not  travel  when  low  drift  was  blowing  in  their  faces, 
and  such  drift  was  to  be  expected  fairly  often  on  the 
Barrier  surface,  even  in  the  sunmier. 

During  the  month  of  May,  Day  had  taken  the  engine 
out  of  the  motor-car,  a  task  of  no  little  difficulty  in  a 
temperature  below  zero,  and  after  cleaning  every  part 
thoroughly,  had  packed  it  away  in  a  case  for  the  winter. 
On  September  14,  when  the  light  was  beginning  to  get 
stronger,  he  got  the  engine  back  into  the  car,  working  in 
a  temperature  of  minus  10°  Fahr.,  and  began  prepara- 
tions for  the  journeys  over  the  ice.  The  car  made  its  first 
journey  of  importance  on  September  19,  and  by  that  time 
experiments  had  proved  that  an  extensive  reduction  in 
weight  was  necessary  if  the  machine  was  to  accomplish 
anything  at  all.  Day  therefore  proceeded  to  strip  it  of 
every  bit  of  wood  or  metal  not  absolutely  essential  to  run- 
ning efficiency.  In  its  final  form  the  bare  chassis  carried 
the  engine  and  one  seat  for  the  driver.  No  great  diffi- 
culties were  experienced  in  connection  with  the  engine, 
even  when  the  temperature  was  many  degrees  below 
zero.  The  mixing  chamber  and  inlet  pipes  were  warmed 
up  by  burning  petrol  in  a  small  dish  rigged  round  the 
carburetter  just  below  the  throttle,  the  carburetter 
being  flooded  at  the  same  time.  By  the  time  the  petrol 
had  burned  out  the  engine  would  start  with  a  few 
238 


The  Leader  or  the  Expedition  in  Winter  Garis  To  face  page  2Z?, 


THE    MOTOR-CAR    TRIED 

turns  of  the  crank.  The  petrol  tank  carried  twenty- 
three  gallons,  and  fed  the  carburetter  by  pressure  from 
a  small  hand-pump.  Accumulator  ignition  was  found 
to  be  impossible,  as  the  acid  and  water  froze  solid, 
but  the  magneto  gave  no  trouble.  A  second  petrol 
tank,  which  fed  the  carburetter  by  gravity,  was  taken 
off  in  order  to  save  weight.  The  car  had  a  drip-feed 
lubricator  for  oiling  the  crank- case,  but  as  the  oil  got 
frozen  in  the  pipes  it  was  not  at  all  reliable,  so  oil  was 
poured  into  the  case  through  holes  every  five  miles  or 
so.  Ordinary  heavy  oil  got  thick  at  a  temperature  of 
20°  Fahr.,  and  solid  at  zero  Fahr.,  but  a  special  Antarctic 
oil  supplied  by  Messrs.  Price  and  Co.  gave  good  results 
even  at  a  temperature  of  minus  30°  Fahr. 

The  power  was  transmitted  to  the  gear-box  through 
a  leather-faced  case  clutch,  and  the  gears,  which  were 
specially  low,  were  four  speeds  forward  and  one  reverse. 
WTien  Day  first  tried  to  get  the  car  under  way  he  found 
that  he  could  not  de- clutch,  as  the  leather  had  frozen 
to  the  metal,  and  it  was  necessary  to  warm  up  the  parts 
and  dry  them  off  with  a  sponge.  We  had  wheels  of 
several  types,  but  soon  found  that  ordinary  wheels 
with  rubber  tyres  and  non-skid  chains  gave  the  best 
results.  At  a  temperature  of  minus  30°  Fahr.  the  tyres 
became  quite  hard,  with  no  spring  in  them,  but  we  had 
no  tyre  troubles  at  all,  even  when  the  ice  was  very 
rough. 

On  September  19  the  motor-car  took  Day,  Brockle- 
hurst  and  Adams,  with  a  sledge  on  which  were  packed 
750  lb.  of  stores,  to  lay  a  depot  at  Glacier  Tongue  for 
the  southern  journey.  There  was  a  stiff  breeze  blowing, 
with  a  temperature  of  minus  23°  Fahr.,  but  the  car  ran 
well  for  eight  miles  as  far  as  Inaccessible  Island  over 
the  sea  ice.  Then  it  got  into  the  heavy  sastrugi  caused 
by  the  wind  blowing  between  Inaccessible  Island  and 

239 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

Tent  Island,  and  was  stopped  by  soft  snow,  into  which 
it  ploughed  deeply.  An  easier  route  was  found  about 
a  mile  further  north,  at  a  point  where  the  sastrugi  were 
less  marked.  The  car  reached  a  point  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  distant  from  the  Tongue,  and  the  sledge  was  hauled 
the  rest  of  the  way  by  the  men,  as  the  surface  was  very 
soft.  The  return  journey  presented  fewer  difficulties, 
for  Day  was  able  to  drive  in  the  outward  tracks.  The 
total  distance  covered  by  the  car  that  day  was  at  least 
thirty  miles,  and  the  speed  had  ranged  from  three  to 
fifteen  miles  an  hour.  The  three  men  left  the  winter 
quarters  at  9.30  a.m.,  and  arrived  back  at  6.45  p.m., 
having  accomplished  an  amount  of  work  that  would 
have  occupied  six  men  for  two  or  three  days  without 
the  assistance  of  the  car. 

It  was  always  a  matter  of  difficulty  to  get  the  car 
from  the  hut  to  the  sea  ice,  and  this  was  often  the  most 
formidable  part  of  a  journey.  A  short  slope,  at  an 
angle  of  about  forty-five  degrees,  led  down  to  the  large 
tide-crack,  and  beyond  this  were  some  smaller  cracks 
and  one  large  crack  with  hummocky  ice  on  either  side 
of  it  and  big  drifts.  Sometimes  the  car  got  stuck 
altogether,  and  then  the  assistance  of  all  hands  would 
be  required  to  pull  and  push.  The  car  could  not  be 
left  on  the  sea  ice  because  no  shelter  could  be  provided 
there,  and  a  blizzard  might  sweep  down  at  very  short 
notice. 

About  September  14  we  started  to  make  active 
preparations  for  the  depot  journey.  I  decided  to  place 
a  depot  one  hundred  geographical  miles  south  of  the 
Discovery  winter  quarters,  the  depot  to  consist  of  pony 
maize.  If  by  any  chance  we  were  not  able  to  pick  it 
up  when  going  south  on  our  attempt  to  reach  the  Pole, 
the  loss  of  the  maize  would  be  a  less  serious  matter  than 
the  loss  of  any  portion  of  the  provisions  for  our  own 
240 


d  ^ 


START    OF    DEPOT    JOURNEY 

consumption.  I  did  not  anticipate  that  there  would 
be  much  difficulty  in  picking  up  the  depot  again,  but 
there  was  the  possibility  that  severe  weather  might 
bury  the  stores  and  obliterate  any  marks  set  up  for 
our  guidance.  I  picked  a  depot  party  consisting  of 
Adams,  Marshall,  Wild,  Joyce  and  Marston,  with  myself 
as  the  sixth  man.  I  did  not  propose  to  take  either 
ponies  or  dogs,  for  reasons  I  have  already  explained. 
We  took  two  tents,  three  men  going  in  each,  and  two 
three-man  sleeping-bags,  for  we  expected  to  meet  with 
very  low  temperatures.  The  disadvantages  of  these 
bags,  as  I  have  already  stated,  is  that  one's  sleep  is 
liable  to  be  disturbed,  but  this  would  not  matter  so 
much  on  a  comparatively  short  journey,  and  we  would 
probably  need  the  additional  warmth  derived  from 
one  another's  bodies.  There  is  no  doubt  in  my  mind 
that  for  extended  journeys  in  the  polar  regions  the  use 
of  one-man  bags  is  desirable.  Apart  from  all  other 
considerations,  it  is  a  great  comfort  to  have  a  little 
home  of  one's  own  into  which  to  retire  when  the  day's 
work  is  done,  secure  from  all  interruptions.  The  open- 
ing can  be  adjusted  just  as  the  occupant  pleases,  whereas 
if  there  are  two  or  three  men  in  the  one  bag,  one  may 
think  the  atmosphere  suffocating,  while  another  objects 
to  the  draught. 

The  depot  party  left  Cape  Royds  on  September  22, 
with  a  load  of  about  170  lb.  per  man,  and  made  the  first 
part  of  the  journey  in  the  motor-car.  Day  was  able 
to  get  the  machine,  with  the  sledges  towed  behind  and 
all  the  members  of  the  party  either  on  the  car  or  the 
sledges,  as  far  as  Inaccessible  Island,  moving  at  a  speed 
of  about  six  miles  an  hour.  I  heard  afterwards  that 
the  car  ran  back  to  the  hut,  a  distance  of  eight  miles, 
in  twenty  minutes.  We  took  the  sledges  on  ourselves 
over  a  fairly  good  surface,  and  spent  the  first  night  at 
I  Q  241 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

the  Discovery  hut.  Three  of  the  puppies  had  followed 
the  car  when  we  started  away  from  the  winter  quarters, 
and  they  had  firmly  refused  to  go  back  with  it,  appa- 
rently because  Joyce  had  been  in  the  habit  of  feeding 
them,  and  they  were  not  willing  to  leave  him.  They 
followed  us  right  to  Hut  Point,  the  first  long  march  of 
their  short  lives,  and  after  devouring  all  the  meat  and 
biscuits  we  would  give  them,  they  settled  down  in  a 
corner  of  the  hut  for  the  night.  We  could  not  take 
the  poor  Httle  animals  out  on  to  the  Barrier  with  us, 
though  they  would  have  followed  us  readily  enough, 
and  we  decided  that  the  only  thing  to  do  was  to  shut 
them  up  in  the  hut  until  we  came  back.  There  was 
plenty  of  snow  there,  so  that  they  would  not  want  for 
water,  and  we  opened  a  box  of  biscuits  and  some  tinned 
meat,  and  left  the  food  where  they  could  reach  it. 
Their  anxious  barks  and  whines  followed  us  as  we 
moved  off  southwards. 

The  journey  was  a  severe  one,  for  the  temperature  got 
down  to  fifty-nine  degrees  below  zero  Fahr.,  with  blizzard 
winds,  but  as  we  travelled  over  ground  that  had  become 
fairly  familiar  in  the  course  of  the  previous  expedition,  I 
will  not  deal  with  our  experiences  in  any  great  detail.  The 
first  bhzzard  struck  us  when  we  were  south  of  White 
Island.  We  started  off  in  the  morning,  though  there 
was  a  stiff  breeze  blowing  and  the  weather  looked 
threatening,  and  marched  until  about  10.30  a.m.  Then 
the  gusts  became  more  fierce,  and  the  drift  got  so  thick 
that  we  had  to  camp.  We  only  put  up  one  tent  at  first, 
in  the  hope  that  we  would  be  able  to  start  again  in  a 
few  hours,  but  the  wind  continued,  so  we  erected  the 
other  tent  and  abandoned  hope  of  marching  farther 
that  day.  We  were  able  to  make  an  early  start  on  the 
following  morning,  the  26th.  The  petroleum  for  our 
stoves  was  practically  frozen  at  times,  refusing  to  run 
242 


THE    DEPOT    ESTABLISHED 

at  all.  We  got  into  pressure  ridges  when  some  distance 
north  of  Minna  Bluff,  but  fortunately  we  were  having 
good  weather  at  this  time.  Most  of  us  had  the  expe- 
rience at  one  time  or  other  of  dropping  into  a  crevasse 
to  the  length  of  our  harness.  Adams,  Marshall  and 
Marston  had  not  yet  become  accustomed  to  the  little 
misadventures  incidental  to  travel  in  the  Antarctic, 
but  it  did  not  take  them  long  to  become  inured.  I 
remember  one  night  hearing  Marston  asking  whether 
it  would  be  safe  to  have  a  look  round  outside.  "  Well, 
you  can  play  '  perhaps  '  if  you  like,"  remarked  some  one. 
Marston  did  not  understand,  and  the  other  man  explained 
that  the  "  game  "  was  played  on  the  basis  of  "  perhaps 
you  go  down  and  perhaps  you  don't."  Marston  was 
making  sketches  and  taking  notes  of  colours,  and  his 
work  was  rendered  very  difficult  by  the  extreme  cold. 
There  were  wonderful  lights  in  the  sky  at  dawn  and 
dusk,  and  the  snow  and  ice  presented  the  gradations  of 
delicate  colour  that  can  hardly  be  realised  by  those 
who  have  never  seen  a  polar  landscape,  but  heavy  mits, 
with  one  compartment  for  the  four  fingers  and  another 
for  the  thumb,  are  hardly  designed  for  the  handling 
of  pencil  or  crayons,  and  the  use  of  bare  hands  was  out 
of  the  question.  Marston  persisted  in  the  face  of  his 
various  troubles,  and  managed  to  secure  a  good  deal  of 
interesting  and  valuable  material. 

We  left  one  bag  of  maize  at  a  depot  on  the  way  out, 
but  we  never  picked  this  up  again.  The  main  depot 
was  laid  in  latitude  79.36°  South,  longitude  168°  East, 
a  distance  of  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  geographical 
miles  from  the  winter  quarters.  We  reached  it  on 
October  6.  This  depot  was  out  of  sight  of  land,  and 
was  marked  with  an  upturned  sledge  and  a  black  flag 
on  a  bamboo  rod.  We  left  there  a  gallon  tin  of  oil 
and  167  lb.  of  pony  maize,  so  that  our  load  would  be 

243 


THE    HEART    OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

lightened  considerably  for  the  first  portion  of  the 
journey  when  we  started  south.  This  southern  depot 
we  called  Depot  A. 

The  weather  was  bad  and  the  temperature  low  on 
the  journey  back,  and  I  decided  to  take  the  outside 
course  in  order  to  avoid  the  crevasses  as  much  as  pos- 
sible. The  disturbed  condition  of  the  ice  in  this  neigh- 
bourhood is  caused  by  the  Barrier  impinging  on  the 
Bluff,  and  by  the  glaciers  coming  down  from  Mount 
Discovery.  As  had  been  the  case  on  the  outward 
journey,  we  were  delayed  a  good  deal  by  blizzards,  and 
owing  to  this  fact  we  had  to  make  very  long  marches 
when  the  weather  was  fine,  for  we  had  brought  food 
for  twenty  days  only.  We  experienced  a  very  severe 
blizzard  before  we  reached  White  Island.  We  had  got 
away  from  camp  at  4  a.m.  that  morning,  and  had  been 
marching  for  about  an  hour  and  a  half  when  the  wind 
that  was  following  us  began  to  approach  blizzard 
strength.  Four  men  kept  the  traces  taut  while  two 
men  held  the  sledge  from  behind,  but  even  then  the 
sledge  sometimes  caught  up  to  the  men  in  front.  As 
the  wind  increased  the  drifting  snow  got  thicker  and 
finer,  and  after  a  short  time  we  could  not  see  more  than 
ten  or  fifteen  yards  ahead.  Then  we  found  that  we 
were  amongst  crevasses,  for  first  one  man  and  then 
another  put  his  foot  through  a  snow  lid,  and  we  there- 
fore stopped  and  camped.  The  wind  increased  rapidly, 
and  it  took  about  an  hour  and  a  half  of  hard  work  to 
get  the  tents  pitched.  The  snow  blew  into  our  faces 
and  formed  masks  of  ice,  and  several  members  of  the 
party  got  bad  frost-bites.  When  we  finally  got  the 
tents  up,  we  had  to  lie  in  them  for  thirty  hours.  As  a 
result  of  such  delays,  we  did  not  reach  the  old  Discovery 
winter  quarters  until  October  13.  We  had  been  twenty- 
one  days  out,  and  our  food  was  finished,  though  we  had 
244 


FULL  MOON  IN  THE  WINTER 


BACK    AT    THE    HUT 

been  able  to  keep  on  full  rations  until  the  last  day.  We 
had  been  able  to  march  only  on  fourteen  and  a  half  days, 
but  we  had  made  some  good  journeys  on  the  way  back, 
having  covered  as  much  as  twenty-five  miles  in  a  day. 

We  found  our  little  friends,  the  puppies,  safe  and 
sound  in  the  hut,  and  their  delight  at  seeing  us  again 
was  simply  huge.  Directly  they  heard  us  approaching 
they  started  to  make  every  effort  in  their  power  to 
attract  attention,  and  the  moment  the  door  was  opened 
they  rushed  out  and  fairly  threw  themselves  upon  us. 
They  twined  their  fat  little  bodies  round  our  boots 
and  yelped  in  an  ecstasy  of  welcome.  Poor  little  dogs, 
they  had,  no  doubt,  been  lonely  and  frightened  during 
the  three  weeks  they  had  spent  in  the  hut,  though 
physically  they  seemed  to  have  been  comfortable 
enough.  They  had  eaten  all  the  meat  left  for  them, 
but  they  still  had  biscuits,  and  they  had  put  on  flesh. 
Their  coats  were  quite  black  owing  to  their  having  lain 
amongst  the  fragments  of  coal  on  the  floor. 

The  next  day  we  started  for  Cape  Royds,  and  had 
the  good  fortune  to  meet  the  motor-car,  driven  by 
Day,  at  a  point  about  a  mile  and  a  half  south  of  Cape 
Bame.  The  sledges  were  soon  hitched  on  behind,  and 
we  drove  back  triumphantly  to  the  winter  quarters. 
It  was  October  18  and  we  had  travelled  320  statute 
miles  since  we  left  the  hut  twenty- two  days  before. 
We  arrived  hungry  and  rather  tired,  and  were  able  to 
appreciate  at  their  full  value  the  warmth  and  comfort 
of  our  little  hut.  The  adventurous  puppies  were  outside 
doing  their  best  to  convince  their  friends  and  relatives 
that  they  were  not  three  strangers  trying  to  force  their 
way  into  the  community. 

During  our  absence  the  Northern  Party,  consisting 
of  Professor  David,  Mawson  and  Mackay,  had  started 
on  the  journey  that  was  to  result  in  the  attainment  of 

245 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

the  South  Magnetic  Pole.  I  had  instructed  the  Pro- 
fessor, who  was  in  command  of  this  party,  to  get  away 
on  October  1,  or  as  soon  after  that  date  as  weather  and 
other  circumstances  would  permit.  On  September  25 
Professor  David,  Priestley  and  Day  took  850  lb.  of  stores 
for  the  northern  journey  out  into  the  middle  of  the 
sound,  a  distance  of  about  fourteen  miles,  by  means  of 
the  motor-car.  Day  had  intended  to  go  to  Dinley  Isles, 
but  sastrugi  that  stretched  right  across  the  ice  of  the 
sound  prevented  this.  The  sastrugi  were  in  places 
two  feet  deep,  and  the  wheels  could  get  no  grip  in  the 
soft  snow,  into  which  they  sank  deeply.  Some  very 
bad  cracks  were  encountered,  including  one  two  feet 
wide,  but  the  machine  bumped  over  without  damage. 
A  second  load  of  stores  was  taken  out  by  the  car  on 
October  3,  some  bad  weather  having  intervened.  Pro- 
fessor David,  Day,  Priestley  and  Mackay  went  out  on 
this  occasion,  and  the  journey  produced  a  larger  crop 
of  minor  accidents  than  usual,  though  men  were  always 
liable  to  sustain  cuts  and  bruises  when  handling  the  car 
at  a  low  temperature  and  in  difficult  situations.  Priestley 
got  a  nail  torn  off,  the  Professor  jammed  a  finger  in 
the  front  wheel,  and  Mackay  suffered  a  CoUis  fracture 
of  the  wrist  from  the  starting  handle.  One  crack  that 
lay  across  the  course  delayed  the  party  for  two  hours, 
and  the  front  axle  was  bent  by  another  crack,  into 
which  the  wheels  dropped  when  the  car  was  travelling 
at  a  speed  of  about  twelve  miles  an  hour. 

The  Northern  Party  finally  left  the  winter  quarters 
on  October  5,  picked  up  their  stores  where  the  motor- 
car had  deposited  them,  and  began  their  long  journey 
over  the  sea  ice  along  the  coast.  Day  carried  them 
in  the  car  for  the  first  three  miles,  but  then  had 
to  return  as  the  weather  was  becoming  very  thick 
and  the  temperature  was  falling.  Mackay's  wrist  was 
246 


NORTHERN  PARTY'S  START 

troublesome,  but  it  did  not  prevent  him  hauling  in 
harness.  I  had  said  good-bye  to  Professor  David  and 
his  two  companions  on  September  22,  1908,  and  I  did 
not  see  them  again  until  March  1,  1909.  In  another 
chapter  the  Professor  himself  tells  the  story  of  the 
northern  journey. 


247 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

PREPARATION  FOR  THE  SOUTHERN  JOURNEY 

THE  southern  sledging-party  was  to  leave  the  winter 
quarters  on  October  29,  and  immediately  on  the  re- 
turn of  the  depot  party  we  started  to  make  the  final  pre- 
parations for  the  attempt  to  reach  the  South  Pole.  I 
decided  that  four  men  should  go  south,  I  myself  to  be 
one  of  them,  and  that  we  should  take  provisions  for 
ninety-one  days  ;  this  amount  of  food,  with  the  other 
equipment,  would  bring  the  load  per  pony  up  to  the 
weight  fixed  as  a  result  of  experiments  as  the  maximum 
load.  It  will  be  remembered  that  in  outlining  the  scheme 
of  the  expedition  in  the  early  part  of  1907  I  had  pro- 
posed that  a  party  should  travel  to  the  east  across  the 
Barrier  surface  towards  King  Edward  VII  Land,  with 
the  object  of  solving,  if  possible,  the  mystery  of  the 
Barrier  itself,  and  securing  some  information  about  the 
land  on  the  other  side  of  it.  The  accidents  that  had 
left  us  with  only  four  ponies  caused  me  to  abandon 
this  project.  The  ponies  would  have  to  go  south,  the 
motor-car  would  not  travel  on  the  Barrier,  and  the 
dogs  were  required  for  the  southern  depot  journey. 
I  deemed  it  best  to  confine  the  efforts  of  the  sledging- 
parties  to  the  two  Poles,  Geographical  and  Magnetic, 
and  to  send  a  third  party  into  the  western  mountains 
with  the  object  of  studying  geological  conditions  and,  in 
particular,  of  searching  for  fossils. 
248 


THE    SOUTHERN    PARTY 

The  men  selected  to  go  with  me  on  the  southern 
journey  were  Adams,  Marshall  and  Wild.  A  supporting- 
party  was  to  accompany  us  for  a  certain  distance  in 
order  that  we  might  start  fairly  fresh  from  a  point  beyond 
the  rough  ice  off  Minna  Bluff,  and  we  would  take  the 
four  ponies  and  four  sledges.  It  was  with  some  regret 
that  I  decided  that  the  motor-car  would  have  to  stay 
behind.  The  trials  that  we  had  made  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  winter  quarters  had  proved  that  the  car 
could  not  travel  over  a  soft  snow  surface,  and  the  depot 
journey  had  shown  me  that  the  surface  of  the  Barrier 
was  covered  with  soft  snow,  much  softer  and  heavier 
than  it  had  been  in  1902,  at  the  time  of  the  Discovery 
expedition.  In  fact  I  was  satisfied  that,  with  the 
Barrier  in  its  then  condition,  no  wheeled  vehicle  could 
travel  over  it.  The  wheels  would  simply  sink  in  until 
the  body  of  the  car  rested  on  the  snowy  surface.  We 
had  made  alterations  in  the  wheels  and  we  had  reduced 
the  weight  of  the  car  to  an  absolute  minimum  by  the 
removal  of  every  unnecessary  part,  but  still  it  could 
do  little  on  a  soft  surface,  and  it  would  certainly  be 
quite  useless  with  any  weight  behind,  for  the  driving 
wheels  would  simply  scoop  holes  for  themselves.  The 
use  of  sledge-runners  under  the  front  wheels,  with  broad, 
spiked  driving-wheels,  might  have  enabled  us  to  get 
the  car  over  some  of  the  soft  surfaces,  but  this  equip- 
ment would  not  have  been  satisfactory  on  hard,  rough 
ice,  and  constant  changes  would  occupy  too  much 
time.  I  had  confidence  in  the  ponies,  and  I  thought  it 
best  not  to  attempt  to  take  the  car  south  from  the 
winter  quarters. 

The  provisioning  of  the  Southern  Party  was  a  matter 
that  received  long  and  anxious  consideration.  Marshall 
went  very  carefully  into  the  question  of  the  relative 
food-values  of  the  various  supplies,  and  we  were  able 

249 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

to  derive  much  useful  information  from  the  experience 
of  previous  expeditions.  We  decided  on  a  daily  ration 
of  34  oz.  per  man  ;  the  total  weight  of  food  to  be  carried, 
on  the  basis  of  supplies  for  ninety-one  days,  would 
therefore  be  773J  lb.  The  staple  items  were  to  be 
biscuits  and  pemmican.  The  biscuits,  as  I  have  stated, 
were  of  wheatmeal  with  25  per  cent,  of  plasmon  added, 
and  analysis  showed  that  they  did  not  contain  more 
than  3  per  cent,  of  water.  The  pemmican  had  been 
supplied  by  Beauvais,  of  Copenhagen,  and  consisted 
of  the  finest  beef,  dried  and  powdered,  with  60  per 
cent,  of  beef-fat  added.  It  contained  only  a  small  per- 
centage of  water.  The  effort  of  the  polar  explorer 
is  to  get  his  foods  as  free  from  water  as  possible,  for 
the  moisture  represents  so  much  useless  weight  to  be 
carried. 

The  daily  allowance  of  food  for  each  man  on  the 
journey,  as  long  as  full  rations  were  given,  was  to  be 
as  follows  : 

Oz. 

Pemmican  7.5 

Emergency  ration  1.5 

Biscuit  16.0 

Cheese  or  chocolate  2.0 

Cocoa  .7 

Plasmon  1.0 

Sugar  4.3 

Quaker  Oats  1.0 


34.0 


Tea,  salt  and  pepper  were  extras  not  weighed  in  with 
the  daily  allowance.  We  used  about  two  ounces  of 
tea  per  day  for  the  four  men.  The  salt  and  pepper 
were  carried  in  small  bags,  each  bag  to  last  one 
week.  Some  of  the  biscuit  had  been  broken  up, 
and  1  lb.  per  week  for  each  man  was  intended 
to  be  used  for  thickening  the  hoosh,  the  amount  so 
250 


Grisi 


QUAN 


To  face  page  250 


SUPPLIES    TAKEN 

used  to  be   deducted  from  the  ordinary  allowance  of 
biscuit. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  compare  this  allowance 
with  the  scale  used  on  the  Discovery  sledging  journey 
over  the  Barrier.  The  daily  allowance  of  food  for 
each  man  on  that  journey  was  as  follows  : 

Oz. 

Pemmican  7.6 

Red  ration  (corresponding  to  emergency  ration)  1 . 1 
Biscuit  12.0 

Cheese  2.0 

Chocolate  1.1 

Cocoa  .7 

Plasmon  2.0 

Sugar  3.8 

Oatmeal  1.5 

Pea  flour  1.5 

33.3 

The  following  list  shows  the  provisions  taken  for 
the  southern  journey,  tea,  salt  and  pepper  being  omitted  : 


Pemmican 
Emergency  ration 
Biscuit 


Lb. 

Oz. 

170 

10 

34 

2 

364 

0 

22 

12 

22 

12 

15 

14.8 

22 

12 

97 

13.2 

22 

12 

Chocolate 
Cocoa 
Plasmon 
Sugar 
Quaker  Oats 

773       8 

We  left  the  winter  quarters  with  ten  pounds  of  tea, 
but  took  an  additional  pound  from  the  Discovery  hut 
before  we  moved  on  to  the  Barrier.  The  allowance  of 
salt  amounted  to  two  ounces  per  week  per  man,  and 
that  of  pepper  to  two  ounces  per  fortnight  for  the  four 
men. 

251 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

The  biscuits  were  packed  in  25-lb.  tins,  and  they 
weighed  about  fourteen  to  the  pound.  All  the  other 
foods  we  packed  in  calico  bags,  each  bag  holding  one 
week's  supply  of  the  particular  article.  Larger  bags 
in  turn  contained  a  fortnight's  rations,  from  which  a 
week's  food  would  be  taken  as  required.  The  weight 
of  one  of  the  fortnightly  bags,  which  did  not  include  the 
biscuit,  was  98  lb. 

The  clothing  worn  by  each  man  when  we  started 
on  the  southern  journey  was  very  hght.  We  had 
experimented  on  the  spring  sledging  journey,  and  had 
proved  that  it  was  quite  possible,  even  in  very  low 
temperatures,  to  abandon  the  heavy  pilot  cloth  gar- 
ments, which  tire  the  wearer  by  their  own  weight,  and 
to  march  in  woollen  undergarments  and  windproof 
overalls.  The  personal  equipment  of  the  members  of 
the  Southern  Party  was  as  follows  : 

Woollen  pyjama  trousers. 
Woollen  singlet. 
Woollen  shirt. 
Woollen  guernsey. 
Two  pairs  thick  socks. 
One  pair  finnesko. 
Burberry  overalls. 
Balaclava. 

Burberry  head  covering. 
Woollen  mits. 
Fur  mits. 

Each  man  had  his  spare  clothing  and  his  personal 
belongings  in  a  bag,  the  total  weight  of  which  was 
about  seventeen  pounds.  The  contents  of  each  of 
these  bags,  in  addition  to  diaries,  letters  and  similar 
personal  possessions,  was  as  follows  : 

Pyj  ama  sleeping- j  acket. 
Pyjama  trousers,  spare. 
Eight  pairs  wooUen  socks. 
252 


EQUIPMENT 

Three  pairs  finnesko. 

Supply  sennegrass. 

Three  pairs  mittens. 

Spare  woollen  helmet. 

One  pair  spiked  ski-boots. 

Woollen  muffler. 

Two  pairs  goggles,  one  smoked,  one  coloured. 

Roll  lamp- wick,  for  tying  on  mits  and  finnesko. 

Sledge  flag. 

Tobacco  and  matches. 

There  was  also  a  small  repair  bag,  with  spare  pieces 
of  Burberry  cloth  for  patching  our  wind  clothes,  needles, 
thread  and  buttons. 

The  other  items  of  our  equipment  were  as  follows  : 

Two  tents,  with  poles  and  floorcloths,  each  weighing  complete 
301b. 

Four  sleeping-bags,  each  weighing  10  lb.  when  dry. 

One  cooker,  with  spare  inner  pot. 

Two  primus  lamps,  with  spare  parts. 

Thirteen  gallons  paraffin  oil. 

One  gallon  methylated  spirits. 

Two  heavy  knives. 

One  "450  revolver,  with  twelve  cartridges,  weighing  4  lb. 

Four  ice-axes  (each  3  lb.). 

Two  shovels  (each  6  lb.). 

Eight  12-ft.  bamboos. 

Eight  depot  flags. 

Two  sledge-meters. 

Four  pony  rugs. 

Wire  tether. 

Four  nose-bags. 

Spare  straps  and  rivets  for  repairing  harness. 

Roll  of  creosoted  hemp  rope. 

Charts. 

Ten  fathoms  of  alpine  rope. 

Two  Union  Jacks  (Queen's  flag  and  another). 

Brass  cylinder  containing  small  Union  Jack  stamps  and  documents, 
for  furthest  south  point. 

Adams,  Marshall  and  myself  each  carried  a  large 
pocket-knife. 

The  scientific  equipment  had  to  be  cut  down  as  far 

253 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

as  was  reasonably  possible  in  order  to  save  weight,  but 
we  were  not  badly  off  in  tliis  respect.     We  had : 

One  3-in.  theodolite  on  stand. 
Three  chronometer  watches. 
Three  compasses  (pocket). 
Six  thermometers. 

One  hypsometer  and  two  thermometers. 

One  camera  and  three  dozen  plates  (quarter-plate  by  Newman  and 
Guardia). 

One  case  surveying  instruments,  dividers,  &c. 

Two  prismatic  compasses. 

One  sextant  and  artificial  horizon. 

Two  volumes  of  "  Hints  to  Travellers." 

One  chart  and  spare  paper. 

The  medical  chest  took  the  form  of  a  small  brown 
leather  bag,  and  it  contained  the  following  items,  the 
chemicals  being  in  compressed  forms  : 

One  tube  laxative  pUls. 

„         boric  acid. 

„        perchloride  of  mercur3^ 

„        iron  and  arsenic  composition. 

„         quinine  bisulphate. 

,,        eye  soloids. 

,,        hemesins  (adrenalin). 
Two  tubes  cocaine  hydrochloride. 

,,         zinc  sulphate. 
One  tube  aloin  compound. 

„         Crete  aromat  cum  opio. 

„         chlorodyne. 

„        sulphonal. 

„         soda  mint. 

„         bismuth  pepsin  charcoal. 

„         potassium  chlorate. 

,,         ammonium  bromide. 

,,         ginger  essence. 

,,         sodium  sahcylate. 

„         morphine  sulphate. 
Two  clinical  thermometers. 

We  had  also  the  following  medical  stores  : 

Four  first  field  dressings. 
Two  compressed  bandages. 
254 


Socks 


Chinaman 


To  ''ace  page  254 


I 


SLEDGES    AND    HARNESS 

Two  triangular  bandages. 

Two  ounces  compressed  absorbent  wool. 

Two  ounces  compressed  cyanide  gauge. 

Two  pieces  wood  splinting. 

One  reel  adhesive  plaster. 

Packet  court  plaster. 

One  tube  gold-beaters'-skin. 

One  pocket  surgical  dressing-case. 

Two  pairs  spare  goggles  and  spare  glasses. 

One  pair  molar  dental  forceps. 

Two  bottles  "  Newskin." 

Six  hundred  tabloids  Easton's  syrup  (1  dr.). 

Six  ounces  Emergency  Oxo. 

The  total  weight  of  the  drugs  and  medical  stores 
was  seven  pounds. 

Four  eleven-foot  sledges  were  to  be  taken,  one  for 
each  pony.  Each  sledge  was  fitted  with  straps,  five 
placed  at  intervals  along  its  length,  so  that  the  stores 
and  equipment  might  be  made  fast.  The  buckle  end 
of  a  strap  was  on  one  side  and  the  hauling  end  on 
the  other  alternately.  At  either  end  of  each  sledge 
was  fixed  a  box.  These  boxes  contained  the  instru- 
ments, burning  oil,  primus  lamps,  medical  stores 
and  other  small  articles,  and  on  top  of  one  of  them 
was  lashed  the  cooker.  The  sledge  harness  for  man- 
hauling  was  attached  to  a  becket  at  the  bow  of  the  sledge. 

The  harness  for  the  ponies  was  made  with  a  broad 
leather  band  round  the  chest  and  traces  of  alpine  rope 
running  from  this.  There  was  a  strap  over  the  neck 
to  support  the  hauling  band  and  a  strap  across  the 
back,  with  a  girth.  The  traces  were  toggled  to  a 
swingle-tree,  which  was  attached  to  the  sledge  bow  in 
the  centre.  Our  great  fear  was  that  the  ponies  would 
chafe  from  the  rubbing  of  the  harness  when  they  per- 
spired and  the  moisture  congealed  from  the  cold,  but 
we  had  very  Uttle  trouble  from  this  cause.  All  the 
buckles  were  leather-covered  in  order  that  no  metal 

255 


THE    HEART    OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

might  touch  the  ponies,  and  we  took  great  care  to  keep 
the  harness  free  from  ice  and  dirt. 

The  food  for  the  ponies  on  the  march  consisted  of 
maize  and  Maujee  ration,  with  a  little  of  the  Australian 
compressed  fodder.  Each  pony  was  to  have  10  lb.  of 
food  per  day,  and  we  took  in  all  900  lb.  of  food  for  the 
animals.  The  maize  was  carried  in  linen  bags  weighing 
about  eighty  pounds  each,  as  was  also  the  Maujee 
ration. 

I  had  decided  that  Murray  should  be  in  charge  of 
the  expedition  during  the  absence  of  the  Southern  Party, 
and  I  left  with  him  instructions  covering,  as  far  as  I 
could  see,  all  possible  contingencies.  Priestley  was  to 
be  given  facilities  for  examining  the  geological  condi- 
tions on  the  north  slope  of  Erebus,  and  at  the  beginning 
of  December  Armitage,  Priestley  and  Brocklchurst 
were  to  be  sent  to  lay  a  depot  for  the  Northern  Party 
and  then  to  proceed  into  the  western  mountains.  All 
the  routine  scientific  work  was  to  be  carried  on,  and 
stores  were  to  be  transported  to  Glacier  Tongue  and 
Hut  Point  in  case  the  ice  broke  up  in  the  sound  and 
cut  off  the  winter  quarters  from  the  points  further 
south.  On  January  15  a  depot  party  was  to  proceed 
south  in  order  to  place  at  a  point  off  Minna  Bluff  suffi- 
cient stores  to  provide  for  the  return  journey  of  the 
Southern  Party  from  that  point.  The  depot  party, 
which  was  to  be  under  the  command  of  Joyce,  was  to 
return  to  Hut  Point,  reload  its  sledge,  and  march  out 
to  the  depot  a  second  time,  to  await  the  arrival  of  the 
Southern  Party  there  until  February  10.  If  we  had 
then  not  arrived,  they  were  to  go  back  to  Hut  Point 
and  thence  to  the  ship. 

If  the  ice  in  the  sound  broke  out,  the  ship,  which 
should  reach  the  winter  quarters  late  in  December  or 
early  in  January,  was  to  watch  for  the  Northern  and 
256 


FINAL    INSTRUCTIONS 

Western  Parties,  which  would  signal  from  Butter  Point. 
If  nothing  had  been  heard  of  Professor  David,  Mawson 
and  Mackay  by  February  1,  the  Nimrod  was  to  proceed 
to  Granite  Harbour  and  search  for  record  on  the  north 
side  of  the  entrance  to  the  harbour.  If  there  was  no 
record  the  ship  was  to  proceed  north  as  far  as  the  low 
beach  on  the  north  side  of  the  Drygalski  Barrier,  keeping 
as  close  as  practicable  to  the  shore  and  making  a 
thorough  search  for  the  party.  The  Nimrod  was  to 
return  to  winter  quarters  not  later  than  February  10. 
In  the  event  of  the  non-return  of  the  Southern  Party, 
the  Nimrod  was  to  make  another  search  for  the  Northern 
Party,  examining  the  coast  as  thoroughly  as  was  com- 
patible with  the  safety  of  the  ship.  The  return  of  the 
Southern  Party  was  to  be  expected  after  the  first  week 
in  February,  and  the  men  at  the  winter  quarters  were 
to  watch  for  a  flash  signal  from  Glacier  Tongue  between 
noon  and  1  p.m.  each  day.  If  the  ice  had  broken  out 
south  of  the  Tongue,  the  ship  was  to  be  sent  down  to 
Hut  Point  occasionally  to  look  for  the  party.  In  the 
meantime  all  the  collections  and  gear  were  to  be  placed 
on  board  the  ship  in  preparation  for  the  final  departure. 
It  was  necessary  to  prepare  for  the  non-return  of 
the  Southern  Party,  although  we  were  taking  no  gloomy 
view  of  our  prospects,  and  I  therefore  left  full  instruc- 
tions for  the  conduct  of  the  expedition  in  the  event  of 
accident.  My  instructions  to  Murray  on  this  point 
were  as  follows  : 

"  In  the  event  of  the  non- arrival  of  the  Southern 
Party  by  February  25  you  are  to  land  sufficient  coal 
and  provisions  to  support  a  party  of  seven  men  for 
one  year  at  Cape  Royds.  You  are  then  to  pick  three 
men  to  stay  behind^  and  you  will  pick  these 
men  from  volunteers.  If  there  are  no  volunteers, 
I  B  257 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

which  is  highly  improbable,  you  are  to  select  three 
men  and  order  them  to  stay.  You  will  give  these 
three  men  instructions  to  proceed  at  once  to  the 
south  on  the  168th  meridian  in  search  of  the  Southern 
Party,  the  leader  using  discretion  as  to  the  time  they 
should  take  over  the  search.  You  are  to  leave  all  the 
dogs  ashore  to  assist  this  party.  You  will  instruct 
them  to  search  for  the  remains  of  the  Southern  Party 
in  the  following  summer.  You  are  to  use  your  dis- 
cretion as  to  any  other  orders  you  may  think  it 
desirable  to  issue.  The  Nimrod  is  to  land  as  much 
sugar,  fruit  and  jam  as  possible.  There  are  ample 
provisions  otherwise,  but  anything  in  the  way  of 
dainties  or  special  vegetables  should  be  landed. 
There  are  sufficient  ordinary  vegetables.  The  Nimrod 
is  also  to  land  any  clothing  that  you  may  think 
necessary  for  the  party  of  three  men  remaining 
behind.  ...  In  the  event  of  J.  B.  Adams  returning 
and  my  non-return,  he  is  in  full  command  of  the 
whole  expedition,  and  has  my  instructions  in  the 
matter.  The  ship  must  on  the  1st  of  March  steam 
to  the  entrance  of  McMurdo  Sound  to  see  the  ice 
conditions,  and  if  there  is  no  heavy  pack  likely  to 
hold  her  up,  she  can  return  to  Cape  Royds  again ; 
but  I  think  that  the  utmost  limit  for  the  date  to 
which  you  should  remain  is  the  10th  of  March,  1909, 
as  if  we  have  not  returned  by  then  something  very 
serious  must  have  happened." 

My  instructions  provided  for  the  conclusion  of  the 
work  of  the  expedition  in  its  various  branches,  and  for 
the  steps  to  be  taken  for  the  relief  of  the  men  left  in  the 
Antarctic  in  the  case  of  the  non-return  of  the  Southern 
Party.  Everything  was  ready  for  the  start  of  the 
journey  towards  the  Pole  as  the  end  of  October  ap- 
258 


FINAL    PREPARATIONS 

proached,  and  we  looked  forward  with  keen  anticipation 
to  the  venture.  The  supporting-party  was  to  consist 
of  Joyce,  Marston,  Priestley,  Armytage  and  Brockle- 
hurst,  and  was  to  accompany  us  for  ten  days.  Day 
was  to  have  been  a  member  of  this  party,  but  he 
damaged  his  foot  while  tobogganing  down  a  slope  at 
the  winter  quarters,  and  had  to  stay  behind.  The 
weather  was  not  very  good  during  our  last  days  at 
the  hut,  but  there  were  signs  that  summer  was  approach- 
ing. The  ponies  were  in  good  condition.  We  spent 
the  last  few  days  overhauling  the  sledges  and  equipment, 
and  making  sure  that  everything  was  sound  and  in  its 
right  place.  In  the  evenings  we  wrote  letters  for  those 
at  home,  to  be  delivered  in  the  event  of  our  not  returning 
from  the  unknown  regions  into  which  we  hoped  to 
penetrate. 


259 


CHAPTER  XIX 

FIRST  DAYS  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  MARCH 

THE  events  of  the  southern  journey  were  recorded  day 
by  day  in  the  diary  I  wrote  during  the  long  march. 
I  read  this  diary  when  we  had  got  back  to  civilisation, 
and  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  to  rewrite  it  would 
be  to  take  away  the  special  flavour  which  it  possesses. 
It  was  written  under  conditions  of  much  difficulty,  and 
often  of  great  stress,  and  these  conditions  I  believe  it 
reflects.  I  am  therefore  publishing  the  diary  with  only 
such  minor  amendments  to  the  phraseology  as  were 
necessary  in  order  to  make  it  easily  understood.  The 
reader  will  understand  that  when  one  is  writing  in  a 
sleeping-bag,  with  the  temperature  very  low  and  food 
rather  short,  a  good  proportion  of  the  "  of's,"  "  and's  " 
and  "  the's  "  get  left  out.  The  story  -will  probably 
seem  bald,  but  it  is  at  any  rate  a  faithful  record  of  what 
occurred.  I  will  deal  more  fully  with  some  aspects  of 
the  journey  in  a  later  chapter.  The  altitudes  given  in 
the  diary  were  calculated  at  the  time,  and  were  not  always 
accurate.  The  corrected  altitudes  are  given  on  the  map 
and  in  a  table  at  the  end  of  the  book.  The  distances 
were  calculated  by  means  of  a  sledge-meter,  checked 
by  observations  of  the  sun,  and  are  approximately 
accurate. 

October  29,  1908.  A  glorious  day  for  our  start ; 
brilliant  sunshine  and  a  cloudless  sky,  a  fair  wind 
260 


The  Supporting  Party  at  Glacier  Tongue 


:  »;^!5i^?sgs;B■•t!f■ 


The  Camp  at  Hut  Point 


To  face  page  260 


PONIES    LAME 

from  the  north,  in  fact,  everything  that  could  conduce 
to  an  auspicious  beginning.  We  had  breakfast  at  7  a.m., 
and  at  8.30  the  sledges  that  the  motor  was  to  haul  to 
Glacier  Tongue  were  taken  down  by  the  penguin  rookery 
and  over  to  the  rough  ice.  At  9.30  a.m.  the  supporting- 
party  started  and  was  soon  out  of  sight,  as  the  motor 
was  running  well.  At  10  a.m.  we  four  of  the  Southern 
Party  followed.  As  we  left  the  hut  where  we  had  spent 
so  many  months  in  comfort,  we  had  a  feeling  of  real 
regret  that  never  again  would  we  all  be  together  there. 
It  was  dark  inside,  the  acetylene  was  feeble  in  com- 
parison with  the  sun  outside,  and  it  was  small  compared 
to  an  ordinary  dwelling,  yet  we  were  sad  at  leaving  it. 
Last  night  as  we  were  sitting  at  dinner  the  evening 
sun  entered  through  the  ventilator  and  a  circle  of  light 
shone  on  the  picture  of  the  Queen.  Slowly  it  moved 
across  and  lit  up  the  photograph  of  his  Majesty  the 
King.  This  seemed  an  omen  of  good  luck,  for  only 
on  that  day  and  at  that  particular  time  could  this  have 
happened,  and  to-day  we  started  to  strive  to  plant  the 
Queen's  flag  on  the  last  spot  of  the  world.  At  10  a.m. 
we  met  Murray  and  Roberts,  and  said  good-bye,  then 
went  on  our  way.  Both  of  these,  who  were  to  be  left, 
had  done  for  me  all  that  men  could  do  in  their  own 
particular  line  of  work  to  try  and  make  our  httle  expedi- 
tion a  success.  A  clasp  of  the  hands  means  more  than 
many  words,  and  as  we  turned  to  acknowledge  their 
cheer  and  saw  them  standing  on  the  ice  by  the  familiar 
cliffs,  I  felt  that  we  must  try  to  do  well  for  the  sake  of 
every  one  concerned  in  the  expedition. 

Hardly  had  we  been  going  for  an  hour  when  Socks 
went  dead  lame.  This  was  a  bad  shock,  for  Quan  had 
for  a  full  week  been  the  same.  We  had  thought  that 
our  troubles  in  this  direction  were  over.  Socks  must 
have  hurt  himself  on  some  of  the  sharp  ice.     We  had 

261 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

to  go  on,  and  I  trust  that  in  a  few  days  he  will  be  all 
right.  I  shall  not  start  from  our  depot  at  Hut  Point 
until  he  is  better  or  until  I  know  actually  what  is  going 
to  happen.  The  lameness  of  a  pony  in  our  present 
situation  is  a  serious  thing.  If  we  had  eight,  or  even 
six,  we  could  adjust  matters  more  easily,  but  when 
we  are  working  to  the  bare  ounce  it  is  very  serious. 

At  1  P.M.  we  halted  and  fed  the  ponies.  As  we  sat 
close  to  them  on  the  sledge  Grisi  suddenly  lashed  out, 
and  striking  the  sledge  with  his  hoof,  struck  Adams 
just  below  the  knee.  Three  inches  higher  and  the 
blow  would  have  shattered  his  knee-cap  and  ended 
his  chance  of  going  on.  As  it  was  the  bone  was  almost 
exposed,  and  he  was  in  great  pain,  but  said  little  about 
it.  We  went  on  and  at  2.30  p.m.  arrived  at  the  sledges 
which  had  gone  on  by  motor  yesterday,  just  as  the  car 
came  along  after  having  dragged  the  other  sledges 
within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  Tongue.  I  took  on 
one  sledge,  and  Day  started  in  rather  soft  snow  with 
the  other  sledges,  the  car  being  helped  by  the  supporting 
party  in  the  worst  places.  Pressure  ridges  and  drift 
just  off  the  Tongue  prevented  the  car  going  further, 
so  I  gave  the  sledge  Quan  was  dragging  to  Adams,  who 
was  leading  Chinaman,  and  went  back  for  the  other. 
We  said  good-bye  to  Day,  and  he  went  back,  with 
Priestley  and  Brocklehurst  helping  him,  for  his  foot  was 
still  very  weak. 

We  got  to  the  south  side  of  Glacier  Tongue  at  4  p.m., 
and  after  a  cup  of  tea  started  to  grind  up  the  maize 
in  the  depot.  It  was  hard  work,  but  we  each  took 
turns  at  the  crusher,  and  by  8  p.m.  had  ground  sufficient 
maize  for  the  journey.  It  is  now  11  p.m.,  and  a  high 
warm  sun  is  shining  down,  the  day  calm  and  clear. 
We  had  hoosh  at  9  p.m.  Adams'  leg  is  very  stiff  and 
sore.  The  horses  are  fairly  quiet,  but  Quan  has  begun 
2G2 


AT    HUT    POINT 

his  old  tricks  and  is  biting  his  tether.  I  must  send 
for  wire  rope  if  this  goes  on. 

At  last  we  are  out  on  the  long  trail,  after  four  years' 
thought  and  work.  I  pray  that  we  may  be  successful, 
for  my  heart  has  been  so  much  in  this. 

There  are  numbers  of  seals  lying  close  to  our  camp. 
They  are  nearly  all  females,  and  will  soon  have  young. 
Erebus  is  emitting  three  distinct  columns  of  steam 
to-day,  and  the  fumaroles  on  the  old  crater  can  be  seen 
plainly.  It  is  a  mercy  that  Adams  is  better  to-night. 
I  cannot  imagine  what  he  would  have  done  if  he  had 
been  knocked  out  for  the  southern  journey,  his  interest 
in  the  expedition  has  been  so  intense.  Temperature 
plus  2°  Fahr.,  distance  for  the  day,  14J  miles. 

October  30.  At  Hut  Point.  Another  gloriously  fine 
day.  We  started  away  for  Hut  Point  at  10.30  a.m., 
leaving  the  supporting-party  to  finish  grinding  the 
maize.  The  ponies  were  in  good  fettle  and  went  away 
well.  Socks  walking  without  a  sledge,  while  Grisi  had 
500  lb.,  Quan  430  lb.,  and  Chinaman  340  lb.  Socks  seems 
better  to-day.  It  is  a  wonderful  change  to  get  up  in 
the  morning  and  put  on  ski  boots  without  any  difficulty, 
and  to  handle  cooking  vessels  without  "  burning  " 
one's  fingers  on  the  frozen  metal.  I  was  glad  to  see 
all  the  ponies  so  well,  for  there  had  been  both  wind 
and  drift  during  the  night.  Quan  seems  to  take  a 
delight  in  biting  his  tether  when  any  one  is  looking, 
for  I  put  my  head  out  of  the  tent  occasionally  during 
the  night  to  see  if  they  were  all  right,  and  directly  I 
did  so  Quan  started  to  bite  his  rope.  At  other  times 
they  were  all  quiet. 

We  crossed  one  crack  that  gave  us  a  little  trouble, 
and  at  1.30  p.m.  reached  Castle  Rock,  travelling  at 
one  mile  and  three-quarters  per  hour.  There  I  changed 
my    sledge,    taking    on   Marshall's    sledge    with    Quan, 

263 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

for  Grisi  was  making  hard  work  of  it,  the  surface  being 
very  soft  in  places.  Quan  pulled  500  lb.  just  as  easily 
and  at  3  p.m.  we  reached  Hut  Point,  tethered  the  ponies, 
and  had  tea.  There  was  a  slight  north  wind.  At 
5  P.M.  the  supporting-party  came  up.  We  have  decided 
to  sleep  in  the  hut,  but  the  supporting  party  are  sleeping 
in  the  tent  at  the  very  spot  where  the  Discovery  wintered 
six  years  ago.  To-morrow  I  am  going  back  to  the 
Tongue  for  the  rest  of  the  fodder.  The  supporting- 
party  elected  to  sleep  out  because  it  is  warmer,  but  we 
of  the  southern  party  will  not  have  a  solid  roof  over 
our  heads  for  some  months  to  come,  so  will  make  the 
most  of  it.  We  swept  the  debris  out.  Wild  killed 
a  seal  for  fresh  meat  and  washed  the  liver  at  the  seal 
hole,  so  to-morrow  we  will  have  a  good  feed.  Half  a 
tin  of  jam  is  a  small  thing  for  one  man  to  eat  when  he 
has  a  sledging  appetite,  and  we  are  doing  our  share, 
as  when  we  start  there  will  be  no  more  of  these  luxuries. 
Adams'  leg  is  better,  but  stiff.  Our  march  was  nine 
and  a  half  miles  to-day.     It  is  now  10  p.m. 

October  31.  This  day  started  with  a  dull  snowy 
appearance,  which  soon  developed  into  a  snowstorm, 
but  a  mild  one  with  little  drift.  I  wanted  to  cross  to 
Glacier  Tongue  with  Quan,  Grisi  and  Chinaman. 

During  the  morning  we  readjusted  our  provision 
weights  and  unpacked  the  bags.  In  the  afternoon  it 
cleared,  and  at  3.30  p.m.  we  got  under  way,  Quan 
pulling  our  sleeping  equipment.  We  covered  the  eight 
miles  and  a  half  to  Glacier  Tongue  in  three  hours,  and 
as  I  found  no  message  from  the  hut,  nor  the  gear  I  had 
asked  to  be  sent  down,  I  concluded  it  was  blowing 
there  also,  and  so  decided  to  walk  on  after  dinner.  I 
covered  the  twelve  miles  in  three  hours,  arriving  at 
Cape  Royds  at  11.30,  and  had  covered  the  twenty-three 
miles  between  Hut  Point  and  Cape  Royds  in  six  hours, 
264 


BACK   AT    WINTER    QUARTERS 

inarching  time.  They  were  surprised  to  see  me,  and 
were  glad  to  hear  that  Adams  and  Socks  were  better. 
I  turned  in  at  2  a.m.  for  a  few  hours'  sleep.  It  had  been 
blowing  hard  with  thick  drift,  so  the  motor  had  not 
been  able  to  start  for  Glacier  Tongue.  On  my  way 
to  Cape  Royds  I  noticed  several  seals  with  young  ones, 
evidently  just  born.  Murray  tells  me  that  the  tempera- 
ture has  been  plus  22°  Fahr. 

November  1.  Had  breakfast  at  6  a.m.,  and  Murray 
came  on  the  car  with  me,  Day  driving.  There  was 
a  fresh  easterly  wind.  We  left  Cape  Royds  at  8  a.m., 
and  arrived  off  Inaccessible  Island  at  twenty  minutes 
past  eight,  having  covered  a  distance  of  eight  miles. 
The  car  was  running  very  well.  Then  off  Tent  Island 
we  left  the  car,  and  hauled  the  sledge,  with  the  wire 
rope,  &c.,  round  to  our  camp  off  Glacier  Tongue.  Got 
under  way  at  10  a.m.,  and  reached  Hut  Point  at  2  p.m., 
the  ponies  pulling  500  and  550  lb.  each.  Grisi  bolted 
with  his  sledge,  but  soon  stopped.  The  ponies  pulled 
very  well,  with  a  bad  light  and  a  bad  surface.  We 
arranged  the  packing  of  the  sledges  in  the  afternoon, 
but  we  are  held  up  because  of  Socks.  His  foot  is 
seriously  out  of  order.  It  is  almost  a  disaster,  for  we 
want  every  pound  of  hauling  power.  This  evening 
it  is  snowing  hard,  with  no  wind.  Adams'  leg  is  much 
better.  Wild  noticed  a  seal  giving  birth  to  a  pup. 
The  baby  measured  3  ft.  10  in.  in  length,  and  weighed 
50  lb.  I  turned  in  early  to-night,  for  I  had  done  thirty- 
nine  miles  in  the  last  twenty-four  hours. 

November  2.  Dull  and  snowy  during  the  early  hours 
of  to-day.  When  we  awoke  we  found  that  Quan  had 
bitten  through  his  tether  and  played  havoc  with  the 
maize  and  other  fodder.  Directly  he  saw  me  coming 
down  the  ice-foot,  he  started  off,  dashing  from  one  sledge 
to  another,  tearing  the  bags  to  pieces  and  trampling 

265 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

the  food  out.  It  was  ten  minutes  before  we  caught 
him.  Luckily,  one  sledge  of  fodder  was  untouched. 
He  pranced  round,  kicked  up  his  heels,  and  showed 
that  it  was  a  deliberate  piece  of  destructiveness  on 
his  part,  for  he  had  eaten  his  fill.  His  distended 
appearance  was  obviously  the  result  of  many  pounds 
of  maize. 

In  the  afternoon  three  of  the  ponies  hauled  the 
sledges  with  their  full  weights  across  the  junction  of 
the  sea  and  the  Barrier  ice,  and  in  spite  of  the  soft 
snow  they  pulled  splendidly.  We  are  now  all  ready 
for  a  start  the  first  thing  to-morrow.  Socks  seems 
much  better,  and  not  at  all  lame.  The  sun  is  now 
(9  P.M.)  shining  gloriously,  and  the  wind  has  dropped, 
all  auguring  for  a  fine  day  to-morrow.  The  perform- 
ance of  the  ponies  was  most  satisfactory,  and  if  they 
will  only  continue  so  for  a  month,  it  will  mean  a  lot 
to  us.     Adams'  leg  is  nearly  all  right. 

November  3.  Started  at  9.30  from  Hut  Point,  Quan 
pulling  660  lb.,  Grisi  615  lb.,  Socks  600  lb.,  and  China- 
man 600  lb.  Five  men  hauled  660  lb.,  153  lb.  of  this 
being  pony  feed  for  our  party.  It  was  a  beautifully 
fine  day,  but  we  were  not  long  under  way  when  we 
found  that  the  surface  was  terribly  soft,  the  ponies  at 
times  sinking  in  up  to  their  belHes  and  always  over 
their  hocks. 

We  picked  up  the  other  sledges  at  the  Barrier  junction, 
and  Brocklehurst  photographed  us  all,  with  our  sledge- 
flags  flying  and  the  Queen's  Union  Jack.  At  10.50 
we  left  the  sea  ice,  and  instead  of  finding  the  Barrier 
surface  better,  discovered  that  the  snow  was  even 
softer  than  earlier  in  the  day.  The  ponies  pulled 
magnificently,  and  the  supporting  -  party  toiled  on 
painfully  in  their  wake.  Every  hour  the  pony  leaders 
changed  places  with  the  sledge  haulers.  A  1  p.m.  the 
200 


WELL    UNDER    WAY 

advance  -  party  with  the  ponies  pitched  camp  and 
tethered  out  the  ponies,  and  soon  lunch  was  under 
way,  consisting  of  tea  with  plasmon,  plasmon  biscuits 
and  cheese.  At  2.30  we  struck  camp,  the  supporting- 
party  with  the  man-sledge  going  on  in  advance,  while 
the  others  with  the  ponies  did  the  camp  work.  By 
4  P.M.  the  surface  had  improved  in  places,  so  that  the 
men  did  not  break  through  the  crust  so  often,  but  it 
was  just  as  hard  work  as  ever  for  the  ponies.  The 
weather  kept  beautifully  fine,  with  a  slight  south-east 
wind.  The  weather  sides  of  the  ponies  were  quite  dry, 
but  their  lee  sides  were  frosted  with  congealed  sweat. 
Whenever  it  came  to  our  turn  to  pull,  we  perspired 
freely.  As  the  supporting-party  are  not  travelling 
as  fast  as  the  ponies,  we  have  decided  to  take  them 
on  only  for  two  more  days,  and  then  we  of  the  Southern 
Party  will  carry  the  remainder  of  the  pony  feed  from 
their  sledge  on  our  backs.  So  to-morrow  morning  we 
will  depot  nearly  100  lb.  of  oil  and  provisions,  which 
will  lighten  the  load  on  the  supporting-party's  sledge 
a  good  deal. 

We  camped  at  6  p.m.,  and,  after  feeding  the  ponies, 
had  our  dinner,  consisting  of  pemmican,  emergency 
ration,  plasmon  biscuits  and  plasmon  cocoa,  followed 
by  a  smoke,  the  most  ideal  smoke  a  man  could  wish  for 
after  a  day's  sledging.  As  there  is  now  plenty  of 
biscuit  to  spare,  we  gave  the  gallant  little  ponies  a 
good  feed  of  them  after  dinner.  They  are  now  comfort- 
ably standing  in  the  sun,  with  the  temperature  plus 
14°  Fahr.,  and  occasionally  pawing  the  snow.  Grisi 
has  dug  a  large  hole  already  in  the  soft  surface.  We 
have  been  steering  a  south-east  course  all  day,  keeping 
well  to  the  north  of  White  Island  to  avoid  the  crevasses. 
Our  distance  for  the  day  is  12  miles  (statute)  300  yards. 

November  4.     Started   at    8.30   this   morning ;    fine 

207 


THE    HEART    OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

weather,  but  bad  light.  Temperature  plus  9°  Fahr. 
We  wore  goggles,  as  already  we  are  feeling  the  trying 
light.  The  supporting -party  started  first,  and  with 
an  improved  surface  during  the  morning  they  kept 
ahead  of  the  ponies,  who  constantly  broke  through  the 
crust.  As  soon  as  we  passed  the  end  of  White  Island, 
the  surface  became  softer,  and  it  was  trying  work  for 
both  men  and  ponies.  However,  we  did  9  miles  500 
yards,  statute,  up  to  1  p.m.,  the  supporting-party  going 
the  whole  time  without  being  relieved.  Their  weights 
had  been  reduced  by  nearly  100  lb.,  as  we  depoted  that 
amount  of  oil  and  provisions  last  night.  In  the  after- 
noon the  surface  was  still  softer,  and  when  we  came 
to  camp  at  6  p.m.  the  ponies  were  plainly  tired.  The 
march  for  the  day  was  16  miles  500  yards  (statute), 
over  fourteen  miles  geographical,  with  a  bad  surface, 
so  we  have  every  reason  to  be  pleased  with  the  ponies. 
The  supporting-party  pulled  hard.  The  cloud  rolled 
away  from  Erebus  this  evening,  and  it  is  now  warm, 
clear  and  bright  to  the  north,  but  dark  to  the  south. 
I  am  steering  about  east-south-east  to  avoid  the 
crevasses  off  White  Island,  but  to-morrow  we  go  south- 
east. We  fixed  our  position  to-night  from  bearings, 
and  find  that  we  are  thirty-four  miles  south  of  Cape 
Royds.     Every  one  is  fit  and  well. 

November  5.  On  turning  out  this  morning,  we  found 
the  weather  overcast,  with  slight  snow  falling  and  only 
a  few  landmarks  visible  to  the  north,  nothing  to  the 
south.  We  got  under  way  at  8.15  a.m.,  steering  by 
compass.  The  light  was  so  bad  that  the  sastrugi  could 
not  be  seen,  though  of  the  latter  there  was  not  much, 
for  there  was  a  thick  coating  of  fallen  snow.  The 
surface  was  very  bad  for  ponies  and  men.  The  ponies 
struggled  gamely  on  through  the  tiring  morning,  and 
v/c  camped  for  lunch  at  1  p.m.,  having  done  8  miles  1200 
263 


The  Pomes  tethered  for  the  Night 


A   Camp  after  a  Blizzard,  with  the  Supporting  Party  To/me  pn(/e  26 


THE    FIRST    CREVASSES 

yards.  After  lunch  we  started  at  2.15  p.m.  in  driving 
snow,  but  our  steering  was  very  wild.  We  had  been 
making  a  south-east  course  all  the  morning,  but  in  the 
afternoon  the  course  was  a  devious  one.  Suddenly 
Marshall,  who  was  leading  Grisi,  got  his  legs  into  a 
crevasse,  and  Grisi  also  ;  they  recovered  themselves, 
and  Marshall  shouted  out  to  me.  I  stopped  my  horse 
and  went  to  his  assistance  in  getting  the  sledge  off  the 
snow-bridge  covering  the  chasm.  The  crevasse  was 
about  3  ft.  wide,  with  the  sides  widening  out  below. 
No  bottom  could  be  seen.  The  line  of  direction  was 
north-west  by  south-east.  I  at  once  altered  the  course 
to  east,  but  in  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  Wild,  Adams 
and  Marshall  got  into  a  narrow  crevasse,  so  I  stopped 
and  pitched  camp,  to  wait  until  the  weather  cleared 
and  we  could  get  some  idea  of  our  actual  position.  This 
was  at  3  p.m.,  the  sledge  meter  recording  9  miles  1200 
yards  (statute)  for  the  day.  At  4  p.m.  it  commenced 
to  drift  and  blow,  and  it  is  blowing  hard  and  gustily 
now.  It  is  very  unfortunate  to  be  held  up  like  this, 
but  I  trust  that  it  will  blow  itself  out  to-night  and 
be  fine  to-morrow.  The  ponies  will  be  none  the 
worse  for  the  rest.  We  wore  goggles  to-day,  as  the 
light  was  so  bad  and  some  of  us  got  a  touch  of  snow- 
blindness. 

November  6.  Lying  in  our  sleeping-bags  all  day 
except  when  out  feeding  the  ponies,  for  it  has  been  blow- 
ing a  blizzard,  with  thick  drift,  from  south  by  west. 
It  is  very  trying  to  be  held  up  like  this,  for  each  day 
means  the  consumption  of  40  lb.  of  pony  feed  alone. 
We  only  had  a  couple  of  biscuits  each  for  lunch,  for  I 
can  see  that  we  must  retrench  at  every  set-back  if  we 
are  going  to  have  enough  food  to  carry  us  through.  We 
started  with  ninety-one  days'  food,  but  with  careful 
management  we  can  make  it  spin  out  to  110  days.     If 

269 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

we  have  not  done  the  job  in  that  time  it  is  God's  will. 
Some  of  the  supporting-party  did  not  turn  out  for  any 
meal  during  the  last  twenty-four  hours.  Quan  and 
Chinaman  have  gone  their  feeds  constantly,  but  Socks 
and  Grisi  not  so  well.  They  all  like  Maujee  ration 
and  eat  that  up  before  touching  the  maize.  They  have 
been  very  quiet,  standing  tails  to  the  blizzard,  which 
has  been  so  thick  that  at  times  we  could  not  see  them 
from  the  peep-holes  of  our  tents.  There  are  great  drifts 
all  round  the  tents,  and  some  of  the  sledges  are  buried. 
This  evening  about  5.30  the  weather  cleared  a  bit  and 
the  wind  dropped.  When  getting  out  the  feed-boxes 
at  6  P.M.  I  could  see  White  Island  and  the  Bluff,  so  I 
hope  that  to-morrow  will  be  fine.  The  barometer 
has  been  steady  all  day  at  28.60  in.,  with  the  temperature 
up  to  18°  Fahr.,  so  it  is  quite  warm,  and  in  our  one-man 
sleeping-bags  each  of  us  has  a  little  home,  where  he  can 
read  and  write  and  look  at  the  penates  and  lares  brought 
with  him.  I  read  Much  Ado  About  Nothing  during  the 
morning.  The  surface  of  the  Barrier  is  better,  for  the 
wind  has  blown  away  a  great  deal  of  the  soft  snow, 
and  we  will,  I  trust,  be  able  to  see  any  crevasses  before 
we  are  on  to  them.  This  is  our  fourth  day  out  from 
Hut  Point,  and  we  are  only  twenty  miles  south.  We 
must  do  better  than  this  if  we  are  to  make  much  use 
of  the  ponies.  I  would  not  mind  the  blizzard  so 
much  if  we  had  only  to  consider  ourselves,  for  we 
can  save  on  the  food,  whereas  the  ponies  must  be  fed 
full. 

November  7.  Another  disappointing  day.  We  got 
up  at  5  A.M.  to  breakfast,  so  as  to  be  in  time  to  start 
at  8  A.M.  We  cleared  all  the  drift  off  our  sledges,  and, 
unstowing  them,  examined  the  runners,  finding  them  to 
be  in  splendid  condition.  This  work,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  the  supporting  -  party,  took  us  till  8.30  a.m. 
270 


UNFAVOURABLE    CONDITIONS 

Shortly  afterwards  we  got  under  way,  saying  good- 
bye to  the  supporting-party,  who  are  to  return  to- 
day. As  we  drew  away,  the  ponies  pulling  hard, 
they  gave  us  three  cheers.  The  weather  was  thick 
and  overcast,  with  no  wind.  Part  of  White  Island 
could  be  seen,  and  Observation  Hill,  astern,  but  before 
us  lay  a  dead  white  wall,  with  nothing,  even  in  the 
shape  of  a  cloud,  to  guide  our  steering.  Almost  im- 
mediately after  we  left  we  crossed  a  crevasse,  and 
before  we  had  gone  half  a  mile  we  found  ourselves  in 
a  maze  of  them,  only  detecting  their  presence  by  the 
ponies  breaking  through  the  crust  and  saving  them- 
selves, or  the  man  leading  a  pony  putting  his  foot 
through.  The  first  one  Marshall  crossed  with  Grisi 
was  6  ft.  wide,  and  when  I  looked  down,  there  was 
nothing  to  be  seen  but  a  black  yawning  void.  Just 
after  this,  I  halted  Quan  on  the  side  of  one,  as  I  thought 
in  the  uncertain  light,  but  I  found  that  we  were  stand- 
ing on  the  crust  in  the  centre,  so  I  very  gingerly  un- 
harnessed him  from  the  sledge  and  got  him  across. 
Then  the  sledge,  with  our  three  months'  provisions, 
was  pulled  out  of  danger.  Following  this,  Adams 
crossed  another  crevasse,  and  Chinaman  got  his  fore- 
foot into  the  hole  at  the  side.  I,  following  with  Quan, 
also  got  into  difficulties,  and  so  I  decided  that  it  was 
too  risky  to  proceed,  and  we  camped  between  two  large 
crevasses.  We  picketed  the  ponies  out  and  pitched 
one  tent,  to  wait  till  the  light  became  better,  for  we  were 
courting  disaster  by  proceeding  in  that  weather.  Thus 
ended  our  day's  march  of  under  a  mile,  for  about  1  p.m. 
it  commenced  to  snow,  and  the  wind  sprang  up  from 
the  south-west  with  drift.  We  pitched  our  second 
tent  and  had  lunch,  consisting  of  a  pot  of  tea,  some 
chocolate  and  two  biscuits  each.  The  temperature 
was  plus  12°  Fahr.  at  noon. 

271 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

It  blew  a  little  in  the  afternoon,  and  I  hope  to  find 
it  clear  away  this  pall  of  dead  white  stratus  that  stops 
us.  The  ponies  were  in  splendid  trim  for  pulling  this 
morning,  but,  alas !  we  had  to  stop.  Grisi  and  Socks 
did  not  eat  up  their  food  well  at  lunch  or  dinner.  The 
temperature  this  evening  is  plus  9°  Fahr.,  and  the 
ponies  feel  chilly.  Truly  this  work  is  one  demanding 
the  greatest  exercise  of  patience,  for  it  is  more  than 
trying  to  have  to  sit  here  and  watch  the  time  going  by, 
knowing  that  each  day  lessens  our  stock  of  food.  The 
supporting-party  got  under  way  about  9.30  a.m.,  and 
we  could  see  them  dwindUng  to  a  speck  in  the  north. 
They  will,  no  doubt,  be  at  Hut  Point  in  a  couple  of  days. 
We  are  now  at  last  quite  on  our  own  resources,  and  as 
regards  comfort  in  the  tents  are  very  well  off,  for  with 
only  two  men  in  each  tent,  there  is  ample  room.  Adams 
is  sharing  one  with  me,  whilst  Marshall  and  Wild  have 
the  other.  Wild  is  cook  this  week,  so  they  keep  the 
cooker  and  the  primus  lamp  in  their  tent,  and  we  go 
across  to  meals,  after  first  feeding  the  ponies.  Next 
week  Adams  will  be  cook,  so  the  cooking  will  be  done 
in  the  tent  I  am  in.  We  will  also  shift  about  so  that 
we  will  take  turns  with  each  other  as  tent-mates.  On 
the  days  on  which  we  are  held  up  by  weather  we  read, 
and  I  can  only  trust  that  these  days  may  not  be  many. 
I  am  just  finishing  reading  The  Taming  of  the  Shrew. 
I  have  Shakespeare's  Comedies,  Marshall  has  Borrow's 
"  The  Bible  in  Spain,"  Adams  has  Arthur  Young's 
"  Travels  in  France,"  and  Wild  has  "  Sketches  by  Boz." 
When  we  have  finished  we  will  change  round.  Our 
allowance  of  tobacco  is  very  limited,  and  on  days  like 
these  it  disappears  rapidly,  for  our  anxious  minds  are 
relieved  somewhat  by  a  smoke.  In  order  to  economise 
my  cigarettes,  which  are  my  luxury,  I  whittled  out  a 
holder  from  a  bit  of  bamboo  to-day,  and  so  get  a  longer 
272 


BAD    LIGHT 

smoke,  and  also  avoid  the  paper  sticking  to  my  lips, 
which  have  begun  to  crack  already  from  the  hot  metal 
pot  and  the  cold  air. 

Note.  The  difi&culties  of  travelling  over  snow  and  ice  in  a  bad 
light  are  very  great.  Wlien  the  light  is  diffused  by  clouds  or  mist, 
it  casts  no  shadows  on  the  dead  white  surface,  which  consequently 
appears  to  the  eye  to  be  uniformly  level.  Often  as  we  marched  the 
sledges  would  be  brought  up  all  standing  by  a  sastrugus,  or  snow  mound, 
caused  by  the  wind,  and  we  would  be  lucky  if  we  were  not  tripped  up 
ourselves.  Small  depressions  would  escape  the  eye  altogether,  and 
when  we  thought  that  we  were  marching  along  on  a  level  surface, 
we  would  suddenly  step  down  two  or  three  feet.  The  strain  on  the 
eyes  under  these  conditions  is  very  great,  and  it  is  when  the  sun  is 
covered  and  the  weather  is  thickish  that  snow  bhndness  is  produced. 
Snow  blindness,  with  which  we  all  became  acquainted  during  the 
southern  journey,  is  a  very  painful  complaint.  The  j&rst  sign  of  the 
approach  of  the  trouble  is  running  at  the  nose  ;  then  the  sufferer 
begins  to  see  double,  and  his  vision  gradually  becomes  blurred.  The 
more  painful  symptoms  appear  very  soon.  The  blood-vessels  of  the 
eyes  swell,  making  one  feel  as  though  sand  had  got  in  under  the  lids, 
and  then  the  eyes  begin  to  water  freely  and  gradually  close  up.  The 
best  method  of  rehef  is  to  drop  some  cocaine  into  the  eye,  and  then 
apply  a  powerful  astringent,  such  as  sulphate  of  zinc,  in  order  to 
reduce  the  distended  blood-vessels.  The  only  way  to  guard  against 
an  attack  is  to  wear  goggles  the  whole  time,  so  that  the  eyes  may  not 
be  exposed  to  the  strain  caused  by  the  reflection  of  the  light  from 
all  quarters.  These  goggles  are  made  so  that  the  violet  rays  are  cut 
off,  these  rays  being  the  most  dangerous,  but  in  warm  weather,  when 
one  is  perspiring  on  account  of  exertion  with  the  sledges,  the  glasses 
fog,  and  it  becomes  necessary  to  take  them  off  frequently  in  order  to 
wipe  them.  The  goggles  we  used  combined  red  and  green  glasses, 
and  so  gave  a  yeUow  tint  to  everything  and  greatly  subdued  the  light. 
When  we  removed  them,  the  glare  from  the  surrounding  whiteness 
was  intense,  and  the  only  relief  was  to  get  inside  one  of  the  tents, 
which  were  made  of  green  material,  very  restful  to  the  eyes.  We 
noticed  that  during  the  spring  journey,  when  the  temperature  weis 
very  low  and  the  sun  was  glaring  on  us,  we  did  not  suffer  from  snow 
blindness.  The  glare  of  the  light  reflected  from  the  snow  on  bright 
days  places  a  very  severe  strain  on  the  eyes,  for  the  rays  of  the  sun 
are  flashed  back  from  millions  of  crystals.  The  worst  days,  as  far 
as  snow  bhndness  was  concerned,  were  when  the  sun  was  obscured, 
so  that  the  hght  came  equally  from  every  direction,  and  the  tempera- 
ture was  comparatively  high. 

I  S  273 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

November  8.  Drawn  blank  again  1  In  our  bags 
all  day,  while  outside  the  snow  is  drifting  hard  and 
blowing  freshly  at  times.  The  temperature  was  plus 
8°  Fahr.  at  noon.  The  wind  has  not  been  really  strong  ; 
if  it  had  been  I  believe  that  this  weather  would  have 
been  over  sooner.  It  is  a  sore  trial  to  one's  hopes 
and  patience  to  lie  and  watch  the  drift  on  the  tent- 
side,  and  to  know  that  our  valuable  pony  food  is  going, 
and  this  without  benefiting  the  animals  themselves. 
Indeed,  Socks  and  Grisi  have  not  been  eating  well, 
and  the  hard  maize  does  not  agree  with  them.  At 
lunch  we  had  only  a  couple  of  biscuits  and  some  choco- 
late, and  used  our  oil  to  boil  some  Maujee  ration  for  the 
horses,  so  that  they  had  a  hot  hoosh.  They  all  ate  it 
readily,  which  is  a  comfort.  This  standing  for  four 
days  in  drift  with  24°  of  frost  is  not  good  for  them, 
and  we  are  anxiously  looking  for  finer  weather.  To- 
night it  is  clearer,  and  we  could  see  the  horizon  and 
some  of  the  crevasses.  We  seem  to  be  in  a  regular 
nest  of  them.  The  occupants  of  the  other  tent  have 
discovered  that  it  is  pitched  on  the  edge  of  a  previously 
unseen  one.  We  had  a  hot  hoosh  to-night,  consisting 
of  pemmican,  with  emergency  ration  and  the  cocoa. 
This  warmed  us  up,  for  to  lie  from  breakfast  time 
at  6  A.M.  for  twelve  or  thirteen  hours  without  hot 
food  in  this  temperature  is  chilly  work.  If  only  we 
could  get  under  way  and  put  some  good  marches  in,  we 
would  feel  more  happy.  It  is  750  miles  as  the  crow 
flies  from  our  winter  quarters  to  the  Pole,  and  we  have 
done  only  fifty-one  miles  as  yet.  But  still  the  worst 
will  turn  to  the  best,  I  doubt  not.  That  a  polar 
explorer  needs  a  large  stock  of  patience  in  his  equip- 
ment there  is  no  denying.  The  sun  is  showing  thin 
and  pale  through  the  drift  this  evening,  and  the 
wind  is  more  gusty,  so  we  may  have  it  really  fine 
274 


BETTER    PROGRESS 

to-morrow.     I    read   some   of    Shakespeare's   comedies 
to-day. 

November  9.  A  different  story  to-day.  When  we 
woke  up  at  4.30  a.m.  it  was  fine,  calm  and  clear,  such 
a  change  from  the  last  four  days.  We  got  breakfast 
at  5  A.M.,  and  then  dug  the  sledges  out  of  the  drift. 
After  this  we  four  walked  out  to  find  a  track  amongst 
the  crevasses,  but  unfortunately  they  could  only  be 
detected  by  probing  with  our  ice-axes,  and  these  dis- 
closed all  sorts,  from  narrow  cracks  to  great  ugly  chasms 
with  no  bottom  visible.  A  lump  of  snow  thrown  down 
one  would  make  no  noise,  so  the  bottom  must  have 
been  very  far  below.  The  general  direction  was  south- 
east and  north-west,  but  some  curved  round  to  the 
south  and  some  to  the  east.  There  was  nothing  for 
it  but  to  trust  to  Providence,  for  we  had  to  cross  them 
somewhere.  At  8.30  a.m.  we  got  under  way,  the  ponies 
not  pulling  very  well,  for  they  have  lost  condition  in 
the  blizzard  and  were  stiff.  We  got  over  the  first  few 
crevasses  without  difficulty,  then  all  of  a  sudden  China- 
man went  down  a  crack  which  ran  parallel  to  our 
course.  Adams  tried  to  pull  him  out  and  he  struggled 
gamely,  and  when  Wild  and  I,  who  were  next,  left  our 
sledges  and  hauled  along  Chinaman's  sledge,  it  gave 
him  more  scope,  and  he  managed  to  get  on  to  the  firm 
ice,  only  just  in  time,  for  three  feet  more  and  it  would 
have  been  all  up  with  the  southern  journey.  The 
three-foot  crack  opened  out  into  a  great  fathomless 
chasm,  and  down  that  would  have  gone  the  horse,  all 
our  cooking  gear  and  biscuits  and  half  the  oil,  and 
probably  Adams  as  well.  But  when  things  seem  the 
worst  they  turn  to  the  best,  for  that  was  the  last  crevasse 
we  encountered,  and  with  a  gradually  improving 
surface,  though  very  soft  at  times,  we  made  fair  head- 
way.   We  camped  for  lunch  at   12.40   p.m.,   and    the 

275 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

ponies  ate  fairly  well.  Quan  is  pulling  660  lb.,  and 
had  over  700  lb.  till  lunch  ;  Grisi  has  590  lb.,  Chinaman 
570  lb.,  and  Socks  600  lb.  In  the  afternoon  the  surface 
further  improved,  and  at  6  p.m.  we  camped,  having 
done  14  miles  600  yards,  statute.  The  Bluff  is  showing 
clear,  and  also  Castle  Rock  miraged  up  astern  of  us. 
^¥hite  Island  is  also  clear,  but  a  stratus  cloud  over- 
hangs Erebus,  Terror  and  Discovery.  At  6.20  p.m. 
we  suddenly  heard  a  deep  rumble,  lasting  about  five 
seconds,  that  made  the  air  and  the  ice  vibrate.  It 
seemed  to  come  from  the  eastward,  and  resembled  the 
sound  and  had  the  effect  of  heavy  guns  firing.  We 
conjecture  that  it  was  due  to  some  large  mass  of  the 
Barrier  breaking  away,  and  the  distance  must  be  at 
least  fifty  miles  from  where  we  are.  It  was  startling, 
to  say  the  least  of  it.  To-night  we  boiled  some  Maujee 
ration  for  the  ponies,  and  they  took  this  feed  well. 
It  has  a  delicious  smell,  and  we  ourselves  would  have 
enjoyed  it.  Quan  is  now  engaged  in  the  pleasing 
occupation  of  gnawing  his  tether  rope.  I  tethered 
him  up  by  the  hind  leg  to  prevent  him  attacking  this 
particular  thong,  but  he  has  found  out  that  by  lifting 
his  hind-leg  he  can  reach  the  rope,  so  I  must  get  out 
and  put  a  nose-bag  on  him.  The  temperature  is  now 
plus  5°  Fahr.,  but  it  feels  much  warmer,  for  there  is 
a  dead  calm  and  the  sun  is  shining. 

Note.  On  my  return  to  the  winter  quarters  I  made  inquiries  as 
to  whether  the  rumbling  sound  we  had  heard  had  been  noticed  at 
Cape  Royds,  but  I  found  that  no  member  of  the  party  there  had 
remarked  anything  out  of  the  ordinary.  Probably  Mounts  Erebus  and 
Terror  had  intercepted  the  sound.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  Barrier 
ice  breaks  away  in  very  large  masses.  We  had  an  illustration  of  that 
fact  in  the  complete  disappearance  of  Barrier  Inlet,  the  spot  at  which 
I  had  proposed  to  place  the  winter  quarters.  It  is  from  the  edge 
of  the  Barrier,  not  only  in  our  quadrant  locahty,  but  also  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Antarctic  area,  that  the  huge  tabular  bergs  found 
276 


A    BARRIER    BREAK 

in  the  Antarctic  waters  are  calved  off.  Fractures  develop  as  the  ice 
is  influenced  by  the  open  water,  and  these  fractures  extend  until  the 
breaking-point  is  reached.  Then  a  berg,  or  perhaps  a  series  of  bergs, 
is  left  free  to  float  northwards.  At  the  time  when  we  heard  and  felt 
the  concussion  of  a  break,  we  were  some  fifty  miles  from  the  Barrier 
edge,  so  that  the  disturbance  in  the  ice  must  have  been  very  extensive. 


Ski  Boots 


S77 


CHAPTER   XX 

STEADY  PROGRESS  : 
THE  SIGHTING  OF  NEW  LAND 

n^OVEMBER  10.  Got  up  to  breakfast  at  6  a.m.,  and 
-^  under  way  at  8.15  a.m.  During  the  night  we  had 
to  get  out  to  the  ponies.  Quan  had  eaten  away  the 
straps  on  his  rug,  and  Grisi  and  Socks  were  fighting 
over  it.  Quan  had  also  chewed  Chinaman's  tether, 
and  the  latter  was  busy  at  one  of  the  sledges,  chewing 
rope.  Happily  he  has  not  the  same  mischievous 
propensities  as  Quan,  so  the  food-bags  were  not  torn 
about.  All  these  things  mean  work  for  us  when  the 
day's  march  is  over,  repairing  the  damage  done.  The 
ponies  started  away  well,  with  a  good  hard  surface  to 
travel  on,  but  a  bad  light,  so  we,  being  in  finnesko, 
had  frequent  falls  over  the  sastrugi.  I  at  last  took 
my  goggles  off,  and  am  paying  the  penalty  to-night, 
having  a  touch  of  snow-blindness.  During  the  morn- 
ing the  land  to  the  west  became  more  distinct,  and 
the  going  still  better,  so  that  when  we  camped  for 
lunch,  we  had  covered  nine  and  a  half  statute  miles. 
All  the  ponies,  except  Quan,  showed  the  result  of  the 
Maujee  ration,  and  are  quite  loose.  Directly  we  started 
after  lunch,  we  came  across  the  track  of  an  Adelie 
penguin.  It  was  most  surprising,  and  one  wonders 
how  the  bird  came  out  here.  It  had  evidently  only 
passed  a  short  time  before,  as  its  tracks  were  quite 
278 


AN    ADVENTUROUS    PENGUIN 

fresh.  It  had  been  travelling  on  its  stomach  a  good 
way,  and  its  course  was  due  east  towards  the  sea,  but 
where  it  had  come  from  was  a  mystery,  for  the  nearest 
water  in  the  direction  from  which  it  came  was  over 
fifty  miles  away,  and  it  had  at  least  another  fifty  miles 
to  do  before  it  could  reach  food  and  water.  The  surface 
in  the  afternoon  became  appallingly  soft,  the  ponies 
sinking  in  up  to  their  hocks,  but  there  was  hard  snow 
underneath.  At  6  p.m.  we  camped,  with  a  march  for 
the  day  of  15  miles  1550  yards  statute.  The  sun 
came  out  in  the  afternoon,  so  we  turned  our  sleeping- 
bags  inside  out  and  dried  them.  To-day's  temperature 
ranged  from  plus  3°  Fahr.  in  the  morning  to  plus  12° 
Fahr.  at  noon.  At  8  p.m.  it  was  plus  5°  Fahr.  There 
is  now  a  light  north  wind,  and  I  expect  Erebus 
will  be  clear  soon  ;  bearings  and  angles  put  us  sixty 
miles  from  our  depot,  where  lies  167  lb.  of  pony 
food. 

November  11.  It  was  8.40  before  we  got  under  way 
this  morning,  for  during  the  night  the  temperature 
dropped  well  below  zero,  and  it  was  minus  12°  when 
we  got  up  and  found  our  finnesko  and  all  our  gear 
frozen  hard,  just  like  spring  sledging  times.  We  had 
to  unpack  the  sledges  and  scrape  the  runners,  for  the 
sun  had  melted  the  snow  on  the  upper  surfaces,  and 
the  water  had  run  down  and  frozen  hard  during  the 
night  on  the  under  sides.  The  surface  was  again 
terribly  soft,  but  there  were  patches  of  hard  sastrugi 
beneath,  and  on  one  of  these  Quan  must  have  stepped, 
for  to  our  great  anxiety,  he  suddenly  went  lame  about 
11  A.M.  I  thought  it  was  just  the  balling  of  the  snow 
on  his  feet,  but  on  scraping  this  off,  he  still  was  lame. 
Fortunately,  however,  he  improved  greatly  and  was 
practically  all  right  after  lunch.  During  the  night, 
the  snow  always  balls  on  the  ponies'  feet,  and  it  is  one 

279 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

of  our  regular  jobs  to  scrape  it  off,  before  we  harness 
up  in  the  morning.  The  snow  was  not  so  thick  on  the 
surface  in  the  afternoon,  only  about  5  in.,  and  we  got 
on  fairly  well.  The  Bluff  is  now  sixteen  miles  to  the 
north-west  of  us,  and  all  the  well-known  land  is  clear, 
Erebus  sending  out  a  huge  volume  of  steam,  that 
streams  away  to  the  south-west  right  past  Mount 
Discovery,  fifty  miles  from  its  crater.  Again  this 
afternoon  we  passed  an  Adelie  penguin  track.  The 
bird  was  making  the  same  course  as  the  one  we  had 
passed  before.  At  6.30  p.m.  we  camped,  having  done 
fifteen  statute  miles.  After  dinner  we  got  bearings 
which  put  us  forty-seven  miles  from  our  depot.  I 
do  trust  that  the  weather  will  hold  up  till  we  reach 
it.  It  is  cold  to-night  writing,  the  temperature  being 
minus  9°  Fahr.  The  land  to  the  south- south-west 
is  beautifully  clear. 

November  13.  No  diary  yesterday,  for  I  had  a  bad 
attack  of  snow-blindness,  and  am  only  a  bit  better 
to-night.  We  did  a  good  march  yesterday  of  over 
fifteen  miles  over  fair  surface,  and  again  to-day  did 
fifteen  miles,  but  the  going  was  softer.  The  ponies 
have  been  a  trouble  again.  I  found  Quan  and  China- 
man enjoying  the  former's  rug.  They  have  eaten  all 
the  lining.  The  weather  has  been  beautifully  fine, 
but  the  temperature  down  to  12°  below  zero.  The 
others'  eyes  are  all  right.  Wild,  who  has  been  suffering, 
has  been  better  to-day.  Snow-blindness  is  a  particu- 
larly unpleasant  thing.  One  begins  by  seeing  double, 
then  the  eyes  feel  full  of  grit ;  this  makes  them  water 
and  eventually  one  cannot  see  at  all.  All  yesterday 
afternoon,  though  I  was  wearing  goggles,  the  water 
kept  running  out  of  my  eyes,  and,  owing  to  the  low 
temperature,  it  froze  on  my  beard.  However,  the 
weather  is  beautiful,  and  we  are  as  happy  as  can  be, 
280 


SAVING    FOOD 

with  good  appetites,  too  good  in  fact  for  the  amount  of 
food  we  are  allowing  ourselves.  We  are  on  short 
rations,  but  we  will  have  horse  meat  in  addition  when 
the  ponies  go  under.  We  have  saved  enough  food 
to  last  us  from  our  first  depot  into  the  Bluff,  where, 
on  the  way  back,  we  will  pick  up  another  depot  that 
is  to  be  laid  out  by  Joyce  during  January  next.  I 
trust  we  will  pick  up  the  depot  to-morrow  night  and 
it  will  be  a  relief,  for  it  is  a  tiny  speck  in  this  snowy 
plain,  and  is  nearly  sixty  miles  from  the  nearest  land. 
It  is  much  the  same  as  picking  up  a  buoy  in  the  North 
Sea  with  only  distant  mountains  for  bearings.  We  are 
now  clear  of  the  pressure  round  the  Bluff,  and  the 
travelling  should  be  good  until  we  reach  the  depot. 
On  the  spring  journey  we  got  into  the  crevasses  off 
the  Bluff,  these  crevasses  being  due  to  the  movement 
of  the  ice-sheet  impinging  against  the  long  arm  of  the 
Bluff  reaching  out  to  the  eastward.  Close  in  the  pressure 
is  much  more  marked,  the  whole  surface  of  the  Barrier 
rising  into  hillocks  and  splitting  into  chasms.  When 
the  summer  sun  plays  on  these  and  the  wind  sweeps 
away  the  loose  snow,  a  very  slippery  surface  is 
presented,  and  the  greatest  care  has  to  be  exer- 
cised to  prevent  the  sledges  skidding  into  the  pits, 
often  over  100  ft.  deep.  As  one  gets  further  away 
from  the  area  of  disturbance  the  ridges  flatten 
out,  the  pits  disappear,  and  the  crevasses  become 
cracks.  We  are  now  on  to  level  going,  clear  of  any 
dangers. 

November  14.  Another  beautiful  day,  but  with  a 
low  temperature  (minus  7°  Fahr.  at  6  p.m.).  During 
the  morning  there  was  a  wind  from  the  west-south-west, 
bitterly  cold  on  our  faces  and  burst  lips,  but  the  sun 
was  warm  on  our  backs.  The  ponies  pulled  well,  and 
in  spite  of  somewhat  deep  snow  they  got  on  very  well. 

281 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

We  stopped  at  noon  for  bearings,  and  to  get  the  sun's 
altitude  for  latitude,  and  at  lunch  worked  out  our 
position.  We  expected  to  see  the  depot  to-night  or 
to-morrow  morning,  but  during  the  afternoon,  when 
we  halted  for  a  spell,  we  found  that  our  "  ready  use  " 
tin  of  kerosene  had  dropped  off  a  sledge,  so  Adams 
ran  back  three  miles  and  found  it.  This  caused  a  delay, 
and  we  camped  at  6  p.m.  We  were  just  putting  the 
position  on  the  chart  after  dinner  when  Wild,  who  was 
outside  looking  through  the  Goertz  glasses,  shouted  out 
that  he  could  see  the  depot,  and  we  rushed  out.  There 
were  the  flag  and  sledge  plainly  to  be  seen  through 
the  glasses.  It  is  an  immense  relief  to  us,  for  there 
is  stored  at  the  depot  four  days'  pony  feed  and  a 
gallon  of  oil.  We  will  sleep  happily  to-night.  The 
Barrier  surface  now  is  covered  with  huge  sastrugi, 
rounded  off  and  running  west-south-west  and  east- 
north-west,  with  soft  snow  between.  We  have  never 
seen  the  surface  alike  for  two  consecutive  days. 
The  Barrier  is  as  wayward  and  as  changeful  as  the 
sea. 

November  15.  Another  beautiful  day.  We  broke 
camp  at  8  a.m.,  and  reached  our  depot  at  9.20  a.m. 
We  found  everything  intact,  the  flag  waving  merrily 
in  the  breeze,  the  direction  of  which  was  about  west- 
south-west.  We  camped  there  and  at  once  proceeded 
to  re-distribute  weights  and  to  parcel  our  provisions 
to  be  left  there.  We  found  that  we  had  saved  enough 
food  to  allow  for  three  days'  rations,  which  ought  to 
take  us  into  the  Bluff  on  our  return,  so  we  made  up  a 
bag  of  provisions  and  added  a  little  oil  to  the  tin  we  had 
been  using  from,  leaving  half  a  gallon  to  take  us  the 
fifty  odd  miles  to  the  Bluff  on  the  way  back.  We  then 
depoted  our  spare  gear  and  finnesko,  and  our  tin  of 
sardines  and  pot  of  black  currant  jam.  We  had  in- 
282 


« 


DEPOT    PICKED    UP  "^^^ 

tended  these  provisions  for  Christmas  Day,  but  the 
weight  is  too  much  ;  every  ounce  is  of  importance. 
We  took  on  the  maize,  and  the  ponies  are  now  pulling 
449  lb.  each.  Quan  was  pulling  469  lb.  before  the  depot 
was  reached,  so  he  had  nothing  added  to  his  load.  All 
this  arranging  took  time,  and  it  was  nearly  noon  before 
we  were  finished.  We  took  an  observation  for  latitude 
and  variation,  and  found  the  latitude  to  be  79°  36' 
South,  and  the  variation  155°  East.  Had  lunch  at 
noon  and  started  due  south  at  1.15  p.m.,  the  ponies 
pulling  well.  As  the  afternoon  went  on  the  surface 
of  the  Barrier  altered  to  thick,  crusty  snow,  with  long 
rounded  sastrugi  about  4  ft.  high,  almost  looking  like 
small  undulations,  running  south-west  to  north-west, 
with  small  sastrugi  on  top  running  west  and  east. 
Camped  at  6  p.m.,  having  done  12  miles  1500  yards 
(statute)  to-day.  There  are  some  high,  stratified,  light 
clouds  in  the  sky,  the  first  clouds  we  have  had  for 
nearly  a  week.  The  sun  now,  at  9  p.m.,  is  beautifully 
warm,  though  the  air  temperature  is  minus  2°  Fahr. 
It  is  dead  calm.  We  are  going  to  build  a  snow  mound 
at  each  camp  as  a  guide  to  our  homeward  track,  and 
as  our  camps  will  only  be  seven  miles  apart,  these 
marks  ought  to  help  us.  The  mystery  of  the  Barrier 
grips  us,  and  we  long  to  know  what  lies  in  the  unknown 
to  the  south.  This  we  may  do  with  good  fortune  in 
another  fortnight. 

Note.  I  wrote  that  the  provisions  left  at  the  depot  would  suffice 
for  three  days,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  there  was  not  more  than  a 
two  days'  supply.  We  felt  that  we  ought  to  take  on  every  ounce 
of  food  that  we  could,  and  that  if  we  got  back  to  the  depot  we  would 
be  able  to  manage  as  far  as  the  Bluflf  all  right.  During  the  winter 
we  had  thought  over  the  possibiHty  of  making  the  mounds  as  a  guide 
for  the  return  march,  and  had  concluded  that  though  they  would 
entail  extra  work,  we  might  be  well  repaid  if  we  picked  up  only  one 
or  two  of  them  at  critical  times.  We  had  with  us  two  shovels,  and 
ten  minutes'  work  was  sufficient  to  raise  a  mound  6  or  7  ft.  high. 

283 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

We  wondered  whether  the  mounds  would  disappear  under  the  influence 
of  wind  and  sun,  and  our  tracks  remain,  whether  the  tracks  would 
disappear  and  the  mounds  remain,  whether  both  tracks  and  mounds 
would  disappear,  or  whether  both  would  remain.  As  we  were  not 
keeping  in  towards  the  land,  but  were  making  a  bee-line  for  the  south, 
it  was  advisable  to  neglect  no  precaution,  and  as  events  turned  out, 
the  mounds  were  most  useful.  They  remained  after  the  sledge  tracks 
had  disappeared,  and  they  were  a  very  great  comfort  to  us  during 
the  journey  back  from  our  furthest  south  point. 

November  16.  We  started  again  this  morning  in 
gloriously  fine  weather,  the  temperature  minus  15° 
Fahr.  (down  to  minus  25°  Fahr.  during  the  night).  The 
ponies  pulled  splendidly.  All  the  western  mountains 
stood  up,  miraged  into  the  forms  of  castles.  Even 
the  Bluff  could  be  seen  in  the  far  distance,  changed 
into  the  semblance  of  a  giant  keep.  Before  starting, 
which  we  did  at  7.40  a.m.,  we  made  a  mound  of  snow, 
6  ft.  high,  as  a  guide  to  us  on  our  homeward  way,  and 
as  it  was  built  on  a  large  sastrugi,  we  saw  it  for  two 
and  a  half  statute  miles  after  starting.  At  twenty 
minutes  to  twelve,  we  halted  for  latitude  observations, 
and  found  that  we  had  reached  79°  50'  South.  After 
lunch  the  surface  changed  somewhat,  but  the  going 
was  fairly  good,  in  fact  we  covered  17  miles  200  yards 
(statute),  a  record  day  for  us.  This  evening  it  is  cloudy, 
high  cumulus  going  from  south-east  to  north-west. 
The  temperature  to-night  is  minus  5°  Fahr.,  but  it  being 
dead  calm  we  feel  quite  warm.  A  hot  sun  during  the 
day  dried  our  reindeer  skin  sleeping-bags,  the  water, 
or  rather  ice,  all  drying  out  of  them,  so  we  sleep  in  dry 
bags  again.  It  has  been  a  wonderful  and  successful 
week,  so  different  to  this  time  six  years  ago,  when  I 
was  toiling  along  five  miles  a  day  over  the  same  ground. 
To-night  one  can  see  the  huge  mountain  range  to  the 
south  of  Barne  Inlet.  In  order  to  further  economise 
food  we  are  saving  three  lumps  of  sugar  each  every 
284 


QUAN'S    DIGESTION  ^""'"<^' 


79*  50' 


day,  so  in  time  we  will  have  a  fair  stock.  The  great 
thing  is  to  advance  our  food- supply  as  far  south  as 
possible  before  the  ponies  give  out.  Every  one  is  in 
splendid  health,  eyes  all  right  again,  and  only  minor 
troubles,  such  as  split  lips,  which  do  not  allow  us  to 
laugh.  Wild  steered  all  day,  and  at  every  hourly  halt 
I  put  the  compass  down  to  make  the  course  we  are 
going  straight  as  a  die  to  the  south.  Chinaman,  or 
"  The  Vampire,"  as  Adams  calls  him,  is  not  so  fit ;  he 
is  stiff  in  the  knees  and  has  to  be  hauled  along.  Quan, 
alias  "  Blossom,"  is  Al,  but  one  cannot  leave  him  for 
a  moment,  otherwise  he  would  have  his  harness  chewed 
up.  Within  the  last  week  he  has  had  the  greater  part 
of  a  horse-cloth,  about  a  fathom  of  rope,  several  pieces 
of  leather,  and  odds  and  ends  such  as  a  nose-bag  buckle, 
but  his  digestion  is  marvellous,  and  he  seems  to  thrive 
on  his  strange  diet.  He  would  rather  eat  a  yard  of 
creosoted  rope  than  his  maize  and  Maujee,  indeed  he 
often,  in  sheer  wantonness,  throws  his  food  all  over 
the  snow. 

November  17.  A  dull  day  when  we  started  at  9.50 
A.M.,  but  the  mountains  abeam  were  in  sight  till  noon. 
The  weather  then  became  completely  overcast,  and  the 
light  most  difficult  to  steer  in  ;  a  dead  white  wall  was 
what  we  seemed  to  be  marching  to,  and  there  was  no 
direct  light  to  cast  even  the  faintest  shadow  on  the 
sastrugi.  I  steered  from  noon  to  1  p.m.,  and  from 
lunch  till  6  p.m.,  but  the  course  was  most  erratic,  and 
we  had  to  stop  every  now  and  then  to  put  the  compass 
down  to  verify  our  course  and  alter  it  if  necessary. 
Our  march  for  the  day  was  16  miles  200  yards  (statute) 
through  a  bad  surface,  the  ponies  sinking  in  up  to 
their  hocks.  This  soft  surface  is  similar  to  that  we 
experienced  last  trip  south,  for  the  snow  had  a  crust 
easily  broken  through  and  about  6  in.  down  an  air- 

285 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

space,  then  similar  crusts  and  air-spaces  in  layers.  It 
was  trying  work  for  the  ponies,  but  they  all  did  splendidly 
in  their  own  particular  way.  Old  "  Blossom  "  plods 
stolidly  through  it ;  Chinaman  flounders  rather  pain- 
fully, for  he  is  old  and  stiff  nowadays  ;  Grisi  and  Socks 
take  the  soft  places  with  a  rush  ;  but  all  get  through 
the  day's  work  and  feed  up  at  night,  though  Quan 
evinces  disgust  at  not  having  more  Maujee  ration  and 
flings  his  maize  out  of  his  nose-bag.  One  wonders  each 
night  what  trouble  they  will  get  into.  This  morning 
on  turning  out,  we  found  Grisi  lying  down  unable  to 
get  up.  He  had  got  to  the  end  of  his  tether,  and  could 
not  draw  back  his  leg.  He  was  shivering  with  cold, 
though  the  temperature  was  only  minus  5°.  To-day 
we  had  a  plus  temperature,  for  the  first  time  since 
leaving — plus  9°  Fahr.  at  noon,  and  plus  5°  Fahr. 
at  6  P.M.  The  pall  of  cloud  no  doubt  acts  as 
a  blanket,  and  so  we  were  warm,  too  warm  in  fact  for 
marching. 

November  18.  Started  at  8  a.m.  in  clearer  weather, 
and  the  sun  remained  visible  all  day,  though  during 
the  morning  it  was  snowing  from  the  south,  and  made 
the  steering  very  difficult.  The  surface  has  been  simply 
awful.  We  seem  to  have  arrived  at  a  latitude  where 
there  is  no  wind  and  the  snow  remains  where  it  falls, 
for  we  were  sinking  in  well  over  our  ankles,  and  the  poor 
ponies  are  having  a  most  trying  time.  They  break 
through  the  crust  on  the  surface  and  flounder  up  to  their 
hocks,  and  at  each  step  they  have  to  pull  their  feet  out 
through  the  brittle  crust.  It  is  teUing  more  on  China- 
man than  on  the  others,  and  he  is  going  slowly.  The 
chafing  of  the  snow  crust  on  his  fetlocks  has  galled 
them,  so  we  will  have  to  shoot  him  at  the  next  depot 
in  about  three  days'  time.  The  ponies  are  curious 
animals.  We  give  them  fuU  meals,  and  yet  they  prefer 
286 


GOOD    MARCHES 

to  gnaw  at  any  odd  bits  of  rope.     Quan  got  my  jacket 

in  his  teeth  this  morning  as  I  was  scraping  the  snow  off 

his  hind  feet,  and  I  had  to  get  out  last  night  to  stop 

Socks  biting  and  swallowing  lumps  out  of  Quan's  tail. 

If  we  had  thought  that  they  would  have  been  up  to 

these  games,  we  would  have  had  a  longer  wire  to  tether 

them,  so  as  to  keep  them  apart.     It  is  possible  that 

we  have  reached  the  windless  area  around  the  Pole, 

for  the  Barrier  is  a  dead,   smooth,  white  plain,  weird 

beyond  description,  and  having  no  land  in  sight,  we 

feel   such   tiny   specks   in   the   immensity   around   us. 

Overhead   this   afternoon,   when  the   weather   cleared, 

were    wonderful    lines    of    clouds,    radiating    from   the 

south-west,    travelling    very    fast    to    the    north-east. 

It   seems   as   though  we    were   in   some   other    world, 

and  yet   the    things    that    concern    us    most    for   the 

moment  are  trivial,  such  as  split  lips  and  big  appetites. 

Already    the    daily   meals    seem    all    too    short,    and 

we  wonder  what  it  will  be  like  later  on,  when  we  are 

really    hungry.      I    have    had    that    experience    once, 

and    my    companions    will   soon    have    it    again  with 

me.     All   the    time    we    are    moving     south     to     our 

wished-for  goal,   and  each   day  we   feel  that    another 

gain   has   been   made.     We   did    15    miles    500    yards 

to-day. 

November  19.  Started  at  8.15  this  morning  with 
a  fresh  southerly  breeze  and  drift.  The  temperature 
was  plus  2°  Fahr.,  and  this  was  the  temperature  all 
day,  making  it  cold  travelling,  but  good  for  the  ponies, 
who,  poor  beasts,  had  to  plough  through  a  truly  awful 
surface,  sinking  in  8  or  10  in.  at  every  step.  This 
does  not  seem  very  deep,  but  when  one  goes  on  hour 
after  hour  it  is  a  strain  on  man  and  horse,  for  we  have 
to  hold  the  ponies  up  as  they  stumble  along.  In  spile 
of  the  surface  and  the  wind  and  drift,  we  covered  15 

287 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

miles  200  yards  (statute)  by  6  p.m.,  and  were  glad  to  camp, 
for  our  beards  and  faces  were  coated  in  ice,  and  our 
helmets  had  frozen  stiff  on  to  our  faces.  We  got  sights 
for  latitude  at  noon,  and  found  that  we  were  in  latitude 
80°  32'  South.  On  the  last  journey  I  was  not  in  that 
latitude  till  December  16,  though  we  left  Hut  Point 
on  November  2,  a  day  earlier  than  we  did  this  time. 
The  ponies  have  truly  done  well.  I  wrote  yesterday 
that  we  seemed  to  be  in  a  windless  area,  but  to-day 
alters  that  opinion.  The  sastrugi  are  all  pointing 
clearly  due  south,  and  if  we  have  the  wind  on  our  way 
back  it  will  be  a  great  help.  The  same  radiant  points 
in  the  clouds  south-east  to  north-west  were  visible 
again  to-day,  and  at  times  when  it  cleared  somewhat 
a  regular  nimbus  cloud,  similar  to  the  rain  clouds  in  the 
"  doldrums,"  could  be  seen.  At  the  base  of  the  converg- 
ing point  of  the  south-east  part  of  cloud  there  seemed 
to  rise  other  clouds  to  meet  the  main  body.  The  former 
trended  directly  from  the  horizon  at  an  angle  of  30° 
to  meet  the  main  body,  and  did  not  seem  to  be  more 
than  a  few  miles  off.  The  drift  on  the  Barrier  surface 
was  piled  up  into  heaps  of  very  fine  snow,  with  the 
:  mal  est  grains,  and  on  encountering  these  the  sledges 
ran  heavily.  The  crust  that  has  formed,  when 
broken  through,  discloses  loose-grained  snow,  and  the 
harder  crust,  about  8  in.  down,  is  almost  even. 
I  suppose  that  the  top  8  in.  represents  the  year's 
snowfall. 

November  20.  Started  at  8.55  a.m.  in  dull,  over- 
cast weather  again,  but  the  sun  broke  through  during 
the  morning,  so  we  had  something  to  steer  by.  The 
surface  has  been  the  worst  we  have  encountered  so  far, 
terribly  soft,  but  we  did  15  miles  800  yards  (statute) 
for  the  day.  The  latter  part  of  the  afternoon  was 
better.  It  seems  to  savour  of  repetition  to  write  each 
288 


THE    GREAT    LONELINESS     "^"^^ 


day  of  the  heavy  going  and  the  soft  surface,  but  these 
factors  play  a  most  important  part  in  our  daily  work, 
and  it  causes  us  a  great  deal  of  speculation  as  to  what 
we  will  eventually  find  as  we  get  further  south.  The 
whole  place  and  conditions  seem  so  strange  and  so 
unlike  anything  else  in  the  world  in  our  experience, 
that  one  cannot  describe  them  in  fitting  words.  At  one 
moment  one  thinks  of  Coleridge's  "  Ancient  Mariner  "  : 
"  Alone,  alone  ;  all,  all  alone,  alone  on  a  wide,  wide 
sea,"  and  then  when  the  mazy  clouds  spring  silently 
from  either  hand  and  drift  quickly  across  our  zenith, 
not  followed  by  any  wind,  it  seems  uncanny.  There 
comes  a  puff  of  wind  from  the  north,  another  from  the 
south,  and  anon  one  from  the  east  or  west,  seeming  to 
obey  no  law,  acting  on  erratic  impulses.  It  is  as  though 
we  were  truly  at  the  world's  end,  and  were  bursting  in 
on  the  birthplace  of  the  clouds  and  the  nesting  home 
of  the  four  winds,  and  one  has  a  feeling  that  we  mortals 
are  being  watched  with  a  jealous  eye  by  the  forces  of 
nature.  To  add  to  these  weird  impressions  that  seem 
to  grow  on  one  in  the  apparently  limitless  waste,  the 
sun  to-night  was  surrounded  by  mock  suns  and  in  the 
zenith  was  a  bow,  turning  away  from  the  great  vertical 
circle  around  the  sun.  These  circles  and  bows  were 
the  colour  of  the  rainbow.  We  are  all  fairly  tired 
to-night,  and  Wild  is  not  feeling  very  fit,  but  a 
night's  rest  will  do  him  good.  The  ponies  are  all  fit 
except  poor  old  Chinaman,  and  he  must  go  to-morroAV. 
He  cannot  keep  up  with  the  others,  and  the  bad 
surface  has  played  him  out.  The  temperature  is  zero 
Fahr. 

November  21.     Started  at  7.30  a.m.  as  we  had  to 

come  to  camp  early  to-night,  and  we  wanted  to  get  a 

good  latitude  observation  at  noon.     Although  we  got 

away   early,    however,    all   morning   we   were   steering 

I  T  289 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

through  thick  weather  with  driving  ice- crystals,  and 
at  noon  there  was  no  chance  of  getting  the  sun  for  lati- 
tude. We  came  to  camp  at  12.30  p.m.,  just  as  the  weather 
cleared  a  little,  and  we  could  see  land  on  our  right 
hand,  but  only  the  base  of  the  mountains,  so  could 
not  identify  them.  Chinaman  came  up  at  last,  struggling 
painfully  along,  so  when  we  made  our  depot  this  evening 
he  was  shot.  We  will  use  the  meat  to  keep  us  out 
longer,  and  will  save  on  our  dried  stores.  The  tempera- 
ture at  noon  was  only  plus  8°  Fahr.,  and  the  little  wind 
that  there  was  has  been  extremely  cold.  The  wind 
veers  round  and  round  the  compass,  and  the  clouds 
move  in  every  direction.  The  surface  of  the  Barrier 
was  better  to-day,  but  still  the  ponies  sank  in  8  in.  at 
least.  The  sastrugi  point  towards  the  south-east,  this 
being  the  direction  of  the  most  usual  wind  here.  This 
evening  it  cleared,  and  we  could  see  land  almost  ahead, 
and  the  great  mass  of  land  abaft  the  beam  to  the  north 
of  Barne  Inlet.  Our  day's  march  was  15  miles  450 
yards.  We  are  now  south  of  the  81st  parallel,  and 
feel  that  we  are  well  on  the  road  to  our  wished-for  goal. 
This  is  now  our  second  depot,  and  we  intend  to  leave 
about  80  lb.  of  pony  meat,  one  tin  of  biscuits  (27  lb.), 
some  sugar  and  one  tin  of  oil  to  see  us  back  to  Depot 
A.  It  is  late  now,  for  all  arrangements  for  the  depot 
took  time.  There  was  a  lot  of  work  in  the  arranging 
of  the  sledges  for  the  remaining  three  ponies  :  packing 
stores,  skinning  Chinaman  and  cutting  him  up,  all  in 
a  low  temperature. 

Note.  The  killing  of  the  ponies  was  not  pleasant  work,  but  we 
had  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  the  animals  had  been  well  fed 
and  well  treated  up  to  the  last,  and  that  they  suffered  no  pain.  When 
we  had  to  kill  a  pony,  we  threw  up  a  snow  mound  to  leeward  of  the 
camp,  so  that  no  smell  of  blood  could  come  down  wind,  and  took 
the  animal  behind  this,  out  of  sight  of  the  others.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  the  survivors  never  displayed  any  interest  at  all  in  the  pro- 
290 


A    DEPOT    LAID 

ceedings,  even  the  report  of  the  revolver  used  in  the  killing  failing 
to  attract  their  attention.  The  sound  did  not  travel  far  on  the  wide 
open  plain.  The  revolver  was  held  about  3  in.  from  the  forehead 
of  the  victim  and  one  shot  was  sufficient  to  cause  instant  death.  The 
throat  of  the  animal  was  cut  immediately  and  the  blood  allowed  to 
run  away.  Then  Marshall  and  Wild  would  skin  the  carcase,  and 
we  took  the  meat  off  the  legs,  shoulders  and  back.  In  the  case  of 
Chinaman  the  carcase  was  opened  and  the  liver  and  undercut  secured, 
but  the  job  was  such  a  lengthy  one  that  we  did  not  repeat  it  in  the 
case  of  the  other  animals.  Within  a  very  short  time  after  killing 
the  carcase  would  be  frozen  solid,  and  we  always  tried  to  cut  the 
meat  up  into  as  small  pieces  as  possible  before  this  occurred,  for  the 
cutting  became  very  much  more  difficult  after  the  process  of  freezing 
was  complete.  On  the  following  days,  whenever  there  was  time  to 
spare,  we  would  proceed  with  the  cutting  until  we  had  got  all  the 
meat  ready  for  cooking.  It  was  some  time  before  we  found  out  that 
it  was  better  merely  to  warm  the  meat  through  when  we  wanted  to 
eat  it,  and  not  attempt  to  cook  it  properly.  It  was  fairly  tender 
when  only  warmed,  but  if  it  were  boiled  it  became  very  tough,  and 
we  would  not  spare  enough  oil  to  stew  it  in  order  to  soften  it  thoroughly. 
Our  supply  of  oil  had  been  cut  down  very  fine  in  order  to  save  weight. 
The  only  meat  that  we  cooked  thoroughly  was  that  from  Grisi, 
because  we  found,  at  a  later  stage  of  the  journey,  that  this  meat  was 
not  good,  and  we  thought  that  cooking  might  make  it  less  liable  to 
cause  attacks  of  dysentery.  We  used  the  harness  from  the  dead 
pony  to  make  stays  for  the  sledge  which  would  be  left  at  the  depot. 
The  sledge  was  reared  on  to  its  end,  about  3  ft.  being  sunk  into  the 
snow,  and  a  bamboo  with  a  black  flag  stuck  on  the  top,  so  that  we 
might  be  able  to  find  the  Httle  "  cache  "  of  food  on  the  return  journey. 
Stays  were  required  lest  a  blizzard  should  blow  down  the  whole 
erection. 

November  22.  A  beautiful  morning.  We  left  our 
depot  with  its  black  flag  flying  on  the  bamboo  lashed 
to  a  discarded  sledge,  stuck  upright  in  the  snow,  at 
8.20  A.M.  We  have  now  three  ponies  dragging  500  lb. 
each,  and  they  did  splendidly  through  the  soft  snow. 
The  going,  I  am  thankful  to  say,  is  getting  better,  and 
here  and  there  patches  of  harder  surface  are  to  be  met 
with.  The  outstanding  feature  of  to-day's  march  is 
that  we  have  seen  new  land  to  the  south — land  never 
seen   by   human   eyes   before.    The   land   consists    of 

291 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

great  snow-clad  heights  rising  beyond  Mount  Longstaff, 
and  also  far  inland  to  the  north  of  Mounts  Markham. 
These  heights  we  did  not  see  on  our  journey  south  on 
the  last  expedition,  for  we  were  too  close  to  the  land 
or,  rather,  foothills,  but  now  at  the  great  distance  we 
are  out  they  can  be  seen  plainly.  It  has  been  a  beauti- 
fully clear  day,  and  all  the  well-known  mountains  are 
clearly  visible.  The  coast  trends  about  south  by  east, 
so  that  we  are  safe  for  a  good  long  way  south.  We 
camped  at  noon  and  got  a  good  meridian  altitude  and 
azimuth.  We  found  our  latitude  to  be  81°  8'  South. 
In  the  afternoon  we  steered  a  little  to  the  east  of  south, 
and  camped  at  6  p.m.  with  15  miles  250  yards  (statute) 
to  the  credit  of  the  day.  This  is  good,  for  the  ponies 
have  a  heavy  load,  but  they  are  well  fed.  We  were 
rather  long  at  lunch  camp,  for  we  tried  to  pull  out 
Adams'  tooth,  which  has  given  him  great  pain,  so 
much  that  he  has  not  slept  at  night  at  all.  But  the 
tooth  broke,  and  he  has  a  bad  time  now.  We  were 
not  equipped  on  this  trip  for  tooth-pulling.  Wild  is 
better  to-day,  but  fatty  food  is  not  to  his  taste  just 
now,  so  he  had  a  good  feed  of  horse-flesh.  We  all 
liked  it,  for  it  filled  us  well,  in  spite  of  being  somewhat 
tough.  The  flavour  was  good  and  it  means  a  great 
saving  of  our  other  food.  The  temperature  has  risen 
to  plus  7°  Fahr.,  and  the  surface  of  the  Barrier  is  good 
for  sledge-hauling. 

November  23.  Our  record  march  to-day,  the  distance 
being  17  miles  1650  yards  statute.  It  has  been  a 
splendid  day  for  marching,  with  a  cool  breeze  from  the 
south  and  the  sun  slightly  hidden.  The  horses  did 
very  well  indeed,  and  the  surface  has  improved,  there 
being  fairly  hard  sastrugi  from  the  south.  We  are 
gradually  rising  the  splendid  peaks  of  Longstaff  and 
Markham.  The  former,  from  our  present  bearing, 
292 


GOOD    WORK    BY    PONIES       "-1]^^' 

has  several  sharp  peaks,  and  the  land  fades  away  in 
the  far  distance  to  the  south,  with  numbers  of  peaks 
showing,  quite  new  to  human  eyes.  All  the  old  familiar 
mountains,  towards  which  I  toiled  so  painfully  last 
time  I  was  here,  are  visible,  and  what  a  difference  it 
is  now  !  To-night  there  is  a  fresh  wind  from  what 
appears  at  this  distance  to  be  a  strait  between  Long- 
staff  and  Markham,  and  a  low  drift  is  flying  along. 
Wild  is  better  to-night,  but  he  was  tired  after  the  long 
march.  We  made  him  a  cup  of  our  emergency  Oxo 
for  lunch,  and  that  bucked  him  up  for  the  afternoon. 
He  has  not  eaten  much  lately,  but  says  that  he  feels 
decidedly  better  to-night.  Marshall  has  just  succeeded 
in  pulling  out  Adams'  tooth,  so  now  the  latter  will 
be  able  to  enjoy  horse-meat.  This  evening  we  had  it 
fried,  and  so  saved  all  our  other  food  except  biscuits 
and  cocoa.  It  is  my  week  as  cook  now,  and  Wild  is 
my  tent  companion. 

November  24.  Started  this  morning  at  7.55,  and 
made  a  good  march  of  10  miles  600  yards  (statute)  up 
to  1  P.M.,  when  we  camped  for  lunch.  We  marched 
from  2.30  to  6  p.m.,  and  camped  then  for  the  night. 
When  we  started  there  was  a  searching  breeze  in  our 
faces,  which  gradually  increased  during  the  day  with 
low  drift,  and  it  was  blowing  a  summer  blizzard  when 
we  camped  this  evening,  the  temperature  up  to  plus 
17°  Fahr.,  and  the  drift  melting  in  the  tent  and  on  all 
our  gear.  The  ponies  did  splendidly  again,  in  spite 
of  soft  surface,  our  day's  run  being  17  miles  680  yards 
statute.  The  Barrier  surface  is  still  as  level  as  a  billiard 
table,  with  no  sign  of  any  undulation  or  rise ;  but  if 
the  Barrier  shows  no  sign  of  change  it  is  otherwise  with 
the  mountains.  Each  mile  shows  us  new  land,  and 
most  of  it  consists  of  lofty  mountains,  whose  heights 
at  present  we   cannot  estimate.     They  are  well  over 

293 


THE    HEART    OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

10,000  ft.  The  great  advantage  of  being  out  from  the 
coast  is  now  obvious,  for  we  can  see  a  long  range 
of  sharp-peaked  mountains  running  to  the  westward 
from  Mounts  Markham,  and  forming  the  south  side  of 
Shackleton  Inlet  on  the  east  side  of  Mounts  Markham, 
and  other  peaks  and  one  table-topped  mountain  stand- 
ing away  to  the  south  between  Longstaff  and  Markham. 
There  appears  to  be  a  wide  strait  or  inlet  between 
Longstaff  and  the  new  land  east  of  Markham.  Then 
trending  about  south-east  from  Longstaff  is  a  lofty 
range  of  mountains  which  we  will  see  more  closely  as 
we  move  south.  I  trust  that  the  blizzard  will  blow 
itself  out  to-night,  so  that  we  may  have  easy  going 
to-morrow.  Wild  is  much  better  to-day,  and  went 
his  ordinary  food.  We  had  fried  pony  for  dinner  to-night, 
and  raw  pony  frozen  on  the  march.  The  going  is  very 
good,  but  we  can  only  afford  a  little  oil  to  cook  up  the 
meat  for  meals. 

November  25.  Started  at  8  a.m.  this  morning  in 
fairly  good  weather.  The  wind  has  gone  during  the 
night,  leaving  our  tents  drifted  up  with  fine  snow. 
The  land  was  obscured  nearly  all  day,  but  towards  the 
evening  it  cleared  and  we  could  see  the  details  of  the 
coast.  There  appears  to  be  a  series  of  inlets  and  capes 
opening  at  all  angles,  and  with  no  fixed  coast-line, 
though  the  lofty  range  of  mountains  continues  to  the 
south  with  a  very  slight  trend  to  the  eastward.  The 
surface  of  the  Barrier  was  very  trying  to-day,  for  the 
snow  had  no  consistency  and  slipped  away  as  one  trod 
on  it.  It  was  not  so  trying  for  the  ponies,  and  they  did 
17  miles  1600  yards.  We  had  frozen  raw  pony  meat 
to  eat  on  the  march,  and  a  good  hoosh  of  pony  meat 
and  pemmican  for  dinner.  Wild  is  practically  all 
right,  and  Adams  finds  a  wisdom  tooth  growing  in 
place  of  the  one  he  lost.  Our  eyes  are  not  too  comfort- 
294 


LIMITLESS    SOLITUDE 

able  just  now.  It  is  a  wonderful  place  we  are  in,  all 
new  to  the  world,  and  yet  I  feel  that  I  cannot  describe 
it.  There  is  an  impression  of  limitless  solitude  about 
it  all  that  makes  us  feel  so  small  as  we  trudge  along, 
a  few  dark  specks  on  the  snowy  plain,  and  watch  the 
new  land  appear. 


S95 


CHAPTER   XXI 

BEYOND  ALL  FORMER  FOOTSTEPS 

"T^OVEMBER  26.  A  day  to  remember,  for  we  have 
■^^  passed  the  "  farthest  South  "  previously  reached 
by  man.  To-night  we  are  in  latitude  82°  18|-'  South, 
longitude  168°  East,  and  this  latitude  we  have  been 
able  to  reach  in  much  less  time  than  on  the  last  long 
march  with  Captain  Scott,  when  we  made  latitude 
82°  16J'  our  "  farthest  South."  We  started  in  lovely 
weather  this  morning,  with  the  temperature  plus  19° 
Fahr.,  and  it  has  been  up  to  plus  20°  Fahr.  during  the 
day,  giving  us  a  chance  to  dry  our  sleeping-bags.  We 
were  rather  anxious  at  starting  about  Quan,  who  had 
a  sharp  attack  of  colic,  the  result  no  doubt  of  his  morbid 
craving  for  bits  of  rope  and  other  odds  and  ends  in 
preference  to  his  proper  food.  He  soon  got  well  enough 
to  pull,  and  we  got  away  at  7.40  a.m.,  the  surface  still 
very  soft.  There  are  abundant  signs  that  the  wind 
blows  strongly  from  the  south-south-east  during  the 
winter,  for  the  sastrugi  are  very  marked  in  that  direc- 
tion. There  are  extremely  large  circular  crystals  of 
snow  on  the  Barrier  surface,  and  they  seem  hard  and 
brittle.  They  catch  the  light  from  the  sun,  each  one 
forming  a  reflector  that  dazzles  the  eyes  as  one  glances 
at  the  million  points  of  light.  As  each  h  ur  went  on 
to-day,  we  found  new  interest  to  the  west,  where  the 
land  lies,  for  we  opened  out  Shackleton  Inlet,  and  up 
296 


4 


NEW  MOUNTAINS  APPEARING  ^l^'l^s? 

the  inlet  lies  a  great  chain  of  mountains,  and  far  in  to 
the  west  appear  more  peaks  ;  to  the  west  of  Cape  Wilson 
appears  another  chain  of  sharp  peaks  about  10,000  ft. 
high,  stretching  away  to  the  north  beyond  the  Snow 
Cape,  and  continuing  the  land  on  which  Mount  A. 
Markham  lies.  To  the  south-south-east  ever  appear 
new  mountains.  I  trust  that  no  land  will  block  our 
path.  We  celebrated  the  breaking  of  the  "  farthest 
South  "  record  with  a  four-ounce  bottle  of  Curagoa, 
sent  us  by  a  friend  at  home.  After  this  had  been  shared 
out  into  two  tabiespoonfuls  each,  we  had  a  smoke  and 
a  talk  before  turning  in.  One  wonders  what  the  next 
month  will  bring  forth.  We  ought  by  that  time  to  be 
near  our  goal,  all  being  well. 

Note.  It  falls  to  the  lot  of  few  men  to  view  land  not  previously  seen 
hj  human  eyes,  and  it  vv^as  mth  feelings  of  keen  curiosity,  not  un- 
mingled  with  awe,  that  we  watched  the  new  mountains  rise  from  the 
great  unknown  that  lay  ahead  of  us.  Mighty  peaks  they  were,  the 
eternal  snows  at  their  bases,  and  their  rough-hewn  forms  rising  high 
towards  the  sky.  No  man  of  us  could  tell  what  we  would  discover 
in  our  march  south,  what  wonders  might  not  be  revealed  to  us,  and 
our  imaginations  would  take  wings  until  a  stumble  in  the  snow,  the 
sharp  pangs  of  hunger,  or  the  dull  ache  of  physical  weariness  brought 
back  our  attention  to  the  needs  of  the  immediate  present.  As  the 
days  wore  on,  and  mountain  after  mountain  came  into  view,  grimly 
majestic,  the  consciousness  of  our  insignificance  seemed  to  grow  upon 
us.  We  were  but  tiny  black  specks  crawling  slowly  and  painfully 
across  the  white  plain,  and  bending  our  puny  strength  to  the  task 
of  wresting  from  nature  secrets  preserved  inviolate  through  all  the 
ages.  Our  anxiety  to  learn  what  lay  beyond  was  none  the  less  keen, 
however,  and  the  long  days  of  marching  over  the  Barrier  surface 
were  saved  from  monotony  by  the  continued  appearance  of  new 
land  to  the  south-east. 

November  27.  Started  at  8  a.m.,  the  ponies  pulling 
well  over  a  bad  surface  of  very  soft  snovv^.  The  weather 
is  fine  and  clear  save  for  a  strong  mirage,  which  throws 
ail  the  land  up  much  higher  than  it  really  is.  All  day 
we  have  seen  new  mountains  arise,  and  it  is  causing 

29T 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

us  some  anxiety  to  note  that  they  trend  more  and  more 
to  the  eastward,  for  that  means  an  alteration  of  our 
course  from  nearly  due  south.  Still  they  are  a  long  way 
off,  and  when  we  get  up  to  them  we  may  find  some  strait 
that  will  enable  us  to  go  right  through  them  and  on 
south.  One  speculates  greatly  as  we  march  along, 
but  patience  is  what  is  needed.  I  think  that  the  ponies 
are  feeling  the  day-in,  day- out  drudgery  of  pulling  on 
this  plain.  Poor  beasts,  they  cannot  understand,  of 
course,  what  it  is  all  for,  and  the  wonder  of  the  great 
mountains  is  nought  to  them,  though  one  notices  them 
at  times  looking  at  the  distant  land.  At  lunch-time 
I  took  a  photograph  of  our  camp,  with  Mount  Longstaff 
in  the  background.  We  had  our  sledge  flags  up  to 
celebrate  the  breaking  of  the  southern  record.  The 
long  snow  cape  marked  on  the  chart  as  being  attached 
to  Mount  Longstaff  is  not  really  so.  It  is  attached  to 
a  lower  bluff  mountain  to  the  north  of  Mount  Longstaff. 
The  most  northerly  peak  of  Mount  Longstaff  goes 
sheer  down  into  the  Barrier,  and  all  along  this  range 
of  mountains  are  very  steep  glaciers,  greatly  crevassed. 
As  we  pass  along  the  mountains  the  capes  disappear, 
but  there  are  several  well-marked  ones  of  which  we  have 
taken  angles.  Still  more  mountains  appeared  above 
the  horizon  during  the  afternoon,  and  when  we  camped 
to-night  some  were  quite  clearly  defined,  many,  many 
miles  away.  The  temperature  has  been  up  to  plus  22° 
Fahr.  to-day,  and  we  took  the  opportunity  of  drying 
our  sleeping-bags,  which  we  turned  inside  out  and  laid 
on  the  sledges.  To-night  the  temperature  is  plus  13° 
Fahr.  We  find  that  raw  frozen  pony  meat  cools  one 
on  the  march,  and  during  the  ten  minutes'  spell  after 
an  hour's  march  we  all  cut  up  meat  for  lunch  or  dinner  ; 
in  the  hot  sun  it  thaws  well.  This  fresh  meat  ought 
to  keep  away  scurvy  from  us.  Quan  seems  much  better 
298 


SECOND    PONY    SHOT  "^^^ 


to-day,  but  Grisi  does  not  appear  fit  at  all.  He  seems 
to  be  snow-blind.  Our  distance  to-day  was  16  miles 
1200  yards. 

November  28.  Started  at  7.50  a.m.  in  beautiful 
weather,  but  with  a  truly  awful  surface,  the  ponies 
sinking  in  very  deeply.  The  sledges  ran  easily,  as  the 
temperature  was  high,  plus  17°  to  plus  20°  Fahr.,  the 
hot  sun  making  the  snow  surface  almost  melt.  We 
halted  at  noon  for  a  latitude  observation,  and  found 
our  latitude  to  be  82°  38'  South.  The  land  now  appears 
more  to  the  east,  bearing  south-east  by  south,  and 
some  very  high  mountains  a  long  way  off,  with  lower 
foothills,  can  be  seen  in  front,  quite  different  to  the 
land  abeam  of  us,  which  consists  of  huge  sharp-pointed 
mountains  with  crevassed  glaciers  moving  down  gullies 
in  their  sides.  Marshall  is  making  a  careful  survey 
of  all  the  principal  heights.  All  day  we  have  been 
travelling  up  and  down  long  undulations,  the  width 
from  crest  to  crest  being  about  one  and  a  half  miles, 
and  the  rise  about  1  in  100.  We  can  easily  see  the 
line  by  our  tracks  sometimes  being  cut  off  sharp  when 
we  are  on  the  down  gradient  and  appearing  again  a 
long  way  astern  as  we  rise.  The  first  indication  of  the 
undulation  was  the  fact  of  the  mound  we  had  made 
in  the  morning  disappearing  before  we  had  travelled 
a  quarter  of  a  mile.  During  the  afternoon  the  weather 
was  very  hot.  A  cool  breeze  had  helped  us  in  the  fore- 
noon, but  it  died  away  later.  Marshall  has  a  touch 
of  snow-blindness,  and  both  Grisi  and  Socks  were  also 
affected  during  the  day.  When  we  camped  to-night 
Grisi  was  shot.  He  had  fallen  off  during  the  last  few 
days,  and  the  snow-blindness  was  bad  for  him,  putting 
him  off  his  feed.  He  was  the  one  chosen  to  go  at  the 
depot  we  made  this  evening.  This  is  Depot  C,  and 
we  are  leaving  one  week's  provisions  and  oil,  with  horse- 

299 


THE    HEART    OP    THE    ANTARCTIC 

meat,  to  carry  us  back  to  Depot  B.  We  will  go  on 
to-morrow  with  1200  lb.  weight  (nine  weeks'  provisions), 
and  we  four  will  pull  with  the  ponies,  two  on  each 
sledge.  It  is  late  now,  11  p.m.,  and  we  have  just  turned 
in.  We  get  up  at  5.30  a.m.  every  morning.  Our  march 
for  the  day  was  15  miles  1500  yards  statute. 

November  29.  Started  at  8.45  a.m.  with  adjusted 
loads  of  630  lb.  on  each  sledge.  We  harnessed  up 
ourselves,  but  found  that  the  ponies  would  not  pull 
when  we  did,  and  as  the  loads  came  away  lightly,  we 
untoggled  our  harness.  The  surface  was  very  soft, 
but  during  the  morning  there  were  occasional  patches 
of  hard  sastrugi,  all  pointing  south-south-east.  This 
is  the  course  we  are  now  steering,  as  the  land  is  trending 
about  south-east  by  east.  ^  During  the  day  still  more 
great  mountains  appeared  to  the  south-east,  and  to 
the  west  we  opened  up  several  huge  peaks,  10,000  to 
15,000  ft.  in  height.  The  whole  country  seems  to  be 
made  up  of  range  after  range  of  mountains,  one  behind 
the  other.  The  worst  feature  of  to-day's  march  was 
the  terribly  soft  snow  in  the  hollows  of  the  great  undula- 
tions we  were  passing.  During  the  afternoon  one  place 
was  so  bad  that  the  ponies  sank  in  right  up  to  their 
bellies,  and  we  had  to  pull  with  might  and  main  to  get 
the  sledges  along  at  all.  When  we  began  to  ascend 
the  rise  on  the  southern  side  of  the  undulation  it  got 
better.  The  ponies  were  played  out  by  5.45  p.m., 
especially  old  Quan,  who  nearly  collapsed,  not  from 
the  weight  of  the  sledge,  but  from  the  effort  of  lifting 
his  feet  and  limbs  through  the  soft  snow.  The  weather 
is  calm  and  clear,  but  very  hot,  and  it  is  trying  to  man 
and  beast.  We  are  on  a  short  allowance  of  food,  for 
we  must  save  all  we  can,  so  as  to  help  the  advance  as 
far  as  possible.  Marshall  has  taken  the  angles  of  the 
new  land  to-day.  He  does  this  regularly.  The  hypso- 
300 


HUGE    GRANITE    CLIFFS 

meter  readings  at  1  p.m.  are  very  high  now  if  there  is 
no  correction,  and  it  is  not  due  to  weather.  We  must 
be  at  about  sea-level.  The  undulations  run  about 
east  by  south,  and  west  by  west,  and  are  at  the  moment 
a  puzzle  to  us.  I  cannot  think  that  the  feeding  of  the 
glaciers  from  the  adjacent  mountains  has  anything 
to  do  with  their  existence.  There  are  several  glaciers, 
but  their  size  is  inconsiderable  compared  to  the  vast 
extent  of  Barrier  affected.  The  glaciers  are  greatly 
crevassed.  There  are  enormous  granite  clifis  at  the 
foot  of  the  range  we  are  passing,  and  they  stand  vertically 
about  4000  to  6000  ft.  without  a  vestige  of  snow  upon 
them.  The  ma,in  bare  rocks  appear  to  be  like  the 
schists  of  the  western  mountains  opposite  our  winter 
quarters,  but  we  are  too  far  away,  of  course,  to  be  able 
to  tell  with  any  certainty.  Down  to  the  south  are 
mountains  entirely  clear  of  snow,  for  their  sides  are 
vertical,  and  they  must  be  not  less  than  8000  or  9000 
ft.  in  height.  Altogether  it  is  a  weird  and  wonderful 
country.  The  only  familiar  thing  is  the  broad  expanse 
of  Barrier  to  the  east,  where  as  yet  no  land  appears. 
We  did  14  miles  900  yards  (statute)  to-day,  and  are  tired. 
The  snow  came  well  above  our  ankles,  and  each  step 
became  a  labour.  Still  we  are  making  our  way  south, 
and  each  mile  gained  reduces  the  unknov/n.  We  have 
now  done  over  300  miles  due  south  in  less  than  a  month. 
November  30.  We  started  at  8  a.m.  this  morning. 
Quan  very  shaky  and  seemingly  on  his  last  legs,  poor 
beast.  Both  he  and  Socks  are  snow-blind,  so  we  have 
improvised  shades  for  their  eyes,  which  we  trust  will 
help  them  a  little.  We  took  turns  of  an  hour  each 
hauling  at  Quan's  sledge,  one  at  each  side,  to  help  him. 
Socks,  being  faster,  always  gets  ahead  and  then  has 
a  short  spell,  which  eases  him  considerably.  We 
advanced  very  slowly  to-day,  for  the  surface  was  as 

301 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

bad  as  ever  till  the  afternoon,  and  the  total  distance 
covered  was  12  miles  150  yards.  Quan  was  quite  played 
out,  so  we  camped  at  5.45  p.m.  We  give  the  ponies 
ample  food,  but  they  do  not  eat  it  all,  though  Quan 
whinnies  for  his  every  meal-time.  He  is  particularly 
fond  of  the  Maujee  ration,  and  neglects  his  maize  for 
it.  Again  to-day  we  saw  new  land  to  the  south,  and 
unfortunately  for  our  quick  progress  in  that  direction, 
we  find  the  trend  of  the  coast  more  to  the  eastward. 
A  time  is  coming,  I  can  see,  when  we  will  have  to  ascend 
the  mountains,  for  the  land  runs  round  more  and  more 
in  an  easterly  direction.  Still  after  all  we  must  not 
expect  to  find  things  cut  and  dried  and  all  suited  to  us 
in  such  a  place.  We  will  be  thankful  if  we  can  keep 
the  ponies  as  far  as  our  next  depot,  which  will  be  in 
latitude  84°  South.  They  are  at  the  present  moment 
lying  down  in  the  warm  sun.  It  is  a  beautifully  calm, 
clear  evening ;  indeed  as  regards  weather  we  have 
been  wonderfully  fortunate,  and  it  has  given  Marshall 
the  chance  to  take  all  the  necessary  angles  for  the  survey 
of  these  new  mountains  and  coast-line.  Wild  is  cook 
this  week,  and  my  week  is  over,  so  I  am  now  living 
in  the  other  tent.  We  are  all  fit  and  well,  but  our 
appetites  are  increasing  at  an  alarming  rate.  We 
noticed  this  to-night  after  the  heavy  pulling  to-day. 
A  great  deal  of  the  land  we  are  passing  seems  to  consist 
of  granite  in  huge  masses,  and  here  and  there  are  much 
crevassed  glaciers,  pouring  down  between  the  mountains, 
perhaps  from  some  inland  ice-sheet  similar  to  that  in 
the  north  of  Victoria  Land.  The  mountains  show 
great  similarity  in  outline,  and  there  is  no  sign  of  any 
volcanic  action  at  all  so  far.  The  temperature  for  the 
day  has  ranged  between  plus  16°  and  plus  12°  Fahr., 
but  the  hot  sun  has  made  things  appear  much 
warmer. 
302 


ONE    PONY    LEFT  ^autud 


83'  16' 


December  1.  Started  at  8  a.m.  to-day.  Quan  has 
been  growing  weaker  each  hour,  and  we  practically 
pulled  the  sledge.  We  passed  over  three  undulations, 
and  camped  at  1  p.m.  In  the  afternoon  we  only  did 
four  miles,  Quan  being  led  by  Wild.  He  also  led  Socks 
with  one  sledge,  whilst  Adams,  Marshall  and  I  hauled 
200  lb.  each  on  the  other  sledge  over  a  terribly  soft 
surface.  Poor  old  Quan  was  quite  finished  when  we 
came  to  camp  at  6  p.m.,  having  done  12  miles  200  yards, 
so  he  was  shot.  We  all  felt  losing  him,  I  particularly, 
for  he  was  my  special  horse  ever  since  he  was  ill  last 
March.  I  had  looked  after  him,  and  in  spite  of  all  his 
annoying  tricks  he  was  a  general  favourite.  He  seemed 
so  intelligent.  Still  it  was  best  for  him  to  go,  and  like 
the  others  he  was  well  fed  to  the  last.  We  have  now 
only  one  pony  left,  and  are  in  latitude  83°  16'  South. 
Ahead  of  us  we  can  see  the  land  stretching  away  to  the 
east,  with  a  long  white  line  in  front  of  it  that  looks  Uke 
a  giant  Barrier,  and  nearer  a  very  crusted-up  appear- 
ance, as  though  there  were  great  pressure  ridges  in  front 
of  us.  It  seems  as  though  the  Barrier  end  had  come, 
and  that  there  is  now  going  to  be  a  change  in  some 
gigantic  way  in  keeping  with  the  vastness  of  the  whole 
place.  We  fervently  trust  that  we  will  not  be  delayed 
in  our  march  south.  We  are  living  mainly  on  horse- 
meat  now,  and  on  the  march,  to  cool  our  throats  when 
pulling  in  the  hot  sun,  we  chew  some  raw  frozen  meat. 
There  was  a  slight  breeze  for  a  time  to-day,  and  we  felt 
chilly,  as  we  were  pulling  stripped  to  our  shirts.  We 
wear  our  goggles  all  the  time,  for  the  glare  from  the 
snow  surface  is  intense  and  the  sky  is  cloudless.  A 
few  wisps  of  fleecy  cloud  settle  on  the  tops  of  the  loftiest 
mountains,  but  that  is  all.  The  surface  of  the  Barrier 
still  sparkles  with  the  million  frozen  crystals  which  stand 
apart  from  the  ordinary  surface  snow.     One  or  two 

303 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

new  peaks  came  in  sight  to-day,  so  we  are  ever  adding 
to  the  chain  of  wonderful  mountains  that  we  have  found. 
At  one  moment  our  thoughts  are  on  the  grandeur  of 
the  scene,  the  next  on  what  we  would  have  to  eat  if 
only  we  were  let  loose  in  a  good  restaurant.  We  are 
very  hungry  these  days,  and  we  know  that  we  are  likely 
to  be  for  another  three  months.  One  of  the  granite 
cliffs  we  are  nearing  is  over  6000  ft.  sheer,  and  much 
bare  rock  is  showing,  which  must  have  running  water 
on  it  as  the  hot  sun  plays  down.  The  moon  was  visible 
in  the  sky  all  day  and  it  was  something  familiar,  yet  far 
removed  from  these  days  of  hot  sunshine  and  wide 
white  pathways.  The  temperature  is  now  plus  16° 
Fahr.,  and  it  is  quite  warm  in  the  tent. 

December  2.  Started  at  8  a.m.,  all  four  of  us  hauling 
one  sledge,  and  Socks  following  behind  with  the  other. 
He  soon  got  into  our  regular  pace,  and  did  very  well 
indeed.  The  surface  during  the  morning  was  extremely 
bad  and  it  was  heavy  work  for  us.  The  sun  beat  down 
on  our  heads  and  we  perspired  freely,  though  we  were 
working  only  in  shirts  and  pyjama  trousers,  whilst  our 
feet  were  cold  in  the  snow.  We  halted  for  lunch  at 
1  P.M.,  and  had  some  of  Quan  cooked,  but  he  was  very 
tough  meat,  poor  old  beast.  Socks,  the  only  pony 
left  now,  is  lonely.  He  whinnied  all  night  for  his  lost 
companion.  At  1  p.m.  to-day  we  had  got  close  enough 
to  the  disturbance  ahead  of  us  to  see  that  it  consisted 
of  enormous  pressure  ridges,  heavily  crevassed  and 
running  a  long  way  east,  with  not  the  slightest  chance 
of  our  being  able  to  get  southing  that  way  any  longer 
on  the  Barrier.  So  after  lunch  we  struck  due  south 
in  toward  the  land,  which  is  now  running  in  a  south- 
east direction,  and  at  6  p.m.  we  were  close  to  the  ridges 
off  the  coast.  There  is  a  red  hill  about  3000  ft.  in  height, 
which  we  hope  tp  ascend  to-morrow,  so  as  to  gain  a  view 
304 


CLOSE    TO    THE    LAND 

of  the  surrounding  country.  Then  we  will  make  our 
way,  if  possible,  with  the  pony  up  a  glacier  ahead  of 
us  on  to  the  land  ice,  and  on  to  the  Pole  if  all  goes  well. 
It  is  an  anxious  thing  for  us,  for  time  is  precious  and 
food  more  so  ;  we  will  be  greatly  relieved  if  we  find  a 
good  route  through  the  mountains.  Now  that  we  are 
close  to  the  land  we  can  see  more  clearly  the  nature  of 
the  mountains.  From  Mount  Longstaff  in  a  south- 
east direction,  the  land  appears  to  be  far  more  glaciated 
than  further  north,  and  since  the  valleys  are  very  steep, 
the  glaciers  that  they  contain  are  heavily  crevassed. 
These  glaciers  bear  out  in  a  north-east  direction  into 
the  Barrier.  Immediately  opposite  our  camp  the  snow 
seems  to  have  been  blown  off  the  steep  mountain  sides. 
The  mountain  ahead  of  us,  which  we  are  going  to  climb 
to-morrow,  is  undoubtedly  granite,  but  very  much 
weathered.  In  the  distance  it  looked  like  volcanic 
rock,  but  now  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  consists 
of  granite.  Evidently  the  great  ice  sheet  has  passed 
over  this  part  of  the  land,  for  the  rounded  forms  could 
not  have  been  caused  by  ordinary  weathering.  Enor- 
mous pressure  ridges  that  run  out  from  the  south  of 
the  mountain  ahead  must  be  due  to  a  glacier  far  greater 
in  extent  than  any  we  have  yet  met.  The  glacier  that 
comes  out  of  Shackleton  Inlet  makes  a  disturbance  in 
the  Barrier  ice,  but  not  nearly  as  great  as  the  disturbance 
in  our  immediate  neighbourhood  at  the  present  time. 
The  glacier  at  Shackleton  Inlet  is  quite  a  short  one. 
We  have  now  closed  in  to  the  land,  but  before  we  did 
so  we  could  see  the  rounded  tops  of  great  mountains 
extending  in  a  south-easterly  direction.  If  we  are 
fortunate  enough  to  reach  the  summit  of  the  mountain 
to-morrow,  we  should  be  able  to  see  more  clearly  the 
line  of  these  mountains  to  the  south-east.  It  would 
be  very  interesting  to  follow  along  the  Barrier  to  the 
X  U  305 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

south-east,  and  see  the  trend  of  the  mountains,  but 
that  does  not  enter  into  our  programme.  Our  way 
lies  to  the  south.  How  one  wishes  for  time  and  un- 
Kmited  provisions  !  Then  indeed  we  could  penetrate 
the  secrets  of  this  great  lonely  continent.  Regrets 
are  vain,  however,  and  we  wonder  what  is  in  store  for 
us  beyond  the  mountains  if  we  are  able  to  get  there. 
The  closer  observation  of  these  mountains  ought  to  give 
geological  results  of  importance.  We  may  have  the 
good  fortune  to  discover  fossils,  or  at  any  rate  to  bring 
back  specimens  that  will  determine  the  geological  history 
of  the  country  and  prove  a  connection  between  the 
granite  boulders  lying  on  the  slopes  of  Erebus  and  Terror 
and  the  land  lying  to  the  far  south.  Our  position  to- 
night is  latitude  83°  28'  South,  longitude  171°  30'  East. 
If  we  can  get  on  the  mountain  to-morrow  it  will  be  the 
pioneer  landing  in  the  far  south.  We  travelled  11  miles 
1450  yards  (statute)  to-day,  which  was  not  bad,  seeing 
that  we  were  pulling  180  lb.  per  man  on  a  bad  surface. 
We  got  a  photograph  of  the  wonderful  red  granite 
peaks  close  to  us,  for  now  we  are  only  eight  miles  or  so 
off  the  land.  The  temperature  is  plus  20°,  with  a  high 
barometer.  The  same  fine  weather  continues,  but  the 
wind  is  cold  in  the  early  morning,  when  we  turn  out 
at  5.30  A.M.  for  breakfast. 

December  4.  Unable  to  write  yesterday  owing  to 
bad  attack  of  snow-blindness,  and  not  much  better 
to-night,  but  I  must  record  the  events  of  the  two  most 
remarkable  days  that  we  have  experienced  since  leaving 
the  winter  quarters.  After  breakfast  at  5.30  a.m. 
yesterday,  we  started  off  from  camp,  leaving  all  camp 
gear  standing  and  a  good  feed  by  Socks  to  last  him  the 
whole  day.  We  got  under  way  at  9  a.m.,  taking  four 
biscuits,  four  lumps  of  sugar  and  two  ounces  of  choco- 
late each  for  lunch.  We  hoped  to  get  water  at  the  first 
306 


AN   ENORMOUS    CHASM  'trz^' 

of  the  rocks  when  we  landed.  Hardly  had  we  gone 
one  hundred  yards  when  we  came  to  a  crevasse,  which 
we  did  not  see  very  distinctly,  for  the  light  was  bad, 
and  the  sun  obscured  by  clouds.  We  roped  up  and 
went  on  in  single  file,  each  with  his  ice-pick  handy.  I 
found  it  very  difficult  to  see  clearly  with  my  goggles, 
and  so  took  them  off,  and  the  present  attack  of  snow- 
blindness  is  the  result,  for  the  sun  came  out  gloriously 
later  on.  We  crossed  several  crevasses  filled  with 
snow  except  at  the  sides,  the  gaps  being  about  2  ft. 
wide,  and  the  whole  crevasses  from  10  to  20  ft.  across. 
Then  we  were  brought  up  all  standing  by  an  enormous 
chasm  of  about  80  ft.  wide  and  300  ft.  deep  which  lay 
right  across  our  route.  This  chasm  was  similar  to, 
only  larger  than  the  one  we  encountered  in  latitude 
80°  30'  South  when  on  the  southern  journey  with 
Captain  Scott  during  the  Discovery  expedition.  By 
making  a  detour  to  the  right  we  found  that  it  gradually 
pinched  out  and  became  filled  with  snow,  and  so  were 
able  to  cross  and  resume  our  line  to  the  land,  which 
very  deceptively  appeared  quite  close  but  was  really 
some  miles  away. 

Crossing  several  ridges  of  ice-pressure  and  many 
more  crevasses,  we  eventually  at  12.30  p.m.  reached 
an  area  of  smooth  blue  ice  in  which  were  embedded 
several  granite  boulders,  and  here  we  obtained  a  drink 
of  dehcious  water  formed  by  the  sun  playing  on  the  rock 
face  and  heating  the  ice  at  the  base.  After  travelling 
for  half  a  mile,  we  reached  the  base  of  the  mountain 
which  we  hoped  to  climb  in  order  to  gain  a  view  of  the 
surrounding  country.  This  hill  is  composed  of  granite, 
the  red  appearance  being  no  doubt  due  to  iron.  At 
1  P.M.  we  had  a  couple  of  biscuits  and  some  water,  and 
then  started  to  make  our  way  up  the  precipitous  rock 
face.     This  was  the  most  difficult  part  of  the  whole 

307 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

climb,  for  the  granite  was  weathered  and  spHt  in  every 
direction,  and  some  of  the  larger  pieces  seemed  to  be 
just  nicely  balanced  on  smaller  pieces,  so  that  one  could 
almost  push  them  over  by  a  touch.  With  great  diffi- 
culty we  clambered  up  this  rock  face,  and  then  ascended 
a  gentle  snow  slope  to  another  rocky  bit,  but  not  so 
difficult  to  climb.  From  the  top  of  this  ridge  there 
burst  upon  our  view  an  open  road  to  the  south,  for  there 
stretched  before  us  a  great  glacier  running  almost  south 
and  north  between  two  huge  mountain  ranges.  As 
far  as  we  could  see,  except  towards  the  mouth,  the 
glacier  appeared  to  be  smooth,  yet  this  was  not  a 
certainty,  for  the  distance  was  so  great.  Eagerly  we 
clambered  up  the  remaining  ridges  and  over  a  snow- 
slope,  and  found  ourselves  at  the  top  of  the  mountain, 
the  height  being  3350  ft.  according  to  aneroid  and 
hypsometer.  From  the  summit  we  could  see  the 
glacier  stretching  away  south  inland  till  at  last  it  seemed 
to  merge  in  high  inland  ice.  Where  the  glacier  fell  into 
the  Barrier  about  north-east  bearing,  the  pressure 
waves  were  enormous,  and  for  miles  the  surface  of  the 
Barrier  was  broken  up.  This  was  what  we  had  seen 
ahead  of  us  the  last  few  days,  and  we  now  understood 
the  reason  of  the  commotion  on  the  Barrier  surface. 
To  the  south-east  we  could  see  the  lofty  range  of  moun- 
tains we  had  been  following  still  stretching  aAvay  in  the 
same  direction,  and  we  can  safely  say  that  the  Barrier 
is  bounded  by  a  chain  of  mountains  extending  in  a 
south-easterly  direction  as  far  as  the  86th  parallel 
South.  The  mountains  to  the  west  appear  to  be  more 
heavily  glaciated  than  the  ones  to  the  eastward.  There 
are  some  huge  granite  faces  on  the  southern  sides  of 
the  mountains,  and  these  faces  are  joined  up  by  cliffs  of 
a  very  dark  hue.  To  the  south-south-east,  towards  what 
is  apparently  the  head  of  the  glacier,  there  are  several 
308 


A    ROAD    TO    THE    SOUTH 

sharp  cones  of  very  black  rock,  eight  or  nine  in  all. 
Beyond  these  are  red  granite  faces,  with  sharp,  needle- 
like spurs,  similar  in  appearance  to  the  "  cathedral  " 
rocks  described  by  Armitage  in  connection  with  the 
Discovery  expedition  to  the  western  mountains.  Further 
on  to  the  south  the  mountains  have  a  bluff  appearance, 
with  long  lines  of  stratification  running  almost  hori- 
zontally. This  bluff  mountain  range  seems  to  break 
about  sixty  miles  away,  and  beyond  can  be  seen  dimly 
other  mountains.  Turning  to  the  west,  the  mountains 
on  that  side  appeared  to  be  rounded  and  covered  with 
huge  masses  of  ice,  and  glaciers  showing  the  lines  of 
crevasses.  In  the  far  distance  there  is  what  looked  like 
an  active  volcano.  There  is  a  big  mountain  with  a 
cloud  on  the  top,  bearing  all  the  appearance  of  steam 
from  an  active  cone.  It  would  be  very  interesting  to 
find  an  active  volcano  so  far  south.  After  taking 
bearings  of  the  trend  of  the  mountains,  Barrier  and 
glacier,  we  ate  our  frugal  lunch  and  wished  for  more, 
and  then  descended.  Adams  had  boiled  the  hypso- 
meter  and  taken  the  temperature  on  the  top,  whilst 
Marshall,  who  had  carried  the  camera  on  his  back  all 
the  way  up,  took  a  couple  of  photographs.  How  we 
wished  we  had  more  plates  to  spare  to  get  a  record  of 
the  wonderful  country  we  were  passing  through.  At 
4  P.M.  we  began  to  descend,  and  at  5  p.m.  we  were  on 
the  Barrier  again.  We  were  rather  tired  and  very 
hungry  when,  at  7  p.m.,  we  reached  our  camp.  After 
a  good  dinner,  and  a  cupful  of  Maujee  ration  in  the 
hoosh  as  an  extra,  we  turned  in. 

To-day,  December  4,  we  got  under  Avay  at  8  a.m. 
and  steered  into  the  land,  for  we  could  see  that  there 
was  no  question  as  to  the  way  we  should  go  now.  Though 
on  the  glacier,  we  might  encounter  crevasses  and  diffi- 
culties not  to  be  met  with  on  the  Barrier,  yet  on  the 

S09 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

latter  we  could  get  no  further  than  86°  South,  and  then 
would  have  to  turn  in  towards  the  land  and  get  over 
the  mountains  to  reach  the  Pole.  We  felt  that  our 
main  difficulty  on  the  glacier  route  would  be  with  the 
pony  Socks,  and  we  could  not  expect  to  drag  the  full 
load  ourselves  as  yet  without  relay  work.  Adams, 
Marshall  and  I  pulled  one  sledge  with  680  lb.  weight* 
and  Wild  followed  with  Socks  directly  in  our  wake, 
so  that  if  we  came  to  a  crevasse  he  would  have  warning. 
Everything  went  on  well  except  that  when  we  were 
close  in  to  land,  Marshall  went  through  the  snow  cover- 
ing of  a  crevasse.  He  managed  to  hold  himself  up  by 
his  arms.  We  could  see  no  bottom  to  this  crevasse. 
At  1  P.M.  we  v>^ere  close  to  the  snow-slope  up  which  we 
hoped  to  reach  the  interior  of  the  land  and  thence  get 
on  to  the  glacier.  We  had  lunch  and  then  proceeded, 
finding,  instead  of  a  steep,  short  slope,  a  long,  fairly 
steep  gradient.  All  the  afternoon  we  toiled  at  the 
sledge.  Socks  pulling  his  load  easily  enough,  and  eventu- 
ally, at  5  P.M.,  reached  the  head  of  the  pass,  2000  ft. 
above  sea-level.  From  that  point  there  was  a  gentle 
descent  towards  the  glacier,  and  at  6  p.m.  we  camped 
close  to  some  blue  ice  with  granite  boulders  embedded 
in  it,  round  which  were  pools  of  water.  This  water 
saves  a  certain  amount  of  our  oil,  for  we  have  not  to 
melt  snow  or  ice.  We  turned  in  at  8  p.m.,  well  satisfied 
with  the  day's  work.  The  weather  now  is  wonderfully 
fine,  with  not  a  breath  of  wind,  and  a  warm  sun  beating 
down  on  us.  The  temperature  was  up  to  plus  22° 
Fahr.  at  noon,  and  is  now  plus  18°  Fahr.  The  pass 
through  which  we  have  come  is  flanked  by  great  granite 
pillars  at  least  2000  ft.  in  height  and  making  a  magnifi- 
cent entrance  to  the  "  Highway  to  the  South."  It  is 
all  so  interesting  and  everything  is  on  such  a  vast  scale 
that  one  cannot  describe  it  well.  We  four  are  seeing 
810 


ON   TO    THE    GLACIER 

these  great  designs  and  the  play  of  nature  in  her  grandest 
moods  for  the  first  time,  and  possibly  they  may  never 
be  seen  by  man  again.  Poor  Marshall  had  another 
four  miles'  walk  this  evening,  for  he  found  that  he  had 
lost  his  Jaeger  jacket  off  the  sledge.  He  had  therefore 
to  tramp  back  uphill  for  it,  and  found  it  two  miles  away 
on  the  trail.  Socks  is  not  feeding  well.  He  seems 
lonely  without  his  companions.  We  gave  him  a  drink 
of  thav/  water  this  evening,  but  he  did  not  seem  to 
appreciate  it,  preferring  the  snow  at  his  feet. 


Upper  bearers 


STERN  OP 


Bow     Of" 
5LLDGC.  • 


Cross  pieces        Uprights         Runner 


311 


CHAPTER  XXII 

ON  THE  GREAT  GLACIER 

DECEMBER  5.  Broke  camp  sharp  at  8  a.m.  and  pro- 
ceeded south  down  an  icy  slope  to  the  main  glacier. 
The  ice  was  too  slippery  for  the  pony,  so  Wild  took 
him  by  a  circuitous  route  to  the  bottom  on  snow.  At 
the  end  of  our  ice  slope,  down  which  the  sledge  skidded 
rapidly,  though  we  had  put  on  rope  brakes  and  hung 
on  to  it  as  well  as  we  could,  there  was  a  patch  of  soft 
snow  running  parallel  with  the  glacier,  which  here 
trended  about  south-west  by  south.  Close  ahead  of 
us  were  the  massed-up,  fantastically  shaped  and  split 
masses  of  pressure  across  which  it  would  have  been 
impossible  for  us  to  have  gone,  but,  fortunately,  it  was 
not  necessary  even  to  try,  for  close  into  the  land  was 
a  snow  slope  free  from  all  crevasses,  and  along  this 
gentle  rise  we  made  our  way.  After  a  time,  this  snow 
slope  gave  place  to  blue  ice,  with  numberless  cracks 
and  small  crevasses  across  which  it  was  quite  impossible 
for  the  pony  to  drag  the  sledge  without  a  serious  risk 
of  a  broken  leg  in  one  of  the  many  holes,  the  depth  of 
which  we  could  not  ascertain.  We  therefore  unharnessed 
Socks,  and  Wild  took  him  over  this  bit  of  ground  very 
carefully,  whilst  we  others  first  hauled  our  sledge  and 
then  the  pony  sledge  across  to  a  patch  of  snow  under 
some  gigantic  granite  pillars  over  2000  ft.  in  height, 
and  here,  close  to  some  thaw  water,  we  made  our  lunch 
812 


CREVASSED    ICE  "i^^'r.'^ 


camp.  I  was  still  badly  snow-blind,  so  stayed  in  camp 
whilst  Marshall  and  Adams  went  on  to  spy  out  a  good 
route  to  follow  after  lunch  was  over.  When  they 
returned  they  informed  me  that  there  was  more  cracked- 
up  blue  ice  ahead,  and  that  the  main  pressure  of  the 
glacier  came  in  very  close  to  the  pillar  of  granite  that 
stood  before  us,  but  that  beyond  that  there  appeared 
to  be  a  snow  slope  and  good  going.  The  most  remark- 
able thing  they  reported  was  that  as  they  were  walking 
along  a  bird,  brown  in  colour  with  a  white  line  under 
each  wing,  flew  just  over  their  heads  and  disappeared 
to  the  south.  It  is,  indeed,  strange  to  hear  of  such  an 
incident  in  latitude  83°  40'  South.  They  were  sure 
it  was  not  a  skua  gull,  which  is  the  only  bird  I  could 
think  of  that  would  venture  down  here,  and  the  gull 
might  have  been  attracted  by  the  last  dead  pony,  for 
when  in  latitude  80°  30'  South,  on  my  last  southern 
trip,  a  skua  gull  arrived  shortly  after  we  had  killed  a 
dog. 

After  lunch  we  started  again,  and  by  dint  of  great 
exertions  managed,  at  6  p.m.,  to  camp  after  getting 
both  sledges  and  then  the  pony  over  another  couple 
of  miles  of  crevassed  blue  ice.  We  then  went  on  and 
had  a  look  ahead,  and  saw  that  we  are  going  to  have 
a  tough  time  to-morrow  to  get  along  at  all.  I  can  see 
that  it  will,  at  least,  mean  relaying  three  or  four  times 
across  nearly  half  a  mile  of  terribly  crevassed  ice, 
covered  in  places  with  treacherous  snow,  and  razor- 
edged  in  other  places,  all  of  it  sloping  down  towards 
the  rock  debris  strewn  shore  on  the  cliff  side.  We  are 
camped  under  a  wonderful  pillar  of  granite  that  has 
been  rounded  by  the  winds  into  a  perfectly  symmetrical 
shape,  and  is  banded  by  lines  of  gneiss.  There  is  just 
one  little  patch  of  snow  for  our  tents,  and  even  that 
bridges    some    crevasses.     Providence    will    look    over 

313 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

us  to-night,  for  we  can  do  nothing  more  One  feels 
that  at  any  moment  some  great  piece  of  rock  may  come 
hurthng  down,  for  all  round  us  are  pieces  of  granite, 
ranging  from  the  size  of  a  hazel-nut  to  great  boulders 
twenty  to  forty  tons  in  weight,  and  on  one  snow  slope 
is  the  fresh  track  of  a  fallen  rock.  Still  y/e  can  do  no 
better,  for  it  is  impossible  to  spread  a  tent  on  the  blue 
ice,  and  we  cannot  get  any  further  to-night.  We 
are  leaving  a  depot  here.  My  eyes  are  my  only 
trouble,  for  their  condition  makes  it  impossible  for  me 
to  pick  out  the  route  or  do  much  more  than  pull.  The 
distance  covered  to-day  was  9  miles  with  4  miles  relay. 
December  6.  Started  at  8  a.m.  to-day  in  fine  weather 
to  get  our  loads  over  the  half-mile  of  crevassed  ice  that 
lay  between  us  and  the  snow  slope  to  the  south- south- 
west. We  divided  up  the  load  and  managed  to  get  the 
whole  lot  over  in  three  journeys,  but  it  was  an  awful 
job,  for  every  step  was  a  venture,  and  I,  with  one  eye 
entirely  blocked  up  because  of  snow-blindness,  felt  it 
particularly  uncomfortable  work.  However,  by  1  p.m. 
all  our  gear  was  safely  over,  and  the  other  three  went 
back  for  Socks.  Wild  led  him,  and  by  2  p.m.  we  were 
all  camped  on  the  snow  again.  Providence  has  indeed 
looked  after  us.  At  3  p.m.  we  started  south-south- 
west up  a  long  slope  to  the  right  of  the  main  glacier 
pressure.  It  was  very  heavy  going,  and  we  camped 
at  5  P.M.  close  to  a  huge  crevasse,  the  snow  bridge  of 
which  we  crossed.  There  is  a  wonderful  view  of  the 
mountains,  with  new  peaks  and  ranges  to  the  south- 
east, south  and  south-west.  There  is  a  dark  rock 
running  in  conjunction  with  the  granite  on  several  of 
the  mountains.  We  are  now  over  1700  ft.  up  on  the 
glacier,  and  can  see  down  on  to  the  Barrier.  The  cloud 
still  hangs  on  the  mountain  ahead  of  us  ;  it  certainly 
looks  as  though  it  were  a  volcano  cloud,  but  it  may  be 
814 


THE    LAST    PONY    ENGULFED 

due  to  condensation.  The  lower  current  clouds  are 
travelling  very  fast  from  south-south-east  to  north- 
north-west.  The  weather  is  fine  and  clear,  and  the 
temperature  plus  17°  Fahr. 

December  7.  Started  at  8  a.m.,  Adams,  Marshall 
and  self  puUing  one  sledge.  Wild  leading  Socks  behind. 
We  travelled  up  and  down  slopes  with  very  deep  snow, 
into  which  Socks  sank  up  to  his  belly,  and  we  plunged 
in  and  out  continuously,  making  it  very  trying  work. 
Passed  several  crevasses  on  our  right  hand  and  could 
see  more  to  the  left.  The  light  became  bad  at  1  p.m., 
when  we  camped  for  lunch,  and  it  was  hard  to  see  the 
crevasses,  as  most  were  more  or  less  snow  covered. 
After  lunch  the  light  was  better,  and  as  we  marched 
along  we  were  congratulating  ourselves  upon  it  when 
suddenly  we  heard  a  shout  of  "  help "  from  Wild. 
We  stopped  at  once  and  rushed  to  his  assistance, 
and  saw  the  pony  sledge  with  the  forward  end  down 
a  crevasse  and  Wild  reaching  out  from  the  side  of  the 
gulf  grasping  the  sledge.  No  sign  of  the  pony.  We 
soon  got  up  to  Wild,  and  he  scrambled  out  of  the 
dangerous  position,  but  poor  Socks  had  gone.  Wild 
had  a  miraculous  escape.  He  was  following  up  our 
tracks,  and  we  had  passed  over  a  crevasse  which  was 
entirely  covered  with  snow,  but  the  weight  of  the  pony 
broke  through  the  snow  crust  and  in  a  second  all  was 
over.  Wild  says  he  just  felt  a  sort  of  rushing  wind, 
the  leading  rope  was  snatched  from  his  hand,  and  he 
put  out  his  arms  and  just  caught  the  further  edge  of  the 
chasm.  Fortunately  for  Wild  and  us.  Socks'  weight 
snapped  the  swingle-tree  of  the  sledge,  so  it  was  saved, 
though  the  upper  bearer  is  broken.  We  lay  down  on 
our  stomachs  and  looked  over  into  the  gulf,  but  no 
sound  or  sign  came  to  us  ;  a  black  bottomless  pit  it 
seemed  to  be.     We  hitched  the  pony  sledge  to  ourselves 

315 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

and  started  off  again,  now  with  a  weight  of  1000  lb. 
for  the  four  of  us.  Camped  at  6.20  p.m.,  very  tired, 
having  to  retreat  from  a  maze  of  crevasses  and  rotten 
ice  on  to  a  patch  where  we  could  pitch  our  tents.  We 
are  indeed  thankful  for  Wild's  escape.  When  I  think 
over  the  events  of  the  day  I  realise  what  the  loss  of  the 
sledge  would  have  meant  to  us.  We  would  have  had 
left  only  two  sleeping-bags  for  the  four  of  us,  and  I 
doubt  whether  we  could  have  got  back  to  winter- 
quarters  with  the  short  equipment.  Our  chance  of 
reaching  the  Pole  would  have  been  gone.  We  take  on 
the  maize  to  eat  ourselves.  There  is  one  ray  of  light 
in  this  bad  day,  and  that  is  that  anyhow  we  could  not 
have  taken  Socks  on  much  further.  We  would  have 
had  to  shoot  him  to-night,  so  that  although  his  loss  is 
a  serious  matter  to  us,  for  we  had  counted  on  the  meat, 
still  we  know  that  for  traction  purposes  he  would  have 
been  of  little  further  use.  When  we  tried  to  camp 
to-night  we  stuck  our  ice-axes  into  the  snow  to  see 
whether  there  were  any  more  hidden  crevasses,  and 
everywhere  the  axes  went  through.  It  would  have 
been  folly  to  have  pitched  our  camp  in  that  place,  as 
we  might  easily  have  dropped  through  during  the  night. 
We  had  to  retreat  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  pitch  the  tent. 
It  was  very  unpleasant  to  turn  back,  even  for  this  short 
distance,  but  on  this  job  one  must  expect  reverses. 

December  8.  Started  at  8  a.m.  and  immediately 
began  dodging  crevasses  and  pits  of  unknown  depth. 
Wild  and  I  were  leading,  for,  thank  heaven,  my  eyes 
are  fit  and  well  again.  We  slowly  toiled  up  a  long 
crevassed  slope,  and  by  lunch  time  were  about  1900  ft. 
up  the  glacier  and  had  covered  6  miles  150  yards  of  an 
uphill  drag,  with  about  250  lb.  per  man  to  haul.  After 
lunch  we  still  travelled  up,  but  came  on  to  blue  glacier 
ice  almost  free  from  crevasses,  so  did  much  better, 
316 


DANGEROUS    TRAVELLING    H«*H,1'' 


84' 2' 


the  sledges  running  easily.  We  camped  at  6  p.m.,  the 
day's  journey  having  been  12  miles  150  yards.  The 
slope  we  went  up  in  the  morning  was  not  as  bad  as  we 
had  anticipated,  but  quite  bad  enough  for  us  to  be 
thankful  that  we  are  out,  at  any  rate  for  a  time,  from 
the  region  of  hidden  crevasses.  The  hypsometer  to-night 
gave  our  height  as  2300  ft.  above  sea-level.  It  is  beauti- 
fully fine  still.  We  have  been  wonderfully  fortunate 
in  this,  especially  in  view  of  the  situation  we  are  in. 

December  9.  Another  splendid  day  as  far  as  the 
weather  is  concerned,  and  much  we  needed  it,  for  we 
have  had  one  of  our  hardest  day's  work  and  certainly 
the  most  dangerous  so  far.  We  started  at  7.45  a.m. 
over  the  blue  ice,  and  in  less  than  an  hour  were  in  a 
perfect  maze  of  crevasses,  some  thinly  bridged  with 
snow  and  others  with  a  thicker  and  therefore  more 
deceptive  covering.  Marshall  went  through  one  and 
was  only  saved  by  his  harness.  He  had  quite  dis- 
appeared down  below  the  level  of  the  ice,  and  it  was 
one  of  those  crevasses  that  open  out  from  the  top,  with 
no  bottom  to  be  seen,  and  I  daresay  there  was  a  drop 
of  at  least  1000  ft.  Soon  after,  Adams  went  through, 
then  I  did.  The  situation  became  momentarily  more 
dangerous  and  uncertain.  The  sledges,  skidding  about, 
came  up  against  the  sheer,  knife-like  edges  of  some  of 
the  crevasses,  and  thus  the  bow  of  the  second  sledge, 
which  had  been  strained  when  Socks  fell,  gave  way. 
We  decided  to  relay  our  gear  over  this  portion  of  the 
glacier  until  we  got  on  to  safer  ground,  and  it  was  well 
past  eleven  o'clock  before  we  had  got  both  sledges  on 
to  better  ice.  We  camped  at  11.45  a.m.  to  get  the  sun's 
meridian  altitude,  and,  to  save  time  while  watching 
the  sun's  rise  and  fall,  decided  to  lunch  at  noon.  The 
latitude  we  found  to  be  84°  2'  South,  which  is  not  so 
bad  considering  that  we  have  been  hauling  our  heavy 

317 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

load  of  250  lb.  per  man  uphill  for  the  last  two  days. 
At  noon  we  were  nearly  2500  ft.  above  sea-level.  In 
the  afternoon  we  had  another  heavy  pull,  and  now  are 
camped  between  two  huge  crevasses,  but  on  a  patch 
of  hard  snow.  We  pitched  camp  at  6  p.m.,  very  tired 
and  extremely  hungry  after  dragging  uphill  all  the 
afternoon  for  over  five  hours.  It  is  8  p.m.  now,  and 
we  are  nearly  3000  ft.  above  sea-level.  Low  cumulus 
clouds  are  hanging  to  the  south  of  us,  as  they  have 
done  for  many  days  past,  obscuring  any  view  in  that 
direction.  We  are  anxiously  hoping  to  find  soon  a 
level  and  inland  ice-sheet  so  that  we  can  put  on  more 
speed.  The  distance  to-day  was  11  miles  1450  yards  plus 
two  miles  relay.  The  talk  now  is  mainly  about  food 
and  the  things  we  would  like  to  eat,  and  at  meal-times 
our  hoosh  disappears  with  far  too  great  speed.  We 
are  all  looking  forward  to  Christmas  Day,  for  then, 
come  what  may,  we  are  going  to  be  full  of  food. 

December  10.  Falls,  bruises,  cut  shins,  crevasses, 
razor-edged  ice,  and  a  heavy  upward  pull  have  made 
up  the  sum  of  the  day's  trials,  but  there  has  been  a 
measure  of  compensation  in  the  wonderful  scenery, 
the  marvellous  rocks  and  the  covering  of  a  distance  of 
11  miles  860  yards  tov/ards  our  goal.  We  started  at 
7.30  A.M.  amongst  crevasses,  but  soon  got  out  of  them 
and  pulled  up  a  long  slope  of  snow.  Our  altitude  at  noon 
was  3250  ft.  above  sea-level.  Then  we  slid  down  a  blue 
ice  slope,  after  crossing  crevasses.  Marshall  and  I  each 
went  down  one.  We  lunched  at  1  p.m.  and  started  at 
2  p.m.  up  a  long  ridge  by  the  side  moraine  of  the  glacier. 
It  was  heavy  work,  as  the  ice  was  split  and  presented 
knife-like  edges  between  the  cracks,  and  there  were 
also  some  crevasses.  Adams  got  into  one.  The  going 
was  terribly  heavy,  as  the  sledges  brought  up  against 
the  ice-edges  every  now  and  then,  and  then  there  was 
318 


THE    CLOUD MAKER 

a  struggle  to  get  them  started  again.  We  changed  our 
foot-gear,  substituting  ski-boots  for  the  finnesko,  but 
nevertheless  had  many  painful  falls  on  the  treacherous 
blue  ice,  cutting  our  hands  and  shins.  We  are  all  much 
bruised.  We  camped  on  a  patch  of  snow  by  the  land 
at  6  P.M.  The  rocks  of  the  moraine  are  remarkable, 
being  of  every  hue  and  description.  I  cannot  describe 
them,  but  we  will  carry  specimens  back  for  the  geolo- 
gists to  deal  with.  The  main  rocks  of  the  "  Cloud- 
Maker,"  the  mountain  under  which  we  are  camped, 
appear  to  be  slates,  reef-quartz  and  a  very  hard,  dark 
brown  rock,  the  name  of  which  I  do  not  know.  The 
erratics  of  marble,  conglomerate  and  breccia  are  beauti- 
ful, showing  a  great  mass  of  wonderful  colours,  but 
these  rocks  we  cannot  take  away.  We  can  only  take 
with  us  small  specimens  of  the  main  rocks,  as  weight 
is  of  importance  to  us,  and  from  these  small  specimens 
the  geologists  must  determine  the  general  character 
of  the  land.  This  mountain  is  the  one  we  thought 
might  be  an  active  volcano  when  we  saw  it  from  the 
mountain  at  the  foot  of  the  glacier,  but  the  cloud  has 
blown  away  from  its  head  to-day,  and  we  can  see  defi- 
nitely that  it  is  not  a  volcano.  It  is  a  remarkable  sight 
as  it  towers  above  us  with  the  snow  clinging  to  its  sides. 
To-night  there  is  a  cold  north  wind.  I  climbed  about 
600  ft.  up  the  mountain  and  got  specimens  of  the  main 
rocks  in  situ.  The  glacier  is  evidently  moving  very 
slowly  and  not  filling  as  much  of  the  valley  as  it  did  at 
some  previous  date,  for  the  old  moraines  lie  higher  up 
in  terraces.  Low  cumulus  clouds  to  the  south  are 
hiding  some  of  the  new  land  in  that  direction.  We  are 
all  very  hungry  and  tired  to-night  after  the  day's  fight 
with  glacier.  Whilst  I  went  up  the  mountain  to  spy 
out  the  land  the  others  ground  up  the  balance  of  the 
maize,  brought  for  pony  feed,  between  flat  stones,  in 

ai9 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

order  that  we  may  use  it  ourselves  to  eke  out  our  supply 
of  food.  The  method  of  preparation  was  primitive, 
but  it  represented  the  only  way  of  getting  it  fit  to  cook 
without  the  necessity  of  using  more  oil  than  we  can 
spare  for  lengthy  boiling.  The  temperature  was  plus 
12°  Fahr.  at  noon  to-day,  and  is  plus  14°  now  at  8  p.m. 
We  are  getting  south,  and  we  hope  to  reach  the  inland 
ice  in  a  couple  of  days  ;  then  our  marching  will  be 
faster.     The  weather  is  still  fine. 

December  11.  A  heavy  day.  We  started  away 
at  7.40  A.M.  and  tried  to  keep  alongside  the  land,  but 
the  ice  of  the  glacier  sloped  so  much  that  we  had  to  go 
on  to  the  ridge,  where  the  sledges  could  run  without 
side-slipping.  This  slipping  cuts  the  runners  very 
badly.  We  crossed  the  medial  moraine,  and  found 
rock  there  with  what  looked  like  plant  impressions. 
We  collected  some  specimens. 

In  the  afternoon  we  found  the  surface  better,  as 
the  cracks  were  nearly  all  filled  up  with  water  turned 
to  ice.  We  camped  for  lunch  on  rubbly  ice.  After 
lunch  we  rounded  some  pressure  ridges  fairly  easily, 
and  then  pulled  up  a  long  ice-slope  with  many  sharp 
points.  All  the  afternoon  we  were  passing  over  ice 
in  which  the  cracks  had  been  closed  up,  and  we  began 
to  have  great  hopes  that  the  end  of  the  glacier  was  in 
sight,  and  that  we  would  soon  be  able  to  put  in  some 
good  marches  on  the  plateau.  At  5  p.m.  we  found 
more  cracks  and  a  mass  of  pressure  ice  ahead,  and  land 
appeared  as  the  clouds  ahead  lifted.  I  cannot  tell 
what  it  means,  but  the  position  makes  us  anxious. 
The  sledges  will  not  stand  much  more  of  this  ice  work, 
and  we  are  still  340  geographical  miles  away  from  the 
Pole.  Thank  God  the  weather  is  fine  still.  We  camped 
at  6  P.M.  on  hard  ice  between  two  crevasses.  There 
was  no  snow  to  pack  round  the  tents,  so  we  had  to  put 
320 


THREE    MILES    IN    A    DAY 

the  sledges  and  the  provision  bags  on  the  snow  cloths. 
We  made  the  floor  level  inside  by  chipping  away  the 
points  of  ice  with  our  ice-axes.  We  were  very  hungry 
after  hoosh  to-night.  An  awkward  feature  about  the 
glacier  are  the  little  pits  filled  with  mud,  of  which  I 
collected  a  small  sample.*  It  seems  to  be  ground- 
down  rock  material,  but  what  the  action  has  been  I 
cannot  tell.  The  hot  sun,  beating  down  on  this  mud, 
makes  it  gradually  sink  into  the  body  of  the  glacier, 
leaving  a  rotten  ice  covering  through  which  we  often 
break.  It  is  like  walking  over  a  cucumber  frame,  and 
sometimes  the  boulders  that  have  sunk  down  through 
the  ice  can  be  seen  3  or  4  ft.  below  the  surface.  The 
ice  that  has  formed  above  the  sunken  rocks  is  more 
clear  than  the  ordinary  glacier  ice.  We  are  8700  ft. 
up,  and  made  8  miles  900  yards  to  the  good  to-day. 
We  have  the  satisfaction  of  feeling  that  we  are  getting 
south,  and  perhaps  to-morrow  may  see  the  end  of  all 
our  difficulties.  Difficulties  are  just  things  to  over- 
come after  all.     Every  one  is  very  fit.  ' 

December  12.  Our  distance — three  miles  for  the 
day — expresses  more  readily  than  I  can  write  it  the 
nature  of  the  day's  work.  We  started  at  7.40  a.m.  on 
the  worst  surface  possible,  sharp-edged  blue  ice  full  of 
chasms  and  crevasses,  rising  to  hills  and  descending 
into  gullies  ;  in  fact,  a  surface  that  could  not  be  equalled 
in  any  polar  work  for  difficulty  in  travelling.  Our 
sledges  are  suffering  greatly,  and  it  is  a  constant  strain 
on  us  both  to  save  the  sledges  from  breaking  or  going 
down  crevasses,  and  to  save  ourselves  as  well.  We  are 
a  mass  of  bruises  where  we  have  fallen  on  the  sharp  ice, 
but,  thank  God,  no  one  has  even  a  sprain.  It  has  been 
relay  work  to-day,  for  we  could  only  take  on  one  sledge 
at  a  time,  two  of  us  taking  turns  at  pulling  the  sledge 

•  These  pits  are  known  as  "  cryoconite  holes." 
I  X  821 


THE    HEART    OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

whilst  the  others  steadied  and  held  the  sledge  to  keep  it 
straight.  Thus  we  would  advance  one  mile,  and  then 
return  over  the  crevasses  and  haul  up  the  other  sledge. 
By  repeating  this  to-day  for  three  miles  we  marched 
nine  miles  over  a  surface  where  many  times  a  slip 
meant  death.  Still  we  have  advanced  three  miles  to 
the  south,  and  to-night  we  are  camped  on  a  patch  of 
neve.  By  using  our  ice-axes  we  made  a  place  for  the 
tent.  The  weather  is  still  splendidly  fine,  though  low 
clouds  obscure  our  horizon  to  the  south.  We  are 
anxiously  hoping  to  cross  the  main  pressure  to-morrow, 
and  trust  that  we  will  then  have  better  travelling. 
Given  good  travelling,  we  will  not  be  long  in  reaching  our 
goal.  Marshall  is  putting  in  the  bearings  and  angles  of 
the  new  mountains.  They  still  keep  appearing  to  the 
west  and  east.  Distance  3  miles  500  yards,  with  relays 
9  miles  1500  yards. 

December  13.  We  made  a  start  at  8  a.m.  and  once 
again  went  up  hill  and  down  dale,  over  crevasses  and 
blue,  ribbed  ice,  relaying  the  sledges.  We  had  covered 
about  a  mile  when  we  came  to  a  place  where  it  seemed 
almost  impossible  to  proceed.  However,  to  our  right, 
bearing  about  south-west  by  south,  there  seemed  to  be 
better  surface  and  we  decided  to  make  a  detour  in  that 
direction  in  order,  if  possible,  to  get  round  the  pressure. 
While  returning  for  one  of  the  sledges  I  fell  on  the  ice 
and  hurt  my  left  knee,  which  was  a  serious  matter,  or 
rather  might  have  been.  I  have  had  a  bandage  on  all 
the  afternoon  while  pulling,  and  the  knee  feels  better 
now,  but  one  realises  what  it  would  mean  if  any  member 
of  our  party  were  to  be  damaged  under  these  conditions 
and  in  this  place.  This  afternoon  we  came  on  to  a  better 
surface,  and  were  able  to  pull  both  sledges  instead  of 
relaying.  We  are  still  gradually  rising,  and  to-night 
our  hypsometer  gives  203.7,  or  4370  feet  up.  There 
322 


5600    FEET    UP    THE    GLACIER 

is  a  cool  southerly  wind  ;  indeed,  more  than  we  have 
had  before,  and  as  we  have  only  a  patch  of  neve  on 
the  glacier  for  our  tents,  we  had  to  take  the  provision 
bags  and  gear  off  the  sledges  to  keep  the  tent  cloths 
down.  The  temperature  is  plus  19°  Fahr.  New  moun- 
tains are  still  appearing  to  the  west-south-west  as  we 
rise.  We  seem  now  to  be  going  up  a  long  yellow  track, 
for  the  ice  is  not  so  blue,  and  we  are  evidently  travelling 
over  an  old  moraine,  where  the  stones  have  sunk  through 
the  ice  when  its  onward  movement  has  been  retarded. 
I  am  sure  that  the  bulk  of  the  glacier  is  growing  less, 
but  the  onward  movement  still  continues,  though  at 
a  much  slower  pace  than  at  some  previous  period.  The 
gain  for  the  day  was  five  miles,  and  in  addition  we  did 
four  miles  relay  work. 

December  14.  This  has  been  one  of  our  hardest  day's 
work  so  far.  We  have  been  steering  all  day  about 
south-south-west  up  the  glacier,  mainly  in  the  bed  of 
an  ancient  moraine,  which  is  full  of  holes  through  which 
the  stones  and  boulders  have  melted  down  long  years 
ago.  It  has  been  snowing  all  day  with  a  high  tempera- 
ture, and  this  has  made  everything  very  wet.  We  have 
ascended  over  1000  ft.  to-day,  our  altitude  at  6  p.m. 
being  5600  ft.  above  sea-level,  so  the  mountains  to 
the  west  must  be  from  10,000  to  15,000  ft.  in  height, 
judging  from  their  comparative  elevation.  My  knee 
is  better  to-day.  We  have  had  a  heavy  pull  and  many 
falls  on  the  slippery  ice.  Just  before  camping,  Adams 
went  through  some  snow,  but  held  up  over  an  awful 
chasm.  Our  sledges  are  much  the  worse  for  wear,  and 
the  one  with  the  broken  bow  constantly  strikes  against 
the  hard,  sharp  ice,  pulling  us  up  with  a  jerk  and  often 
flinging  us  down.  At  this  high  altitude  the  heavy 
pulling  is  very  trying,  especially  as  we  slip  on  the  snow 
covering  the  blue  ice.     There  has  evidently  been  an 

323 


THE    HEART    OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

enormous  glaciation  here,  and  now  it  is  dwindling  away. 
Even  the  mountains  show  signs  of  this.  To-night  our 
hopes  are  high  that  we  are  nearly  at  the  end  of  the  rise 
and  that  soon  we  will  reach  our  longed-for  plateau. 
Then  southward  indeed !  Food  is  the  determining 
factor  with  us.     We  did  7J  miles  to-day. 

December  15.  Started  at  7.40  a.m.  in  clear  weather. 
It  was  heavy  going  uphill  on  the  blue  ice,  but  gradually 
we  rose  the  land  ahead,  and  it  seemed  as  though  at  last 
we  were  going  to  have  a  change,  and  that  we  would 
see  something  new.  At  lunch-time  we  were  on  a  better 
surface,  with  patches  of  snow,  and  we  could  see  stretch- 
ing out  in  front  of  us  what  was  apparently  a  long,  wide 
plain.  It  looked  as  though  now  really  we  were  coming 
to  the  level  ground  for  which  we  have  longed,  especially 
as  the  hypsometer  gave  us  an  altitude  of  7230  ft.,  but 
this  altitude  at  night  came  down  to  5830  ft.,  so  the 
apparent  height  may  be  due  to  barometric  pressure 
and  change  of  weather,  for  in  the  afternoon  a  stiff  breeze 
from  the  south-west  sprang  up.  The  temperature  was 
plus  18°  Fahr.  at  noon,  and  when  the  wind  came  up 
it  felt  cold,  as  we  were  pulling  in  our  pyjama  trousers, 
with  nothing  underneath.  We  have  been  going  steadily 
uphill  all  the  afternoon,  but  on  a  vastly  improved  surface, 
consisting  of  hard  neve  instead  of  blue  ice  and  no  cracks, 
only  covered-in  crevasses,  which  are  easily  seen.  Ahead 
of  us  really  lies  the  plateau.  We  can  also  see  ahead 
of  us  detached  mountains,  piercing  through  the  inland 
ice,  which  is  the  road  to  the  south  for  us.  Huge  moun- 
tains stretch  out  to  the  east  and  west.  After  last  week's 
toil  and  anxiety  the  change  is  delightful.  The  distance 
covered  to-day  was  13  miles  200  yards. 

December  16.  We  started  at  7  a.m.,  having  had 
breakfast  at  5.80  a.m.  It  was  snowing  slightly  for  the 
first  few  hours,  and  then  the  weather  cleared.  The 
824 


NEARING   THE    PLATEAU      "tH'^J.^ 


84°  50' 


surface  was  hard  and  the  going  good.  We  camped  at 
noon  and  took  sights  for  latitude,  and  ascertained  that 
our  position  was  84°  50'  South.  Ahead  of  us  we  could 
see  a  long  slope,  icy  and  crevassed,  but  we  did  13  miles 
1650  yards  for  the  day.  We  camped  at  5.30  p.m.,  and  got 
ready  our  depot  gear.  We  have  decided  to  travel  as 
lightly  as  possible,  taking  only  the  clothes  we  are  wearing, 
and  we  will  leave  four  days'  food,  which  I  calculate 
should  get  us  back  to  the  last  depot  on  short  ration. 
We  have  now  traversed  nearly  one  hundred  miles  of 
crevassed  ice,  and  risen  6000  ft.  on  the  largest  glacier 
in  the  world.  One  more  crevassed  slope,  and  we  will 
be  on  the  plateau,  please  God.  We  are  all  fit  and  well. 
The  temperature  to-night  is  plus  15°  Fahr.,  and  the  wind 
is  blowing  freshly  from  the  south-west.  There  are 
splendid  ranges  of  mountains  to  the  west-south-west, 
and  we  have  an  extended  view  of  glacier  and  mountains. 
Ahead  of  us  lie  three  sharp  peaks,  connected  up  and 
forming  an  island  in  what  is  apparently  inland  ice  or 
the  head  of  the  glacier.  The  peaks  lie  due  south  of  us. 
To  the  eastward  and  westward  of  this  island  the  ice 
bears  down  from  the  inland  ice-sheet,  and  joins  the  head 
of  the  glacier  proper.  To  the  westward  the  mountains 
along  the  side  of  the  glacier  are  all  of  the  bluff  type, 
and  the  lines  of  stratification  can  be  seen  plainly.  Still 
further  to  the  westward,  behind  the  frontal  range,  lie 
sharper  peaks,  some  of  them  almost  perfect  cones.  The 
trend  of  the  land  from  the  "  Cloudmaker  "  is  about 
south-south-west.  We  are  travelling  up  the  west  side 
of  the  glacier.  On  the  other  side,  to  the  east,  there  is 
a  break  in  the  bluff  mountains,  and  the  land  beyond 
runs  away  more  to  the  south-east.  The  valley  is  filled 
with  pressure  ice,  which  seems  to  have  come  from  the 
inland  ice-sheet.  The  mountains  to  the  south-east  also 
show  lines  of  stratification.    I  hope  that  the  photographs 

825 


THE    HEART    OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

will  be  clear  enough  to  give  an  idea  of  the  character 
of  this  land.  These  mountains  are  not  beautiful  in 
the  ordinary  acceptance  of  the  term,  but  they  are 
magnificent  in  their  stern  and  rugged  grandeur.  No 
foot  has  ever  trod  on  their  mighty  sides,  and  until  we 
reached  this  frozen  land  no  human  eyes  had  seen  their 
forms. 

December  17.  We  made  a  start  at  7.20  a.m.  and  had 
an  uphill  pull  all  the  morning  over  blue  ice  with  patches 
of  snow,  which  impeded  our  progress  until  we  learned 
that  the  best  way  was  to  rush  the  sledges  over  them, 
for  it  was  very  difficult  to  keep  one's  footing  on  the 
smooth  ice,  and  haul  the  sledges  astern  over  the  snow. 
By  1  P.M.  we  had  done  eight  miles  of  this  uphill  work,  and 
in  the  afternoon  we  did  four  more.  We  had  worked 
from  7.23  a.m.  until  6.40  p.m.  with  one  hour's  rest  for 
lunch  only  and  it  seems  as  though  twelve  miles  was 
not  much,  but  the  last  two  hours'  going  was  very  stiff. 
We  had  to  take  on  one  sledge  at  a  time  up  the  icy  slope, 
and  even  then  we  had  to  cut  steps  with  our  ice-axes 
as  we  went  along.  The  work  was  made  more  difficult 
by  the  fact  that  a  strong  southerly  wind  was  dead  in 
our  faces.  The  second  sledge  we  hauled  up  the  rise 
by  means  of  the  alpine  rope.  We  made  it  fast  to  the 
sledge,  went  on  with  the  first  sledge  till  the  rope  was 
stretched  out  to  its  full  length,  then  cut  a  place  to  stand 
on,  and  by  our  united  efforts  hauled  the  sledge  up  to 
where  we  stood.  We  repeated  this  until  we  had  managed 
to  reach  a  fairly  level  spot  with  both  the  sledges,  and 
we  pitched  our  tents  on  a  small  patch  of  snow.  There 
was  not  enough  of  the  snow  to  make  fast  the  snow- 
cloths  of  the  tents,  and  we  had  to  take  the  gear  off  the 
sledges  and  pile  that  round  to  supplement  the  snow. 
We  have  burned  our  boats  behind  us  now  as  regards 
warm  clothing,  for  this  afternoon  we  made  a  depot  in 
320 


A  Slope  just  above  the  Upper  Glacier  Depot,  showing  Stratification  Lines 


The  Mountains  towards  the  Head  of  the  Glacier,  where  the  Coal  was  found 

To  factf  pafje  326 


DISCOVERY    OF    COAL 

by  the  rocks  of  the  island  we  are  passing,  and  there  left 
everything  except  the  barest  necessaries.  After  dinner 
to-night  Wild  went  up  the  hill-side  in  order  to  have  a 
look  at  the  plateau.  He  came  down  with  the  news  that 
the  plateau  is  in  sight  at  last,  and  that  to-morrow  should 
see  us  at  the  end  of  our  difficulties.  He  also  brought 
down  with  him  some  very  interesting  geological  speci- 
mens, some  of  which  certainly  look  like  coal.  The 
quality  may  be  poor,  but  I  have  little  doubt  that  the 
stuff  is  coal.  If  that  proves  to  be  the  case,  the  discovery 
will  be  most  interesting  to  the  scientific  world.  Wild 
tells  me  that  there  are  about  six  seams  of  this  dark 
stuff,  mingled  with  sandstone,  and  that  the  seams  are 
from  4  in.  to  7  or  8  ft.  in  thickness.  There  are  vast 
quantities  of  it  lying  on  the  hill-side.  'We  took  a  photo- 
graph of  the  sandstone,  and  I  wish  very  much  that  we 
could  spare  time  to  examine  the  rocks  more  thoroughly. 
We  may  be  able  to  do  this  on  the  way  back.  We  have 
but  little  time  for  geological  work,  for  our  way  is  south 
and  time  is  short,  but  we  found  that  the  main  rock  is 
sandstone  and  on  our  way  back  we  will  collect  some. 
I  expect  that  this  will  be  the  most  southerly  rock  that 
we  shall  obtain,  for  we  ought  to  reach  the  plateau  to- 
morrow, and  then  there  will  be  no  more  land  close  to 
us.  It  is  gusty  to-night,  but  beautifully  clear.  The 
altitude,  according  to  the  hypsometer,  is  6100  ft. 

Note.  When  I  showed  the  specimens  to  Professor  David  after 
our  return  to  the  Nimrod,  he  stated  definitely  that  some  of  them  were 
coal  and  others  "  mother  of  coal."  The  notes  on  geological  matters 
in  another  chapter  will  deal  more  fully  with  this  very  interesting 
discovery. 


827 


^ 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

ON  THE  PLATEAU  TO  THE  FARTHEST  SOUTH 

DECEMBER  18.  Almost  up  !  The  altitude  to-night 
is  7400  ft.  above  sea-level.  This  has  been 
one  of  our  hardest  days,  but  worth  it,  for  we  are  just 
on  the  plateau  at  last.  We  started  at  7.30  a.m.,  relaying 
the  sledges,  and  did  6  miles  600  yards,  which  means 
nearly  19  miles  for  the  day  of  actual  travelling.  All 
the  morning  we  worked  up  loose,  slippery  ice,  hauling 
the  sledges  up  one  at  a  time  by  means  of  the  alpine 
rope,  then  pulling  in  harness  on  the  less  stiff  rises.  We 
camped  for  lunch  at  12.45  p.m.  on  the  crest  of  a  rise 
close  to  the  pressure  and  in  the  midst  of  crevasses,  into 
one  of  which  I  managed  to  fall,  also  Adams.  Whilst 
lunch  was  preparing  I  got  some  rock  from  the  land, 
quite  different  to  the  sandstone  of  yesterday.  The 
mountains  are  all  different  just  here.  The  land  on  our 
left  shows  beautifully  clear  stratified  lines,  and  on  the 
west  side  sandstone  stands  out,  greatly  weathered. 
All  the  afternoon  we  relayed  up  a  long  snow  slope,  and 
we  were  hungry  and  tired  when  we  reached  camp.  We 
have  been  saving  food  to  make  it  spin  out,  and  that 
increases  our  hunger  ;  each  night  we  all  dream  of  foods. 
We  save  two  biscuits  per  man  per  day,  also  pemmican 
and  sugar,  eking  out  our  food  with  pony  maize,  which 
v/e  soak  in  water  to  make  it  less  hard.  All  this  means 
that  we  have  now  five  weeks'  food,  while  we  are  about 
328 


300    MILES    FROM    THE    POLE     "^l^'l^' 

300  geographical  miles  from  the  Pole,  with  the  same 
distance  back  to  the  last  depot  we  left  yesterday,  so 
we  must  march  on  short  food  to  reach  our  goal.  The 
temperature  is  plus  16°  Fahr.  to-night,  but  a  cold  wind 
all  the  morning  cut  our  faces  and  broken  lips.  We  keep 
crevasses  with  us  still,  but  I  think  that  to-morrow  will 
see  the  end  of  this.  When  we  passed  the  main  slope 
to-day,  more  mountains  appeared  to  the  west  of  south, 
some  with  sheer  cliffs  and  others  rounded  off,  ending 
in  long  snow  slopes.  I  judge  the  southern  limit  of  the 
mountains  to  the  west  to  be  about  latitude  86°  South. 

December  19.  Not  on  the  plateau  level  yet,  though 
we  are  to-night  7888  ft.  up,  and  still  there  is  another 
rise  ahead  of  us.  We  got  breakfast  at  5  a.m.  and  started 
at  7  A.M.  sharp,  taking  on  one  sledge.  Soon  we  got 
to  the  top  of  a  ridge,  and  went  back  for  the  second 
sledge,  then  hauled  both  together  all  the  rest  of  the 
day.  The  weight  was  about  200  lb.  per  man,  and  we 
kept  going  until  6  p.m.,  with  a  stop  of  one  hour  for  lunch. 
We  got  a  meridian  altitude  at  noon,  and  found  that  our 
latitude  was  85°  5'  South.  We  seem  unable  to  get  rid 
of  the  crevasses,  and  we  have  been  falling  into  them 
and  steering  through  them  all  day  in  the  face  of  a  cold 
southerly  wind,  with  a  temperature  varying  from  plus 
15°  to  plus  9°  Fahr.  The  work  was  very  heavy,  for  we 
were  going  uphill  all  day,  and  our  sledge  runners,  which 
have  been  suffering  from  the  sharp  ice  and  rough  travel- 
ling, are  in  a  bad  way.  Soft  snow  in  places  greatly 
retarded  our  progress,  but  we  have  covered  our  ten 
miles,  and  now  are  camped  on  good  snow  between  two 
crevasses.  I  really  think  that  to-morrow  will  see  us 
on  the  plateau  proper.  This  glacier  must  be  one  of 
the  largest  if  not  the  largest  in  the  world.  The  sastrugi 
seem  to  point  mainly  to  the  south,  so  we  may  expect 
head  winds  all  the  way  to  the  Pole.     Marshall  has  a 

329 


THE    HEART    OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

cold  job  to-night,  taking  the  angles  of  the  new  mountains 
to  the  west,  some  of  which  appeared  to-day.  After 
dinner  we  examined  the  sledge  runners  and  turned  one 
sledge  end  for  end,  for  it  had  been  badly  torn  while  we 
were  coming  up  the  glacier,  and  in  the  soft  snow  it 
clogged  greatly.  We  are  still  favoured  with  splendid 
weather,  and  that  is  a  great  comfort  to  us,  for  it  would 
be  almost  impossible  under  other  conditions  to  travel 
amongst  these  crevasses,  which  are  caused  by  the  con- 
gestion of  the  ice  between  the  headlands  when  it  was 
flowing  from  the  plateau  down  between  the  mountains. 
Now  there  is  comparatively  little  movement,  and  many 
of  the  crevasses  have  become  snow-filled.  To-night 
we  are  290  geographical  miles  from  the  Pole.  We  are 
thinking  of  our  Christmas  dinner.  We  will  be  full  that 
day,  anyhow. 

December  20.  Not  yet  up,  but  nearly  so.  We  got 
away  from  camp  at  7  a.m.,  with  a  strong  head  wind 
from  the  south,  and  this  wind  continued  all  day,  with 
a  temperature  ranging  from  plus  7°  to  plus  5°.  Our 
beards  coated  with  ice.  It  was  an  uphill  pull  all  day 
around  pressure  ice,  and  we  reached  an  altitude  of  over 
8000  ft.  above  sea-level.  The  weather  was  clear,  but 
there  were  various  clouds,  which  were  noted  by  Adams. 
IMarshall  took  bearings  and  angles  at  noon,  and  we  got 
the  sun's  meridian  altitude,  showing  that  we  were  in 
latitude  85°  17'  South.  We  hope  all  the  time  that  each 
ridge  we  come  to  will  be  the  last,  but  each  time  another 
rises  ahead,  split  up  by  pressure,  and  we  begin  the  same 
toil  again.  It  is  trying  work  and  as  we  have  now 
reduced  our  food  at  breakfast  to  one  pannikin  of  hoosh 
and  one  biscuit,  by  the  time  the  lunch  hour  has  arrived, 
after  five  hours'  hauling  in  the  cold  wind  up  the  slope, 
we  are  very  hungry.  At  lunch  we  have  a  little  choco- 
late, tea  with  plasmon,  a  pannikin  of  cocoa  and  three 
330 


STILL    CLIMBING  "t^}'^,',' 

biscuits.  To-day  we  did  11  miles  950  yards  (statute) 
having  to  relay  the  sledges  over  the  last  bit,  for  the 
ridge  we  were  on  was  so  steep  that  we  could  not  get 
the  two  sledges  up  together.  Still,  we  are  getting  on  ; 
we  have  only  279  more  miles  to  go,  and  then  we  will 
have  reached  the  Pole.  The  land  appears  to  run  away 
to  the  south-east  now,  and  soon  we  will  be  just  a 
speck  on  this  great  inland  waste  of  snow  and  ice.  It 
is  cold  to-night.  I  am  cook  for  the  week,  and  started 
to-night.     Every  one  is  fit  and  well. 

December  21. — Midsummer  Day,  with  28°  of  frost ! 
We  have  frost-bitten  fingers  and  ears,  and  a  strong 
blizzard  wind  has  been  blowing  from  the  south  all  day, 
all  due  to  the  fact  that  we  have  climbed  to  an  altitude 
of  over  8000  ft.  above  sea-level.  From  early  morning 
we  have  been  striving  to  the  south,  but  six  miles 
is  the  total  distance  gained,  for  from  noon,  or  rather 
from  lunch  at  1  p.m.,  we  have  been  hauling  the  sledges 
up,  one  after  the  other,  by  standing  pulls  across  crevasses 
and  over  great  pressure  ridges.  When  we  had  advanced 
one  sledge  some  distance,  we  put  up  a  flag  on  a  bamboo 
to  mark  its  position,  and  then  roped  up  and  returned 
for  the  other.  The  wind,  no  doubt,  has  a  great  deal 
to  do  with  the  low  temperature,  and  we  feel  the  cold, 
as  we  are  going  on  short  commons.  The  altitude  adds 
to  the  difficulties,  but  we  are  getting  south  all  the  time. 
We  started  away  from  camp  at  6.45  a.m.  to-day,  and 
except  for  an  hour's  halt  at  lunch,  worked  on  until 
6  P.M.  Now  we  are  camped  in  a  filled-up  crevasse, 
the  only  place  where  snow  to  put  round  the  tents  can 
be  obtained,  for  all  the  rest  of  the  ground  we  are  on  is 
either  neve  or  hard  ice.  We  little  thought  that  this 
particular  pressure  ridge  was  going  to  be  such  an  obstacle; 
it  looked  quite  ordinary,  even  a  short  way  off,  but  we 
have  now  decided  to  trust  nothing  to  eyesight,  for  the 

331 


THE    HEART    OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

distances  are  so  deceptive  up  here.  It  is  a  wonderful 
sight  to  look  down  over  the  glacier  from  the  great 
altitude  we  are  at,  and  to  see  the  mountains  stretching 
away  east  and  west,  some  of  them  over  15,000  ft. 
in  height.  We  are  very  hungry  now,  and  it  seems  as 
cold  almost  as  the  spring  sledging.  Our  beards  are 
masses  of  ice  all  day  long.  Thank  God  we  are  fit  and 
well  and  have  had  no  acckdent,  which  is  a  mercy, 
seeing  that  we  have  covered  over  130  miles  of  crevassed 
ice.  i 

December  22.  As  I  write  of  to-day's  events,  I  can 
easily  imagine  I  am  on  a  spring  sledging  journey,  for 
the  temperature  is  minus  5°  Fahr.  and  a  chilly  south- 
easterly wind  is  blowing  and  finds  its  way  through  the 
walls  of  our  tent,  which  are  getting  worn.  All  day  long, 
from  7  A.M.,  except  for  the  hour  when  we  stopped  for 
lunch,  we  have  been  relaying  the  sledges  over  the  pressure 
mounds  and  across  crevasses.  Our  total  distance  to 
the  good  for  the  whole  day  was  only  four  miles  south- 
ward, but  this  evening  our  prospects  look  brighter, 
for  we  must  now  have  come  to  the  end  of  the  great 
glacier.  It  is  flattening  out,  and  except  for  crevasses 
there  will  not  be  much  trouble  in  hauling  the  sledges 
to-morrow.  One  sledge  to-day,  when  coming  down 
with  a  run  over  a  pressure  ridge,  turned  a  complete 
somersault,  but  nothing  was  damaged,  in  spite  of  the 
total  weight  being  over  400  lb.  We  are  now  dragging 
400  lb.  at  a  time  up  the  steep  slopes  and  across  the  ridges, 
working  with  the  alpine  rope  all  day,  and  roping  our- 
selves together  when  we  go  back  for  the  second  sledge, 
for  the  ground  is  so  treacherous  that  many  times  during 
the  day  we  are  saved  only  by  the  rope  from  falling  into 
fathomless  pits.  Wild  describes  the  sensation  of  walk- 
ing over  this  surface,  half  ice  and  half  snow,  as  like 
walkins  over  the  glass  roof  of  a  station.  The  usual 
332 


OVER    8000    FEET    UP  ^i^^f' 

query  when  one  of  us  falls  into  a  crevasse  is  :  "  Have 
you  found  it  ?  "  One  gets  somewhat  callous  as  regards 
the  immediate  danger,  though  we  are  always  glad  to 
meet  crevasses  with  their  coats  off,  that  is,  not  hidden 
by  the  snow  covering.  To-night  we  arc  camped  in  a 
filled-in  crevasse.  Away  to  the  north  down  the  glacier 
a  thick  cumulus  cloud  is  lying,  but  some  of  the  largest 
mountains  are  standing  out  clearly.  Immediately 
behind  us  lies  a  broken  sea  of  pressure  ice.  Please  God, 
ahead  of  us  there  is  a  clear  road  to  the  Pole. 

December  23.  Eight  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
twenty  feet  up,  and  still  steering  upwards  amid  great 
waves  of  pressure  and  ice-falls,  for  our  plateau, 
after  a  good  morning's  march,  began  to  rise  in 
higher  ridges,  so  that  it  really  was  not  the  plateau 
after  all.  To-day's  crevasses  have  been  far  more 
dangerous  than  any  others  we  have  crossed,  as  the 
soft  snow  hides  all  trace  of  them  until  we  fall  through. 
Constantly  to-day  one  or  another  of  the  party  has  had 
to  be  hauled  out  from  a  chasm  by  means  of  his  harness, 
which  had  alone  saved  him  from  death  in  the  icy  vault 
below.  We  started  at  6.40  a.m.  and  worked  on  steadily 
until  6  P.M.,  with  the  usual  lunch  hour  in  the  middle 
of  the  day.  The  pony  maize  does  not  swell  in  the  water 
now,  as  the  temperature  is  very  low  and  the  water 
freezes.  The  result  is  that  it  swells  inside  after  we 
have  eaten  it.  We  are  very  hungry  indeed,  and  talk 
a  great  deal  of  what  we  would  like  to  eat.  In  spite  of 
the  crevasses,  we  have  done  thirteen  miles  to-day  to 
the  south,  and  we  are  now  in  latitude  85°  41'  South. 
The  temperature  at  noon  was  plus  6°  Fahr.  and  at  6 
P.M.  it  was  minus  1°  Fahr.,  but  it  is  much  lower  at  night. 
There  was  a  strong  south-east  to  south-south-east  wind 
blowing  all  day,  and  it  was  cutting  to  our  noses  and 
burst   lips.     Wild   was   frost-bitten.     I   do   trust   that 

833 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

to-morrow  will  see  the  end  of  this  bad  travelling,  so 
that  we  can  stretch  out  our  legs  for  the  Pole. 

December  24.  A  much  better  day  for  us  ;  indeed, 
the  brightest  we  have  had  since  entering  our  Southern 
Gateway.  We  started  off  at  7  a.m.  across  waves  and 
undulations  of  ice,  with  some  one  or  other  of  our  little 
party  falling  through  the  thin  crust  of  snow  every  now 
and  then.  At  10.30  a.m.  I  decided  to  steer  more  to  the 
west,  and  we  soon  got  on  to  a  better  surface,  and  covered 
5  miles  250  yards  in  the  forenoon.  After  lunch, 
as  the  surface  was  distinctly  improving,  we  discarded 
the  second  sledge,  and  started  our  afternoon's  march 
with  one  sledge.  It  has  been  blowing  freshly  from  the 
south  and  drifting  all  day,  and  this,  with  over  40°  of 
frost,  has  coated  our  faces  with  ice.  We  get  superficial 
frost-bites  every  now  and  then.  During  the  afternoon 
the  surface  improved  greatly,  and  the  cracks  and 
crevasses  disappeared,  but  v/e  are  still  going  uphill, 
and  from  the  summit  of  one  ridge  saw  some  new  land, 
which  runs  south-south-east  down  to  latitude  86°  South. 
We  camped  at  6  p.m.,  very  tired  and  with  cold  feet. 
We  have  only  the  clothes  we  stand  up  in  now,  as  we 
depoted  everything  else,  and  this  continued  rise  means 
lower  temperatures  than  I  had  anticipated.  To-night 
we  are  9095  ft.  above  sea-level,  and  the  way  before  us 
is  still  rising.  I  trust  that  it  will  soon  level  out,  for  it 
is  hard  work  pulling  at  this  altitude.  So  far  there  is 
no  sign  of  the  very  hard  surface  that  Captain  Scott 
speaks  of  in  connection  with  his  journey  on  the  Northern 
Plateau.  There  seem  to  be  just  here  regular  layers 
of  snow,  not  much  wind-swept,  but  we  will  see  better 
the  surface  conditions  in  a  few  days.  To-morrow  will 
be  Christmas  Day,  and  our  thoughts  turn  to  home  and 
all  the  attendant  joys  of  the  time.  One  longs  to  hear 
"  the  hansoms  slurring  through  the  London  mud.'' 
834 


CHRISTMAS    DAY  ^5"^° 

Instead  of  that  we  are  lying  in  a  little  tent,  isolated 
high  on  the  roof  of  the  end  of  the  world,  far,  indeed, 
from  the  ways  trodden  of  men.  Still,  our  thoughts 
can  fly  across  the  wastes  of  ice  and  snow  and  across  the 
oceans  to  those  whom  we  are  striving  for  and  who  are 
thinking  of  us  now.  And,  thank  God,  we  are  nearing 
our  goal.  The  distance  covered  to-day  was  11  miles 
250  yards. 

December  25.  Christmas  Day.  There  has  been 
from  45°  to  48°  of  frost,  drifting  snow  and  a  strong 
biting  south  wind,  and  such  has  been  the  order  of  the 
day's  march  from  7  a.m.  to  6  p.m.  up  one  of  the  steepest 
rises  we  have  yet  done,  crevassed  in  places.  Now,  as 
I  write,  we  are  9500  ft.  above  sea-level,  and  our  latitude 
at  6  P.M.  was  85°  55'  South.  We  started  away  after 
a  good  breakfast,  and  soon  came  to  soft  snow,  through 
which  our  worn  and  torn  sledge-runners  dragged  heavily. 
All  morning  we  hauled  along,  and  at  noon  had  done 

5  miles  250  yards.  Sights  gave  us  latitude  85°  51' 
South.  We  had  tunch  then,  and  I  took  a  photo- 
graph of  the  camp  with  the  Queen's  flag  flying  and  also 
our  tent  flags,  my  companions  being  in  the  picture. 
It  was  very  cold,  the  temperature  being  minus  16° 
Fahr.,  and  the  wind  went  through  us.  All  the  after- 
noon we  worked  steadily  uphill,  and  we  could  see  at 

6  P.M.  the  new  land  plainly  trending  to  the  south-east. 
This  land  is  very  much  glaciated.  It  is  comparatively 
bare  of  snow,  and  there  are  well-defined  glaciers  on  the 
side  of  the  range,  which  seems  to  end  up  in  the  south-east 
with  a  large  mountain  like  a  keep.  We  have  called  it 
"  The  Castle."  Behind  these  the  mountains  have  more 
gentle  slopes  and  are  more  rounded.  They  seem  to 
fall  away  to  the  south-east,  so  that,  as  we  are  going 
south,  the  angle  opens  and  we  will  soon  miss  them. 
When  we  camped  at  6  p.m.  the  wind  was  decreasing. 

335 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

It  is  hard  to  understand  this  soft  snow  with  such  a 
persistent  wind,  and  I  can  only  suppose  that  we  have 
not  yet  reached  the  actual  plateau  level,  and  that  the 
snow  we  are  travelling  over  just  now  is  on  the  slopes, 
blown  down  by  the  south  and  south-east  wind.  We 
had  a  splendid  dinner.  First  came  hoosh,  consisting 
of  pony  ration  boiled  up  with  pemmican  and  some  of 
our  emergency  Oxo  and  biscuit.  Then  in  the  cocoa 
water  I  boiled  our  little  plum  pudding,  which  a  friend 
of  Wild's  had  given  him.  This,  with  a  drop  of  medical 
brandy,  was  a  luxury  which  Lucullus  himself  might 
have  envied  ;  then  came  cocoa,  and  lastly  cigars  and 
a  spoonful  of  creme  de  menthe  sent  us  by  a  friend  in 
Scotland.  We  are  full  to-night,  and  this  is  the  last 
time  we  will  be  for  many  a  long  day.  After  dinner 
we  discussed  the  situation,  and  we  have  decided  to  still 
further  reduce  our  food.  Vv^e  have  now  nearly  500  miles, 
geographical,  to  do  if  we  are  to  get  to  the  Pole  and  back 
to  the  spot  where  we  are  at  the  present  moment.  We 
have  one  month's  food,  but  only  three  weeks'  biscuit, 
so  we  are  going  to  make  each  week's  food  last  ten  days. 
We  will  have  one  biscuit  in  the  morning,  three  at  mid- 
day, and  two  at  night.  It  is  the  only  thing  to  do.  To- 
morrow we  will  throw  away  everything  except  the 
most  absolute  necessities.  Already  we  are,  as  regards 
clothes,  down  to  the  limit,  but  we  must  trust  to  the  old 
sledge-runners  and  dump  the  spare  ones.  One  must 
risk  this.  We  are  very  far  away  from  all  the  vvorld, 
and  home  thoughts  have  been  much  with  us  to-day, 
thoughts  interrupted  by  pitching  forward  into  a  hidden 
crevasse  more  than  once.  Ah,  well,  we  shall  see  all 
our  own  people  when  the  work  here  is  done.  Marshall 
took  our  temperatures  to-night.  W^e  are  all  two  degrees 
sub  normal,  but  as  fit  as  can  be.  It  is  a  fine  open-air 
life  and  we  are  getting  south. 
336 


&  £ 


a:  ^ 
2  ^ 


'^   H 


?   Z 


A    SERIES    OF    RIDGES 

December  26.  Got  away  at  7  a.m.  sharp,  after 
dumping  a  lot  of  gear.  We  marched  steadily  all  day 
except  for  lunch,  and  we  have  done  14  miles  480 
yards  on  an  uphill  march,  with  soft  snow  at  times  and 
a  bad  wind.  Ridge  after  ridge  we  met,  and  though 
the  surface  is  better  and  harder  in  places,  we  feel  very 
tired  at  the  end  of  ten  hours'  pulling.  Our  height 
to-night  is  9590  ft.  above  sea-level  according  to  the 
hypsometer.  The  ridges  we  meet  with  are  almost 
similar  in  appearance.  We  see  the  sun  shining  on  them 
in  the  distance,  and  then  the  rise  begins  very  gradually. 
The  snow  gets  soft,  and  the  weight  of  the  sledge  becomes 
more  marked.  As  we  near  the  top  the  soft  snow  gives 
place  to  a  hard  surface,  and  on  the  summit  of  the  ridge 
we  find  small  crevasses.  Every  time  we  reach  the  top 
of  a  ridge  we  say  to  ourselves  :  "  Perhaps  this  is  the 
last,"  but  it  never  is  the  last ;  always  there  appears 
away  ahead  of  us  another  ridge.  I  do  not  think 
that  the  land  lies  very  far  below  the  ice-sheet,  for  the 
crevasses  on  the  summits  of  the  ridges  suggest  that  the 
sheet  is  moving  over  land  at  no  great  depth.  It  would 
seem  that  the  descent  towards  the  glacier  proper  from 
the  plateau  is  by  a  series  of  terraces.  We  lost  sight 
of  the  land  to-day,  having  left  it  all  behind  us,  and  now 
we  have  the  waste  of  snow  all  around.  Two  more  days 
and  our  maize  will  be  finished.  Then  our  hooshes  will 
be  more  woefully  thin  than  ever.  This  shortness  of 
food  is  unpleasant,  but  if  we  allow  ourselves  what, 
under  ordinary  circumstances,  would  be  a  reasonable 
amount,  we  would  have  to  abandon  all  idea  of  getting 
far  south. 

December  27.     If  a  great  snow  plain,  rising  every 

seven  miles  in  a  steep  ridge,  can  be  called  a  plateau, 

then  we  are  on  it  at  last,  with  an  altitude  above  the 

sea  of  9820  ft.     We  started  at  7  a.m.  and  marched  till 

I  y  337 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

Roon,  encountering  at  11  a.m.  a  steep  snow  ridge 
which  pretty  well  cooked  us,  but  we  got  the  sledge  up 
by  noon  and  camped.  We  are  pulling  150  lb.  per  man. 
In  the  afternoon  we  had  good  going  till  5  p.m.  and 
then  another  ridge  as  difficult  as  the  previous  one,  so 
that  our  backs  and  legs  were  in  a  bad  way  when  we 
reached  the  top  at  6  p.m.,  having  done  14  miles  930 
yards  for  the  day.  Thank  heaven  it  has  been  a  fine 
day,  with  little  wind.  The  temperature  is  minus  9° 
Fahr.  This  surface  is  most  peculiar,  showing  layers  of 
snow  with  little  sastrugi  all  pointing  south-south-east. 
Short  food  make  us  think  of  plum  puddings,  and  hard 
half-cooked  maize  gives  us  indigestion,  but  we  are 
getting  south.  The  latitude  is  86°  19'  South  to-night. 
Our  thoughts  are  with  the  people  at  home  a  great  deal. 
December  28.  If  the  Barrier  is  a  changing  sea,  the 
plateau  is  a  changing  sky.  During  the  morning  march 
we  continued  to  go  up  hill  steadily,  but  the  surface  was 
constantly  changing.  First  there  was  soft  snow  in 
layers,  then  soft  snow  so  deep  that  we  were  well  over 
our  ankles,  and  the  temperature  being  well  below  zero, 
our  feet  were  cold  through  sinking  in.  No  one  can  say 
what  we  are  going  to  find  next,  but  we  can  go  steadily 
ahead.  We  started  at  6.55  a.m.,  and  had  done  7 
miles  200  yards  by  noon,  the  pulling  being  very  hard. 
Some  of  the  snow  is  blown  into  hard  sastrugi,  some 
that  looks  perfectly  smooth  and  hard  has  only  a  thin 
crust  through  which  we  break  when  pulling  ;  all  of 
it  is  a  trouble.  Yesterday  we  passed  our  last  crevasse, 
though  there  are  a  few  cracks  or  ridges  fringed  with 
shining  crystals  like  diamonds,  warning  us  that  the 
cracks  are  open.  We  are  now  10,199  ft.  above  sea- 
level,  and  the  plateau  is  gradually  flattening  out,  but 
it  was  heavy  work  pulling  this  afternoon.  The  high 
altitude,  and  a  temperature  of  48°  of  frost  made  breath- 
338 


SHORT    FOOD  ^^e's? 

ing  and  work  difficult.  We  are  getting  south — latitude 
86°  31'  South  to-night.  The  last  sixty  miles  we  hope 
to  rush,  leaving  everything  possible,  taking  one  tent 
only  and  using  the  poles  of  the  other  as  marks  every 
ten  miles,  for  we  will  leave  all  our  food  sixty  miles  off 
the  Pole  except  enough  to  carry  us  there  and  back. 
I  hope  with  good  weather  to  reach  the  Pole  on  January 
12,  and  then  we  will  try  and  rush  it  to  get  to  Hut  Point 
by  February  28.  We  are  so  tired  after  each  hour's 
pulling  that  we  throw  ourselves  on  our  backs  for  a 
three  minutes'  spell.  It  took  us  over  ten  hours  to  do 
14  miles  450  yards  to-day,  but  we  did  it  all  right.  It 
is  a  wonderful  thing  to  be  over  10,000  ft.  up  at  the  end 
of  the  world  almost.  The  short  food  is  trying,  but 
when  we  have  done  the  work  we  will  be  happy.  Adams 
had  a  bad  headache  all  yesterday,  and  to-day  I  had  the 
same  trouble,  but  it  is  better  now.  Otherwise  we  are 
all  fit  and  well.  I  think  the  country  is  flattening  out 
more  and  more,  and  hope  to-morrow  to  make  fifteen 
miles,  at  least. 

December  29.  Yesterday  I  wrote  that  we  hoped 
to  do  fifteen  miles  to-day,  but  such  is  the  variable 
character  of  this  surface  that  one  cannot  prophesy 
with  any  certainty  an  hour  ahead.  A  strong  southerly 
wind,  with  from  44°  to  49°  of  frost,  combined  with 
the  effect  of  short  rations,  made  our  distance 
12  miles  600  yards  instead.  We  have  reached  an 
altitude  of  10,310  ft.,  and  an  uphill  gradient  gave 
us  one  of  the  most  severe  pulls  for  ten  hours  that  would 
be  possible.  It  looks  serious,  for  we  must  increase  the 
food  if  we  are  to  get  on  at  all,  and  we  must  risk  a  depot 
at  seventy  miles  off  the  Pole  and  dash  for  it  then. 
Our  sledge  is  badly  strained,  and  on  the  abominably 
bad  surface  of  soft  snow  is  dreadfully  hard  to  move. 
I  have  been  suffering  from  a  bad  headache  all  day,  and 

339 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

Adams  also  was  worried  by  the  cold.  I  think  that 
these  headaches  are  a  form  of  mountain  sickness,  due 
to  our  high  altitude.  The  others  have  bled  from  the 
nose,  and  that  must  relieve  them.  Physical  effort  is 
always  trying  at  a  high  altitude,  and  we  are  straining 
at  the  harness  all  day,  sometimes  slipping  in  the  soft 
snow  that  overlies  the  hard  sastrugi.  My  head  is  very 
bad.  The  sensation  is  as  though  the  nerves  were  being 
twisted  up  with  a  corkscrew  and  then  pulled  out. 
Marshall  took  our  temperatures  to-night,  and  we  are 
all  at  about  94°,  but  in  spite  of  this  we  are  getting  south. 
We  are  only  198  miles  off  our  goal  now.  If  the  rise 
would  stop  the  cold  would  not  matter,  but  it  is  hard 
to  know  what  is  man's  limit.  We  have  only  150  lb.  per 
man  to  pull,  but  it  is  more  severe  work  than  the  250  lb. 
per  man  up  the  glacier  was.     The  Pole  is  hard  to  get. 

December  30.  We  only  did  4  miles  100  yards 
to-day.  We  started  at  7  a.m.,  but  had  to  camp  at 
11  A.M.,  a  blizzard  springing  up  from  the  south.  It 
is  more  than  annoying.  I  cannot  express  my  feelings. 
We  were  pulling  at  last  on  a  level  surface,  but  very  soft 
snow,  when  at  about  10  a.m.  the  south  wind  and  drift 
commenced  to  increase,  and  at  11  a.m.  it  was  so  bad 
that  we  had  to  camp.  And  here  all  day  we  have  been 
lying  in  our  sleeping-bags  trying  to  keep  warm  and 
listening  to  the  threshing  drift  on  the  tent-side.  I  am 
in  the  cooking-tent,  and  the  wind  comes  through,  it 
is  so  thin.  Our  precious  food  is  going  and  the  time 
also,  and  it  is  so  important  to  us  to  get  on.  We  lie 
here  and  think  of  how  to  make  things  better,  but  we 
cannot  reduce  food  now,  and  the  only  thing  will  be  to 
rush  all  possible  at  the  end.  We  will  do,  and  are  doing 
all  humanly  possible.  It  is  with  Providence  to  help 
us. 

December  31.  The  last  day  of  the  old  year,  and 
340 


NORTHERN  RECORD  BEATEN  ^^^1%^' 

the  hardest  day  we  have  had  ahuost,  pushing  through 
soft  snow  uphill  with  a  strong  head  wind  and  drift  all 
day.  The  temperature  is  minus  7°  Fahr.,  and  our 
altitude  is  10,4.77  ft.  above  sea-level.  The  altitude 
is  trying.  My  head  has  been  very  bad  all  day,  and  we 
are  all  feeling  the  short  food,  but  still  we  are  getting 
south.  We  are  in  latitude  86°  54'  South  to-night,  but 
we  have  only  three  weeks'  food  and  two  weeks'  biscuit 
to  do  nearly  500  geographical  miles.  We  can  only  do 
our  best.  Too  tired  to  write  more  to-night.  We  all  get 
iced-up  about  our  faces,  and  are  on  the  verge  of  frost- 
bite all  the  time.  Please  God  the  weather  will  be  fine 
during  the  next  fourteen  days.  Then  all  w^ill  be  well. 
The  distance  to-day  was  eleven  miles. 

Note.  If  we  had  only  known  that  we  were  going  to  get  such  cold 
weather  aa  we  were  at  this  time  experiencing,  we  would  have  kept 
a  pair  of  scissors  to  trim  our  beards.  The  moisture  from  the  con- 
densation of  one's  breath  accumulated  on  the  beard  and  trickled 
down  on  to  the  Burberry  blouse.  Then  it  froze  into  a  sheet  of  ice 
inside,  and  it  became  very  painful  to  pull  the  Burberry  off  in  camp. 
Little  troubles  of  this  sort  would  have  seemed  less  serious  to  us  if 
we  had  been  able  to  get  a  decent  feed  at  the  end  of  the  day's  work, 
but  we  were  very  hungry.  We  thought  of  food  most  of  the  time. 
The  chocolate  certainly  seemed  better  than  the  cheese,  because  the 
two  spoonfuls  of  cheese  per  man  allowed  under  our  scale  of  diet  would 
not  last  as  long  as  the  two  sticks  of  chocolate.  We  did  not  have 
both  at  the  same  meal.  We  had  the  bad  luck  at  this  time  to  strike  a 
tin  in  which  the  biscuits  were  thin  and  overbaked.  Under  ordinary 
circumstances  they  would  probably  have  tasted  rather  better  than 
the  other  biscuits,  but  we  wanted  bulk.  We  soaked  them  in  our 
tea  so  that  they  would  swell  up  and  appear  larger,  but  if  one  soaked 
a  biscuit  too  much,  the  sensation  of  biting  something  was  lost,  and 
the  food  seemed  to  disappear  much  too  easily. 

January  1.  Head  too  bad  to  write  much.  We  did 
11  miles  900  yards  (statute)  to-day,  and  the  latitude 
at  6  P.M.  was  87°  6^  South,  so  we  have  beaten 
North  and  South  records.  Struggling  uphill  all  day 
in  very  soft  snow.     Every  one  done  up  and  weak  from 

341 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

want  of  food.  V/hen  we  camped  at  6  p.m.  fine  warm 
weather,  thank  God.  Only  172J  miles  from  the  Pole. 
The  height  above  sea-level,  now  10,755  ft.,  makes  all 
work  difficult.  Surface  seems  to  be  better  ahead.  I 
do  trust  it  will  be  so  to-morrow. 

January  2.  Terribly  hard  work  to-day.  We  started 
at  6.45  A.M.  with  a  fairly  good  surface,  which  soon 
became  very  soft.  We  were  sinking  in  over  our  ankles, 
and  our  broken  sledge,  by  running  sideways,  added  to 
the  drag.  We  have  been  going  uphill  all  day,  and 
to-night  are  11,034  ft.  above  sea-level.  It  has  taken 
us  all  day  to  do  10  miles  450  yards,  though  the 
weights  are  fairly  light.  A  cold  wind,  with  a  tempera- 
ture of  minus  14°  Fahr.,  goes  right  through  us  now, 
as  we  are  weakening  from  want  of  food,  and  the  high 
altitude  makes  every  movement  an  effort,  especially 
if  we  stumble  on  the  march.  My  head  is  giving  me 
trouble  all  the  time.  Wild  seems  the  most  fit  of  us. 
God  knows  we  are  doing  all  we  can,  but  the  outlook 
is  serious  if  this  surface  continues  and  the  plateau  gets 
higher,  for  we  are  not  travelling  fast  enough  to  make 
our  food  spin  out  and  get  back  to  our  depot  in  time. 
I  cannot  think  of  failure  yet.  I  must  look  at  the  matter 
sensibly  and  consider  the  lives  of  those  who  are  with 
me.  I  feel  that  if  we  go  on  too  far  it  will  be  impossible 
to  get  back  over  this  surface,  and  then  all  the  results 
will  be  lost  to  the  world.  We  can  now  definitely  locate 
the  South  Pole  on  the  highest  plateau  in  the  world,  and 
our  geological  work  and  meteorology  will  be  of  the 
greatest  use  to  science  ;  but  all  this  is  not  the  Pole. 
Man  can  only  do  his  best,  and  we  have  arrayed  against 
us  the  strongest  forces  of  nature.  This  cutting  south 
wind  with  drift  plays  the  mischief  with  us,  and  after 
ten  hours  of  struggling  against  it  one  pannikin  of  food 
with  two  biscuits  and  a  cup  of  cocoa  does  not  warm 
342 


It 


d-    P      .It" 


/ 


-1/ 


'tM^ 


/-■ 


7^    ■ 


^flj.^^&,-t:^:.-^^ 


Facsimele  of  Page  of  Shackleto>"s  Diary 


Toface  page  342 


THE    LAST    DEPOT  ^'^ 

one  up  much.  I  must  think  over  the  situation  carefully 
to-morrow,  for  time  is  going  on  and  food  is  going 
also. 

January  3.  Started  at  6.55  a.m.,  cloudy  but  fairly 
warm.  The  temperature  was  minus  8°  Fahr.  at  noon. 
We  had  a  terrible  surface  all  the  morning,  and  did 
only  5  miles  100  yards.  A  meridian  altitude  gave 
us  latitude  87°  22'  South  at  noon.  The  surface  was 
better  in  the  afternoon,  and  we  did  six  geographical 
miles.  The  temperature  at  6  p.m.  was  minus  11° 
Fahr.  It  was  an  uphill  pull  towards  the  evening,  and 
we  camped  at  6.20  p.m.,  the  altitude  being  11,220 
ft.  above  the  sea.  To-morrow  we  must  risk  making  a 
depot  on  the  plateau,  and  make  a  dash  for  it,  but  even 
then,  if  this  surface  continues,  we  will  be  two  weeks 
in  carrying  it  through. 

January  4.  The  end  is  in  sight.  We  can  only  go 
for  three  more  days  at  the  most,  for  we  are  weakening 
rapidly.  Short  food  and  a  blizzard  wind  from  the  south, 
with  driving  drift,  at  a  temperature  of  47°  of  frost  have 
plainly  told  us  to-day  that  we  are  reaching  our  limit, 
for  we  were  so  done  up  at  noon  with  cold  that  the  clinical 
thermometer  failed  to  register  the  temperature  of  three 
of  us  at  94°.  We  started  at  7.40  a.m.,  leaving  a  depot 
on  this  great  wide  plateau,  a  risk  that  only  this  case 
justified,  and  one  that  my  comrades  agreed  to,  as  they 
have  to  every  one  so  far,  with  the  same  cheerfulness  and 
regardlessness  of  self  that  have  been  the  means  of  our 
getting  as  far  as  we  have  done  so  far.  Pathetically 
small  looked  the  bamboo,  one  of  the  tent  poles,  with  a  bit 
of  bag  sown  on  as  a  flag,  to  mark  our  stock  of  provisions, 
which  has  to  take  us  back  to  our  depot,  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles  north.  We  lost  sight  of  it  in 
half  an  hour,  and  are  now  trusting  to  our  footprints 
in  the  snow  to  guide  us  back  to  each  bamboo  until  we 

843 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

pick  up  the  depot  again.  I  trust  that  the  weather 
will  keep  clear.  To-day  we  have  done  12|  geo- 
graphical miles,  and  with  only  70  lb.  per  man  to  pull 
it  is  as  hard,  even  harder,  work  than  the  100  odd  lb. 
was  yesterday,  and  far  harder  than  the  250  lb.  were 
three  weeks  ago,  when  we  were  climbing  the  glacier. 
This,  I  consider,  is  a  clear  indication  of  our  failing 
strength.  The  main  thing  against  us  is  the  altitude 
of  11,200  ft.  and  the  biting  wind.  Our  faces  are  cut, 
and  our  feet  and  hands  are  always  on  the  verge  of  frost- 
bite. Our  fingers,  indeed,  often  go,  but  we  get  them 
round  more  or  less.  I  have  great  trouble  with  two 
fingers  on  my  left  hand.  They  have  been  badly  jammed 
when  we  were  getting  the  motor  up  over  the  ice  face 
at  winter  quarters,  and  the  circulation  is  not  good. 
Our  boots  now  are  pretty  well  worn  out,  and  we  have 
to  halt  at  times  to  pick  the  snow  out  of  the  soles.  Our 
stock  of  sennegrass  is  nearly  exhausted,  so  we  have 
to  use  the  same  frozen  stufi  day  after  day.  Another 
trouble  is  that  the  lamp-wick  with  which  we  tie  the 
finnesko  is  chafed  through,  and  we  have  to  tie  knots 
in  it.  These  knots  catch  the  snow  under  our  feet, 
making  a  lump  that  has  to  be  cleared  every  now  and 
then.  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  to  sledge  even  in  the 
height  of  summer  on  this  plateau,  we  should  have  at 
least  forty  ounces  of  food  a  day  per  man,  and  we  are 
on  short  rations  of  the  ordinary  allowance  of  thirty-two 
ounces.  We  depoted  our  extra  underclothing  to  save 
weight  about  three  weeks  ago,  and  are  now  in  the  same 
clothes  night  and  day.  One  suit  of  underclothing, 
shirt  and  guernsey,  and  our  thin  Burberries,  now  all 
patched.  When  we  get  up  in  the  morning,  out  of  the 
wet  bag,  our  Burberries  become  like  a  coat  of  mail  at 
once,  and  our  heads  and  beards  get  iced-up  with  the 
moisture  when  breathing  on  the  march.  There  is  half 
344 


THE    GRIP    OF    HUNGER 

a  gale  blowing  dead  in  our  teeth  all  the  time.  We  hope 
to  reach  within  100  geographical  miles  of  the  Pole  ; 
under  the  circumstances  we  can  expect  to  do  very  little 
more.  I  am  confident  that  the  Pole  lies  on  the  great 
plateau  we  have  discovered,  miles  and  miles  from  any 
outstanding  land.  The  temperature  to-night  is  minus 
24°  Fahr. 

January  5.  To-day  head  wind  and  drift  again, 
with  50°  of  frost,  and  a  terrible  surface.  We  have 
been  marching  through  8  in.  of  snow,  covering  sharp 
sastrugi,  which  plays  hell  with  our  feet,  but  we  have 
done  13 J  geographical  miles,  for  we  increased  our 
food,  seeing  that  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  do 
this  to  enable  us  to  accomplish  anything.  I  realise 
that  the  food  we  have  been  having  has  not  been  suffi- 
cient to  keep  up  our  strength,  let  alone  supply  the 
wastage  caused  by  exertion,  and  now  we  must  try  to 
keep  warmth  in  us,  though  our  strength  is  being  used 
up.  Our  temperatures  at  5  a.m.  were  94°  Fahr.  We 
got  away  at  7  a.m.  sharp  and  marched  till  noon,  then 
from  1  P.M.  sharp  till  6  p.m.  All  being  in  one  tent 
makes  our  camp-work  slower,  for  we  are  so  cramped 
for  room,  and  we  get  up  at  4.40  a.m.  so  as  to  get  away 
by  7  A.M.  Two  of  us  have  to  stand  outside  the  tent 
at  night  until  things  are  squared  up  inside,  and  we 
find  it  cold  work.  Hunger  grips  us  hard,  and  the  food- 
supply  is  very  small.  My  head  still  gives  me  great 
trouble.  I  began  by  wishing  that  my  worst  enemy 
had  it  instead  of  myself,  but  now  I  don't  wish  even 
my  worst  enemy  to  have  such  a  headache  ;  still,  it  is 
no  use  talking  about  it.  Self  is  a  subject  that  most  of 
us  are  fluent  on.  We  find  the  utmost  difficulty  in  carry- 
ing through  the  day,  and  we  can  only  go  for  two  or 
three  more  days.  Never  once  has  the  temperature 
been  above  zero  since  we  got  on  to  the  plateau,  though 

345 


^-^f'    THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

this  is  the  height  of  summer.  We  have  done  our  best, 
and  we  thank  God  for  having  allowed  us  to  get  so  far. 

January  6.  This  must  be  our  last  outward  march 
with  the  sledge  and  camp  equipment.  To-morrow 
we  must  leave  camp  with  some  food,  and  push  as  far 
south  as  possible,  and  then  plant  the  flag.  To-day's 
story  is  57°  of  frost,  with  a  strong  blizzard  and  high 
drift ;  yet  we  marched  ISj  geographical  miles  through 
soft  snov/,  being  helped  by  extra  food.  This  does  not 
mean  full  rations,  but  a  bigger  ration  than  we  have 
been  having  lately.  The  pony  maize  is  all  finished. 
The  most  trying  day  we  have  yet  spent,  our  fingers 
and  faces  being  frost-bitten  continually.  To-morrow 
we  will  rush  south  with  the  flag.  We  are  at  88°  7' 
South  to-night.  It  is  our  last  outward  march.  Blow- 
ing hard  to-night.  I  would  fail  to  explain  my  feelings 
if  I  tried  to  write  them  down,  now  that  the  end  has 
come.  There  is  only  one  thing  that  lightens  the  dis- 
appointment, and  that  is  the  feeling  that  we  have  done 
all  we  could.  It  is  the  forces  of  nature  that  have  pre- 
vented us  from  going  right  through.  I  cannot  write 
more. 

January  7.  A  blinding,  shrieking  blizzard  all  day, 
with  the  temperature  ranging  from  60°  to  70°  of  frost. 
It  has  been  impossible  to  leave  the  tent,  which  is  snowed 
up  on  the  lee  side.  We  have  been  lying  in  our  bags 
all  day,  only  warm  at  food  time,  with  fine  snow  making 
through  the  walls  of  the  worn  tent  and  covering  our 
bags.  We  are  greatly  cramped.  Adams  is  suffering 
from  cramp  every  now  and  then.  We  are  eating  our 
valuable  food  without  marching.  The  wind  has  been 
blowing  eighty  to  ninety  miles  an  hour.  We  can  hardly 
sleep.  To-morrow  I  trust  this  will  be  over.  Directly 
the  wind  drops  we  march  as  far  south  as  possible,  then 
plant  the  flag,  and  turn  homeward.  Our  chief  anxiety 
346 


f 


PLANTING    THE    FLAG  "^^^'^ 


88'  23' 


is  lest  our  tracks  may  drift  up,  for  to  them  we  must 
trust  mainly  to  find  our  depot ;  we  have  no  land  bear- 
ings in  this  great  plain  of  snow.  It  is  a  serious  risk 
that  we  have  taken,  but  we  had  to  play  the  game  to 
the  utmost,  and  Providence  will  look  after  us. 

January  8.  Again  all  day  in  our  bags,  suffering 
considerably  physically  from  cold  hands  and  feet,  and 
from  hunger,  but  more  mentally,  for  we  cannot  get  on 
south,  and  we  simply  lie  here  shivering.  Every  now 
and  then  one  of  our  party's  feet  go,  and  the  un- 
fortunate beggar  has  to  take  his  leg  out  of  the  sleeping- 
bag  and  have  his  frozen  foot  nursed  into  life  again  by 
placing  it  inside  the  shirt,  against  the  skin  of  his  almost 
equally  unfortunate  neighbour.  We  must  do  some- 
thing more  to  the  south,  even  though  the  food  is  going, 
and  we  weaken  lying  in  the  cold,  for  with  72°  of  frost, 
the  wind  cuts  through  our  thin  tent,  and  even  the  drift 
is  finding  its  way  in  and  on  to  our  bags,  w^hich  are  wet 
enough  as  it  is.  Cramp  is  not  uncommon  every  now 
and  then,  and  the  drift  all  round  the  tent  has  made  it 
so  small  that  there  is  hardly  room  for  us  at  all.  The 
wind  has  been  blowing  hard  all  day  ;  some  of  the  gusts 
must  be  over  seventy  or  eighty  miles  an  hour.  This 
evening  it  seems  as  though  it  were  going  to  ease  down, 
and  directly  it  does  we  shall  be  up  and  away  south  for 
a  rush.  I  feel  that  this  march  must  be  our  limit.  We 
are  so  short  of  food,  and  at  this  high  altitude,  11,600  ft., 
it  is  hard  to  keep  any  warmth  in  our  bodies  between 
the  scanty  meals.  We  have  nothing  to  read  now, 
having  depoted  our  little  books  to  save  weight,  and  it 
is  dreary  work  lying  in  the  tent  with  nothing  to  read, 
and  too  cold  to  write  much  in  the  diary. 

January  9.  Our  last  day  outwards.  We  have  shot 
our  bolt,  and  the  tale  is  latitude  88°  23'  South,  longitude 
162°  East.     The  wind  eased  down  at  1  a.m.,  and  at 

847 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

2  A.M.  were  up  and  had  breakfast.  At  4  a.m.  started 
south,  with  the  Queen's  Union  Jack,  a  brass  cyhnder 
containing  stamps  and  documents  to  place  at  the 
furthest  south  point,  camera,  glasses  and  compass. 
At  9  A.M.  we  were  in  88°  23'  South,  half  running  and 
half  walking  over  a  surface  much  hardened  by  the 
recent  blizzard.  It  was  strange  for  us  to  go  along 
without  the  nightmare  of  a  sledge  dragging  behind  us. 
We  hoisted  her  Majesty's  flag  and  the  other  Union  Jack 
afterwards,  and  took  possession  of  the  plateau  in  the 
name  of  his  Majesty.  AVhile  the  Union  Jack  blew  out 
stiffly  in  the  icy  gale  that  cut  us  to  the  bone,  we  looked 
south  with  our  powerful  glasses,  but  could  see  nothing 
but  the  dead  white  snow  plain.  There  was  no  break 
in  the  plateau  as  it  extended  towards  the  Pole,  and  we 
feel  sure  that  the  goal  we  have  failed  to  reach  lies  on 
this  plain.  We  stayed  only  a  few  minutes,  and  then, 
taking  the  Queen's  flag  and  eating  our  scanty  meal  as 
we  went,  we  hurried  back  and  reached  our  camp  about 

3  P.M.  We  were  so  dead  tired  that  we  only  did  two  hours' 
march  in  the  afternoon  and  camped  at  5.30  p.m.  The 
temperature  was  minus  19°  Fahr.  Fortunately  for  us, 
our  tracks  were  not  obliterated  by  the  blizzard  ;  indeed, 
they  stood  up,  making  a  trail  easily  followed.  Home- 
ward bound  at  last.  Whatever  regrets  may  be,  we  have 
done  our  best. 


848 


■^ 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

THE  RETURN  MARCH 

JANUARY  10.  We  started  at  7.30  a.m.  with  a  fair 
wind,  and  marched  all  day,  with  a  stop  of  one  hour 
for  lunch,  doing  over  ISf  geographical  miles  to  the  north. 
It  has,  indeed,  been  fortunate  for  us  that  we  have  been 
able  to  follow  our  outward  tracks,  for  the  force  of  the 
gale  had  torn  the  flags  from  the  staffs.  We  will  be  all 
right  when  we  pick  up  our  depot.  It  has  been  a  big 
risk  leaving  our  food  on  the  great  white  plain,  with  only 
our  sledge  tracks  to  guide  us  back.  To-night  we  are 
all  tired  out,  but  we  have  put  a  good  march  behind  us. 
The  temperature  is  minus  9°  Fahr. 

January  11.  A  good  day.  We  have  done  nearly 
17  geographical  miles.  We  have  picked  up  our  depot 
and  now  are  following  the  sledge  tracks  to  the  north.  The 
temperature  has  been  minus  15°  Fahr.  There  has  been 
tremendous  wind  here,  and  the  sastrugi  are  enormous. 

January  12.  We  did  14  miles  100  yards  to-day 
with  little  wind  to  help  us.  The  surface  was  very 
heavy  and  we  found  enormous  sastrugi.  The  wind  is 
getting  up  to-night.  I  hope  for  a  good  breeze  behind 
us  to-morrow. 

January  13.  It  was  heavy  pulling  all  day,  but  we 
did  a  good  distance  in  spite  of  it,  getting  15  miles  1650 
yards  to  the  north.  We  have  the  sail  up  continually, 
but  I  cannot  say  that  it  has  been  very  much  help  to-day. 

349 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

The  temperature,  minus  18°  Fahr.  nearly  all  the  time, 
makes  things  very  cold,  and  we  ourselves  slept  badly 
last  night.  I  did  not  sleep  at  all,  for  both  my  heels 
are  frost-bitten  and  have  cracked  open,  and  I  also 
have  cracks  under  some  of  my  toes  ;  but  we  can  march 
all  right,  and  are  moving  over  the  ground  very  fast. 
We  must  continue  to  do  so,  for  we  have  only  about 
20  lb.  of  biscuit  to  last  us  over  140  miles,  and  I 
expect  there  will  be  little  in  the  locker  by  the  time 
we  strike  our  glacier  head  depot.  The  surface  has  been 
very  severe  to-day. 

January  14.  A  strong  following  blizzard  all  day 
gave  us  our  best  day's  run  of  the  whole  trip,  20  miles  1600 
yards  in  ten  hours.  We  decided  to  cut  down  the  rations 
by  another  biscuit,  as  we  have  only  six  days'  biscuit 
left  on  short  ration,  and  120  miles  to  go  before  we  reach 
the  depot,  so  we  feel  very  hungry,  and  with  the  tem- 
perature minus  18°  Fahr.  to  minus  21°  Fahr.  all  day 
in  the  wind,  one  easily  gets  frost-bitten. 

January  15.  Started  in  a  strong  blizzard  at  7.30 
A.M.  with  a  temperature  of  minus  23°  Fahr.,  and 
marched  steadily  till  noon,  doing  9j  miles ;  then 
marched  from  1.30  p.m.  till  6  p.m.,  making  a  total 
distance  for  the  day  of  20  miles,  statute.  It  has 
been  thick,  with  a  pale  sun  only  shining  through, 
but  we  are  still  able  to  follow  our  old  sledge  tracks, 
though  at  times  they  are  very  faint.  Unfortunately, 
when  we  halted  at  3.30  p.m.  for  a  spell,  we  found  that 
the  sledge  meter  had  disappeared,  and  discovered  that 
it  had  broken  off  short  at  the  brass  fitting.  This  is  a 
serious  loss  to  us,  for  all  our  Barrier  distances  between 
depots  are  calculated  on  it,  and  although  we  have 
another  depoted  at  the  foot  of  the  glacier  we  do  not 
know  the  slip.  We  now  must  judge  distance  till  we 
get  a  sight  of  land. 
350 


'i.  ^ 


9  o 


FIRST    HOMEWARD    MARCHES 

January  16.  With  a  strong  following  blizzard,  we 
did  18  J  miles  to  the  north  to-day.  My  burst  heels 
gave  me  great  pain  all  day.  Marshall  dressed  them 
to-night.  We  saw  the  land  again  to-day  after  being 
out  of  sight  of  it  for  three  weeks  nearly. 

January  17.  Started  sharp  at  7  a.m.,  and  in  a  fresh 
blizzard  wind,  with  a  temperature  of  minus  23°  Fahr., 
we  did  our  best  march,  for  it  was  mainly  downhill  and 
we  covered  22 J  miles.  At  10  a.m.  we  came  up  to  our 
Christmas  camp,  and  there  took  on  a  bamboo  we  had 
left,  and  which  now  comes  in  useful  for  our  sail.  This 
sail  is  now  our  great  help.  We  dropped  over  500  ft. 
to-day,  and  in  three  days  ought  to  reach  our  depot  at 
this  rate. 

January  18.  Our  best  day,  26^  miles  down-hill, 
with  a  strong  following  wind.  We  have  nearly  got 
to  the  end  of  the  main  icefall.  The  temperature  has 
risen  sensibly,  it  being  minus  14°  Fahr.  to-night,  and 
the  hypsometer,  196.5°,  shows  a  good  rise.  With  luck 
we  may  reach  our  depot  to-morrow  night.  With  food 
now  in  hand,  we  had  a  decent  feed  to-night.  I  have 
been  very  unlucky  to-day,  falling  into  many  crevasses 
and  hurting  my  shoulder  badly.  I  have  also  had  many 
falls,  besides  the  trouble  with  the  bad  heels  on  the 
hard  stuff. 

January  19.  Another  record  day,  for  we  have  done 
about  twenty-nine  miles  to  the  north,  rushing  under  sail 
down  icef  alls  and  through  crevasses,  till,  at  6  p.m.,  we  picked 
up  our  sledge  tracks  of  December  18  outwards.  We 
camped,  dead  beat,  at  6.30  p.m.,  and  had  a  good  hoosh. 
We  have  descended  to  7500  ft.,  and  the  temperature  to- 
night is  minus  14°  Fahr.  We  are  now  only  8J  miles 
from  our  depot,  which  we  will  reach  to-morrow  morning, 
all  being  well.  This  strong  blizzard  wind  has  been  an 
immense  help  this  way,  though  not  outwards  for  us. 

351 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

January  20.  Although  we  have  not  covered  so 
much  ground  to-day,  we  have  had  an  infinitely  harder 
time.  We  started  at  7  a.m.  on  our  tracks  of  December 
19,  and  at  7.30  passed  the  camp  of  the  evening  of  the 
18th.  For  two  hours  we  were  descending  a  snow-slope, 
with  heavy  sastrugi,  and  then  struck  a  patch  of  badly 
crevassed  neve,  about  half  a  mile  across.  After  that 
we  got  on  to  blue  slippery  ice,  where  our  finnesko  had 
no  hold.  A  gale  was  blowing,  and  often  fierce  gusts 
came  along,  sweeping  the  sledge  sideways,  and  knocking 
us  off  our  feet.  We  all  had  many  falls,  and  I  had  two 
specially  heavy  ones  which  shook  me  up  severely. 
When  we  reached  the  steep  slopes  where  we  had  roped 
the  sledges  up  on  our  outward  journey,  we  lowered  the 
sledge  down  by  means  of  the  alpine  rope,  using  an  ice- 
axe  as  a  bollard  to  lower  by.  On  several  occasions 
one  or  more  of  us  lost  our  footing,  and  were  swept  by 
the  wind  down  the  ice-slope,  with  great  difficulty  getting 
back  to  our  sledge  and  companions.  We  arrived  at 
our  depot  at  12.30  p.m.  with  sore  and  aching  bodies. 
The  afternoon  was  rather  better,  as,  after  the  first  hour, 
we  got  off  the  blue  ice  on  to  snow.  However  bad  as 
the  day  has  been,  we  have  said  farewell  to  that  awful 
plateau,  and  are  well  on  our  way  down  the  glacier. 

January  21.  Started  at  7.45  a.m.  with  a  fresh 
southerly  breeze,  so  we  still  have  valuable  assistance 
from  our  sail.  The  heavy  falls  I  had  yesterday  have 
so  shaken  me  that  I  have  been  very  ill  to-day.  I 
harnessed  up  for  a  while,  but  soon  had  to  give  up  pulling 
and  walk  by  the  sledge  ;  but,  as  the  course  has  been 
downhill  nearly  all  day  and  a  fair  wind  has  been  assist- 
ing, the  others  have  had  no  difficulty  in  getting  along 
at  a  good  pace,  and  we  have  covered  seventeen  miles. 
The  weather  is  much  warmer,  the  temperature  to-night 
being  about  minus  1°  Fahr. 
352 


V 


*■ 


1. 


« 


FOOD    NEARLY    DONE 

January  22.  Started  at  7.30  a.m.  on  a  good  surface 
that  changed  to  crevassed  ice  slopes  in  the  afternoon, 
down  which  we  made  fair  progress.  Am  still  too  ill 
to  harness  up,  but  as  the  pull  was  not  much  it  did  not 
matter.  Indeed,  we  had  another  man  out  of  harness 
guiding  the  sledge.     The  distance  to-day  was  15J  miles. 

January  23.  Similar  weather,  surface  and  work. 
Fine  and  warm  ;   temperature  plus  8°  Fahr. 

January  24.  One  of  our  hardest  day's  work,  and 
certainly  the  longest,  for  we  started  at  6.45  a.m.,  went 
on  till  12.50  P.M.,  had  lunch,  started  at  2  p  M.,  went  on 
till  6  P.M.,  had  a  cup  of  tea,  and  went  on  till  9  p.m. 
Then  we  had  our  single  pot  of  hoosh  and  one  biscuit,  for 
we  have  only  two  days'  food  left  and  one  day's  biscuit 
on  much  reduced  ration,  and  we  have  to  cover  forty 
miles  of  crevasses  to  reach  our  depot  before  we  can  get 
any  more  food.  I  am  now  all  right  again,  though  rather 
weak.  We  had  a  terribly  hard  time  in  the  crevassed 
ice  this  morning,  and  now  our  sledge  has  not  much  more 
than  half  a  runner  on  one  side,  and  is  in  a  very  shaky 
state.  However,  I  believe  we  are  safe  now.  The 
distance  to-day  was  sixteen  miles,  statute. 

January  25.  We  started  away  from  camp  at  6.45 
a.m.,  marched  till  noon,  when  we  had  a  cup  of  tea,  and 
then  marched  till  3  p.m.,  when  we  had  lunch,  consisting 
of  a  cup  of  tea,  two  biscuits,  two  spoonsful  of  cheese. 
Then  we  marched  till  9  p.m.,  when  we  had  one  pot 
of  hoosh  and  one  biscuit.  We  did  twenty-six  miles  ;  fine 
weather.  The  food  is  all  finished  but  one  meal.  No 
biscuit,  only  cocoa,  tea,  salt  and  pepper  left,  very  little 
of  these  also.  Must  reach  depot  to-morrow.  It  was 
fairly  good  going  to-day  till  the  last  two  hours,  and 
then  we  were  falling  into  most  dangerous  crevasses 
and  were  saved  only  by  our  harness.  Very  tired  indeed. 
Thank  God  warm  and  fine  weather.  We  can  see  our 
I  z  353 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

depot  rock  in  the  distance,  so  hope  to  reach  it  to-morrow. 
Turning  in  now,  11  p.m.  ;  breakfast  as  usual  5  a.m. 
The  temperature  is  plus  12°  Fahr. 

January  26  and  27.  Two  days  written  up  as  one, 
and  they  have  been  the  hardest  and  most  trying  we 
have  ever  spent  in  our  lives,  and  will  ever  stand  in  our 
memories.  To-night  (the  27th)  we  have  had  our  first 
solid  food  since  the  morning  of  the  26th.  We  came 
to  the  end  of  all  our  provisions  except  a  little  cocoa 
and  tea,  and  from  7  a.m.  on  the  26th  till  2  p.m.  on 
the  27th  we  did  sixteen  miles  over  the  worst  surfaces 
and  most  dangerous  crevasses  we  have  ever  encountered, 
only  stopping  for  tea  or  cocoa  till  they  were  finished, 
and  marching  twenty  hours  at  a  stretch,  through  snow 
10  to  18  in.  thick  as  a  rule,  with  sometimes  2 J  ft.  of  it. 
We  fell  into  hidden  crevasses  time  after  time,  and  were 
saved  by  each  other  and  by  our  harness.  In  fact,  only 
an  all-merciful  Providence  has  guided  our  steps  to 
to-night's  safety  at  our  depot.  I  cannot  describe  ade- 
quately the  mental  and  physical  strain  of  the  last 
forty-eight  hours.  When  we  started  at  7  a.m.  yesterday, 
we  immediately  got  into  soft  snow,  an  uphill  pull  with 
hidden  crevasses.  The  biscuit  was  all  finished,  and 
with  only  one  pannikin  of  hoosh,  mostly  pony  maize, 
and  one  of  tea,  we  marched  till  noon.  Then  we  had 
one  pannikin  of  tea  and  one  ounce  of  chocolate,  and 
marched  till  4.45  p.m.  We  had  one  pannikin  of  tea. 
There  was  no  more  food.  We  marched  till  10  p.m., 
then  one  small  pannikin  of  cocoa.  Marched  till  2  a.m., 
when  we  were  played  out.  We  had  one  pannikin  of 
cocoa,  and  slept  till  8  a.m.  Then  a  pannikin  of  cocoa, 
and  we  marched  till  1  p.m.  and  camped,  about  half  a 
mile  from  the  depot.  Marshall  went  on  for  food,  and 
we  got  a  meal  at  2  p.m.  We  turned  in  and  slept. 
Adams  fell  exhausted  in  his  harness,  but  recovered 
354 


I 


The  Camp  under  the  Granite  Pillar,  half  a  mile  from  the  Lower  Glacier  Depot,  where 

THE  Party  camped  on  January  27  To  face  page  35i 


BACK    ON    THE    BARRIER 

and    went    on  again.     Wild  did    the   same    the  night 
before. 

January  28.  Thank  God  we  are  on  the  Barrier 
again  at  last.  We  got  up  at  1  a.m.  this  morning,  had 
breakfast,  consisting  of  tea  and  one  biscuit,  and  got 
under  way  at  3  a.m.  We  reached  the  depot  in  half 
an  hour  without  any  difficulty.  The  snow  here  was 
deep  enough  to  carry  us  over  the  crevasses  that  had 
impeded  our  progress  so  much  on  the  outward  march. 
We  had  proper  breakfast  at  5  a.m.  then  dug  out 
our  depot.  The  alternate  falls  of  snow  and  thaws 
had  frozen  solidly  in  a  great  deal  of  our  gear,  and  our 
spare  sledge  meter  was  deeply  buried.  We  marched 
along  till  we  were  close  to  the  Gap,  then  had  lunch.  At 
1  p.m.  we  were  through  the  Gap  and  on  to  the  crevassed 
and  ridged  Barrier  surface.  We  are  now  safe,  with 
six  days'  food  and  only  fifty  miles  to  the  depot,  but  Wild 
has  developed  dysentery.  We  are  at  a  loss  to  know 
what  is  the  cause  of  it.  It  may  possibly  be  due  to 
the  horse-meat.  The  weather  has  been  fairly  fine 
all  day,  though  clouding  up  from  the  south  towards 
noon,  and  we  were  assisted  by  a  fresh  southerly  breeze 
up  the  slope  to  the  head  of  the  Gap.  Indeed,  we  needed 
it,  for  the  heavy  surface  and  our  dilapidated  sledge 
made  the  hauling  extremely  hard.  Just  before  we  left 
the  glacier  I  broke  through  the  soft  snow,  plunging 
into  a  hidden  crevasse.  My  harness  jerked  up  under 
my  heart,  and  gave  me  rather  a  shake  up.  It  seemed 
as  though  the  glacier  were  saying  :  "  There  is  the  last 
touch  for  you  ;  don't  you  come  up  here  again."  It 
was  with  a  feeling  of  intense  relief  that  we  left  this  great 
glacier,  for  the  strain  has  been  hard,  and  now  we  know 
that  except  for  blizzards  and  thick  weather,  which  tv/o 
factors  can  alone  prevent  us  from  finding  our  depots 
in  good  time,  we  will  be  all  right.     The  light  became 

355 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

bad  this  evening  when  we  were  on  the  last  hour  before 
camping,  and  we  cannot  say  for  certain  whether  we  are 
clear  of  the  main  chasm  by  the  land  or  not,  so  must  give 
its  line  of  direction  a  wide  berth.  The  temperature 
is  well  up,  plus  26°  Fahr.,  and  it  is  warm  indeed  after 
the  minus  temperatures  which  have  been  our  lot  for  the 
last  month  or  so. 

January  29.  We  are  having  a  most  unfriendly 
greeting  from  the  Barrier.  We  got  up  as  usual  and 
had  breakfast  at  5.30  a.m.,  the  weather  thick  and  over- 
cast, but  the  land  showing  enough  for  us  to  steer  by. 
We  got  away  at  7.20  a.m.,  and  soon  after  it  began  to 
snow,  which  in  a  temperature  of  plus  30°  Fahr.  melted 
on  the  sledge  and  all  our  gear,  making  everything  into 
a  miserably  wet  state.  We  had  to  put  the  compass 
down  every  now  and  then,  for  it  became  too  thick  to 
see  any  landmarks,  and  at  9.30  the  wind  suddenly 
sprang  up  from  the  east,  cold  and  strong,  freezng  solid 
all  our  wet  clothes,  and  the  various  things  on  the  sledge. 
It  was  blowing  a  blizzard  with  snow  and  heavy  drift 
in  less  than  five  minutes  from  the  time  the  wind  started, 
and  with  difficulty  we  managed  to  get  up  one  tent  and 
crawl  into  it,  where  we  waited  in  the  hope  that  the 
weather  would  clear.  As  there  was  no  sign  of  an  im- 
provement at  noon  we  pitched  the  other  tent,  had  food, 
and  lay  in  our  bags  patching  our  worn-out  clothes. 
All  day  the  blizzard  has  continued  to  blow  hard,  with 
extra  violent  gusts  at  times.  Our  tents  get  snowed  up, 
and  we  have  to  clear  them  by  kicking  at  the  snow  every 
now  and  then. 

January  30.  We  made  a  start  at  8.15  a.m.,  after 
spending  three-quarters  of  an  hour  digging  out  our 
sledges  and  tents  from  the  drift  of  the  blizzard,  which 
stopped  at  1  a.m.  It  was  clear  over  part  of  the  land 
as  we  started,  but  soon  snow  began  to  fall  again  and  the 
356 


I      QQ 


ATTACKS    OF   DYSENTERY 

weather  became  very  thick  ;  yet,  steering  on  a  course, 
we  came  through  the  crevasses  and  drift  without  even 
touching  one,  though  before,  in  good  Hght,  we  have 
had  to  turn  and  twist  to  avoid  them.  The  surface 
was  heavy  for  pulHng  on,  owing  to  the  fine  snow 
from  the  bhzzard,  but  we  did  thirteen  miles  for  the  day, 
working  a  full  ten  hours  till  7.50  p.m.  The  weather 
cleared  right  up  in  the  afternoon,  and  we  made  a  good 
course.  Wild  is  seedy  to-day,  but  we  hope  that  as  soon 
as  he  reaches  Grisi  depot  he  will  be  better.  We  have 
no  variety  of  food,  and  only  have  four  miserably  thin 
biscuits  a  day  to  eke  out  the  horse-meat.  The  plasmon 
is  all  finished  and  so  are  we  ourselves  by  the  end  of  the 
day's  march.  The  sledge  also  is  in  a  terribly  bad  state, 
but  as  soon  as  we  reach  the  depot  all  will  be  well.  The 
surface  in  the  afternoon  improved,  and  is  much  better 
than  we  had  hoped  for.  The  temperature  is  plus  24° 
Fahr.,  fine  and  warm.  A  heavy  day's  pull,  but  we  were 
assisted  by  the  wind  in  the  afternoon.  Wild  is  still 
seedy,  just  walking  in  harness.  The  surface  is  good, 
and  we  are  rapidly  nearing  the  depot.  Short  of  food, 
down  to  twenty  ounces  a  day.  Very  tired.  Good 
weather. 

January  31.  Started  at  7  a.m.,  Wild  bad  with 
dysentery.     Picked  up  mound  4  p.m.,   and  camped  at 

6  P.M.     Very  bad  surface.     Did  13|  miles. 

February  1.  Started  7  a.m.  ;  awful  surface  at  times. 
Wild  very  bad.  Picked  up  mound.  Camped  6  p.m., 
having  done  nearly  fourteen  miles. 

February    2.     Started    at    6.40    a.m.    and    camped 

7  P.M.  at  depot.  Wild  and  self  dysentery  ;  dead  tired, 
bad  surface,  with  undulations.  Did  13|  miles.  Ray's 
birthday,  celebrated  with  two  lumps  of  sugar,  making 
five  each  in  cocoa. 

February  3.     Started  with  new  sledge  and  150  lb, 

357 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

more  Aveight  at  8.40  a.m.  ;  camped  5.30  p.m.  Only 
five  miles ;  awfully  soft  snow  surface.  All  acute 
dysentery  due  to  meat.  Trust  that  sleep  will  put  us 
right.  Could  go  no  further  to-night.  Wild  very  bad, 
sell  weaker,  others  assailed  also.  Bad  light,  short 
food,  surface  worse  than  ever.  Snow  one  foot  deep. 
Got  up  4.30  A.M.  after  going  to  bed  11  p.m.  No  more 
to-night.     Temperature  plus  5°  Fahr.     Dull. 

February  4.  Cannot  write  more.  All  down  v/ith 
acute  dysentery ;  terrible  day.  No  march  possible ; 
outlook  serious.  .  .  .     Fine  weather. 

February  5.  Eight  miles  to-day ;  dead  tired. 
Dysentery  better,  but  Adams  not  too  right.  Camped 
at  5.30  P.M.  We  are  picking  up  the  mounds  well. 
Too  weak  on  half  ration  to  write  much.  Still  hanging 
on  to  geological  specimens.  Please  God  we  will  get 
through  all  right.     Great  anxiety. 

February  6.  Did  ten  miles  to-day.  All  better  and 
a  better  surface.  Terribly  hungry.  Six  biscuits  per 
day  and  one  pannikin  horse-meat  each  meal.  Picked 
up  November  28  mound  and  made  camp.  I  do  trust 
this  hunger  will  not  weaken  us  too  much.  It  has  been 
great  anxiety.  Thank  God  the  dysentery  stopped  and 
the  surface  better.  We  may  do  more  to-morrow,  as 
there  are  signs  of  wind  from  the  south-east.  Tempera- 
ture plus  9°  Fahr.  f 

February  7.  Blowing  hard  blizzard.  Kept  going 
till  6  P.M.  Adams  and  Marshall  renewed  dysentery. 
Dead  tired.     Short  food  ;    very  weak. 

Februarys.  Did  twelve  miles.  We  had  fine  weather 
after  10  a.m.  Started  from  camp  in  blizzard.  Adams 
and  Marshall  still  dysentery  ;  Wild  and  I  all  right. 
Feel  starving  for  food.  Talk  of  it  all  day.  Anyhow, 
getting  north,  thank  God.  Sixty-nine  miles  to  China- 
man depot. 
858 


CHINAMAN  DEPOT  REACHED 

February  9.  Strong  following  blizzard,  and  did 
14|  miles  to  north.  Adams  not  fit  yet.  All  thinking 
and  talking  of  food. 

February  10.  Strong  following  wind.  Did  20  miles 
300  yards.  Temperature  plus  22°  Fahr.  All  thinking 
and  talking  of  food. 

February  11.  We  did  161  miles  to-day,  and  con- 
tinued to  pick  up  the  mounds,  which  is  a  great 
comfort.  The  temperature  is  plus  20°  Fahr.  to-night. 
All  our  thoughts  are  of  food.  We  ought  to  reach  the 
depot  in  two  days.  Now  we  are  down  to  half  a  pannikin 
of  meat  and  five  biscuits  a  day.  Adams  not  all  right 
yet,  and  Wild  shaky  to-night.  Good  surface  and  follow- 
ing wind.     We  were  up  at  4.45  a.m.  and  camped  at 

6  P.M. 

February  12.  Fine  day,  with  no  wind.  We  were 
up  at  4.30  A.M.,  and  marched  till  6  p.m.,  doing  141 
miles.  Adams  sighted  the  depot  flag  at  6  p.m.  The 
temperature  has  ranged  from  plus  5°  to  plus  20°  Fahr. 
Passed  sastrugi  running  south-south-east  in  the  after- 
noon.    Slight  westerly  wind.     Very  tired. 

February  13.  Breakfast  at  4.40  a.m.  We  packed 
up,  with  a  cold  wind  blowing,  and  reached  the  depot, 
with  all  our  food  finished,  at  11.30  a.m.  There  we  got 
Chinaman's  liver,  which  we  have  had  to-night.  It 
tasted  splendid.  We  looked  round  for  any  spare  bits 
of  meat,  and  while  I  was  digging  in  the  snow  I  came 
across  some  hard  red  stuff.  Chinaman's  blood  frozen 
into  a  solid  core.  We  dug  it  up,  and  found  it  a  welcome 
addition  to  our  food.  It  was  like  beef-tea  when  boiled 
up.  The  distance  to-day  was  twelve  miles,  with  a  light 
wind. 

February  14.  A  good  surface  to-day,  but  no  wind. 
The  pulling  was  hard,  and  the  temperature  plus  10° 
to   plus    18°   Fahr.     We   did    llf  miles.     We  are  still 

359 


a:H3E   HEART    OF   THE   ANTARCTIC 

weak,  but  better,  the  horse-blood  helps.  Burst  lips  are 
our  greatest  trouble. 

February  15.  My  birthday  to-day.  I  was  given 
a  present  of  a  cigarette  made  out  of  pipe  tobacco  and 
some  coarse  paper  we  had  with  us.  It  was  delicious. 
A  hard  pull  to-day,  and  my  head  is  very  bad  again. 
The  distance  was  12 J  miles,  with  a  fairly  good 
surface  and  fine  weather.  We  are  picking  up  our 
mounds  with  great  regularity.  The  land  can  be  seen 
faintly  through  the  haze  in  the  distance.  We  have 
found  undulations  even  out  here,  but  not  very  marked, 
running  in  the  usual  direction.  Temperature  minus 
3°  Fahr.  at  noon. 

February  16.  A  fair  surface  to-day,  but  no  wind. 
The  sastrugi  are  disappearing.  We  are  appallingly 
hungry.  We  are  down  to  about  half  a  pannikin  of  half- 
cooked  horse-meat  a  meal  and  four  biscuits  a  day. 
We  covered  thirteen  miles  to-day,  with  the  temperatiu'e 
from  zero  to  minus  7°  Fahr.  There  are  appearances 
of  wind  from  the  south,  long  windy  streamers  of  torn 
stratus.  We  are  so  weak  now  that  even  to  lift  our 
depleted  provision  bag  is  an  effort.  When  we  break 
camp  in  the  morning  we  pull  the  tent  off  the  poles  and 
take  it  down  before  we  move  the  things  inside,  for  the 
effort  of  lifting  the  sleeping-bags,  &c.,  through  the  door- 
way is  too  great.  At  night  when  we  have  come  to 
camp  we  sometimes  have  to  lift  our  legs  one  at  a  time 
with  both  hands  in  getting  into  the  tent.  It  seems 
a  severe  strain  to  lift  one's  feet  without  aid  after  we 
have  stiffened  from  the  day's  march.  Our  fingers  are 
extremely  painful.  Some  of  us  have  big  blisters  that 
burst  occasionally. 

February  17.  I  thought  we  were  in  for  it  and  was 
not  wrong.  To-day  we  have  been  marching  in  a  blind- 
ing blizzard,  with  42°  of  frost,  but,  thank  heaven,  the 
300 


DESPERATELY    HUNGRY 

mnd  was  behind  us  and  we  have  done  nineteen  miles, 
the  sledge  with  the  sail  up  often  over-running  us,  and 
then  at  other  times  getting  into  a  patch  of  soft  snow 
and  bringing  us  up  with  a  jerk.  The  harness  round  our 
weakened  stomachs  gives  us  a  good  deal  of  pain  when 
we  are  brought  up  suddenly.  We  started  at  6.40  a.m. 
and  marched  till  6  p.m.,  and  to-day  we  had  three  panni- 
kins of  semi-cooked  horse-meat  and  six  biscuits  on  the 
strength  of  the  good  march.  We  all  have  tragic  dreams 
of  getting  food  to  eat,  but  rarely  have  the  satisfaction 
of  dreaming  that  we  are  actually  eating.  Last  night 
I  did  taste  bread  and  butter.  We  look  at  each  other 
as  we  eat  our  scanty  meals  and  feel  a  distinct  grievance 
if  one  man  manages  to  make  his  hoosh  last  longer  than 
the  rest  of  us.  Sometimes  we  do  our  best  to  save  a  bit 
of  biscuit  for  the  next  meal,  but  it  is  a  much  debated 
question  whether  it  is  best  to  eat  all  the  food  at  once 
or  to  save.  I  eat  all  my  lunch  biscuit,  but  keep  a  bit 
from  dinner  to  eat  in  the  bag  so  as  to  induce  sleep.  The 
smaller  the  quantity  of  biscuits  grows  the  more  delicious 
they  taste. 

February  18.  The  wind  dropped  during  the  night, 
and  at  4.40  a.m.  we  got  up,  picked  our  buried  sledge 
out  of  the  drift,  and  were  under  way  by  7  a.m.  There 
was  little  wind,  and  the  temperature  was  minus  20° 
Fahr.  at  noon.  This  afternoon  we  sighted  old  Discovery. 
What  a  home-like  appearance  it  has.  Its  big,  bluff 
form  showed  out  in  the  north-west,  and  we  felt  that  the 
same  mountain  might  at  that  very  moment  be  drawing 
the  eyes  of  our  own  people  at  winter  quarters.  It 
seemed  to  be  a  connecting  link.  Perhaps  they  will 
be  wondering  whether  we  are  in  sight  of  it. 

February  19.  A  very  cold  south  wind  to-day,  but 
we  turned  out  at  4.40  a.m.,  with  a  temperature  of 
minus    20°  Fahr.     We  have  been  hungry  and  cold  all 

361 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

day,  but  did  14|-  miles  on  a  good  surface.  We 
sighted  Mount  Erebus  in  the  morning.  The  old  land- 
marks are  so  pleasant.  Camped  at  6  p.m.,  temperature 
minus  10°  Fahr.  We  ought  to  reach  Depot  A  to- 
morrow. We  have  picked  up  the  last  mound  except 
one.  If  we  had  food  all  would  be  well,  but  we  are  now 
at  the  end  of  our  supplies  again,  except  for  some  scraps 
of  meat  scraped  off  the  bones  of  Grisi  after  they  had 
been  lying  on  the  snow  in  the  sun  for  all  these  months. 
We  dare  not  risk  it  until  the  worst  comes.  Still  in  five 
days  more  we  ought  to  be  in  the  land  of  plenty. 

February  20.  Started  to  get  up  at  4.40  a.m.  It 
is  almost  a  farce  to  talk  of  getting  up  to  "  breakfast  " 
now,  and  there  is  no  call  of  "  Come  on,  boys  ;  good 
hoosh."  No  good  hoosh  is  to  be  had.  In  less  time  than 
it  has  taken  me  to  write  this  the  food  is  finished,  and 
then  our  hopes  and  thoughts  lie  wholly  in  the  direction 
of  the  next  feed,  so  called  from  force  of  habit.  It  was 
dull  and  overcast  to-day,  and  we  could  see  only  a  little 
way.  Still  we  made  progress,  and  at  4  p.m.  we  reached 
Depot  A.  The  distance  for  the  day  was  fourteen  miles, 
with  52°  of  frost.  We  sighted  the  depot  at  2.30  p.m., 
and  now  we  have  enough  food  to  carry  us  to  the  Bluff 
Depot.  We  had  run  out  of  food  when  we  reached  the 
depot  to-day,  and  we  have  had  a  good  hoosh  to-night. 
The  unaccustomed  pemmican  fat  made  me  feel  quite 
queer,  but  I  enjoyed  the  pudding  we  made  out  of  biscuits 
and  the  tin  of  jam  which  we  originally  intended  to  have 
for  Christmas  Day,  but  which  we  left  behind  when  on 
the  way  south  in  order  to  save  weight.  Our  depoted 
tobacco  and  cigarettes  were  here,  and  it  is  difficult  to 
describe  the  enjoyment  and  luxury  of  a  good  smoke. 
I  am  sure  that  the  tobacco  will  make  up  for  the  shortage 
of  food.  I  do  not  doubt  but  that  the  Bluff  Depot 
will  have  been  laid  all  right  by  Joyce.  Anyhow  we 
362 


NEARINCx    BLUFF    DEPOT 

must  stake  on  it,  for  we  have  not  enough  food  to  carry 
us  to  the  ship.  Joyce  knows  his  work  well,  and  we  talk 
now  of  nothing  but  the  feeds  that  we  will  have  when 
we  reach  the  Bluff.  That  depot  has  been  the  bright 
beacon  ahead  through  these  dark  days  of  hunger.  Each 
time  we  took  in  another  hole  in  our  belts  we  have  said 
that  it  will  be  all  right  when  we  get  to  the  Bluff  Depot, 
and  now  we  are  getting  towards  it. 

February  21.  We  got  up  at  4.40  a.m.,  just  as  it 
commenced  to  blow,  and  the  wind  continued  all  day, 
a  blizzard  with  as  low  as  67°  of  frost.  We  could  not 
get  warm,  but  we  did  twenty  miles.  In  ordinary  polar 
work  one  would  not  think  of  travelling  in  such  a  severe 
blizzard,  but  our  need  is  extreme,  and  we  must  keep 
going.  It  is  neck  or  nothing  with  us  now.  Our  food 
lies  ahead,  and  death  stalks  us  from  behind.  This  is 
just  the  time  of  the  year  when  the  most  bad  weather 
may  be  expected.  The  sun  now  departs  at  night,  and 
the  darkness  is  palpable  by  the  time  we  turn  in,  generally 
about  9.30  p.m.  We  are  so  thin  that  our  bones  ache 
as  we  lie  on  the  hard  snow  in  our  sleeping-bags,  from 
which  a  great  deal  of  the  hair  has  gone.  To-night  we 
stewed  some  of  the  scraps  of  Grisi  meat,  and  the  dish 
tasted  delicious.  Too  cold  to  write  more.  Thank  God, 
we  are  nearing  the  Bluff. 

February  22.  A  splendid  day.  We  did  20^  miles, 
and  on  the  strength  of  the  distance  had  a  good  feed. 
About  11  A.M.  we  suddenly  came  across  the  tracks  of 
a  party  of  four  men,  with  dogs.  Evidently  the  weather 
has  been  fine  and  they  have  been  moving  at  a  good 
pace  towards  the  south.  We  could  tell  that  the  weather 
has  been  fine,  for  they  were  wearing  ski  boots  instead 
of  finnesko,  and  occasionally  we  saw  the  stump  of  a 
cigarette.  The  length  of  the  steps  showed  that  they 
were  going  fast.     We  are  now  camped  on  the  tracks, 

363 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

which  are  fairly  recent,  and  we  will  try  to  follow  them 
to  the  Bluff,  for  they  must  have  come  from  the  depot. 
This  assures  us  that  the  depot  was  laid  all  right.  I 
cannot  imagine  who  the  fourth  man  can  be,  unless  it 
was  Buckley,  who  might  be  there  now  that  the  ship  is 
in.  We  passed  their  noon  camp,  and  I  am  certain  that 
the  ship  is  in,  for  there  were  tins  lying  round  bearing 
brands  different  from  those  of  the  original  stores.  We 
found  three  small  bits  of  chocolate  and  a  little  bit  of 
biscuit  at  the  camp  after  carefully  searching  the  ground 
for  such  unconsidered  trifles,  and  we  *'  turned  backs  " 
for  them.  I  was  unlucky  enough  to  get  the  bit  of 
biscuit,  and  a  curious  unreasoning  anger  took  possession 
of  me  for  a  moment  at  my  bad  uck.  It  shows  how 
primitive  we  have  become,  and  how  much  the  question 
of  even  a  morsel  of  food  affects  our  judgment.  We  are 
near  the  end  of  our  food,  but  as  we  have  staked  every- 
thing on  the  Bluff  Depot,  we  had  a  good  feed  to-night. 
If  we  do  not  pick  up  the  depot  there  will  be  absolutely 
no  hope  for  us. 


364 


CHAPTER  XXV 
THE  FINAL  STAGE 

FEBRUARY  23.  Started  at  6.45  a.m.  in  splendid 
weather,  and  at  11  a.m.,  while  halting  for  a  spell, 
Wild  saw  the  Bluff  Depot  miraged  up.  It  seemed  to  be 
quite  close,  and  the  flags  were  waving  and  dancing  as 
though  to  say,  "  Come,  here  I  am,  come  and  feed." 
It  was  the  most  cheerful  sight  our  eyes  have  ever  seen, 
for  we  had  only  a  few  biscuits  left.  These  we  at  once 
devoured.  The  Grisi  meat  had  given  Wild  renewed 
dysentery.  After  a  short  camp  we  pushed  on.  A 
flashing  light  appeared  to  be  on  the  depot,  and  when  we 
reached  it  at  4  p.m.,  this  turned  out  to  be  a  biscuit  tin, 
which  had  been  placed  in  the  snow  so  as  to  catch  the 
light  of  the  sun.  It  was  like  a  great  cheerful  eye  twink- 
ling at  us.  The  depot  had  appeared  much  closer  than 
it  really  was,  because  we  were  accustomed  to  judging 
from  the  height  of  an  ordinary  depot,  whereas  this  one 
was  built  on  a  snow  mound  over  10  ft.  high,  with  two 
bamboos  lashed  together  on  top,  and  three  flags.  It 
was  a  splendid  mark.  Joyce  and  his  party  have  done 
their  work  well.  Now  we  are  safe  as  regards  food,  and 
it  only  remains  for  us  to  reach  the  ship.  I  climbed 
up  on  top  of  the  depot,  and  shouted  out  to  those  below 
of  the  glorious  feeds  that  awaited  us.  First  I  rolled 
down  three  tins  of  biscuits,  then  cases  containing 
luxuries  of   every  description,  many  of   them  sent  by 

365 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

friends.  There  were  Carlsbad  plums,  eggs,  cakes, 
plum  puddings,  gingerbread  and  crystallised  fruit,  even 
fresh  boiled  mutton  from  the  ship.  After  months  of 
want  and  hunger,  we  suddenly  found  ourselves  able  to 
have  meals  fit  for  the  gods,  and  with  appetites  that  the 
gods  might  have  envied.  Apart  from  the  luxuries 
there  was  an  ample  supply  of  ordinary  sledging  rations. 
To-night  we  improvised  a  second  cooking-stand  out  of  a 
biscuit  tin,  and  used  our  second  primus  to  cook  some 
of  the  courses.  Our  dream  of  food  has  come  true,  and 
yet  after  we  had  eaten  biscuits  and  had  two  pannikins 
of  pemmican,  followed  by  cocoa,  our  contracted  bodies 
would  not  stand  the  strain  of  more  food,  and  reluctantly 
we  had  to  stop.  I  cannot  tell  what  a  relief  it  has  been 
to  us.  There  is  nothing  much  in  the  way  of  news  from 
the  ship,  only  just  a  letter  saying  that  she  had  arrived 
on  January  5,  and  that  all  was  well.  This  letter,  dated 
January  20,  is  signed  by  Evans,  who  evidently  is  the 
Evans  who  towed  us  down  in  the  Koonya.  We  now 
only  have  to  catch  the  ship,  and  I  hope  we  will  do  that. 
Wild  is  better  to-night.  The  temperature  is  plus  10° 
Fahr.,  fine  and  warm.  I  am  writing  in  my  bag  with 
biscuits  beside  me,  and  chocolate  and  jam. 

February  24.  We  got  up  at  5  a.m.,  and  at  7  a.m. 
had  breakfast,  consisting  of  eggs,  dried  milk,  porridge 
and  pemmican,  with  plenty  of  biscuits.  We  marched 
until  1  P.M.,  had  lunch  and  then  marched  until 
8  P.M.,  covering  a  distance  of  fifteen  miles  for  the  day. 
The  weather  was  fine.  Though  we  have  plenty  of 
weight  to  haul  now  we  do  not  feel  it  so  much  as  we  did 
the  smaller  weights  when  we  were  hungry.  We  have 
good  food  inside  us,  and  every  now  and  then  on 
the  march  we  eat  a  bit  of  chocolate  or  biscuit.  Warned 
by  the  experience  of  Scott  and  Wilson  on  the  previous 
southern  journey,  I  have  taken  care  not  to  over-eat* 
366 


MARSHALL'S    CONDITION    WORSE 

Adams  has  a  wonderful  digestion,  and  can  go  on  without 
any  difficulty.  Wild's  dysentery  is  a  bit  better  to-day. 
He  is  careful  of  his  feeding  and  has  only  taken  things 
that  are  suitable.  It  is  a  comfort  to  be  able  to  pick  and 
choose.  I  cannot  understand  a  letter  I  received  from 
Murray  about  Mackintosh  getting  adrift  on  the  ice, 
but  no  doubt  this  will  be  cleared  up  on  our  return.  Any- 
how every  one  seems  to  be  all  right.  There  was  no  news 
of  the  Northern  Party  or  of  the  Western  Party.  We 
turned  in  full  of  food  to-night. 

February  25.  We  turned  out  at  4  a.m.  for  an  early 
start,  as  we  are  in  danger  of  being  left  if  we  do  not  push 
ahead  rapidly  and  reach  the  ship.  On  going  into  the 
tent  for  breakfast  I  found  Marshall  suffering  from 
paralysis  of  the  stomach  and  renewed  dysentery,  and 
while  we  were  eating  a  blizzard  came  up.  We  secured 
everything  as  the  Bluff  showed  masses  of  ragged  cloud, 
and  I  was  of  opinion  that  it  was  going  to  blow  hard. 

I  did  not  think  Marshall  fit  to  travel  through  the  blizzard. 
During  the  afternoon,  as  we  were  lying  in  the  bags,  the 
weather  cleared  somewhat,  though  it  still  blew  hard. 
If  Marshall  is  not  better  to-night,  I  must  leave  him 
with  Adams  and  push  on,  for  time  is  going  on,  and  the 
ship  may  leave  on  March  1,  according  to  orders,  if  the 
Sound  is  not  clear  of  ice.  I  went  over  through  the 
blizzard  to  Marshall's  tent.  He  is  in  a  bad  way  still, 
but  thinks  that  he  could  travel  to-morrow. 

February  27  (1  a.m.).  The  blizzard  was  over  at 
midnight,  and  we  got  up  at  1  a.m.,  had  breakfast  at  2, 
and  made  a  start  at  4.  At  9.80  a.m.  we  had  lunch, 
at  3  p.m.  tea,  at  7  p.m.  hoosh,  and  then  marched  till 

II  p.m.  Had  another  hoosh,  and  tin-ned  in  at  1  a.m. 
We  did  twenty-four  miles.  Marshall  suffered  greatly, 
but  stuck  to  the  march.     He  never  complains. 

March  5.     Although    we    did    not    turn    in    until 

367 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

1  A.M.  on  the  27th,  we  were  up  again  at  4  a.m. 
and  after  a  good  hoosh,  we  got  under  way  at  6  a.m. 
and  marched  until  1  p.m.  Marshall  was  unable  to  haul, 
his  dysentery  increasing,  and  he  got  worse  in  the  after- 
noon, after  lunch.  At  4  p.m.  I  decided  to  pitch  camp, 
leave  Marshall  under  Adams'  charge,  and  push  ahead 
with  Wild,  taking  one  day's  provisions  and  leaving  the 
balance  for  the  two  men  at  the  camp.  I  hoped  to  pick 
up  a  relief  party  at  the  ship  We  dumped  everything 
off  the  sledge  except  a  prismatic  compass,  our  sleeping- 
bags  and  food  for  one  day,  and  at  4.30  p.m.  Wild  and 
I  started,  and  marched  till  9  p.m.  Then  we  had  a 
hoosh,  and  marched  until  2  a.m.  of  the  28th,  over  a 
very  hard  surface.  We  stopped  for  one  hour  and  a  half 
off  the  north-east  end  of  White  Island,  getting  no  sleep, 
and  marched  till  11  a.m.,  by  which  time  our  food  was 
finished.  We  kept  flashing  the  heliograph  in  the  hope 
of  attracting  attention  from  Observation  Hill,  where 
I  thought  that  a  party  would  be  on  the  look-out,  but 
there  was  no  return  flash,  The  only  thing  to  do  was 
to  push  ahead,  although  we  were  by  this  time  very  tired. 
At  2.30  p.m.  we  sighted  open  water  ahead,  the  ice  having 
evidently  broken  out  four  miles  south  of  Cape  Armitage, 
and  an  hour  and  a  half  later  a  blizzard  wind  started  to 
blow,  and  the  weather  got  very  thick.  We  thought 
once  that  we  saw  a  party  coming  over  to  meet  us,  and 
our  sledge  seemed  to  grow  lighter  for  a  few  minutes, 
but  the  "  party  "  turned  out  to  be  a  group  of  penguins 
at  the  ice-edge.  The  weather  was  so  thick  that  we 
could  not  see  any  distance  ahead,  and  we  arrived  at 
the  ice  edge  suddenly.  The  ice  was  swaying  up  and 
down,  and  there  was  grave  risk  of  our  being  carried 
out.  I  decided  to  abandon  the  sledge,  as  I  felt  sure 
that  we  would  get  assistance  at  once  when  we  reached 
the  hut,  and  time  was  becoming  important.  It  was 
368 


Seiackleton  and  Wild  ■waiting  at  Hut  Point  to  be   pickicd  iv  isv  the  Ship 


n 


The  Start  of  the  Relief  Party,  ■which  brought  in  Adams   and  Marshall 

To  face  page  368 


AN    EMPTY   HUT 

necessary  that  we  should  get  food  and  shelter  speedily. 
Wild's  feet  were  giving  him  a  great  deal  of  trouble.  In 
the  thick  weather  we  could  not  risk  making  Pram 
Point,  and  I  decided  to  follow  another  route  seven  miles 
round  by  the  other  side  of  Castle  Rock.  We  clambered 
over  crevasses  and  snow  slopes,  and  after  what  seemed 
an  almost  interminable  struggle  reached  Castle  Rock, 
from  whence  I  could  see  that  there  was  open  water  all 
round  the  north.  It  was  indeed  a  different  home-coming 
from  what  we  had  expected.  Out  on  the  Barrier  and 
up  on  the  plateau  our  thoughts  had  often  turned  to 
the  day  when  we  would  get  back  to  the  comfort  and 
plenty  of  the  winter-quarters,  but  we  had  never  imagined 
fighting  our  way  to  the  back-door,  so  to  speak,  in  such 
a  cheerless  fashion.  We  reached  the  top  of  Ski  Slope 
at  7.45  P.M.,  and  from  there  we  could  see  the  hut  and 
the  bay.  There  was  no  sign  of  the  ship,  and  no  smoke 
or  other  evidence  of  life  at  the  hut.  >  We  hurried  on  to 
the  hut,  our  minds  busy  with  gloomy  possibilities,  and 
found  not  a  man  there.  There  was  a  letter  stating 
that  the  Northern  Party  had  reached  the  Magnetic 
Pole,  and  that  all  the  parties  had  been  picked  up  except 
ours.  The  letter  added  that  the  ship  would  be  shelter- 
ing under  Glacier  Tongue  until  February  26.  It  was 
now  February  28,  and  it  was  with  very  keen  anxiety  in 
our  minds  that  we  proceeded  to  search  for  food.  If  the 
ship  was  gone,  our  plight,  and  that  of  the  two  men 
left  out  on  the  Barrier,  was  a  very  serious  one. 

We  improvised  a  cooking  vessel,  found  oil  and  a 
Primus  lamp,  and  had  a  good  feed  of  biscuit,  oiiions 
and  plum  pudding,  which  were  amongst  the  stores  left 
at  the  hut.  We  were  utterly  weary,  but  we  had  no 
sleeping-gear,  our  bags  having  been  left  with  the  sledge, 
and  the  temperature  was  very  low.  We  found  a  piece 
of  roofing  felt,  which  we  wrapped  round  us,  and  then 

I  2  a  369 


THE    HEART    OF    THE    ANTARCTIC 

we  sat  up  all  night,  the  darkness  being  relieved  only 
when  we  occasionally  lighted  the  lamp  in  order  to 
secure  a  little  warmth.  We  tried  to  burn  the  magnetic 
hut  in  the  hope  of  attracting  attention  from  the  ship, 
but  we  were  not  able  to  get  it  alight.  We  tried,  too, 
to  tie  the  Union  Jack  to  Vince's  cross,  on  the  hill,  but 
we  were  so  played  out  that  our  cold  fingers  could  not 
manage  the  knots.  It  was  a  bad  night  for  us,  and  we 
were  glad  indeed  when  the  light  came  again.  Then 
we  managed  to  get  a  little  warmer,  and  at  9  a.m.  we 
got  the  magnetic  hut  alight,  and  put  up  the  flag.  All 
our  fears  vanished  when  in  the  distance  we  saw  the 
ship,  miraged  up.  We  signalled  with  the  heliograph, 
and  at  11  a.m.  on  March  1  we  were  on  board  the  Nimrod 
and  once  more  safe  amongst  friends.  I  will  not  attempt 
to  describe  our  feelings.  Every  one  was  glad  to  see 
us,  and  keen  to  know  what  we  had  done.  They  had 
given  us  up  for  lost,  and  a  search-party  had  been  going 
to  start  that  day  in  the  hope  of  finding  some  trace  of 
us.  I  found  that  every  member  of  the  expedition  was 
well,  that  the  plans  had  worked  out  satisfactorily,  and 
that  the  work  laid  down  had  been  carried  out.  The 
ship  had  brought  nothing  but  good  news  from  the  out- 
side world.  It  seemed  as  though  a  great  load  had  been 
lifted  from  my  shoulders. 

The  first  thing  was  to  bring  in  Adams  and  Marshall, 
and  I  ordered  out  a  relief  party  at  once.  I  had  a  good 
feed  of  bacon  and  fried  bread,  and  started  at  2.30 
P.M.  from  the  Barrier  edge  with  Mackay,  Mawson  and 
McGillan,  leaving  Wild  on  the  Nimrod.  We  marched 
until  10  P.M.,  had  dinner  and  turned  in  for  a  short  sleep. 
We  were  up  again  at  2  a.m.  the  next  morning  (March  2), 
and  travelled  until  1  p.m.,  when  we  reached  the  camp 
where  I  had  left  the  two  men.  Marshall  was  better, 
the  rest  having  done  him  a  lot  of  good,  and  he  was  able 
370 


ON   BOARD   THE    NIMROD 

to  march  and  pull.  After  lunch  we  started  back  again, 
and  marched  until  8  p.m.  in  fine  weather.  We  were 
under  way  again  at  4  a.m.  the  next  morning,  had  lunch 
at  noon,  and  reached  the  ice-edge  at  3  p.m.  There  was 
no  sign  of  the  ship,  and  the  sea  was  freezing  over.  We 
waited  until  5  p.m.,  and  then  found  that  it  was  possible 
to  strike  land  at  Pram  Point.  The  weather  was  coming 
on  bad,  clouding  up  from  the  south-east,  and  Marshall 
was  suffering  from  renewed  dysentery,  the  result  of 
the  heavy  marching.  We  therefore  abandoned  one 
tent  and  one  sledge  at  the  ice- edge,  taking  on  only 
the  sleeping-bags  and  the  specimens.  We  climbed  up 
by  Crater  Hill,  leaving  everything  but  the  sleeping-bags, 
for  the  weather  was  getting  worse,  and  at  9.35  p.m. 
commenced  to  slide  down  towards  Hut  Point.  We 
reached  the  winter  quarters  at  9.50,  and  Marshall  was 
put  to  bed.  Mackay  and  I  lighted  a  carbide  flare  on 
the  hill  by  Vince's  cross,  and  after  dinner  all  hands 
turned  in  except  Mackay  and  myself.  A  short  time  after 
Mackay  saw  the  ship  appear.  It  was  now  blowing  a 
hard  blizzard,  but  Mackintosh  had  seen  our  flare  from 
a  distance  of  nine  miles.  Adams  and  I  Vv^ent  on  board 
the  Nimrod,  and  Adams,  after  surviving  all  the  dangers 
of  the  interior  of  the  Antarctic  continent,  was  nearly 
lost  within  sight  of  safety.  He  slipped  at  the  ice-edge, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  he  was  wearing  new  finnesko, 
and  he  only  just  saved  himself  from  going  over.  He 
managed  to  hang  on  until  he  was  rescued  by  a  party 
from  the  ship. 

A  boat  went  back  for  Marshall  and  the  others,  and 
we  were  all  safe  on  board  at  1  a.m.  on  March  4. 

Note.  Subsequent  calculations  have  shown  that  the  distances 
given  in  my  diary  of  the  southern  journey  were  not  always  quite 
accurate.  The  calculations  were  made  under  circumstances  of  special 
difficulty,  and  were  not  checked  until  after  my  return  to  civilisation. 

371 


THE    HEART    OF   THE    ANTARCTIC 

The  reader  will  notice  that  some  of  the  distances  are  given  in  statute 
miles  and  others  in  geographical  miles.  After  the  last  meridian 
altitude  was  taken  at  the  plateau  depot  and  until  the  return  to  the 
same  depot  the  distances  were  noted  in  geographical  miles.  I  have 
thought  it  best  to  let  the  diary  figures  stand,  but  in  the  construction 
of  the  map  certain  corrections  have  been  made,  and  at  the  end  of 
the  book  will  be  found  a  table  showing  the  actual  distances  travelled 
day  by  day. 


Printed  by  Ballanttne  &*  Co.  Limited 
Tavistock  Street,  Covent  Garden,  London 


Date  Due 

w  "*An  §-f^ 

^                 ... 

kP^ir4:^ 

r. 

HWH 

'it ' 

MARl; 

^2005 

■ 

; 

L.    B.    CAT.  NO     1137 

WELLESLEY  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 


3  5002  03193  1392 


G  850  1907  .  A32  1 

Shackleton,  Ernest  Henry, 
1674-1922. 


The  heart  a±    the  Antarctic