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diff --git a/old/69138-0.txt b/old/69138-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index fe37744..0000000 --- a/old/69138-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7066 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Shackleton in the Antarctic, by Ernest -Shackleton - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Shackleton in the Antarctic - Being the story of the British Antarctic expedition, 1907-1909 - -Author: Ernest Shackleton - -Release Date: October 12, 2022 [eBook #69138] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Tom Cosmas compiled from materials made available at The - Internet Archive and placed in the Public Domain. - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SHACKLETON IN THE -ANTARCTIC *** - - - - -Transcriber Note: Text emphasis denoted as _Italics_. - - - -[Illustration: The Commander of the Expedition] - - - - - -SHACKLETON IN THE ANTARCTIC BEING THE STORY OF THE BRITISH ANTARCTIC -EXPEDITION, 1907-1909 - - -BY SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON C.V.O. - - -[Illustration] - -LONDON - -WILLIAM HEINEMANN - -MCMXI - - -SHACKLETON IN THE ANTARCTIC - -ADAPTED FROM - -THE HEART OF THE ANTARCTIC - -_First published (Two Volumes) November 1909_ _Popular Edition ( One -Volume) November 1910_ - - - -_Copyright London 1909, by William Heinemann, and Washington, U.S.A., -by J. B. Lippincott Company_ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAP PAGE - I. The Expedition 11 - II. Supplies and Equipment 15 - III. The Ship, the Hut, and Other Necessities 18 - IV. The Staff and the Royal Visit 23 - V. We Leave Lyttelton 26 - VI. The Antarctic Circle 31 - VII. The Attempt to Reach King Edward VII Land 36 - VIII. Landing of Stores and Equipment 46 - IX. The "Nimrod" Leaves Us 52 - X. Winter Quarters at Cape Royds Outside 58 - XI. Winter Quarters--Inside 63 - XII. Sledging Equipment 68 - XIII. Our Ponies and Dogs 74 - XIV. Mount Erebus 78 - XV. Attacking Mount Erebus 80 - XVI. The Conquest of Mount Erebus 87 - XVII. Preparations for the Winter Months 95 - XVIII. Still in the Hut 98 - XIX. Preliminary Journeys 104 - XX. Arrangements and Instructions 108 - XXI. The Start to the South Pole 112 - XXII. Onward 117 - XXIII. Beyond All Former Footsteps 122 - XXIV. The Highway to the South 126 - XXV. On the Great Glacier 130 - XXVI. On the Plateau to the Farthest South 135 - XXVII. Farthest South 142 - XXVIII. The Return March 146 - XXIX. Struggling Back 151 - XXX. The Final Stage 158 - XXXI. Notes on the Southern Journey 164 - XXXII. The Return of the "Nimrod" 173 - XXXIII. The Western Party 178 - XXXIV. Instructions for the Northern Party 184 - XXXV. The Narrative of Professor David. We Start for - the Magnetic Pole 187 - XXXVI. Across the Ice Barrier 193 - XXXVII. The Drygalski Glacier 199 - XXXVIII. Crevasses 203 - XXXIX. Upwards and Onwards 208 - XL. The Magnetic Pole 212 - XLI. Returning 216 - XLII. Obstacles In Our Course 222 - XLIII. Safe Aboard 226 - XLIV. The Return to New Zealand 231 - XLV. Penguins. (Some Notes by James Murray, - Biologist to the Expedition) 238 - XLVI. The Adelies and Their Chicks 245 - XLVII. Notes 254 - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - PAGE - Section Showing Interior of _Nimrod_ 13 - Seal Suckling Young and Taking no Notice of Motor-Car 17 - Their Majesties King Edward and Queen Alexandra - Inspecting the Equipment on the _Nimrod_ at Cowes 21 - The Towing Steamer _Koonya_ as Seen from the - _Nimrod_ in a Heavy Sea. This Particular Wave Came - Aboard the _Nimrod_ and Did Considerable Damage 25 - View of the Great Ice Barrier 29 - 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 33 - Flight of Antarctic Petrels 37 - _Nimrod_ Moored Off Tabular Bergs 41 - Adelie Penguins at Cape Royds 45 - The _Nimrod_ Lying Off the Penguin Rookery, Cape Royds 49 - The Ponies Transporting Coal on Sledges at Back Door Bay 53 - Digging Out Stores After the Cases Had Been Buried in - Ice During a Blizzard 57 - Winter Quarters 61 - The First Slopes of Erebus 65 - Marston in His Bed 69 - Plan of the Hut at Winter Quarters 73 - A Group of the Shore Party at the Winter Quarters 77 - Ice Flowers on Newly-Formed Sea Ice Early in the Winter 81 - One Thousand Feet Below the Active Cone 85 - The "Lion" of Erebus 89 - 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 93 - The Type Case and Printing Press for the Production of - the "Aurora Australis" in Joyce's and Wild's Cubicle - known as "The Rogues' Retreat" 99 - Preparing a Sledge During the Winter 103 - The Leader of the Expedition in Winter Garb 107 - The Motor-Car in the Garage, Maize-Crusher on the Right 111 - The Southern Party Marching into the White Unknown 115 - Cape Barne and Inaccessible Island by Moonlight 119 - New Land. The Party Ascended Mount Hope and Sighted - the Great Glacier, up which They Marched Through the - Gap. The Main Body of the Glacier Joins the Barrier - Further to the Left 129 - Lower Glacier Depot. The Stores Were Buried in the - Snow Near the Rock in the Foreground 133 - The Camp below "The Cloud Maker" 137 - Facsimile of Page of Shackleton's Diary 141 - The Farthest South Camp After Sixty Hours' Blizzard 145 - Farthest South, January 9, 1909 149 - The Camp Under the Granite Pillar, Half a Mile from the - Lower Glacier Depot, Where the Party Camped on - January 27 153 - Shackleton Standing by the Broken Southern Sledge, - Which was Replaced by Another at Grisi Depot 157 - Return Journey of the Southern Party: At the Bluff Depot 161 - The Southern Party on Board the _Nimrod_ 165 - The _Nimrod_ Pushing Through Heavy Pack Ice On Her - Way South 171 - The _Nimrod_ Held Up in the Ice 177 - The Bluff Depot 181 - The Motor Hauling Stores for a Depot 185 - Loaded Sledge Showing the Distance Recorder or Sledge-meter 191 - The Northern Party on the Plateau, New Year's Day 201 - The Northern Party at the South Magnetic Pole 209 - Ready to Start Home 217 - A View of the Hut in Summer 227 - Emperor Penguins 237 - An Adelie Calling for a Mate after Commencing the Nest 243 - Adelie Trying to Mother a Couple of Well-Grown Strangers 247 - Penguins Listening to the Gramophone During the Summer 251 - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE EXPEDITION - - - -Men go out into the void spaces of the world for various -reasons. Some are incited simply by a love of adventure, some have -a keen thirst for scientific knowledge, and others are drawn away -from trodden paths by 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 the keenest desire to see more of the vast -continent that lies amid the Antarctic snows and glaciers. Indeed the -stark polar lands grip the hearts of men who have lived on them in -a manner that can hardly be understood by people who have never got -outside 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 performed splendid service in several -important branches of science, and I believed that a second expedition -could carry the work still further. For instance, the southern limits -of the Great Ice Barrier had not been defined, and it was important to -the scientific world that information should be gained regarding the -movement of the ice-sheet that forms the barrier. I also wanted to -discover 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 also to be done in the fields of meteorology, zoology, -biology, mineralogy and general geology, so much in fact that apart -from the wish to gain a higher latitude the expedition seemed to be -justified on scientific grounds alone. - -The difficulty that confronts most men who wish to undertake -exploration work is that of finance, and for some time I was faced -by financial problems; but when the governments of Australia and New -Zealand came to my assistance, the position became more satisfactory. - -In the _Geographical Journal_ for March 1907, I outlined my plan of -campaign, but this had materially to be changed later on owing to -circumstances. "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 announced. "One party will go east, and, if possible, -across the Barrier to the new land known as King Edward VII Land, the -second party will proceed south over the same route as that of the -southern sledge-party of the _Discovery_, 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." - -[Illustration: Section, showing Interior of "Nimrod" - -1. Forecastle. 2. Stores. 3. Chain locker. 4. Fore hold. 5. Lower hold. -6. Stoke hold. 7. Carpenters' shop. 8. Cook's Galley. 9. Engine room. -10. Engine room. 11. Boiler. 12. After hold. 13. Lower hold. 14. After -bridge. 15. Officer's quarters. 16 Captain's quarters. 17. Oyster -alley. (_See page 19._)] - -My intention was that the expedition should leave New Zealand at the -beginning of 1908, and proceed to winter quarters on the Antarctic -continent, the ship to land men and stores and then return. By -avoiding the ship being frozen in, the use of a relief ship would be -unnecessary, as the same vessel could come south again the following -summer and take us off. - -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, as far as this particular matter -was concerned, my plans were upset by the demands of the situation. -Owing largely to the unexpected loss of ponies before the winter, the -journey to King Edward VII Land over the Barrier was not attempted. - -As the expedition was entirely my own venture I decided that I would -have no committee, and thus I avoided delays that are inevitable when a -group of men have to arrive at a decision on points of detail. The aim -of one who undertakes to organise such an expedition must be to provide -for every contingency, and in dealing with this Work I was fortunate -enough to secure the assistance of Mr. Alfred Reid, who had already -gained considerable experience in connection with previous polar -ventures, and who--as manager of the expedition--was invaluable to me. - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -I--SUPPLIES - -For a polar expedition the food must in the first place be -wholesome and nourishing in the highest possible degree. Scurvy--that -dread disease--was once regarded as the inevitable result of a -prolonged stay in ice-bound regions, but by selecting food-stuffs which -had been prepared on scientific lines we entirely avoided any sickness -attributable directly or indirectly to the foods we took with us. - -In the second place the food taken on the sledging expeditions must be -as light as possible, always remembering that in very low temperatures -the heat of the body can be maintained only by use of fatty and -farinaceous foods in fairly large quantities. The sledging-foods must -also be such as do not require prolonged cooking, for the amount of -fuel that can be carried is limited. It must even be possible to eat -these foods without any cooking, because the fuel may be lost or -exhausted. - -As regards foods for use at the winter quarters of the expedition a -greater variety was possible, for the ship might be expected to reach -that point and weight was consequently of less importance. My aim was -to get a large variety of foods for the winter night, when the long -months of darkness severely strain men unaccustomed to the conditions. - -I based my estimates on the requirements of twelve men for two years, -but this was added to in New Zealand when the staff was increased. - -At first the question of packing presented difficulties, but at last -I decided to use "Venesta" cases both for food-stuffs and as much as -possible for equipment. These cases are manufactured from composite -boards prepared by uniting three layers of birch or other hard wood -with water-proof cement. They were eminently suited to our purpose, -and the saving of weight, as compared with an ordinary packing-case, -was about four pounds per case. In spite of the rough handling our -stores received in the process of being landed at Cape Royds, after the -expedition had reached the Antarctic we had no trouble with breakages. - - -II--EQUIPMENT - -After placing orders for the principal food supplies I went to Norway -with Mr. Reid to secure sledges, fur boots and mits, sleeping bags, -ski, &c. The sledges were to be of the Nansen pattern, built of -specially selected timber and of the best workmanship. I ordered ten -twelve-foot sledges, eighteen eleven-foot sledges and two seven-foot -sledges, the largest being suitable for pony-haulage. The sledges were -made by Messrs. Hagen and Company of Christiania and proved to be all -that I desired. - -The next step was to secure furs, but this was not a very large order -as after the experience of the _Discovery_ expedition I decided to use -fur only for the feet and hands and for the sleeping-bags, relying -otherwise on woollen garments with an outer covering of windproof -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. - -[Illustration: Seal suckling Young, and taking no Notice of the -Motor-car] - -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 outside, 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 warm and comfortable foot-gear. -This sennegrass is a dried grass of long fibre with a special quality -of absorbing moisture and I bought fifty kilos (110.25 lb.) of it in -Norway. - -The sixty pairs of wolfskin and dogskin mits which I ordered from Mr. -Möller were made with the fur outside, were long enough to protect the -wrists, and had one compartment for the four fingers and another for -the thumb. They were worn over woollen gloves and were hung round the -neck with lamp-wick when the use of the fingers was required. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE SHIP, THE HUT AND OTHER NECESSITIES - - -Before I left Norway I visited Sandyfjord to see whether I -could come to terms with Mr. C. Christiansen, the owner of the _Bjorn_, -a ship specially built for polar work; but much as I wished to try her -I could not afford to pay the price. - -So when I returned to London I purchased the _Nimrod_. She was small -and old, and her maximum speed under steam was hardly more than six -knots, but on the other hand she was able to face rough treatment in -the ice. I confess that I was disappointed when I first examined the -little ship, to which I was about to commit the hopes and aspirations -of many years, but I had not then become acquainted with her many -good qualities, and my first impression scarcely did justice to the -plucky old ship. She was at once put into the hands of Messrs. R. -& H. Green of Blackwall, the famous firm that had built so many of -Britain's "wooden walls," and that had done fitting and repairing work -for several other polar expeditions, and day by day she assumed a more -satisfactory appearance. Quarters were provided for the scientific -staff of the expedition by enclosing a portion of the after-hold and -constructing cabins which were entered by a steep ladder from the -deck-house. For some reason not on record these small quarters were -known later as "Oyster Alley." - -As however the _Nimrod_, after landing the shore-party with stores and -equipment, would return to New Zealand, it was necessary that we should -have a reliable hut in which to live during the Antarctic night, and -until the sledging journeys began in the following spring. - - -THE HUT - -I ordered a hut (which was to be our only refuge from furious -blizzards) measuring externally 33 ft. by 19 ft. by 8 ft. to the eaves -from Messrs. Humphreys of Knightsbridge. It was specially constructed -to my order, and after being erected and inspected in London was -shipped in sections. - -It was made of stout fir timbering of best quality in walls, roofs and -floors, and the parts were all morticed and tenoned to make erection -easy in the Antarctic. Great precautions were taken against the extreme -cold, and the hut was to be erected on wooden piles let into the ground -or ice, and rings were fixed to the top 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 or egress would -not cause a draught of cold air, and the windows were double so that -the warmth of the hut might be retained. We took little furniture as I -proposed to use cases for the construction of benches, beds, and other -necessary articles of internal equipment. The hut was to be lighted -with acetylene gas, and we took a generator, the necessary piping and a -supply of carbide. - -We also took a cooking-range, manufactured by Messrs. Smith and -Wellstrood, of London, which had a fire chamber designed to burn -anthracite coal continuously day and night. - - -CLOTHING - -Each member of the expedition was supplied with two winter suits made -of heavy blue pilot cloth, lined with Jaeger fleece. An outer suit of -windproof material is necessary in the polar regions, and I secured -twenty-four suits of Burberry gabardine. The underclothing was obtained -from the Dr. Jaeger Sanitary Woollen Company. - - -PONIES, DOGS, AND MOTOR-CAR - -I decided to take ponies, dogs, and a car to assist in hauling our -sledges on long journeys, but my hopes were mainly based on the ponies. -Dogs had not proved satisfactory on the Barrier surface, but I was sure -that the hardy ponies used in Northern China and Manchuria would be -useful if landed in good condition on the ice. They had done good work -both on the Jackson-Harmsworth expedition and in the Russo-Japanese -War. Fifteen of these ponies, practically unbroken and about fourteen -hands high, were selected and ultimately transferred to Quail Island in -Port Lyttelton, where they were free to feed in luxury until they were -required. - -[Illustration: Their Majesties King Edward and Queen Alexandra -inspecting the Equipment on the "Nimrod" at Cowes, (_See page 26_)] - -As I thought it possible, from my previous experience, that we might -find a hard surface on the Great Ice Barrier, I resolved to take a -motor-car, so 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. A non-freezing oil was prepared for me -by Messrs. Price and Company. I placed, as I have suggested, but small -reliance on dogs; I did however order forty of the descendants of the -Siberian dogs used on the Newnes-Borchgrevink expedition. The breeder -was only able to let me have nine, but this team proved sufficient for -my purposes. - - -SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS - -On the scientific side the equipment of a polar expedition is very -costly, and I felt the pinch of necessary economies in this branch. -I was, however, greatly assisted by loans of instruments and charts -from the Admiralty; the Royal Geographical Society lent me three -chronometer watches, and three wardens of the Skinners' Company gave me -one chronometer watch which accompanied me on my journey to the Pole -and which proved to be the most accurate of all. We also took with us a -photographic equipment which included nine cameras, and a cinematograph -machine in order that we might place on record the curious movements of -seals and penguins. - -For the rest I had tried to provide for every contingency, and the -gear ranged from needles and nails to a Remington typewriter and two -Singer sewing machines. There was also a gramophone and a complete -printing-press; and even hockey-sticks and a football were not -forgotten. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE STAFF AND THE ROYAL VISIT - - -It was no easy matter for me to select the staff from the large -number (over 400) of applicants who wished to join the expedition. - -After much consideration I selected eleven men for the shore-party, -only three of whom--Adams, Wild and Joyce--had been known to me -previously, while only Wild and Joyce, having been members of the -_Discovery_ expedition, had previous experience of polar work. Every -man, however, was highly recommended, and this was also the case with -the officers whom I chose for the _Nimrod_. Before leaving New Zealand -I was able to increase the number of the expedition, which ultimately -consisted of: - -THE SHORE-PARTY - - Ernest H. Shackleton, Commander. - Professor T. W. Edgeworth David, F.R.S., Director of the - scientific staff. - Lieutenant J. B. Adams, R.N.R., Meteorologist. - Sir Philip Brocklehurst, Bart., Assistant geologist. - Bernard Day, Motor expert. - Ernest Joyce, in charge of dogs, sledges, &c. - Dr. A. F. Mackay, Surgeon. - Douglas Mawson, D.Sc., B.E., Physicist. - Bertram Armytage, in charge of ponies. - Dr. E. Marshall, Surgeon, cartographer. - G. E. Marston, Artist. - J. Murray, Biologist. - Raymond Priestley, Geologist. - W. Roberts, Cook. - F. Wild, in charge of provisions. - -THE SHIP'S STAFF - - Lieutenant R. G. England, R.N.R., Captain. - John K. Davis, Chief officer, later captain. - A. L. A. Mackintosh, Second officer. - A. E. Harbord, Auxiliary second officer. - H. J. L. Dunlop, Chief engineer. - W. A. R. Michell, Surgeon. - Alfred Cheetham, Third officer and boatswain. - W. D. Ansell, Steward. - J. Montague, Cook. - E. Ellis } - H. Bull } - S. Riches } A.B.'s. - J. Paton } - W. Williams } - G. Bilsby, Carpenter. - [Lieutenant F. P. Evans, R.N.R., was appointed - captain for the second voyage to the Antarctic.] - -The work of preparation progressed rapidly, and on July 30, 1907, the -_Nimrod_ sailed from the East India Docks on the first stage of the -long journey to New Zealand. On the following day Mr. Reid received a -telegram from the King's equerry, commanding the Nimrod to visit Cowes -in order that the King and Queen might inspect the ship on August 4, -and consequently we proceeded to the Solent, where we anchored. - -[Illustration: The Towing Steamer "Koonya" as seen from the -"Nimrod" in a heavy sea. This particular wave came aboard the "Nimrod" -and did considerable damage. (_See page 31_)] - - -ROYAL VISIT TO THE NIMROD - -Their Majesties King Edward and Queen Alexandra, their Royal Highnesses -the Prince of Wales, the Princess Victoria, Prince Edward and the Duke -of Connaught, came on board and inspected the ship, an honour which -was greatly appreciated by the members of the expedition. Her Majesty -graciously entrusted me with a Union Jack to be carried on the southern -journey, and His Majesty graciously conferred on me the Victorian Order. - - * * * * * - -On Wednesday August 7, the ship sailed for New Zealand, and arrived -at Lyttelton--from whence the final departure for the south was to be -made--on November 23. Mr. Reid reached Australian waters a month ahead -of the _Nimrod_, so that he might make necessary arrangements and meet -the Manchurian ponies. - - - -CHAPTER V - -WE LEAVE LYTTELTON - - -By strenuous labour we were in readiness to start from Lyttelton on -New Year's Day, and we were honoured by the Postmaster-General of the -Dominion printing off for us a small issue of special stamps, and -making me a postmaster during my stay in the Antarctic. - -The quarters of the scientific staff on board the _Nimrod_ were -certainly small, and as the day of departure approached, Oyster Alley -reached a state of congestion awful to contemplate. The ponies--of -which we finally took away ten known as "Socks," "Queen," "Grisi," -"Chinaman," "Billy," "Zulu," "Doctor," "Sandy," "Nimrod," and -"Mac"--were 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 whence it could be transferred easily to the ice. Our -deck load, indeed, was so heavy that the _Nimrod_ was low in the water, -and when we left Lyttelton the little ship had only three feet six -inches of freeboard. - -In order to save coal I was anxious to have the _Nimrod_ towed south, -and the Government of the Dominion agreed 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 subsequent -events. Before my departure I placed the conduct of the affairs of the -expedition in New Zealand into the hands of Mr. J. J. Kinsey, whose -assistance and advice had already been of great service to me. - -January 1, 1908, arrived at last, a warm and clear morning for our last -day in civilisation. Before sunset we were to sever all ties with the -outer world, but we all looked forward eagerly to our coming venture, -for the glamour of the unknown was with us and the south was calling. - -All day long the deck of our little vessel was thronged by sight-seers, -who showed the greatest interest in everything connected with the -ship and her equipment. There were many whose criticisms were frankly -pessimistic as to our chances of weathering an Antarctic gale, for the -_Nimrod_ was deep in the water, but we, having confidence in the ship, -were not disturbed by these criticisms. - -Oyster Alley was crammed with the personal belongings of at least -fourteen of the shore-party, and if you once got into it the -difficulty of getting out was even greater. The entrance to this -twentieth-century Black Hole was through a narrow doorway and down a -ladder, which ushered one into almost complete darkness. And it was in -this uncomfortable, crowded, murky place that the spirit of romance -grew strong in the heart of George Buckley, until he suddenly jumped up -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 the right place, and his personality had already appealed to -us all. It was then 2 P.M. and the _Nimrod_ sailed at 4 P.M., but in -those two hours he dashed to Christchurch, gave his power of attorney -to a friend, slung a tooth-brush and some underclothing into a bag, and -arrived on board 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! - -Cheer after cheer broke from the watching thousands as we moved towards -the harbour entrance, and after a most cordial send-off we stopped -to pick up our tow-line from the _Koonya_; and this operation being -completed we signalled the _Koonya_ to go ahead and were soon in the -open sea. - -Fortunately we did not know that we were not to take our clothes off -for the next two weeks, and that we were to live in a constant state -of wetness and watchfulness until we arrived in the neighbourhood of -winter quarters. But bad weather was not long delayed, and I was soon -wishing for the splendid modern gear of the _Discovery_, the large, -specially built vessel that we had on the previous expedition. - -[Illustration: View of the Great Ice Barrier] - -As the wind and sea increased 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 -many days. Our chief anxiety was the care of the ponies, and looking -back now to those days, it remains wonderful to me how they survived -the hardships that fell to their lot. - -The _Nimrod_ had--owing to her deeply loaded condition--begun the -voyage like a reluctant child being dragged to school, but as the gale -increased in vehemence she seemed to throw off the sluggishness which -possessed her, when she had 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 was but little use--save to steady us in the furious -gale--the _Nimrod_ began to play her own hand, and marvellously well -did she play it. So furiously did the gale blow that on the morning of -the 5th I told Captain England to signal and ask the _Koonya_ to pour -oil on the water, but although this helped us to a certain extent it -did not prevent the heaviest seas from breaking on board. The _Nimrod_ -rolled over fifty degrees from the perpendicular to each side; how -much more than that I cannot say for the indicator was only marked up -to fifty degrees, and the pointer had passed that mark. Under these -circumstances it was but natural that the sturdy ponies had their -strength taxed to the utmost to keep their footing. It was impossible -to sling them, for they were only half-broken, and an attempt to put a -sling under one nearly drove it crazy with fright. On the night of the -5th during an extra heavy roll one of the ponies slipped, and when the -ship rolled the opposite way it turned right over on its back and could -not regain its footing. All our attempts to get "Doctor," as he was -called, upon his legs failed, and regretfully I had to order him to be -shot. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE ANTARCTIC CIRCLE - - -The continuous 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 purposes of scientific collections and not with -the wantonness of the "Ancient Mariner," the superstitious must seek -another reason for the bad weather. - -The storm increased until, by midnight on the 6th, the squalls were -of hurricane force, and the morning of the 7th brought no relief. -Seas came on board with more frequency than ever, finding out any odd -article that had escaped our vigilance. At one time 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 I heard one of the crew, -in no way disheartened, singing, as he gathered them up, "Here we go -gathering nuts in May." - -On the evening of January 8, the gale was so terrific that we had -to signal to the _Koonya_ to heave to. We did this with the sea on -our starboard quarter, and one enormous wave smashed in part of the -starboard bulwarks and did much--though happily no vital--damage. The -galley was washed out and the fire extinguished, but so pluckily did -the members of the cooking department work that never during this -most uncomfortable time were we without a warm meal. This was really -a great feat considering that the galley was only five feet square, -and thirty-nine persons blessed with very hearty appetites had to be -provided for. - -To show what a state we were in I may mention that in the wardroom I -salved a small wooden case from the water, and found that it contained -a patent mixture for extinguishing fires! - -At noon on January 11 we were in latitude 57° 38′ South, and longitude -178° 39′ West, but the weather, which had moderated for a day or -two, again became as bad as ever. We had imagined that we might find -difficulty in cleaning out the stables, but the herculean waves settled -that difficulty in a most arbitrary and thorough manner. - -On the 13th we had a warmer and pleasanter day than any we had -experienced since leaving Lyttelton, and the whole vessel began to -look like a veritable Petticoat Lane. Pyjamas and pillows of pulp -that had once been pillows of feathers, books and boots, coats and -carpet-slippers were lying in a mass on the poop deck so that they -might dry. A few of us ventured on baths, but in the open air and with -the temperature only two degrees above freezing-point it was chilly -work. - -We were now keeping a sharp look-out for icebergs and pack, and the -meeting with the pack-ice was to terminate the _Koonya's_ tow; and that -meant parting with Buckley, who had endeared himself to every one on -board, and who had been of the greatest assistance in the matter of the -ponies. - -Next morning, January 14, we sighted our first iceberg. It had all -the usual characteristics of the Antarctic bergs, being practically -tabular in form, and its sides being of a dead white colour. 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 greenish-grey, albatrosses were not nearly so numerous, -and the temperature of the air and water had dropped to 32° Fahr. -Everything pointed to our nearness to the pack, and on the next morning -we saw the ice looming up through the mist to the southward. - -[Illustration: Pushing through heavy Floes in the Ross Sea. The -dark line on the Horizon is a "Water Sky," and indicated the Existence -of Open Sea] - -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--and -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 being stamped with the special -stamp given by the New Zealand Government. As the sea was rising again -we lost no time in making the necessary communication by boat between -the two ships, and during a favourable roll the whale-boat was dropped -into the water, and Buckley--with his week-end handbag--jumped into -her. 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 at last the _Nimrod_ was -dependent upon her own resources. 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. All that afternoon -we unremittingly toiled to get in the cable link by link, and by seven -o'clock we were able to proceed and to put the ship's head due south. - -By 2 A.M. on January 16, the bergs were much more numerous, but none of -the ice we passed through at this time had the slightest resemblance to -pack-ice. An hour later we entered an area of tabular bergs, varying -from 80 to 150 ft. in height, and all the morning we steamed in -beautiful weather through the lanes and streets of a wonderful snowy -Venice. The magic of such a scene cannot be described. As far as the -eye could see, great, white, wall-sided bergs stretched east, west -and south, contrasting strikingly with the lanes of blue-black water -between them. - -A stillness, weird and uncanny, had fallen upon everything. 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. Beautiful as this scene was it gave me some anxiety, 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 I was unfeignedly thankful when, in -the afternoon, I saw open water ahead. After a few more turnings and -twistings we entered the ice-free Ross Sea, this being the first time -a passage had been made into that sea without the vessel being held up -by pack-ice; and I think our success was due to the fact that we were -to the eastward of the pack, which had separated from the land and the -Barrier, and had drifted to the north-west. Indeed all my experience -goes to prove that the easterly route is the best. - -Whence these bergs had come is open to conjecture, but I am certain -that this ice had not long left the parent barrier or coast-line, for -there was no sign of weathering on the sides. 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, probably -a crabeater and a Weddell seal, appeared on the floe-ice, and a -few Adelie penguins were also seen. The quaint walk and insatiable -curiosity of these birds greatly amused us, and Marston, our artist, -whose sense of the ludicrous is very fully developed, was in ecstasies -at their genuine surprise and profound concern when they saw the ship. - -It was fortunate that we cleared the ice during that afternoon, for -shortly afterwards the wind increased, and the weather thickened with -falling snow. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE ATTEMPT TO REACH KING EDWARD VII LAND - - -We were now in the Ross Sea, and evidently had avoided the main -pack. Our position at noon (Jan. 17) was 70° 43′ South latitude, and -178° 58′ East longitude, and we were 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. The snow had now become hard and dry, like -sago--the true Antarctic type, and numbers of Antarctic petrels circled -round and round the ship. - -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. On the morning of the 23rd we saw some very large -icebergs, which were evidently great masses broken off the Barrier, -and we were keeping a sharp look-out for the Barrier itself. The -thermometer registered some twelve degrees of frost, but the wind was -so dry that we scarcely felt the cold. - -[Illustration: Flight of Antarctic Petrels] - -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, but by -eleven o'clock the straight line stretching 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 which was obviously the eastern limit of the -Western Bight. Soon afterwards we were within a quarter of a mile of -the ice-face, and exclamations of wonder at the stupendous bulk of the -Barrier were drawn from those who had not seen it before. - -Looking at the Barrier from some little distance, one would imagine 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 afterwards new points came into view as -the ship moved on. The weather continued fine and calm, and there was -absolutely no sign of the strong westerly current along the Barrier -which we had always encountered during the voyage of the _Discovery_. - -About midnight we suddenly came to the end of a very high portion of -the Barrier, and entered a wide shallow bay which must have been the -inlet where Borchgrevink landed in 1900, but it had changed greatly -since that time. About half a mile down this bay we reached fast ice. -It was about half-past twelve at night, and the southerly sun shone in -our faces. - -To the east rose a long snow slope which cut the horizon at the -height of about 300 ft. It had every appearance of ice-covered land -but we could not stop to make certain, for the heavy ice lying to the -northward of us was setting down into the bay, and if we were not -to be beset it was necessary to get away at once. All round us were -numbers of great whales showing their dorsal fins as they occasionally -sounded, so we named this playground for these monsters "The Bay of -Whales." - -As it was impossible to work to the eastward, we struck northwards -through an open lead and came south to the Barrier again about 2 -A.M. on the 24th. Then we coasted eastward along the wall of ice, -always looking 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 had decided on this inlet because I knew that it 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 also 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 important -reason was that it would be an easy matter for the ship on its return -to reach this part of the Barrier, whereas King Edward VII Land itself -might quite possibly be unattainable if the season was adverse. - -However the best-laid schemes often prove impracticable in polar -exploration, and within a few hours our first plan was found impossible -to fulfil, for the very sufficient reason that the inlet had -disappeared. Great disappointment as this was to us, we were thankful -that the Barrier had broken away before we had made our camp upon it. -The thought of what might have happened made me decide then and there -that, under no circumstances, would I winter on the Barrier, and that -wherever we landed we would secure a solid rock foundation for our -winter home. - -We had two strings to our bow and I resolved to use the second and push -forward towards King Edward VII Land. The ship was headed eastward, -again keeping a few hundred yards off the Barrier, for here the cliff -was overhung and a fall of ice would assuredly have been disastrous to -us. Soon, however, I saw that we could not make much easting in this -way, for by 10 A.M. on the 24th 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 seriousness of this situation can be realised by the reader if he -imagines 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 resistless power and force, and that it will only be -a question of perhaps an hour or two before the two masses come into -contact, and crush his tiny craft as they meet. - -There was nothing for it but to retrace our steps, and by steaming hard -and working in and out of the looser floes, we just managed to pass -the point 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, and after skirting along the seaward edge we came to -the high cliff of ice at the westerly end, and passed safely out of the -bay. - -[Illustration: "Nimrod" moored off Tabular Bergs. (_See page 14_)] - -We then continued to the westward until in the evening the ship's -head was put north and we gained a fairly open sea. It is, however, -remarkable how limited is one's horizon at sea, for although there -appeared to be open water for an indefinite distance we were soon up -against rigid ice again. The fact is that low pack-ice is not visible -at any great distance, and that one cannot trust an appearance of open -water. All night long we tried to penetrate to the east, practically -doubling in our tracks before we were able to pursue the direction we -wished to follow. - -By noon on January 25 I found that any hopes I had of a clear run were -vain, and the prospect of reaching King Edward VII Land grew remoter -every ensuing hour. Indeed it seemed impossible to reach the land, -and the shortness of coal, the leaky condition of the ship, and the -necessity of landing all our stores and putting up the hut before the -vessel left us, made the situation an extremely anxious one. 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. - -I decided to continue to try and make a way to the east for at least -another twenty-four hours, but when we saw the western pack moving -rapidly towards us under the influence of the wind, and that it was -most probable that we should be inextricably caught for days or even -weeks in this great mass, I reluctantly gave orders to turn the ship -and make full speed out of this dangerous situation. - -Under the circumstances I could see nothing for it except to steer -for McMurdo Sound and there make our winter quarters, though I would -greatly have preferred to land at King Edward VII Land, because -that region was quite unknown and we could have added greatly to -the geographical knowledge of it. However the forces of these -uncontrollable ice-packs are stronger than human resolution, and a -change of plan was forced upon us. - -After more trouble with the ice we worked into clearer water and the -course was set for McMurdo Sound, where we arrived on January 29 to -find that some twenty miles of frozen ice separated us from Hut Point. -I decided to lie off the ice-foot for some days in the hope that Nature -might break up the ice intervening between us and our goal. - -So far the voyage had been without accident to any of the staff, but -unfortunately on the 31st Mackintosh was struck in the right eye by -a hook, and the eye had to be removed by Marshall, assisted by the -other two doctors, Michell and Mackay. Keenly as Mackintosh felt the -loss of his eye, his great sorrow was that he would not be able to -remain with us in the Antarctic. He begged to stay, but when Marshall -explained that he might lose the sight of his other eye he accepted his -ill-fortune without demur. - -While waiting at the ice I sent a small party--consisting of Adams, -Joyce and Wild--to Hut Point to report on the condition of the hut left -there by the _Discovery_ expedition in 1904, and on their return Adams -reported that the hut was practically clear of snow and the structure -intact. - -On February 3 I decided to wait no longer, but to seek for winter -quarters on the east coast of Ross Island; so we started toward Cape -Barne on the look-out for a suitable landing-place. 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 seemed a suitable -place for winter-quarters. - -About eight o'clock I left the ship in a boat, accompanied by Adams and -Wild, and we used the hand-lead at frequent intervals until we came -to 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 southward. Close up -to the Point the ice had broken out, leaving a little natural dock -into which we ran the boat, and hundreds of Adelie penguins greeted -Adams and me with hoarse squawks of excitement as we landed. I was soon -satisfied that Cape Royds would be an excellent place at which to land -our stores, and after taking soundings we pulled out towards the ship -which had slowly been coming in. 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 to the bottom of the boat. -The arrival was an Adelie penguin, which had doubtless thought it was -jumping on to a rock, and it would be difficult to say whether the bird -or we were the more astonished. - -By 10 P.M. on February 3, the _Nimrod_ was moored to the bay ice, and -as soon as she was secured I went ashore accompanied by Professor -David, England, and Dunlop, to choose a place for building the hut, and -up a small valley we soon found an ideal spot for our winter quarters. - -The floor of this valley was almost level and covered with a couple of -feet of volcanic earth, and there was room not only for the hut itself, -but also for the stores and for a stable for the ponies. A hill behind -this valley served as an excellent protection from the prevailing -strong south-easterly wind, and a number of seals lying on the bay ice -gave promise of a plentiful supply of fresh meat. - -[Illustration: Adelie Penguins at Cape Royds. (_See page 44_)] - -With this ideal situation and everything else satisfactory, including -a supply of water from a lake right in front of our valley, I decided -that we had better start to get our gear ashore at once. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE LANDING OF STORES AND EQUIPMENT - - -We now started upon a fortnight full of more checks and worries -than I or any other member of the expedition had ever experienced. -Nevertheless, in face of most trying conditions, the whole party turned -to late and early with whole-hearted devotion and cheerful readiness. - -The ponies gave us cause for the most anxiety, because in their -half-broken and nervous condition it would have been practically -impossible to land them in boats. Finally we decided to build a rough -horse-box, get them into this, and then sling it over the side by means -of the main gaff. By 3.30 A.M. on the morning of the 6th we had got all -the ponies ashore, and they immediately began to paw the snow as they -were wont to do in their own far-away Manchurian home. - -The poor ponies were naturally stiff after their constant buffetings, -but they negotiated the tide-crack all right, and were soon picketed -on some bare earth at the entrance to a valley, which lay about fifty -yards from the site of our hut. We thought this a good place, but in -the future the selection was to cost us dear. - -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, 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 can be seen landwards, the ice-foot has always been thought -to be permanently joined to the land, and in our case this opinion was -strengthened by the fact that our soundings in the tide-crack shoved -that the ice-foot on the landward side of it must be aground. - -I have explained this fully, for it was only after considering these -points that I, for convenience's sake, landed the bulk of the stores -below the bare rocks on what I thought was the permanent snow-slope. - -On the morning of February 6 we started work with sledges, hauling -provisions and pieces of the hut to the shore. On 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, and the -digging of the foundations had proved extremely hard work. - -Now that the ponies were ashore it was necessary to have a party living -on shore to look after them, and the first shore-party consisted -of Adams, Marston, Brocklehurst, Mackay and Murray. Two tents were -set up close to the hut, with the usual sledging requisites such as -sleeping-bags, cookers, &c. The first things landed this day were -fodder for the ponies, and sufficient petroleum and provisions for the -shore-party in case the ship had to put suddenly to sea owing to bad -weather. - -The work of hauling the sledge-loads right up to the land was so heavy, -that I decided to let the stores remain on the snow slope beyond the -tide-crack, whence they could be taken at leisure. Our attempt to -substitute mechanical haulage for man haulage was not successful, and -we soon had to go back to our original plan. - -Delays at once occurred, for during the afternoon of the 6th a fresh -breeze sprung up, and the ship had to stand out to the fast ice in the -strait and anchor there. Thus two valuable working days were lost. - -When, however, I went ashore again I found that the little shore-party -had not only managed to get all the heavy timber that had been -landed up to the site of the hut, but also had stacked the cases of -provisions, which previously had been lying on the snow slope, upon -bare land. While we were engaged on the increasingly difficult task of -landing stores, &c., the hut-party were working 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 began -to blow there was small fear of the structure being destroyed. This was -something to be thankful for, but while the hut-party were getting on -so well, we who were engaged on landing the stores had--owing to the -breaking away of the ice--to move our spot. - -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 made easier -by our being able to use four of the ponies. A large amount of stores -was landed in this way, but a new and serious situation arose through -the breaking away of the main ice-foot. Prudence suggested that it -would be wiser to shift the stores already landed to a safer place -before discharging any more from the ship, and on this work we were -engaged during the evening of the 10th. - -[Illustration: The "Nimrod" lying off the Penguin Rookery, Cape -Royds] - -Next we had to find a safer place on which to land the rest of the coal -and stores, and Back Door Bay, as we named the chosen spot, became our -new depot. This was a still longer journey from the ship, but there was -no help for it, and after laying a tarpaulin on the rocks to keep the -coal from mixing with the earth, we started landing the coal. - -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, from the motor-car case, so -that the ponies could cross the cracks, and presently were well under -way with the work. - -Then there was a most alarming occurrence, for suddenly and 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 at once in a perilous position, but -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 which he was -looking after from the floe nearest the ship on to the next floe. - -Just, however, at that moment, Mackay appeared round the corner from -Back Door Bay with a third pony attached to an empty sledge, on his way -back to the ship to load up. Orders were shouted to him not to come -any further, but not at first grasping the situation he continued to -advance over the ice, which was already breaking away more rapidly. - -When he realised what had occurred he left his sledge and pony, and -rushed towards the place 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 grew closer to a -larger piece, from which the animals would be able to gain a place of -safety. But when Mackay started to try to get the pony Chinaman across -the crack where it was only six inches wide, the pony took fright, -and rearing and backing towards the edge of the floe, which had at -that moment opened to a width of a few feet, he fell bodily into the -ice-cold water. - -It looked indeed as if it was all over with poor Chinaman, but Mackay -hung on to the head rope, and Davis, Michell and Mawson rushed to his -assistance. After great difficulty a rope sling was passed underneath -Chinaman, and he was lifted up far enough to enable him to scramble on -to the ice. - -A few seconds later the floe closed up against the other one, and it -was providential that it had not done so while the pony was in the -water, for in that case Chinaman would inevitably have been squeezed to -death. As it was he lived to help us very materially on another--and -more critical--day. The ship was now employed to push the floe back -against the fast ice, and directly this was accomplished 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. - -As soon as the ship was backed out the loose floes began to drift away -to the west, and after this narrow escape I resolved not to risk the -ponies on the sea ice again. The breaking of the ice continued to give -us great cause for anxiety, and we had a narrow escape from losing our -cases of scientific instruments and a large quantity of fodder. Had we -lost these cases a great part of our scientific work could not have -been carried out, and the loss of the fodder would have meant also the -loss of the ponies. - -We were handicapped too by such a heavy swell running on the 13th -that no stores could be landed. This swell 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 thinking that at this date there -was open water up to Hut Point. Now, however, it was most unfortunate -for us, as precious time was passing, and still more precious coal was -being used by the continual working of the ship's engines. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE _NIMROD_ LEAVES US - - -As the swell continued during the following day, I signalled England to -go to Glacier Tongue and land a depot there. Glacier Tongue lies about -eight miles north of Hut Point and about thirteen to the southward -of Cape Royds, and by landing a quantity of sledging stores there we -should be saved several miles of haulage. - -Although we were busy in building the hut, and in one way and another -had plenty of employment, I was disappointed at not being able to -continue landing the stores until the 16th. And here I should like -to mention the cheerful assistance which we always received from the -officers and crew of the _Nimrod_. They had nothing but hard work -and discomfort from the beginning of the voyage, and yet they worked -splendidly and were invariably in good spirits. - -Naturally Captain England was anxious to get the ship away, and also -much concerned about the shrinkage of the coal-supply, but it was -impossible to let her leave until the wintering party had received -their coal from her. The weather was quite fine, and if it had not been -for the swell we could have got through a great deal of work. - -[Illustration: The Ponies transporting Coal on Sledges at Back Door -Bay. - -(See page 50)] - -According to our experiences on the last expedition, the latest date to -which it would be safe 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 from getting clear of the Ross Sea. - -On the 17th and 18th we contrived to land a considerable quantity -of coal, equipment and stores, but soon after five o'clock on the -afternoon of the 18th a furious blizzard was blowing, and the _Nimrod_ -stood off from the shore but could make little headway against the -terrific wind and short-rising sea. - -I was aboard the vessel at the time, and the speed of the gusts must -have approached a force of a hundred miles an hour. The tops of the -seas were cut off by the wind, and flung over the decks, mast, and -rigging of the ship, congealing 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 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 proof of the low temperature. - -The gale raged on for days and nights, and about midnight on the 21st -the _Nimrod_ 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. - -As the ropes, already covered with ice, would have frozen into a solid -mass, we were forced to take the drastic step of breaking holes in -the bulwarks to allow the water to escape; and only by dint of great -exertions did Davis and Harbord perform this feat. - -It was a sight to see Harbord, held by his legs, hanging over the -starboard side of the _Nimrod_, and wielding a heavy axe; while Davis, -whose length of limb enabled him to lean over without being held, did -the same on the other. The temperature at the time was several degrees -below zero, and the wind was as strong as that which we had experienced -in the gales after we had left New Zealand; though the waves were not -so huge as those which had the whole run of the Southern Ocean in which -to gather strength to buffet us. - -At 2 A.M. the weather suddenly cleared, and we were able to discover -that in spite of our efforts to keep our position, the wind and current -had driven us over thirty miles to the north. As, however, the sea was -rapidly decreasing we were at last able to steam straight for Cape -Royds. - -Arriving ashore early in the morning I rejoiced to see that the hut was -still intact, but the report I received as regards the warmth of it was -not reassuring, because, in spite of the stove being alight the whole -time, no heat was given off. This eccentric conduct of the stove was a -grave matter, for on its efficiency depended not only our comfort but -our very existence. The shore-party had experienced a terrific gale, -and the hut had trembled and shaken so much and so constantly that I -doubt if with a less admirable situation we should have had a hut at -all after the gale. - -On going down to our main landing-place the full effect of the blizzard -was apparent, for hardly a sign of the greater part of our stores was -to be seen. Such had been the force of the wind blowing straight on -to the shore that spray had been flung in sheets over everything, and -had been carried by the wind for nearly a quarter of a mile inland. -Consequently, in places, our precious stores lay buried to a depth of -five or six feet in a mass of frozen sea water. - -We feared that it would take weeks of work to get the stores clear of -the ice, and also that the salt-water would have damaged the fodder. -However there was no time then to do anything to release the stores -from the ice, for the most important thing was to get the remainder of -coal ashore and send the ship north. - -Before 10 P.M. on February 22 the final boatload of coal arrived, and -as we had in all only about eighteen tons, the strictest economy would -be needed to make this amount spin out until the sledging parties began -in the following spring. - -We gave our final letters and messages to the crew of the last boat, -and said good-bye. And 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. - -We were all devoutly thankful that the landing of the stores had at -length been finished 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 connection with the world of men. We could hope for no word of news -from civilisation until the _Nimrod_ came south again in the following -summer, and before that we had a good deal of difficult work to do and -some risks to face. - -[Illustration: Digging out Stores after the Cases had been buried -in Ice during a Blizzard. (_See page 58_)] - -There was, however, scant time for reflection, even if we had been -moved that way, and after a good night's rest we started digging the -stores out of the ice, and transporting everything to the vicinity of -the hut. - -As soon as the stores were in position we hoped to make a start with -the scientific observations that were to be an important part of the -work of the expedition. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -WINTER QUARTERS AT CAPE ROYDS OUTSIDE - - -The next few days were spent in using pick, shovel and iron crowbars -on the envelope of ice that covered our cases, corners of which only -peeped from the mass. - -The whole looked like a huge piece of the sweet known as almond rock, -and it was as difficult to get our cases clear of the ice as it is to -separate almonds from that sticky conglomerate without injury. In this -strenuous labour, however, there was some humour, for Brocklehurst, -who took great interest in the recovery of the chocolate, spent his -energies in rescuing one particular case which had been covered with -ice. - -Having rescued it he carried it up to the hut to be sure of its safety, -and 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. - -We were now using the ponies, and within ten days after the departure -of the ship we had practically everything handy to the hut, excepting -the coal. Permanently we had not lost very much, but we do know that -our one case of beer lies to this day under the ice, and some volumes -of the Challenger reports, which had been intended to provide us with -useful reading matter during the winter nights, were only dug out a few -days before our final departure. - -Most of us at one time or another had wounds and bruises to be attended -to by Marshall, and the annoying feature of these simple wounds was the -length of time it took in our special circumstances for them to heal. - -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 explore the -neighbourhood of our winter quarters (See sketch, page 61). - -From the door of our hut which faced north-west, we had a splendid view -of the Sound and the western mountains. Right in front of us lay a -small lake which came to be known as Pony Lake, and to the left of that -was another sheet of ice that became snow-covered in autumn, and here -in the dark months we exercised both the ponies and ourselves. - -Six times up and down the "Green Park," as we called it, made a mile, -and it was here before darkness fell upon us 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, -and on either side of this valley lay the penguin rookery. - -On coming out of the hut we had only to go round the corner of the -building to catch a glimpse of Mount Erebus, which lay directly behind -us. Its summit was about fifteen miles from our quarters, but its -slopes and foothills began within three-quarters of a mile of the hut. - -Our view was cut off from the east to south-west by the ridge at the -head of the valley where the hut stood, but on ascending this ridge we -looked over the bay to the south-east, where lay Cape Barne. To the -right was Flagstaff Point. - -There were many localities which became favourite places for walks, -and these are shown on the plan (page 61). Sandy Beach was generally -the goal of any one taking exercise, when uncertain weather warned us -against venturing further, and while the dwindling light allowed us -to go so far. Here we sometimes exercised the ponies, and they much -enjoyed rolling in the soft sand. - -As regards the interest and scenery of our winter quarters we were -infinitely better off than the expedition which wintered in McMurdo -Sound between 1901 and 1904, and as a field of work for geologists -and biologists Cape Royds far surpassed Hut Point. The Professor and -Priestley saw open before them a new chapter of geological history, for -Murray the lakes were a fruitful field for new research. 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. Mawson made the study of ice part of his work, and from every -point of view I must say we were extremely fortunate in the winter -quarters to which the state of the ice had led us. - -Before we had been ten days ashore the hut was practically completed, -though it was over a month before it attained the very fully furnished -appearance which it assumed after every one had arranged his -belongings. It was not a spacious dwelling for fifteen persons, but if -the hut had been larger we should not have been so warm. - -[Illustration: Winter Quarters. (_See page 59_)] - -At first the coldest part of the house was undoubtedly the floor, -which was formed of inch tongue-and-groove: boarding, but was not -double-lined. There was a space of about four feet under the hut at -one end, and as the other rested almost on the ground it was obvious -to us that as long as this space remained we should suffer from the -cold. So we decided to make an airlock of the area under the hut, and -to this end we built a wall with the bulk of provision cases round the -south-east and southerly sides, which were to windward. - -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 was far more elaborate, and -was built by Mawson to serve as a chemical and physical laboratory. -It was destined, however, to serve solely as a store-room, for the -temperature inside was so nearly the same as that outside, that the -moist atmosphere rushing 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 for the winter. However -the first night they were stabled none of us had much rest, and some -of them 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 hut windows had to be -boarded up. - -In a store-room built on the south-east of the hut we kept the -tool-chest, the shoe-maker's outfit which was in constant requisition, -and any general stores that had to be issued at stated times. But the -first blizzard found out this place, and after the roof had been blown -off the wall fell down. When the weather was fine again we organised -a party to search for such things as mufflers, woollen helmets and -so on, and I found a Russian felt boot, weighing five pounds, lying -three-quarters of a mile from the crate in which it had been stowed. -For the whole of this distance it must have had a clear run in the air, -for there was not a scratch on the leather. - -The dog kennels were placed close to the porch of the hut, and the -meteorological station was on the weather side on the top of a -small ridge. Adams was responsible for this, and as readings of the -instruments were to be taken day and night at intervals of two hours, -and as in thick weather the man trying to go between hut and screen -might possibly lose his way, a line was rigged up on posts which were -cemented into the ground by ice. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -WINTER QUARTERS INSIDE - - -As regards the inside of the hut 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 men 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. - -One of the most important parts of the interior construction was the -dark-room for the photographers, and as we were very short of wood -we used cases of bottled fruit to build the walls. The dark-room was -built in the left-hand corner of the hut as one entered, and the cases -were turned with their lids facing out, so that the contents could be -removed without the walls being demolished. The interior of the room -was fitted up by Mawson and the Professor, and as Mawson made the -fittings complete in every detail, the result was as good as any one -under the conditions could desire. - -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. -The bed-place was made of fruit-boxes, which, when emptied, served, -like those outside, for lockers. My room contained the bulk of our -library, the chronometers, chronometer watches, &c., and there was -ample room for a table. The whole made a most comfortable cabin. - -We set up the acetylene gas-plant on a platform between my room and the -dark-room, for our efforts to work it from the porch had failed owing -to the lowness of the temperature. The simplicity and portability of -this apparatus and the high efficiency of the light represented the -height of luxury under polar conditions. The only objectionable feature -was the unpleasant smell when the carbide tanks were being recharged, -but although we were soon used to this, the daily charging always drew -down strong remarks on the unlucky head of Day, who was responsible for -the acetylene plant. - -As during the winter months the inside of the hut was the whole -inhabited world to us, some of the distinctive features of our -furnishing may be worthy of mention. The wall of Adams' and Marshall's -cubicle, which was next to mine, was fitted with shelves made from -Venesta cases, and this apartment was so neat and orderly that it was -known by the address "No. 1 Park Lane." The beds of this particular -cubicle consisted of bamboos lashed together for extra strength, to -which strips of canvas were attached, so that each bed looked like a -stretcher. These beds took a little longer than the others to rig up -at night, but this disadvantage was more than compensated for by the -free space gained during the day. The wall end rested on stout cleats -screwed on to the side of the hut, the other end on chairs, and so -supported, the occupant slept very comfortably. - -[Illustration: The First Slopes of Erebus. (_See page 82_)] - -The dividing curtain between this cubicle and the next--occupied by -Marston and Day--had been adorned with life-sized coloured drawings of -Napoleon and Joan of Arc, and as the colour of Joan and also portions -of Napoleon oozed through, the curtain on Marston's side did not -require to be decorated! This cubicle was known as "The Gables," and -in it was set up the lithographic press. The beds were solid wood, and -as Marston was the artist and Day the handy man of the expedition one -naturally found an ambitious scheme of decoration. - -The next cubicle on the same side belonged to Armytage and -Brocklehurst, where everything in the way of shelves and fittings was -very primitive, and next to this cubicle came the pantry. - -Beyond the stove, facing the pantry, was Mackay and Roberts' cubicle, -the main feature of which was a ponderous shelf, on which socks and -other light articles chiefly rested, the only thing of weight being our -gramophone and records. - -Between this cubicle and the next there was no division, neither -party troubling to put one up. The result was that the four men were -constantly at war regarding encroachments on their ground. Priestley, -who was long-suffering, and who occupied the cubicle with Murray, said -he did not mind a chair or a volume of the "Encyclopædia Britannica" -being occasionally deposited upon him while asleep, but that he -drew the line at wet and dirty boots. This cubicle was garnished on -Priestley's side with bits of rock, ice-axes &c. and on Murray's with -biological requisites. - -The next cubicle was occupied by Wild and Joyce, and was known as -the "Rogues' Retreat," a painting of two very tough characters, 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 the first bed was made in Wild's store-room for secrecy's -sake. It was to burst suddenly upon every one and to create feelings -of admiration and envy. Unfortunately, however, in building it he had -forgotten the size of the doorway through which it had to be taken, and -it had ignominiously to be sawn in half before it could be passed out -of the store-room into the hut. - -The last compartment was the dwelling-place of the Professor and -Mawson, and it would be difficult to do justice to the picturesque -confusion of this cubicle. A miscellaneous assortment of cameras, -spectroscopes, microscopes and the like lay in profusion on the -blankets. Everything in the way of tin cans was collected by these two -scientific men, and the Professor 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 name given, though not by the owners, to this cubicle was "The Pawn -Shop." - -In order to give as much free space as possible in the centre of the -hut, the table was so arranged that it could be hoisted over our heads -after meals were over. At first we put the boxes containing knives, -plates &c. on top of the table before hauling it up, but after these -had fallen on the head of the unlucky man trying to get them down, we -were content to keep them on the floor. - -After hearing that the stove had failed to work during the blizzard -which had kept me on board the _Nimrod_, I was very anxious about it. -My anxiety, however, was dispelled after the stove had been taken to -pieces, and it was found that eight important pieces of its structure -had not been put in. As soon as this more than trifling omission was -rectified the stove worked magnificently, and as it was kept going day -and night for over nine months without once being put out for more than -ten minutes, it was severely tested. - -Looking back to those distant days, it seems strange to me now that we -should have taken so much trouble to furnish and beautify what after -all was to be but a temporary home. Nevertheless it represented all -the world to its inhabitants, and so we tried to make it as bright and -cheerful a spot as possible. - -Divine service was held in the hut on Sundays during the winter months. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -SLEDGING EQUIPMENT - - -The sledge which we used is the outcome of the experience of many -former explorers, but to Nansen is the chief credit that it has become -such a very useful vehicle. - -Our experience on the _Discovery_ expedition had convinced me that -the eleven-foot sledge is the best for all-round use, but I took with -me some 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. A -well-constructed sledge needs to be supple without interfering with the -strength of the structure, and in our case there was nothing wanting in -this respect. - -[Illustration: Marston in his Bed. (_See page 66_)] - -The wooden runners were about four inches wide and made of hickory, and -in pulling the sledge the direction of the grain on the snow surface -has to be observed, for 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, and as it has been found that -a clearance of six inches is ample in ordinary circumstances, the -uprights of our sledges were only about six inches high. - -An eleven-foot sledge, fully loaded, is at its best working weight with -about 650 lb. on it, but this does not represent its actual strength -capacity, for while we were unloading the ship we often placed over a -thousand pounds' weight on a sledge without damaging it in the least. - -Another vitally important article of equipment for the polar explorer -is the cooker and cooking-stove, and 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. - -Such was 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 temperature, could be melted and a hot meal prepared within -half an hour from the time the cooker was placed on the primus. The -whole apparatus, including the primus, did not weigh more than fifteen -pounds. - -The next important item was the tent, and as the usual unit for -sledging consists of three men, our tents were designed to contain that -number. The tent cloth was thin Willesden duck, with a "snow-cloth" -of thicker material round the lower edge, and instead of a single -tent-pole we used five bamboo rods fastened together at one end in a -cap, over which the apex of the tent fitted. Inside the tent was placed -on the snow a circle of thick Willesden water-proof canvas to protect -the sleeping-bags from actual contact with the ground. - -It has been generally assumed by polar explorers that sledge travellers -must wrap themselves up in furs, but my experience during two -expeditions convinces me that except for the hands and feet in the -way of personal clothing, and the sleeping-bags for camping, furs are -unnecessary. The term "bag" literally describes this portion of the -sledging gear, for it is a long bag with closely sewn seams, and is -entered by means of a slit at the upper end. - -The appetite of a man who has just come to camp after a five-hours' -march in a low temperature is something that the ordinary individual at -home might possibly envy but would scarcely understand, and, indeed, -the sledger himself is sometimes surprised when his ration is finished, -and he feels just about as hungry as before his meal. - -In choosing supplies I tried to provide those of heat-giving and -flesh-forming materials, and to avoid foods containing a large amount -of moisture. Our cuisine was not varied, but a voracious appetite has -no nice discernment, indeed all one wants is more, and this is just -what cannot be allowed if a party is to proceed a great distance while -confined to man-haulage. It is hard for a hungry man to rest content -with the knowledge that the food he is eating is sufficient for his -needs, when he does not feel satisfied after his meal and the aching -void has not even temporarily disappeared. - -Pemmican, which consists of the finest beef powdered with 60 per cent, -of fat added was one of the main items of our food supply, and biscuits -are also a standard food in polar work. - -I secured thicker biscuits than were used in the previous expedition, -and the Plasmon Company supplied a ton of the best wholemeal biscuit, -and with an allowance of one pound for each man per day we were as -regards farinaceous food considerably better off than those on the -_Discovery_ expedition had been. - -This allowance, I may mention, was reduced very considerably 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 and the addition of -Plasmon certainly increased their food-value. - -Tea and cocoa were chosen as our beverages for use on the march, 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 per day -for each man. - -We also took chocolate, cheese, and oatmeal, so that although there was -not much variety we felt that we were getting the most nutritious food -possible. - -I have already mentioned the clothing which I bought for the -expedition, but as regards the most effective head-gear there were -marked differences of opinion. The general method, however, of keeping -head and ears warm was to wrap a woollen muffler twice round the chin -and head, thus protecting the ears which are the first parts of the -body to show signs of frost-bite. The muffler was then brought round -the neck, and over the muffler was pulled a fleecy travelling-cap, a -woollen helmet something like an old-time helmet without the visor. - -[Illustration: Plan of the Hut at Winter Quarters (_See page -64_)] - -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. In very low temperatures, or -even in moderately low temperature and a breeze, we had occasionally to -inspect each others' faces for the sign of frost-bite; and if the white -patch denoting this was visible, it had to be attended to immediately. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -OUR PONIES AND DOGS - - -The experiences of the National Antarctic Expedition and of the -_Discovery_ Expedition convinced me, that if we could use ponies -instead of dogs for traction purposes we should be making a very -successful change. - -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 we eventually established ourselves at the winter quarters with -eight ponies. Unfortunately, however, we lost four of them within a -month of our arrival. - -In the case of three out of the four the loss was due to the facts that -they were picketed at first on sandy ground, and that we did not notice -that they were eating the sand. I had neglected to supply them with -salt, and as they found a saline flavour in the sand they ate it at odd -moments. - -Until Sandy died and a post-mortem examination revealed the cause of -his death, we were at a loss to know why several of the ponies were -ill. Naturally we shifted them at once to a spot where they could get -no more sand, but in spite of the remedies we gave to them two more of -the ponies died. - -The loss of the fourth pony was due to poisoning, for Manchurian ponies -will eat anything that can possibly be chewed, and this particular--or -unparticular--one seems to have eaten shavings in which chemicals had -been packed. These losses were a matter of the deepest concern to us. - -We were left with four ponies, Quan, Socks, Grisi and Chinaman, and -they were so precious in our eyes that they were guarded with most -keen attention. During the winter months we had many opportunities to -learn the different characters of each animal, and as every one of them -seemed to possess an extraordinary amount of sense and cunning, we were -not infrequently suffering from petty annoyances. - -Quan was the worst offender, his delight being to bite through his -head-rope and attack the bales of fodder stacked behind him; then, when -we put a chain on him, he deliberately rattled it against the side of -the hut, which operation kept us awake. Grisi was our best-looking -pony, but he was so unfriendly to the others in the stables that we had -to build him a separate stall. - -Socks was shaped like a miniature Clydesdale, and was always willing to -work and very fiery. - -The last of our remaining ponies was Chinaman, a strong animal, sulky -in appearance, but in reality one of the best of workers. He also -liked to bite his head-rope, but when we put a chain on him he did not -emulate Grisi by rattling it against the hut. - -We had been able to obtain only nine dogs, but many puppies--most of -which came to an untimely end--increased this number. The presence -of the dogs around our winter quarters was very cheerful and gave a -homelike feeling to the place, and our interest in the pups was always -fresh, for as they grew up each one developed peculiarities of its own. - -All the pups were white and were most useful to us in guarding the -ponies, for if a pony got adrift the little army of pups, which slept -in the stables, at once surrounded him, and by their furious barking -warned the night watchman that something was wrong. - -I remember that on one occasion Grisi got free and dashed out of the -stables followed by the whole party of pups, and after Mackay had -secured the truant the dogs followed with an air of pride as though -conscious of having done their duty. - -Since we were reduced to four ponies it was necessary to consider -the dogs as a possible factor in our work, and so their training was -important. But after enjoying some months of freedom it seemed terrible -to the young dogs when first a collar was put on them, and even less -did they enjoy their experience of being taken to the sledge and there -taught to pull. - -Peary's account of his expeditions shows that in Arctic regions dogs -have been able to traverse long distances very quickly. Once indeed -over ninety miles were accomplished in twenty-three hours, but this -evidently was done on smooth sea-ice or on the smooth glaciated surface -of the land. Such a feat would be impossible on the Antarctic Barrier -surface. - -[Illustration: A Group of the Shore Party at the Winter Quarters - -_Standing_ (from left): Joyce, Day, Wild, Adams, Brocklehurst, -Shackleton, Marshall, David, Armytage, Marston _Sitting:_ Priestly, -Murray, Roberts] - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -MOUNT EREBUS - - -Until March 3 the arrangement of all the details relating to settling -in our winter quarters engaged our attention, but afterwards we at once -began to seek some outlet for our energies which would advance the -cause of science and the work of the expedition. - -I was anxious to make a depot to the south for the furtherance of our -southern journey in the summer, but the open water between us and Hut -Point forbade all progress in that direction; neither was it possible -for us to journey towards the western mountains, where the geology -might have been studied with the chance of most interesting results. - -One journey, however, was possible, certainly a difficult one, yet -gaining interest and excitement from that very reason, and this was an -attempt to reach the summit of Mount Erebus. - -Both geologically and meteorologically the accomplishment of this work -was desirable, but apart from scientific considerations the ascent of -a mountain over 13,000 feet in height would be exciting both to those -chosen as climbers, and to the rest of us who wished for their success. - -After deliberation I decided that Professor David, Mawson and Mackay -should form 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 possible, and the whole expedition was to be under Adams' charge -until he decided that his party was to return, when the Professor was -to be in charge of the advance-party. - -In my written instructions to Adams, he was given the option of going -to the summit if he thought it feasible for his party to push on, and -he actually did so, though the supporting-party was only provisioned -for six days, and was not so well equipped for mountain-work as the -advance-party. I also gave instructions that the supporting-party -was not to hamper the main-party, especially as regarded division of -provisions, but instead of being drawbacks the three men were of great -assistance to the advance division, and lived entirely on their own -stores, and equipment. - -No sooner was the decision arrived at to make the ascent than the -winter quarters became busy with the bustle of preparation, and such -was the energy thrown into this work, that by 8.30 A.M. on March 5 the -men were ready to start upon the expedition. - -In ascending such a mountain 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 circumstances straps were arranged by which -single sleeping-bags could be slung in the form of a knapsack upon the -climber's back, and inside the bags the remainder of the equipment -could be packed. Both the advance and the supporting-party followed -this arrangement. - -When they started I 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 Armytage's telescope six tiny black spots crawling up -the immense deep snowfield, and when on the next day I saw the same -small figures on the sky-line, I realised that the supporting-party was -going the whole way. - -But before I give an account of this expedition as reported to me most -graphically by Professor David and Adams, I must say something about -the mountain on which these six men were winning their spurs not only -on their first Antarctic campaign, but also in their first attempt at -serious mountaineering. - -The name of Mount Erebus looms large in the history of polar -exploration both north and south. On January 28, 1841, Sir James -Clark Ross named the great volcano--at whose base our winter quarters -lay--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 always 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. 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. -To ascend such a mountain would be difficult in any part of the world, -but the difficulties were accentuated by the latitude of Erebus. The -men, however, were determined to do their utmost to reach the crater -itself, and how they fared and what they found must be told from the -reports they gave to me. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -ATTACKING MOUNT EREBUS - - -All hands accompanied the expedition when it started at a quarter to -nine on the morning of March 5, and helped to pull the sledge along the -slopes of Back Door Bay across Blue Lake, up the eastern slope to the -first level; and there we said farewell to the mountain party. - -[Illustration: Ice Flowers on newly-formed Sea Ice early in the Winter] - -They first steered straight up a snow slope, and about a mile out and -400 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 runners and bearers of the sledge (total weight of sledge -and load was 560 lb.), and lifting it over the obstruction. On the -further side of the moraine was a sloping surface of ice and névé, on -which the sledge capsized for the first time. Light snow was falling -and there was a slight wind. - -More difficulties were quickly encountered, and no sooner had the party -managed, by struggling upon their hands and knees, to drag the sledge -up the steep slope of a small glacier, than their progress was impeded -by sastrugi. - -"Sastrugi" means wind furrow, and is the name given to those annoying -obstacles to sledging, due to the action of the wind on the snow. These -sastrugi vary in depth from two or three inches to three or four feet, -according to the position of any rock masses near them and to the force -of the wind forming them. - -Though they have many disadvantages, they are occasionally very -welcome; for sometimes 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 compass for the moment being placed on the snow to -obtain the direction. - -The sledgers, at this particular juncture, had much trouble in keeping -their feet; and their remarks upon the subject of sastrugi were -distinctly audible and uncomplimentary. - -On the first evening the party camped at 6 P.M., about 2750 ft. above -sea-level and a distance of seven miles from winter quarters; and on -the following morning they found that the temperature was 10° below -zero Fahr. - -The gradient was becoming much steeper, being 1 in 5, and sastrugi, -running obliquely to their course, caused the sledge frequently to -capsize. The heavy work, however, resulted in keeping the travellers -warm; and on the night of March 6 they had reached an altitude of 5630 -ft., and a temperature of 28° below zero. - -On the following morning Adams decided that the supporting-party should -attempt to reach the summit, though they were handicapped by having a -three-man sleeping-bag--which article of bulk one man had to carry--and -in various other ways. - -The party made a depot of the sledge and of some of the provisions and -cooking utensils at the second camp, and then, starting with tent-poles -among their equipment, they resumed their climb. Soon, however, -they realised the impossibility of climbing the mountain with these -articles, which had to be taken back to the depot. - -Each man carried a weight of 40 lb., and on the third evening the party -camped about 8750 ft. above sea-level. Between 9 and 10 P.M. of the 7th -a strong wind sprang up, and when the men woke the following morning a -fierce blizzard was blowing from the south-east. - -In the whirling snow and roaring wind, the two sections of the party, -although only some ten yards apart, could neither see nor hear each -other, and the blizzard increased in fury as the day wore on. - -In the afternoon, however, Brocklehurst emerged from the three-man -sleeping-bag, and instantly a fierce gust whirled away one of his -wolfskin mits, and he, dashing after it, was swept down the ravine by -the force of the wind. - -Adams, who had left the bag with Brocklehurst, saw the latter vanish, -and in trying to return to the bag to fetch Marshall, he also was blown -down by the wind. Meanwhile Marshall, the only occupant of the bag, had -great difficulty in keeping himself from being blown, sleeping-bag and -all, down the ravine. - -At last Adams, on his hands and knees, succeeded in reaching the bag, -and at the same time Brocklehurst, also creeping along as best he -could, appeared. It was a close call, for so biting was the cold that -he was all but completely gone. - -During the day and night of the 8th the travellers had nothing to -drink, as it would have been impossible to have kept the lamp alight to -thaw out the snow. Happily, by 4 A.M. the blizzard was over, and soon -afterwards the climbers were again on their way. The angle of ascent -was now steeper than ever, being thirty-four degrees--that is, a rise -of 1 in 1½ and the travellers kept as much as possible to the bare -rocks. During this day Brocklehurst, who was wearing ski boots, began -to feel the cold attacking his feet, but did not think seriously enough -of it to change into finnesko. - -At noon a fair camping-ground was found some 800 ft. below the rim of -the old crater, and after a hasty meal the ascent was again tackled. -Within a little distance from the top of the rim of the main crater, -Mackay chose to work his way alone with his ice-axe up a long and very -steep névé slope, instead of following the safer route by the rocks. - -[Illustration: One thousand feet below the Active Cone] - -He passed from sight, and then was heard to call out that he was -getting weak, and did not think he could last much longer. Hastening -to the ridge, Marshall and the Professor dropped to the point where he -was likely to be found, and fortunately met him, thoroughly exhausted, -coming towards them. - -It appeared that Mackay had, with his heavy load, found the work of -cutting steps more difficult than he had expected, and that he had only -just managed to reach safety when he fell and fainted. No doubt this -was partly due to mountain sickness, which under the severe conditions -and at the high altitude also affected Brocklehurst. - -Having found a camping-place, the members of the party were at leisure -to observe the nature of their surroundings; and 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, and -the base of the cliff was separated from the snow plain beyond by a -deep ditch like a huge dry moat, evidently due to the action of the -blizzards. - -But what surprised the explorers most were the extraordinary structures -which rose here and there above the surface of the snowfield. They -were in the form of mounds and pinnacles of most varied and fantastic -appearance, some resembling beehives, others huge ventilating cowls, -while others were like isolated turrets, and yet others looked like -various animals in shape. - -At first sight no one was able to understand the origin of these -remarkable structures, but as it was time for food, they left the -closer investigation until later in the day. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -THE CONQUEST OF MOUNT EREBUS - - -While some of the party cooked the meal, Marshall examined -Brocklehurst's feet, as the latter stated that for some time he had -lost all feeling in them. When his boots and socks were removed it was -found that both his big toes were black, and that four more toes were -also frost-bitten. Ultimate recovery from so severe a frost-bite was -bound to be slow and tedious, though Marshall's and Mackay's efforts to -restore circulation were, under the conditions, fairly successful. To -climb almost continuously for nine hours with badly frost-bitten feet -up the steep and difficult track must have required splendid pluck and -determination. - -After lunch Brocklehurst was safely tucked up in the three-man -sleeping-bag, and the five other members of the party started off -to explore the floor of the old crater, and the mystery of those -remarkable structures was soon solved by the Professor. - -Directing their steps towards one of the ice mounds, which bore a -whimsical resemblance to a lion couchant, and from which smoke seemed -to be issuing, the Professor recognised that these structures 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, but in the rigour of the -Antarctic 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, Iceland and Yellowstone Park, are built -up round the orifices of the fumaroles of Erebus. - -Next morning when the party 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, and while Marshall was attending to -Brocklehurst, 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 height of the old crater rim, just above the camp, 11,400 ft. - -At 6 A.M. the party left the camp, and, hastening to reach the summit -of the present crater, were soon ascending rather steep slopes, formed -of alternating beds of hard snow and vast quantities of large and -perfect felspar crystals, mixed with pumice. And a little farther on -they reached the base of the volcano's active cone. Progress now became -painfully slow, as the height and cold combined to make it difficult to -breathe. - -The cone of Erebus is built 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, just 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. -From measurements made while at the crater's edge, Erebus may be -calculated to rise to a height of 13,370 ft. above sea-level. - -The report most vividly describes the magnificent and awe-inspiring -scene before the eyes of the travellers. - -[Illustration: The "Lion" of Erebus. (_See page 86_)] - -"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 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 proceeded." - -As soon as the measurements had been made and Mawson had taken some -photographs, the party returned to camp, because it had been decided to -start the descent during the same afternoon. - -Numerous specimens of the unique felspar crystals and of the pumice and -sulphur were collected on the way back to camp, and, having arrived -there, the travellers made a hasty meal, packed up, and started down -the steep mountain slope, Brocklehurst insisting on bearing his own -heavy load in spite of his frost-bitten feet. - -Soon a point was reached where the party had either to retrace their -way or to cut steps across a névé slope, or, lastly, to glissade down -some 500 or 600 feet to a rocky ledge below. In their tired state, they -chose the path of least resistance, which was offered by the glissade, -and consequently the loads were rearranged so that they might roll down -easily. Brocklehurst's load, which contained the cooking utensils, -protested noisily as it went down, and the aluminium cookers received a -severe battering from their abrupt contact with the rocks below. - -At this time the whole party were suffering from thirst, but a -makeshift drink was obtained by gathering a little snow, squeezing it -into a ball, and placing it on the surface of a piece of rock, where it -melted almost at once on account of the heat of the sun. - -Adams and Marshall were the first to reach the depot, having dropped -down 5000 ft. between 3 P.M. and 7 P.M., and 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 scattered to a distance and -partly covered with drift snow. The party camped during that night at -the depot, and by 5.30 A.M. on the following morning the sledge was -packed and the homeward journey resumed. - -The sastrugi, however, were so troublesome that 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 stayed behind to pull back when -required. - -At this time, indeed, the conditions were most trying, for the sledge -either refused to budge or suddenly it took charge, and overran those -who were dragging it. - -Capsizes occurred every few minutes, and, owing to the slippery ground, -some of the party who had not crampons or barred ski-boots were badly -shaken up. One has to experience such a surface to realise how severe a -jar one gets from falling. The only civilised experience akin to it is -when one steps unknowingly on a slide which some small street-boy has -made on the pavement. - -The party reached the spot where they had made their first camp, six -miles distant from Cape Royds, at 7.30 A.M. By this time a blizzard -seemed to be approaching, and the snow, which was beginning to drift -before a gusty south-easterly wind, threatened to cut off all view of -the winter quarters. Every one was tired, one of the tents had a large -hole burnt in it, the oil supply was almost done, and one of the stoves -had been put out of action as the result of the glissade. So in the -circumstances the party decided to make a dash for Cape Royds, leaving -sledge and equipment to be picked up later. - -In the grey light the sastrugi did not show up in relief, and every few -feet some member of the party 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. But now that the stress and -the strain were over, their legs grew heavy and leaden, and that last -half-mile seemed to be one of the hardest they had covered. - -Meanwhile, at winter quarters we had been busy opening cases, with -the result that the cubicles of the absentees were crowded with an -accumulation, of stores. We had just decided to make the cubicles tidy -again for the travellers, and were beginning on the Professor's, when I -left the hut for a moment, and to my astonishment saw six slowly moving -figures within thirty yards of me. - -Running towards them, I shouted, "Did you get to the top?" and as there -was no answer I asked again. Then Adams pointed with his hand upwards; -but, not satisfied by this, I repeated the question, and Adams replied -"Yes." After that I dashed to the hut and shouted to the others, who -streamed out to cheer the successful venturers. A good feed followed, -in which porridge had the place of honour. - -[Illustration: 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. (_See page 88_)] - -After some days' delay on account of bad weather, a party consisting -of Adams, the Professor, Armytage, Joyce, Wild and Marshall started to -fetch in the sledge with the explorers' equipment, and this work was -successfully accomplished. - -Among some of the scientific results of this expedition, as given to me -by Professor David, must be mentioned the calculating of the height of -the mountains, and that "as regards the geological structure of Erebus, -there is evidence of the existence of four superimposed craters." - -"Two features," the Professor wrote, "in the geology of Erebus which -are specially distinctive are: the vast quantities of large and perfect -felspar crystals and the ice fumaroles.... 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 the constant steam cloud at its summit, swinging to and fro like -a huge wind vane, combine to make Erebus one of the most interesting -places on earth to the meteorologist." - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -PREPARATIONS FOR THE WINTER MONTHS - - -After the journey to the summit of Erebus we began to prepare for the -long winter months that were rapidly approaching. - -It was most important, for instance, that the geologists should get -as far afield as possible before the winter night closed upon us; so -both the Professor and Priestley were out early and late collecting -geological specimens which would need to be examined later on. - -There was also a fine field for Murray's biological studies; while -the lengthening nights gave 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 prepared to record the displays. - -Adams was the meteorologist of the expedition, and he took all the -observations from 8 A.M. to 8 P.M.; while the night-watchman was -responsible for those taken from 10 P.M. to 6 A.M. - -In addition to the meteorological screen, Mawson built an erection on -the top of the highest ridge, in which he placed an aneurometer of his -own construction to register the strength of the heaviest gusts of wind -during a blizzard. Frequently the squalls were found to blow with a -force of a hundred miles an hour. - -There remained one more outdoor instrument connected with weather -observation, and that was the snow-gauge. By using some spare lengths -of stove chimney, the Professor erected a gauge into which the snow -falling in a blizzard was collected, and when it was melted down we -could calculate fairly accurately the amount of snowfall. - -This observation was very important, as it is on the precipitation in -the form of snow, and on the rate of evaporation, that calculations -regarding the formation of the huge snowfields and glaciers depend. - -As soon as the ice in the bay was strong enough to bear, Murray -prepared to capture the different marine creatures that rest on the -bottom of the sea or creep about there. His ultimate plan for the -capture of specimens was, whenever a crack opened in the bay ice, to -let down a line, 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 rich collections were made, and rarely did the -dredge come up without some interesting specimens. - -Although terrestrial vegetation is very scanty in the Antarctic, -the same cannot be said of the sub-aqueous plant-life; and the -investigations of the plant-life in the lakes was one of the principal -things undertaken by Murray, Priestley and the Professor during the -winter months. - -As the winter approached a regular winter routine was arranged for -the camp, and apart from Brocklehurst, who was laid up with his -frost-bitten foot, all the party had to do 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 we now -took turns to carry out this important duty, Roberts, who was busy -cooking all day, being the only one who was exempt from night duties. - -Many as the duties--such as taking the meteorological observations, -looking after hut, ponies and dogs, and keeping up the fire--were, they -were not unpleasant: for when our turn came round we had a chance to -wash clothes, darn socks, and do little jobs which could not receive -much attention during the day. The night-watchman generally took his -bath either once a fortnight or once a month, as his inclination -prompted him. - -The watchman during the earlier months was kept busy enough, for the -ponies were constantly trying to break loose and, generally speaking, -to upset things in the stable, and it was a comfort when they at last -learned to keep fairly quiet. - -Another difficulty the watchman encountered was that of keeping the hut -warm when, instead of lumps of coal, he had to content himself with -very fine stuff. To meet this difficulty we had recourse to lumps of -seal blubber, and it was good to know that with the large supply of -seals obtainable in these latitudes no expedition need want emergency -fuel. - -Towards mid-winter an institution known as eleven-o'clock tea grew into -existence, the Professor being greatly attached to this, and generally -undertaking to make the tea for the men still out of bed. By one -o'clock, however, most of the hut party were wrapped in more or less -noisy slumber. The watchman's most trying time was about five o'clock -in the morning: for then one's eyes grew heavy, and great effort was -needed to prevent oneself from falling asleep. - -At 7.30 A.M. Roberts was called, and at this hour Armytage or Mackay -was roused up to feed the ponies; but before mid-winter day Armytage -took over the entire responsibility of the stables and ponies. At 8.30 -A.M. all hands were called, special attention being paid to turning out -the messman for the day; and at nine o'clock sharp every one sat down -to breakfast. - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -STILL IN THE HUT - - -The duties of the messman were more onerous than those of the night -watchman, and began by laying the table--a simple operation owing to -the primitive conditions under which we lived. He then garnished this -with hot sauces to tickle some of our tough palates, and when we sat -down he passed up bowls of porridge and the big jug of hot milk, which -was the standing dish every day. - -Then came the messman's order, "Up bowls," and, reserving our spoons, -the bowls were passed along. If it were a "fruit day"--a day when the -second course consisted of bottled fruit--the bowls were retained for -this popular dish. - -After he had been assisted in washing up the breakfast things, the duty -of the man in the house was to fill the melting-pots with ice, empty -the ashes and tins into the dust-box outside, and get in a bag of coal. -One often heard the messman anxiously enquiring what the dinner dishes -consisted of, the most popular, from his point of view, being those -which resulted in the least amount of grease on the plates. The hut was -swept out three times a day, so that the building was kept in a tidy -state. - -[Illustration: The Type-case and Printing Press for the production of -the "Aurora Australis" in Joyce's and Wild's Cubicle, known as "The -Rouges' Retreat." (_See page 100_)] - -It would only be repetition to chronicle our doings from day to day, -during the months that passed from the disappearance of the sun until -the welcome daylight returned. We lived under conditions of steady -routine, and having more than enough to occupy us in our daily work -that spectre known as "Polar ennui" never appeared. - -At night some of us played bridge, poker and dominoes; but Joyce, -Wild, Marston and Day spent much time in the production of the "Aurora -Australis," the first book ever written, printed, illustrated and bound -in the Antarctic. - -Messrs. Joseph Causton & Sons, Ltd., had generously given us a complete -printing outfit and the paper for the book, and Joyce and Wild had been -instructed in type-setting and printing, Marston being taught etching -and lithography. - -They had hardly become skilled craftsmen, but although the early days -of the printing department were not exactly happy, the work progressed -steadily, until at the end of a fortnight or so two pages could -be printed a day. Day meanwhile prepared the binding by cleaning, -planing and polishing wood taken from the venesta cases, while Marston -reproduced the illustrations by printing from aluminium plates. - -Marston was handicapped by the fact that all our water had a trace -of salt in it, but he managed to produce what we all regarded as -creditable pictures. In its final form the book consisted of about 120 -pages; and at any rate it had helped to guard us from a dangerous lack -of occupation during the polar night. - -On March 13 we experienced a very fierce blizzard, and cases weighing -from 50 to 80 lb. were actually shifted from their positions; so when -the gale was over we put everything that could possibly blow away into -places of greater safety. - -On this day 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 being one of the most interesting discoveries -that had been made in the Antarctic, for the study of these minute -creatures threw a new light on the capability of life to exist under -conditions of extreme cold and in the face of great variations of -temperature. - -From our point of view, it was humorous to see Murray trying to slay -the little animals he had found. He used to thaw them from a block -of ice, freeze them up again, and repeat this process several times -without causing the rotifers any inconvenience. 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, and 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. - - * * * * * - -Tongue and pencil would sadly fail to describe the magic of the -colouring in the days when the sun was leaving us. The very clouds at -this time were iridescent with rainbow hues. 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 deepening night over these contrasts was singularly weird. -Throughout April hardly a day passed without an auroral display, -and about the beginning of that month the temperature began to drop -considerably, and in calm, still weather the thermometer often -registered 40° below zero. - - * * * * * - -On April 6 Marshall decided that it was necessary to amputate -Brocklehurst's big toe, as there was no sign of its recovery from -frost-bite; and the patient having been put under chloroform, the bone -was removed, and the sufferer moved to my room, where he remained till -just before mid-winter's day. - -When mid-winter's day had passed, and the twilight became daily more -marked, I set on foot arrangements for the sledging work in the -following spring. For it was desirable that, at the earliest possible -date, a depot of stores should be placed at a point to the south, in -preparation for the departure of the Southern Party, which was to march -towards the Pole. This depot I hoped to make at least a hundred miles -from the winter quarters. - -It was also desirable that definite information should be obtained -regarding the condition of the snow surface on the Barrier; and I -also wanted various members of the party to have practice in sledging -before the serious work began. Considering our scarcity of ponies, I -resolved that these preliminary sledging journeys should be performed -by man-haulage. - -During the winter I had given earnest consideration to the question of -the date on which the party that was to march towards the Pole should -leave the hut. Our hoped-for goal lay over 880 statute miles to the -south, and the brief summer was all too short a time in which to march -so far into the unknown and return. 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. - -Finally, I resolved that the Southern Party should leave mid-winter -quarters on October 28, for by starting earlier the ponies would -probably suffer from the severe cold at nights; and if the ponies were -quickly incapacitated, we should have gained no advantage from our -early start. - -[Illustration: Preparing a Sledge during the Winter] - -But the date having been fixed, 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, so that we might gain an idea of the prevailing conditions, -and find out if the motor-car would be of service for at any rate the -early portion of the journey. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -PRELIMINARY JOURNEYS - - -The sun had not yet returned and the temperature was exceedingly low, -but the _Discovery_ expedition had proved that it is quite possible -to travel under these conditions. Accordingly I 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 Armytage who was to take charge of the party that was to -journey into the mountains of the west later in the year. - -We were equipped for a fortnight with provisions and camp gear, packed -on one sledge, and had three gallons of petroleum in case we decided -to stay out longer. A gallon will last three men for about ten days, -and we could get more food at Hut Point if we required it. We took -three one-man sleeping bags, for although the larger bags are certainly -warmer one's rest in them is very likely to be disturbed by the -movements of a companion. - -At first the weather was bad and consequently progress was slow, but -although the temperature was about forty degrees below zero we slept -soundly at night, and arose praising the one-man sleeping bags. - -We reached the old _Discovery_ winter quarters at Hut Point on the -morning of August 14, and I took the Professor and Armytage over all -the familiar ground. - -To me the revisiting of these old scenes was supremely interesting. -Here 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 required -for the supply of fresh water. The marks of the picks and shovel -could still be seen, and I noticed an old case bedded in the ice, and -remembered the day when it had been thrown away. The fascination of the -unknown swept upon me as I stood in those familiar surroundings, and I -longed to be away towards the south on the journey that I hoped would -lay bare the mysteries of the Pole. - -The old hut had never been a cheerful place even when we were camped -alongside it in the _Discovery_, and it looked doubly inhospitable now -after standing empty for six years. I proposed, however, to use it as a -stores depot in connection with the southern journey, for it was twenty -miles further south than our winter quarters. We slept there that night -and on the following morning started for our journey across the Barrier. - -The chief result of this expedition was to convince me that we could -not place much reliance on the motor-car for the southern journey, -because the condition of the surface on the Barrier varied from mile to -mile, and it would be impossible to keep changing the wheels of the car -so as to meet the requirements of each new surface. - -Professor David and Armytage had also received a good baptism of frost, -and as it was desirable that every member of the expedition should -have personal experience of travelling over ice and snow in low -temperatures before the real work began, I arranged to dispatch a small -party every week to sledge stores and equipment south to Hut Point. - -I did not hesitate to let these parties face bad weather, because the -road was well known, and a rough experience would be useful to men -later on. Each party returned with adventures to relate, and curiously -all of them encountered bad weather, but there were no accidents and -the men seemed to enjoy the work. - -Early in September Adams, Marshall and I started for Hut Point, and -decided to make one march of the twenty-three miles, and not camp on -the way. A blizzard, however, struck us when we were near our goal, and -abandoning the extra weights we were pulling for the depot, we managed -to reach the hut in a sorely frost-bitten condition. I mention this -to show how constantly one has to guard against the onslaughts of the -elements in the inhospitable regions of the south. - -By the middle of September a good supply of provisions, oil and gear -was stored at Hut Point, in fact everything needed for the southern -journey had been taken there so that the start might be made from -the most southern base available. Also while the men were gaining -experience the ponies were being given exercise, and I felt that these -little Manchurian animals were going to justify my confidence. After -many experiments I concluded that 650 lb. per pony should be the -maximum load, this weight including the sledge itself which weighed -about 60 lb. - -When the question of weight came to be considered I realised more than -ever the seriousness of the loss of the other four ponies. It was -evident that we could not take to the Pole as much food as I would have -liked. - -[Illustration: The Leader of the Expedition in Winter Garb] - -On September 22 I started out again with a party consisting of Adams, -Marshall, Wild, Marston and Joyce and myself to place a depot 160 -statute miles south of the _Discovery_ winter quarters, the depot to -consist of pony maize. The loads were about 170 lb. per man, and the -journey was a severe one, for at times the temperature got down to 59° -below zero Fahr. - -We reached the main depot in latitude 79° 36′ South, longitude 168° -East on October 6, and this we called "Depot A." It was marked with an -upturned sledge and a black flag on a bamboo rod, and here we deposited -a gallon tin of oil and 167 lb. of pony maize so that our load would be -materially reduced for the first portion of the journey south. - -The weather was shockingly severe on our return journey, and we did -not reach the old _Discovery_ winter quarters until October 13, but -continuing our march home on the following day we were lucky enough -to meet the motor-car, and with the sledges hitched on, we drove -triumphantly back to winter quarters. - -During our absence the Northern Party, consisting of Professor David, -Mawson and Mackay, had started on their journey to the South Magnetic -Pole. I said good-bye to the Professor and his two companions on -September 22 and we did not meet again until March 1, 1909. - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -ARRANGEMENTS AND INSTRUCTIONS - - -The Southern Party was to leave winter quarters on October 29, so on -our return from Depot A we began finally to prepare for our attempt to -reach the South Pole. I decided that Adams, Marshall and Wild should -go with me and that we should take provisions for ninety-one days. This -amount of food with other equipment brought the load per pony up to -the weight fixed as the maximum safe load. The supporting party was to -accompany us for some distance so that we might start fairly fresh from -a point beyond the rough ice off Minna Bluff, and we were to take the -four ponies and four sledges. - -Early in 1907 I had proposed that one party should travel to the east -across the Barrier surface towards King Edward VII Land, but the loss -of so many ponies caused me to abandon this project. - -Arrangements, however, were made for sending out a party early in -December to lay a depot for the Northern Party, and when this was done, -the same men were to proceed to the western mountains. - -Also on January 15, 1909, a party under Joyce, was to lay a depot near -Minna Bluff containing sufficient stores for the return of the Southern -Party from that point. This same party was to return to Hut Point, -reload and march out to the depot a second time, and await the arrival -of the Southern Party until February 10, 1909. If the Southern Party -had not arrived by that date, Joyce and his companions were to go back -to Hut Point and thence to the ship. - -Before my departure I left instructions which provided for the -conclusion of the work of the Expedition in its various branches, and -for the relief of the men left in the Antarctic in the event of the -non-return of the Southern Party. - -To Murray I gave command of the Expedition and full instructions during -my absence. - -The provisioning of the Southern Party was long and anxiously -considered, and Marshall went very carefully into the question of -the relative food-values of the various supplies, and we were able -to derive much useful information from the experience of previous -expeditions. - -At length we decided that 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 - Cheese or Chocolate 2 - Cocoa ·7 - Plasmon 1 - Sugar 4·3 - Quaker Oats 1 - ---- - 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, -and the salt and pepper were carried in small bags, each bag to last -one week. - -Everything was ready for the start as the end of October approached, -and we looked forward with keen anticipation to the venture. The -supporting-party, consisting of Joyce, Marston, Priestly, Armytage, and -Brocklehurst, was to accompany us for the first ten days. - -The weather was not very good towards the end of October, but there -were signs that summer was coming. We spent the last days overhauling -sledges and equipment, and our evenings in writing 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. - -[Illustration: The Motor-car in the Garage, Maize-Crusher on the right] - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -THE START TO THE SOUTH POLE - - -Brilliant sunshine and a cloudless sky were an auspicious beginning to -the day on which we started upon our attempt to plant the Union Jack, -which the Queen had given us, on the last untrodden spot of the world. -Yet on leaving the hut where we had spent so many months in comfort, we -had a feeling of real regret that never again should we all be together. - -The supporting-party started first, and at 10 A.M. we said good-bye -to Murray and Roberts, who were to be left behind, and we four of the -Southern Party followed with an intense desire to do well for the sake -of every one concerned in the Expedition. - -Hardly, however, had we been marching for an hour when mishaps began -to occur. First of all Socks went dead lame, and soon afterwards, when -we were halting to feed ourselves and the ponies, Grisi lashed out and -struck Adams just below the knee. - -Three inches higher and the blow would have shattered both his knee-cap -and his hopes of reaching the South Pole. As it was the bone was almost -exposed and he was in great pain, although he said very little about -it. What he would have done if he had been completely knocked out it is -impossible to imagine, as his interest in the Expedition was intense. - -On October 30 we reached Hut Point and with Adams better, the ponies -recovered from their lameness, and the weather gloriously fine, we -rejoiced to be out at last on the long trail. - -Quan fit or unfit was the most mischievous of all the ponies, for when -any one was looking his special delight was to bite his tether, and -unfortunately he did this on one occasion when no one was watching him -and played havoc with the maize and other fodder. When we tried to -catch him he dashed from one sledge to another tearing bags to pieces -and trampling the food out, kicking up his heels and showing that he -was deliberately destructive, for his distended appearance proved that -he had eaten more than his fill. - -We left the sea ice on November 3, but instead of finding a better -surface on the Barrier, we discovered that the going was more difficult -than ever. The ponies, however, pulled magnificently and every hour the -pony-leaders changed places with the sledge-haulers. On the next day we -wore goggles, as we were already feeling the trying light, and as soon -as we had passed the end of White Island the surface became softer and -it was trying work for both men and ponies. Still, however, we tramped -along, the supporting-party pulling magnificently, and our march for -the day was over sixteen miles. - -Up to this time we had been blessed with fair weather, but on Guy -Fawkes' Day we encountered driving snow which made our steering very -wild. In the bad light the sastrugi could not be seen, and the surface -was very bad for both ponies and men. Minor mishaps were natural under -such conditions, and after Marshall, who was leading Grisi, had got his -legs into a crevasse, and soon afterwards Wild, Adams and Marshall had -got into another crevasse, there was nothing for it but to pitch camp -and wait until the weather cleared. - -To our sorrow we had to lie during the whole of the next day in our -sleeping-bags except when we went out of them to feed the ponies, for -a blizzard was upon us with thick drift. One can scarcely realise -how trying it is to be held up by blizzards, unless one has been -on a polar expedition and knows that each lost day means also the -consumption of 40 lb. of pony feed alone. Nevertheless, we endeavoured -to make the best of an irritating situation, and in our one-man -sleeping-bags each of us had a little home, where he could read and -write and look at his household gods--if he had brought any with him. - -During the morning I passed the time reading _Much Ado About -Nothing_--an inappropriate play perhaps for me to be reading when I was -worrying over our delay and thought that I had good cause to be. - -The blizzard would not have mattered so much if we had only to consider -ourselves, for we could save on the food, but if the ponies were to be -of much use to us they had to be properly fed. - -On the 7th the weather was better, though still very thick and -overcast, and cheered by the supporting-party, who were returning to -winter quarters, we started off with the ponies pulling splendidly. But -almost immediately we found ourselves in a maze of crevasses. The first -one which Marshall crossed with Grisi was 6 ft. wide, and when I looked -down there was nothing to be seen but a black yawning void. - -Crevasses were here, there, and everywhere, and we had to camp between -two large ones and wait until the light became better, for to proceed -in such weather was to court disaster. - -At last we were quite on our own resources, and as regards comfort in -the tents were very well off, for with only two men in each tent there -was plenty of room. Adams began by sharing a tent with me, but we -decided to shift about so that we could take turns with each other as -tent-mates. - -[Illustration: The Southern Party marching into the White Unknown, -(_See page 112_)] - -In respect to books also we were well supplied, for I took -Shakespeare's Comedies with me, Marshall had Borrow's "The Bible in -Spain," Adams, Arthur Young's "Travels in France," and Wild "Sketches -by Boz." By changing round when we had finished, we had literature -enough to keep us going for many hours when we were unable to march. - -No literature, however, could prevent us from chafing at the weather -which kept us in our bags until the morning of November 9, but the -difficulties of travelling over snow and ice in a bad light are -practically insurmountable. - -When 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 when we thought that we were marching on a level -surface, we would suddenly fall two or three feet, and the strain on -the eyes under these conditions was very great. - -It is, indeed, when the sun is covered and the weather thickish that -one is in danger of snow-blindness, that painful complaint with which -we all became too well acquainted during the southern journey. - -The only way to guard against an attack is to wear goggles the whole -time, but when one is perspiring on account of exertion with the -sledges, the glasses fog and they have to be taken off so that they -may be wiped. When they were removed, the glare from the surrounding -whiteness was intense, and the only relief was to get inside a tent, -which was made of a green material very restful to the eyes. - -On the night of the 8th the weather cleared, and we saw that we were in -a regular nest of crevasses, Marshall and Wild finding that their tent -was pitched on the edge of a previously unseen one. - -To stand in drift for four days with 24° of frost was so bad for the -ponies that we were thankful that their appetites for the hot food we -gave to them was not affected, but we wanted to get under way and put -some good marches in before we could feel really happy. - -The distance as the crow flies from our winter quarters to the Pole -is 750 geographical miles and as yet we had only done fifty-one. That -a polar explorer needs a large stock of patience in his equipment is -not to be denied, and as we lay in our bags anxious to be marching yet -unable to move we drew heavy draughts upon our stock. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -ONWARD - - -The morning of the 9th was fine, calm and clear, and, as soon as we -had dug the sledges out of the drift and breakfasted, we set out to -find a track among the crevasses. Our hunt for crevasses was successful -enough, for we discovered all sorts from narrow cracks to ugly chasms -with no bottom visible, but to find a track through them was beyond our -powers. - -There was indeed nothing for it but to trust to Providence, and having -got under way we got over the first few crevasses without difficulty. -And then all of a sudden Chinaman went down a crack which ran parallel -to our course. - -Adams tried to pull him out and he struggled gamely, but it was not -until Wild and I left our sledges and hauled along Chinaman's sledge -that, just in time, he managed to get on to firm ice, 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 pony, all our cooking gear and biscuits and -half the oil, and probably Adams as well. - -But when things seem to be as hopeless as possible they often take -a sudden change for the better, and in our case this was the last -crevasse we encountered for some time, and at length, with a gradually -improving surface, we were really able to push along. - -During the day we knocked off over 14 miles of those intervening -between us and our goal, and we turned in for the night in a more -cheerful frame of mind. Our rest, however, was disturbed by the -mischievous Quan eating away the straps on his rug, and Grisi and Socks -fighting over it. The propensities of Manchurian ponies for eating -peculiar things must certainly be allowed to have their drawbacks. - -Such accidents may seem very trivial, but they meant work for us in -repairing the damage, and when one is thoroughly tired after a day's -march one does not welcome any unlooked for labour. - -To our astonishment during our march in the afternoon we came across -the track of an Adelie penguin, and where on earth the bird had come -from was a mystery. It had been travelling on its stomach for a long -way, and it had at least fifty miles to travel before it could reach -food and water, and the nearest water in the direction from which it -had come was over fifty miles away. Among penguins this bird ought, I -think, to have been credited with an adventurous disposition. - -With better weather for the next few days we made good progress towards -the depot where 167 lb. of pony food was lying, and our appetites were -already too good for the amount of food we were allowing ourselves. -Perhaps those who have never known what it is to be desperately hungry -will be disgusted at us for remembering that when the ponies had done -their work we should be able to add horse-meat to our rations. But I -can say with truth that until the ponies had to be killed they were -treated with a liberality that we denied sternly to ourselves. - -[Illustration: Cape Barne and Inaccessible Island by Moonlight] - -To pick up a depot which is only a tiny speck in a vast snowy plain -and is nearly sixty miles from the nearest land, is like picking up a -buoy in the North Sea with only distant mountains for bearings, and I -was most anxious that we should reach it before the glorious weather -broke up, for there was stored not only the pony feed but also a most -valuable gallon of oil. - -Imagine then my delight when, on the evening of the 14th, Wild, who was -outside the camp looking through the Goertz glasses, shouted that he -could see the depot. We rushed out at once, and there were the flag and -sledge to be seen plainly through the glasses. On the next morning we -found everything intact and the flag waving merrily in the breeze, and -we camped there for a few hours so that we could distribute weights and -parcel our provision to be left there for our return journey. - -It went to our hearts to leave a tin of sardines and a pot of black -currant jam which we had intended for our feast on Christmas Day, but -every ounce of additional weight was so important, that although we -felt that we ought to take as much food as we possibly could these -luxuries had to be left behind. - -We were on again soon after one o'clock and when we camped that night -we built a snow mound as a guide to our homeward track, and decided -to build one at each camp we made. Having two shovels with us, in -ten minutes a mound 6 or 7 ft. high could be built, and although we -wondered whether our tracks would remain longer than our mounds, or our -mounds longer than the tracks, we thought it most advisable to neglect -no precautions. And as a matter of fact these mounds remained after -the sledge tracks had vanished, and were a great comfort to us on our -journey back. - -Everything continued to go splendidly for us, and I could not help -contrasting the progress of our last few days with the time six years -before, when I was toiling along five miles a day over the same ground. - -On November 16, for instance, we covered over 17 miles, a record day -for us; and also every one was in splendid health, my eyes (which had -been attacked by snow blindness) were better, and although split lips -prevented us laughing we were going straight as a die to the south--a -reason sufficient in itself for our cheerfulness. - -Another opportunity for contrast was that between our parsimony in the -way of food and Quan's wastefulness. To economise we saved three lumps -of sugar each day so that in time we might build up a reserve stock, -while Quan with his marvellous digestion preferred to eat a yard of -creosoted rope than his proper bait, and often in sheer wantonness -threw the food given to him all over the snow. - -By this time the work was beginning to tell upon the ponies, especially -upon Chinaman, but all of them continued to work splendidly in their -own particular way, and naturally we were anxious to advance our -food-supply as far as possible south before the ponies gave out. - -Quan plodded stolidly through everything, possibly thinking of -what tricks he would play at night but at the same time working -magnificently; Chinaman was the first to show signs of collapse, but -his spirit was willing though his strength was weakening; Grisi and -Socks took all soft places with a rush. - -But in spite of the hard labours of the day we always felt confident -that the ponies would enjoy themselves in their peculiar way at night, -and on one occasion I had to go out to prevent Socks from biting and -swallowing lumps out of Quan's tail. If we had ever anticipated that -they would have played such games, we should have taken a longer wire -to tether them and keep them apart. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -BEYOND ALL FORMER FOOTSTEPS - - -On November 18 I imagined that we had reached the windless area of the -Pole, for the Barrier was a dead, smooth, white plain, weird beyond -description, and, having no land in sight, we felt tiny specks in the -immensity around us. It seemed as though we were in some other world, -and yet the things that concerned us most were such trifles as split -lips and big appetites. - -Already the daily meals were all too short, and we wondered what it -would be like when we were really hungry. However, we were moving on at -a rate of about fifteen miles a day, and every night that we camped we -felt that another long step towards our desire had been made. - -Soon I discovered that I was wrong in thinking that we had reached the -windless area, for all the sastrugi began to point due south, but the -whole place and conditions were so unlike anything else in the world -of our experience, that it was extremely difficult to make correct -forecasts as to what we should next encounter. - -At one moment I thought of Coleridge's "Ancient Mariner": "Alone, -alone; all, all alone, alone on a wide, wide sea"; and then, when the -mazy clouds sprung silently up and, not followed by any wind, drifted -quickly across our zenith, the only word to describe my feeling is -uncanny. - -It was 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 we could not suppress a feeling that we mortals were being watched -with a jealous eye by the forces of nature. - -Still, in spite of these sensations, which every one who goes out into -the intensely lone places of the world must experience, we were more -interested in such things as heavy going and soft surfaces than in -anything else, for the surface was all-important to us and played the -leading part in our day's work. - -On November 20 we met with a terribly soft surface--so bad, in fact, -that it sounded the death-knell of poor old Chinaman, who was no longer -able to keep up with the others; and so we had to shoot him on the -following day. - -Let me say again that the killing of the ponies was not pleasant work, -and that our only satisfaction was in knowing that they were well fed -up to the last, and had suffered no pain. When we had to kill a pony -we threw up a snow-mound to leeward of the camp, and took the animal -behind this out of sight of the others. - -Of necessity we had to eat the meat, and as within a very short time -after killing the carcase was frozen solid, we always tried to cut the -meat into small pieces before this occurred. - -On the same day that saw the death of Chinaman we made our second -depot, and left there 80 lb. of pony meat, one tin of biscuits weighing -27 lb., some sugar, and one tin of oil to see us back to Depot A. - -With three ponies dragging 500 lb. each we left our depot, with its -black flag flying on the bamboo lashed to a discarded, sledge, and were -soon in new land to the south--land never before seen by human eyes. - -The land consisted of great snow-clad heights rising beyond Mount -Longstaff, and also far inland to the north of Mount Markham. We found -that our latitude was 81° 8′ south. - -The weather still remained splendid for marching, with a cool breeze -from the south and the sun slightly hidden, but our enjoyment of the -glorious view of peaks new to human eyes was marred by Wild being -temporarily unwell, and by Adams suffering badly from toothache. Our -first attempt to pull out this tooth merely resulted in the tooth -breaking, but at a second attempt Marshall succeeded in getting it out, -an achievement--under the conditions--as creditable to the one as it -was welcome to the other. - -Steady progress was made until November 26, which is a day which we -travellers at least shall remember, for on it we passed the "farthest -south" previously reached by man. On this night we reached latitude 82° -18 south, and our "farthest south" in the march with Captain Scott was -82° 16½′. - -As each hour passed on this memorable day we found new interest to the -west where the land lies, for we opened out Shackleton Inlet, and up -the inlet a great chain of mountains, and far into the west still more -peaks. To the west of Cape Wilson another chain of peaks about 10,000 -ft. high appeared, and to the south-south-east new mountains were -continually coming into view. It falls to the lot of few men to see -land not previously looked upon by human eyes, and it was with feelings -of keen curiosity and awe (mingled in my case with a fervent hope that -no land would block our path) that we watched the new mountains rise -from the great unknown that lay before us. - -No man of us could even guess what wonders might be revealed to us in -our march south, and our imaginations took wings until a stumble in the -snow or the sharp pangs of hunger brought back our attention to the -needs of the immediate present. - -Our anxiety, however, to learn what lay before us was as keen as it -could be, and the long days of marching over the Barrier surface -were saved from monotony by the continued appearance of land to the -south-east. As we marched on and new mountains kept on rising, we were -concerned to notice that they trended more and more to the eastward, -for that meant that we must alter our course from nearly due south. -Nevertheless, we hoped that when we reached them some strait might be -found which would enable us to go right through them and on south. -Really, however, patience was of more use to us than speculation, for, -come what might, we meant to push on until our limit of strength was -reached. - -By November 28 we had reached a truly awful surface, and poor Grisi, -who had been smitten with snow-blindness, had to be shot in the -evening. Having made Depot C. and left one week's provisions and oil -to carry us back to Depot B, we went on the next morning with 1200 -lb. weight, which we decided to pull with the ponies, but we quickly -discovered that the ponies would not pull when we did, so we had to -untoggle our harness. - -The whole country seemed to be made up of range upon range of -mountains, but the surface over which we were going 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 to move. - -By evening the ponies were nearly played out, especially old Quan, -who was suffering, not from the weight of the sledge, but from the -effort of lifting his feet and limbs through the soft snow, and on the -following days we had practically to pull his sledge. - -The time had come for him to go, and I am sure that we all felt losing -him and I was especially sorry, as he had been my special pony for -several months. In spite of all his annoying tricks, his immense -intelligence made him a general favourite. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -"THE HIGHWAY TO THE SOUTH" - - -On December 1 we reached latitude 83° 16′ south and could see land -stretching away to the east with a long white line in front of it that -looked like a giant barrier. It seemed as though there was going to -be a change in some gigantic way in keeping with the vastness of our -surroundings. - -At one moment our thoughts were on the grandeur of the scene, the next -on what we would have to eat if we were let loose in a good restaurant. -For we were very hungry in these days, and lived mainly on pony-meat, -while on the march, to cool our throats as we pulled in the hot sun, we -chewed frozen meat. - -The four of us had, now that Quan was gone, to haul one sledge while -Socks followed behind with the other, and he soon got into our pace and -did splendid work. Although we were working only in shirts and pyjamas, -the sun beat down on our heads and we perspired freely, whilst our feet -were cold in the snow. - -It was heavy work for us as the surface was as bad as it could be, but -soon after midday we got close enough to see that ahead of us were -enormous pressure ridges, heavily crevassed and running a long way -east, with not the smallest chance of our being able to get southing -that way any longer on the Barrier. So we had to strike due south in -toward the land, and in the evening were close to the ridges off the -coast. - -There was a red hill about 3000 ft. near to us which we decided to -go up on the following day, so that we could gain a view of the -surrounding country. How anxious a time this was for us I need hardly -mention, for time was precious and food more so, and unless we could -find a good route through the mountains our way to the Pole was -well-nigh blocked. - -Accordingly after breakfast we started off, leaving all camp gear -standing and a good feed by Socks to last him for the day. Our -allowance for lunch was four biscuits, four lumps of sugar, and two -ounces of chocolate each, and we hoped to get water at the first of the -rocks when we landed. - -Hardly had we gone one hundred yards when we came to a crevasse, and, -finding it difficult to see clearly with my goggles, I took them off, -and in consequence was afterwards attacked by snow-blindness. - -Several crevasses were successfully crossed, and then we were brought -up standing by an enormous chasm of about 80 ft. wide and 300 ft. deep -which lay across our route. By going round to the right we found that -this chasm gradually became filled with snow, and so we were able to -cross and resume our line to the land, which deceptively appeared quite -close but was really miles away. - -Crossing several more crevasses, we reached about midday an area of -smooth blue ice where we obtained a drink of delicious water, and after -travelling for half a mile we got to the base of the mountain which -we hoped to climb so that we might view the country. At 1 P.M. we had -a couple of biscuits, and then started to make our way up the steep -rock-face. - -This was the most difficult part of the whole climb, for the granite -was weathered and split in every direction, but at last we clambered -up this face, and finally gained the top of a ridge from which an open -road to the south burst upon our view. For running almost north and -south between two huge mountain ranges a great glacier stretched before -us. - -Eagerly we clambered on to the top of the mountain, and from the summit -we could see the glacier stretching away south inland until at last it -seemed to disappear in high inland ice. This was what we had seen ahead -of us and speculated about so freely. - -There was no longer any question as to the way which we should go, for -though on the glacier we might meet crevasses and difficulties not to -be met with on the Barrier, yet on the latter we could get no farther -than 86° south, and then would have to turn in towards the land and get -over the mountains before we could reach the Pole. - -Our main difficulty on the glacier route would be, we thought, with -Socks, for as yet we could not hope to drag the full load ourselves -without relay work. All the afternoon of December 4 we toiled at the -sledge while Socks pulled his load with ease, and eventually we reached -the head of the pass, 2000 ft. above sea-level. - -[Illustration: New Land. The Party ascended Mount Hope and sighted the -Great Glacier, up which they marched through the Gap. The main body of -the Glacier joins the Barrier further to the left. (_See page 130_)] - -From that point there was a gentle descent towards the glacier, and -we camped for the night close to some blue ice with granite boulders -embedded in it, round which, were pools of water. This last fact may -seem unimportant, but it was really of consequence to us as this water -saved our oil, for we had not to melt snow or ice. - -The pass through which we had come was flanked by great granite pillars -at least 2000 ft. in height, and which made a magnificent entrance to -the "Highway to the South." - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - -ON THE GREAT GLACIER - - -The morning of December 5 saw us breaking camp at eight o'clock, and -proceeding south down an icy slope to the main glacier. Soon, however, -the ice slope gave place to a snow slope, and after a time the snow was -replaced by blue ice split by so many cracks and crevasses that it was -impossible for Socks to continue to drag the sledge without our risking -his life in one of the many holes. - -Snow-blindness was still troubling me so much that I stayed in camp -after lunch was over, while Marshall and Adams went on to spy out a -good route for us to follow. They found that there was more cracked-up -blue ice ahead of us, and--what was much more remarkable--they also -discovered a bird, brown in colour with a white line under each wing, -which had flown just over their heads and had disappeared to the south. - -Such an incident was wonderfully strange in latitude 83° 40′ south, -and what this bird was I am unable to say, for both Adams and Marshall -were sure that it was not a skua-gull, which was the only bird I could -imagine venturing so far south. - -Our camp for that night was pitched under a wonderful pillar of -granite, and as pieces of granite, from the size of a hazel-nut to -great boulders weighing thirty tons or more, were lying all around, we -felt that at any moment a great piece of rock might come hurtling upon -us. On one snow slope, indeed, we could see the fresh track of a fallen -rock, but as it was impossible to spread a tent on the blue ice we were -compelled to camp, for half a mile of crevassed ice lay between us and -the snow slope to the south-south-west, and we were too tired to march -any farther. - -We left a depot at this spot, and then, refreshed by sleep, we divided -up our load and managed to get the whole lot over the crevasses in -three journeys. - -But it was an awful job, for every step was a venture, and one -felt that at any moment our journey towards the Pole might come -to a permanent close. Having, however, succeeded in crossing this -particularly dangerous half-mile, my companions (leaving me to rest -with one eye entirely blocked up by snow-blindness) went back for -Socks, and early in the afternoon we were once more camped upon snow. -During the rest of that day we had a wonderful view of the mountains -which rose up in peaks and ranges, but the going was exceedingly heavy -and our progress was consequently very slow. - -He, however, who hopes to go into the unexplored spots of the world -must harden himself to labour, and find causes for cheerfulness in -conditions which are at the best only comparatively cheering. For -instance, on the following afternoon we were congratulating ourselves -that if the crevasses were as frequent as ever, the light, at any rate, -was better than it had been during the morning, when suddenly we heard -a shout of "Help" from Wild, who was following us with Socks. - -Stopping immediately, we 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 and hanging on to the sledge. There was no sign -whatever of Socks, and Wild's escape was simply miraculous. - -He had been following our tracks, which passed over a crevasse entirely -covered with snow, when the weight of the pony had broken through the -snow crust and in a second all was over. Wild told us that he felt a -sort of rushing wind, that the leading rope was snatched from his hand, -and that he put out his arms and just caught the further edge of the -chasm. - -Fortunately for Wild and for us, Socks's weight snapped the -swingle-tree of the sledge, so it was saved though the upper bearer was -broken. - -We lay down on our stomachs and looked into the gulf, but no sound or -sign came to us; we seemed to be gazing down into a black bottomless -pit. - -Poor Socks was gone beyond recall, but if ever men had cause for -gratitude we had in Wild's escape, and in the saving of the sledge. -If the sledge had gone we should have been left with only two -sleeping-bags for the four of us, and with such a short equipment we -could scarcely have even got back to winter quarters. As it was, the -loss of Socks was a most serious loss to us, because we had counted -upon his meat, but all we could do was to take on the maize so that we -could eat it ourselves. - -Crevasses and pits of unknown depth continued to beset us, and with 250 -lb. per man to haul we naturally could not march at any great rate; -indeed, our anxiety to find a level and inland ice-sheet, so that we -could increase our speed, was terrific. - -[Illustration: Lower Glacier Depot. The Stores were buried in the Snow -near the Rock in the Foreground] - -Falls, bruises, cut shins, crevasses, razor-edged ice, and heavy upward -pulls were the sum of our days' trials, not interesting subjects for -conversation when the night found us in camp; but, as a matter of fact, -our talk was mainly about food and the things we would like to eat. To -show how hungry we were, I have only to mention that by December 9 we -were all looking forward to Christmas Day, for then, whatever happened, -we were resolved to be full of food. On the tenth, after a day's -strenuous fight with the glacier, we camped under a mountain which we -named the "Cloud-Maker," and ground up the balance of the maize between -flat stones, so that we might use it to eke out our supply of food. - -The method of preparation was as primitive as the food would have been -unpalatable to most people, but it was the only way we could make -the maize fit to cook without using more oil than we could spare for -lengthy boiling. - -Critical as our position was, we were cheered by the thought that we -were still getting south, but the sledges were being badly damaged by -the continual ice-work, and as there were still 340 geographical miles -between us and the Pole, we longed for a surface which was a little -less like walking over a cucumber-frame. Of all the surfaces on which -to travel, none can be more irritating than that of rotten ice through -which one's feet are everlastingly breaking. - -On such a surface, however, we could make a certain amount of progress, -and it was not until December 12 that we met with conditions which -reduced our progress for the day to a miserable three miles. Sharp-edge -blue ice full of chasms and crevasses, and rising to hills and sinking -into gullies, provided us with obstacles unequalled in any polar work -for difficulty in travelling. Under such circumstances we had to have -recourse to relay work, for we could only take on one sledge at a -time, two of us pulling while the others steadied and held the sledge -to keep it straight. In this way we advanced for a mile, and then -returned over the crevasses and hauled up the other sledges over a -surface where often and often a slip meant death. - -In such rough-and-tumble work the sledges naturally suffered, and the -one with the broken bow frequently striking against hard, sharp ice, -pulled us up with a jerk and flung us down. In all our difficulties and -dangers, however, we found solace in the thought that the glacier must -eventually end and our longed-for plateau be reached. - -By December 16 we had crossed nearly one hundred miles of crevassed -ice and risen 6000 ft. on the largest glacier in the world, and on -the following afternoon we burned our boats behind us as regards warm -clothing, and made a depot of everything except the barest necessities. -But relay work still hampered our progress towards our goal, and no -thirsty man ever longed for water with more eagerness than we longed -for the plateau and the end of that vast glacier. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI - -ON THE PLATEAU TO THE FARTHEST SOUTH - - -Never do I expect to meet anything more tantalising than the plateau on -which our hopes were set. By December 18 I thought that we were almost -up, and yet we had to go on and on, apparently unable to get rid of the -crevasses. - -By this time we were fully conscious that food was to be the key to -our success or failure to reach the Pole, and we began to save food -in order to spin it out, a saving which made us almost ravenous with -hunger. Each day we saved two biscuits per man, and also some pemmican -and sugar, and we tried to satisfy our hunger by eating pony maize, -which we soaked in water to make it less hard. If only dreams prevented -one from hunger we should have been well off, for each night we all -dreamed of foods. - -A week before Christmas we had food for thirty-five days, and were -about three hundred geographical miles from the Pole, with the same -distance back to the depot we had just made, so that at the best we -knew that we must march on short rations if we were to reach our goal. - -Each succeeding day we hoped to get rid of the crevasses, but although -we were fortunate in having been favoured with splendid weather, we had -to camp each night sustained by the hope that on the morrow we should -really be upon the plateau, and by the thought that Christmas Day--with -its splendid dinner--was approaching. - -By December 21--Midsummer Day--the weather had changed, and we -encountered 28° of frost and such a strong blizzard wind that both our -fingers and our ears were frost-bitten, while our beards were masses of -ice all day long. From the conditions I could easily imagine that we -were on a spring sledging journey, for such a chilly wind was blowing -that it found its way through the nearly worn-out walls of our tent. - -Relay work still continued to hamper us, and on the 22nd we had to -work with the alpine rope all day, dragging 400 lb. at a time up steep -slopes and across ridges, and roping ourselves together when we went -back for the second sledge, because the ground was so treacherous that -often we were only saved by the rope from falling into fathomless pits. - -[Illustration: The Camp below "The Cloudmaker"] - -Wild described this sensation of walking over a surface of half-ice -and half-snow as like walking over the glass roof of a station, and so -accustomed did we become to crevasses that our usual question when any -of us fell into one was, "Have you found it?" - -I suppose that we became callous as regards immediate dangers, though -I confess that we were always glad to meet crevasses with their coats -off, that is, not hidden by their perilous snow-coverings. Longing as -we were really to stretch out our legs for the Pole, it can easily be -imagined how irksome this constant succession of crevasses was. And -to add to our discomforts, the temperature had become so low that the -pony-maize refused any longer to swell in the water, the result being -that it swelled after we had eaten it. - -Christmas Eve, however, brought a change in our fortunes, and was -much the brightest day we had enjoyed since entering our southern -gateway. We covered over eleven miles, and at night were 9095 ft. above -sea-level, and the way before us was still rising. - -So far we had seen no sign of the very hard surface that Captain Scott -speaks of in connection with his journey on the Northern Plateau, but -we were determined not to give up hopes of better surfaces, for without -them we knew that we should not reach the Pole. As Christmas approached -our thoughts naturally turned to home and the festivities and joys of -the time. How greatly we longed to hear "the hansoms slurring through -the London mud" it is impossible to say. But instead of the sights and -sounds of London we were lying in a little tent, isolated high on the -roof of the end of the world, far indeed from the trodden paths of men. - -Nevertheless our thoughts flew across the wastes of snow and ice, and -across the oceans to those for whom we were striving, and who, we knew, -were thinking of us. - -By noon on Christmas Day we had by hard hauling covered over five -miles, and had reached a latitude of 85° 51′ south. Then I took a -photograph of the camp with the Queen's flag flying and also our tent -flags, my companions being in the picture, and in the evening we had a -splendid dinner, the details of which I cannot refrain from giving. - -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 the -greatest glutton living might have envied. And afterwards came cocoa; -and, lastly, cigars and a spoonful of liqueur sent us by a friend in -Scotland. - -We were really satisfied for once, and as we knew that we should not -be in that happy state again for many a long day, we discussed the -situation after dinner and decided still further to reduce our food. - -On Christmas Day we were nearly 250 geographical miles from the Pole, -and having one month's food but only three weeks' biscuit, we resolved -to make each week's food last ten days, and to throw away everything -except the most absolute necessities. - -Already we were as regards clothes down to the limit, but at this time -we decided also to dump a lot of spare gear--and risk it. - -Pulling 150 lb. per man, we spent our Boxing Day among ridges and -crevasses. Every time we reached the top of a ridge we said to -ourselves, "Perhaps this is the last," but the last was long in -coming. And in the meantime our maize was nearly finished, and our -rations were bound to be shorter than ever. Considering that hard -half-cooked maize gave us indigestion, it is, perhaps, curious that we -were very sorry that there was so little of it left, but those who have -suffered from both hunger and indigestion know too well which is the -harder to endure. - -On December 28 we reached 10,199 ft. above sea-level and a latitude of -86° 31', and bad headaches--which were, I think, a form of mountain -sickness--began to attack us. The sensation was as though the nerves -were being twisted up with a corkscrew and then pulled out. Our sledge -was by this time badly strained, and on the dreadful bad surface -of soft snow was very hard to move; and when it is remembered that -physical labour of any kind is always trying at a great height, it is -not to be wondered at that we were beginning to feel nearly spent. - -If the rise would only have stopped we could have endured the cold, -but the two together were terribly trying; and then, to add to our -unhappiness, the last day but one of the old year brought with it such -a blizzard from the south that we had to spend nearly the whole of it -in our sleeping-bags. - -There we lay while precious time and food were going, and tried to -think how we could improve the situation, but all we could find to -console us was the resolution that if we could get near enough to -the Pole to rush for it, we would leave almost everything behind us -and make the attempt. The last day of the year brought us eleven -miles nearer to our goal, and although our heads were aching and the -shortness of food was telling on us terribly, we were, in spite of -everything, cheered by the thought that we were still _getting south_. - -[Illustration: Facsimile or Page of Shackleton's Diary] - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII - -FARTHEST SOUTH - - -By the evening of New Year's Day we were within 172½ miles of the Pole, -so we had managed to beat all records North and South, and we also had -hopes of a better surface--which were, unfortunately, not fulfilled. -Again we had to battle over very soft snow, and the cold wind seemed to -go right through us, weakened as we were from want of food. - -Impossible as it was to think of failure yet, I compelled myself to -look at the matter sensibly and to consider the lives of those who -were with me. I felt indeed that if we went on too far it would be -impossible to get back over such a surface, and then all the results of -our efforts would be lost to the world. - -We had now definitely located the South Pole on the highest plateau in -the world, and our geological and meteorological work would be of the -greatest use to science. But all this was not the Pole. And how sadly I -realised that I need not say. - -Still, man could only do his best, and after ten hours' struggle -against the strongest forces of nature, one pannikin of food with two -biscuits and a cup of cocoa did but little to warm and comfort and -satisfy him. - -I resolved to make a depot on the 4th and then to dash for the Pole, -and on that day we left a depot on the great wide plateau, a risk which -nothing but the circumstances could justify, but to which my companions -agreed with the regardlessness of self which they had always shown. - -Pathetically small did the bamboo look which we left to mark the little -stock of provisions--indeed, we lost sight of it in half an hour, and -had to trust that our footprints in the snow would guide us back again -to the depot. - -By night, however, I knew--and had to acknowledge--that our limit was -almost reached. We had only been carrying 70 lb. per man since we had -made our last depot, but it was harder work than the 100 odd lb. we had -been pulling the day before, and far harder than 250 lb. had seemed -some three weeks previously. - -Nothing could more clearly have convinced me of our failing strength, -even if I could have shut my eyes to the facts that our faces were cut, -our feet and hands always on the verge of frost-bite, our boots nearly -worn out, and that when we got up in the morning out of the wet bag, -our Burberries became immediately like a coat of mail, and also that -our heads and beards got iced up with the moisture when breathing on -the march. - -What we would have given at that time for a pair of scissors to trim -our beards I should not like to say, and had we known that we were -going to experience such cold weather we should certainly have kept a -pair. - -The main things, indeed, against us were the altitude and ice-cold -wind. Nature had declared against us, and at the best I had to abandon -all hopes of getting nearer than 100 geographical miles to the Pole. - -During the next day we were absolutely obliged to increase our food if -we were to get on at all, for our temperatures were far below normal, -and I had such a headache that I should be sorry for any living man who -had to endure such pain. - -Never once had the thermometer been above zero since we had been on to -the plateau, though this was the height of summer, and on January 6 we -had to endure 57° of frost with a strong blizzard and high drift. - -Still, helped by the bigger rations--which did not amount to -anything approaching full rations--we marched thirteen and a quarter -geographical miles and reached 88° 7′ south. But at night I had to -admit that this must be our last outward march, though I determined -that we would make one more rush south with the flag. With what -feelings of sadness I came to this decision I cannot even try to -describe. Only one thing softened our grievous disappointment, and -that was the conviction that we had striven to the very limit of our -strength, and had not given in until the forces of nature combined with -our scanty supply of food had conquered us. - -Two days, however, had to be passed in our bags before we could make -the final dash with the flag, days of shrieking blizzard and piercing -cold, days in which our valuable food was going without our marching, -and in which we had a gloomy foreboding that our tracks, to which we -were trusting mainly to find our depot, might drift up. - -Truly we realised that we had taken a most serious risk, and that we -were in a most critical situation, but we were partly sustained by the -fact that, at any rate, we had played the game to the last and utmost. - -With 72° of frost the wind cut searchingly into our thin tent, and even -the drift found its way on to our bags, which were wet enough already. -Cramp kept on attacking us, and every now and then a frozen foot had to -be nursed into life again by placing it inside the shirt and next to -the skin of the sufferer's almost as suffering neighbour. To add to our -dreariness we had nothing to read, as we had depoted our little books -so that we might save weight. - -[Illustration: The Farthest South Camp after sixty hours' Blizzard. -(_See page 144_)] - -We had honestly and truly shot our bolt at last, and when the wind -dropped about midnight we were soon up and ready to struggle forward a -little further and hoist the flag as near to the South Pole as we could -possibly bear it. - -At 9 A.M. on January 9 we were in latitude 88° 23' south, longitude -162° east, half running and half walking over a surface much hardened -by the recent blizzard, and it was indeed strange to us to go along -without the nightmare of that heavy sledge dragging behind us. - -Soon the time came when we had to hoist Her Majesty's flag and -afterwards the other Union Jack, and then we took possession of the -plateau in the name of His Majesty. And while the Union Jack blew out -stiff in the icy gale which was still cutting us to the bone, we looked -south with our powerful glasses, but could see nothing but the dead -white snow plain. - -No break in the plateau was to be seen as it extended toward the Pole, -and we felt absolutely sure that the goal which we had struggled -for--and failed to reach--lay on this plain. - -We stayed only for a few minutes, and then, taking the Queen's flag -with us, we turned our backs upon the Pole and began to retrace our -steps. Regretfully it is true, but conscious that, though failure was -ours, we had done our best to avoid it. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII - -THE RETURN MARCH - - -Our homeward marches are a tale of sufferings from hunger and -dysentery, of struggles against blizzards and crevasses and bad -surfaces. One desire drove us on from depot to depot, and that was our -supreme craving for food. - -All of us had tragic dreams of getting food to eat, but rarely did -we have the satisfaction of dreaming that we were actually eating. I -did, however, once have a dream that I was eating bread and butter. -Conscience is said to make men cowardly, and I am sure that it is as -true to say that hunger makes them very peevish and irritable. We -looked at each other as we ate our scanty meals, and felt a distinct -grievance if one man managed to make his ration last longer than the -rest of us. Sometimes we did our best to save a bit of biscuit for the -next meal, but the problem whether it was better to eat the food at -once or to keep a fragment to nibble afterwards was never solved. - -At the start circumstances may be said to have favoured us, for we -picked up the depot which we had ventured to leave on the great white -plain, and the wind was so strongly behind that we were able to put the -sail on the sledge. - -In five days we had knocked off some eighty-six geographical miles of -those which separated us from our home, and as we were left with only -six days' biscuit on short ration and had to go 120 more miles before -we reached our next depot, we decided to cut down our food by another -biscuit. - -A following wind continued to help us, and the sail was of such -assistance that on one day we made a record of twenty-six and a half -miles, and beat it on the next by doing twenty-nine miles. - -But although to beat records is pleasant under any circumstances, my -own pleasure was rather diminished by the facts that my heels were -frost-bitten and cracked, and that there were also cracks under some of -my toes. - -We had, however, struggled on until we were within eight and a half -miles of our depot, though had we been hindered instead of helped by -the strong blizzard wind, it is no exaggeration to say that our chance -of escaping starvation would have been inexpressibly small. - -On the 20th we reached our depot at 12.30 P.M. with sore and aching -bodies, and after a struggle against countless difficulties. For two -hours we descended a snow-slope, with heavy sastrugi, and then we -struck half a mile of badly crevassed _névé_. After that we got on to -blue slippery ice, where we could obtain no foothold, and to add to the -discomfort and danger of the situation, a gale was blowing which swept -the sledge sideways and knocked us off our feet. - -All of us had heavy falls, and I had two very heavy ones which shook -me severely. On several occasions one or more of us lost our footing -and were swept by the wind down the ice-slope, only with the greatest -difficulty getting back to our sledge and companions. - -Bad, however, as that day was, and perilous as was our position, we had -said a glad farewell to that awful plateau, and were on our way down -the glacier. - -On the next day I harnessed up for a while, but so bruised and battered -was I by my falls that I soon had to give up pulling and to content -myself by walking by the sledge. Fortunately we had a fair wind and a -downhill course, so my inability to pull was not an important matter. - -The 24th saw us with only two days' food left and one day's biscuit -on much reduced ration, and we had to cover forty miles of crevasses -before we could reach our next depot. Crevassed ice still added -terribly to our troubles, but though weak I had almost recovered from -my falls. - -[Illustration: Farthest South, January 9, 1909. (_See page 146_)] - -Continually we seemed to be fighting for the same thing, to struggle -on from one depot to the next to save ourselves from starvation. A -lunch of a cup of tea, two biscuits, and two spoonsful of cheese does -not make one exactly buoyant to attack the march of the afternoon, but -by the 25th we were reduced to this, and at night the food, with the -exception of one meal, was completely gone. - -No biscuit was left, and all we had to sustain us was cocoa, tea, salt -and pepper, and very little of these. On that night we were very tired -indeed, and we knew that it was absolutely necessary for us to reach -our depot on the following day. By 7 A.M. on the 26th we came to the -end of all our provisions except a little tea and cocoa, and that day -and the following one can never be erased from our memories, for they -were the hardest and the most trying that any of us had ever spent in -our lives. - -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 had -encountered, only stopping for tea and cocoa till they were finished, -and marching twenty hours at a stretch through snow 10 to 18 in. thick -as a rule, with sometimes 2½ ft. of it. Often and often we fell into -hidden crevasses, and were only saved by each other and by our harness. -No words of mine could bring before you the mental and physical -strain of those forty-eight hours. I will only say that had not an -all-merciful Providence guided our steps we could never have arrived -safely at the depot. - -When we started at 7 A.M. on the 26th we had no biscuit left, and with -only one pannikin of hoosh, mostly pony-maize, and one of tea, we -marched till noon. Then we had another pannikin of tea and one ounce -of chocolate and marched till 4.45 P.M. Having no food, we then had -another pannikin of tea and marched until 10 P.M., when we had one -small pannikin of cocoa. On again after that until 2 A.M., when we were -utterly played out and slept until 8 A.M. Then we had a pannikin of -cocoa and marched until 1 P.M., when we camped about half a mile from -our depot. - -Both Adams and Wild had fallen exhausted in their harness, but had -recovered and gone on again. Marshall went on to the depot for food, -and at 2 P.M. we got the meal we so desperately needed. And after this -very near call we turned in and slept, thankful indeed to have escaped -so far with our lives. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX - -STRUGGLING BACK - - -At last we were on the Barrier again, and with six days' food and only -fifty miles between us and our next supply I thought that grave danger -was behind us. But the man who congratulates himself that anxieties -and perils are over, before he has reached the very end of his polar -exploration work is wasting his time. - -In our case Wild developed dysentery, the cause of which we could only -ascribe to the horse-meat; while just before we left the glacier I -broke through some soft snow and plunged into a hidden crevasse. The -harness jerked up under my heart, and it seemed as though the glacier -were saying, "There is the last touch for you; don't you come up here -again!" - -Certainly we were as tired of that glacier as it apparently was of us, -and our joy at leaving it was tremendous; for although the Barrier gave -us a most unfriendly greeting, we knew that a great many dangers were -over, and thought that nothing except blizzards and thick weather were -to be feared. - -The Barrier, however, did not mean to be beaten by the glacier in -the way of treating us harshly, for during our first day on it we -were attacked by a wind which froze solidly all our wet clothes, and -five minutes after the wind had sprung up we were struck by a furious -blizzard of snow and heavy drift. Under the circumstances we had to -pitch our camp, and He in our bags, patching our worn-out clothes--a -rather tedious, if useful, pursuit when one was literally aching to go -on. - -During the following days there was a variety in our misfortunes--a -variety, indeed, which was so terribly weakening that by the beginning -of February our outlook had become more serious than it had ever been. - -Dysentery had attacked all of us acutely; but if there was a variety -in our troubles, there was none in our food, for we had only four -miserably thin biscuits a day to eke out our horse-meat. - -On February 2 we reached our next depot, and started on the following -day with a new sledge and 150 lb. more weight. But on that day all of -us were suffering from dysentery, and Wild was very bad indeed. - -On the 4th I wrote in my diary, "Cannot write more. All down with acute -dysentery; terrible day. No march possible; outlook serious. Fine -weather." - -It gives me joy now to think that, anxious and spent as we were, -trusting indeed to God to pull us through, but too weary and weak to be -very hopeful or to care very much, we still hung on to the geological -specimens we had collected. - -By the 6th we were all better, but we were terribly hungry, and six -biscuits per day and one pannikin of horse-meat each meal did nothing -to enable us to regain our strength. Indeed, my fear was that this -incessant hunger would weaken us so much that our return would never be -accomplished. - -[Illustration: The Camp under the Granite Pillar, half a mile from the -Lower Glacier Depot, where the Party camped on January 27 (_See page -151_)] - -On the 7th Adams and Marshall were again attacked by dysentery; and, -though Wild and I were free of it, all of us were pitiably weak. Still -we struggled on, starving for food, and talking about it all the time -as we advanced slowly towards the north. - -The mounds which we had laid on our way out continued to guide us on -our return, and were a great comfort, but all our thoughts and our -conversation were about food. Wind and weather helped us through that -desperate time, or again in our weakened and starving condition we -could never have hoped to reach our next depot. - -Assisted, however, as we were, we reached the depot on February 13 -without a single particle of food left. There we found poor old -Chinaman's liver, and thought it a dish that kings might envy. We -looked round for any spare bits of meat, and while I was digging in -the snow I came across some hard red stuff, which turned out to be -Chinaman's blood frozen into a solid core. We dug it up, and in such -straits were we that we found it a most welcome addition to our food. -When boiled up, it seemed to us like beef-tea. - -Truly I was in luck in those days, for the fifteenth of February was -my birthday, and I was given a present of a cigarette made out of pipe -tobacco and some paper we had with us. It tasted absolutely delicious. - -Those, however, were glad moments in a most distressing time, for -on the day following my smoke all of us were again so appallingly -hungry, and consequently so weak, that even to lift our almost empty -provision-bag was an effort. - -When we broke camp in the morning we pulled the tent off the poles -and took it down before we moved the things inside, for the effort of -lifting anything through the doorway was too much for us. At night we -sometimes had to lift our legs one at a time with both hands in getting -them into the tent, and after we had stiffened from the day's march it -seemed almost impossible to lift our feet without assistance. - -On the 17th we had to march in a blinding blizzard, with 42° of frost, -but mercifully the wind was behind us; and although the sledge with the -sail up sometimes overran us and sometimes, getting into a patch of -soft snow, brought us up with a jerk, we were thankful that we had not -to face such a wind. The jerks, however, were very painful; for when we -were brought up suddenly, the harness round our weakened stomachs hurt -us very much indeed. - -All of us had tragic dreams of getting food to eat, and with four men -as hungry as we were, I can assure you that it saves much envy if all -of them finish their meal at precisely the same moment. The man in our -party who managed to make his hoosh last longer than the rest of us was -not for the time being at all a popular man. - -On the 18th we sighted Mount Discovery, and it seemed to be a -connecting link between us and our winter quarters. Its big, bluff form -showed out in the north-west, and we felt that this same mountain might -at the very moment be drawing the eyes of our own people. It looked -like a reminder that there was still a place called "home," and helped -to cheer us on our painful way. - -Mount Erebus was sighted on the following morning, and if we had not -come to 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 -and in the sun for months, all would have been well. To eat these -however, was too great a risk until we were faced with absolute and -complete starvation, and on the following day we hoped to reach Depot A. - -Calls to breakfast had long since been things of the past. The cook of -the day no longer said, "Come on boys; good hoosh," for no good hoosh -was to be had and in less time than it has taken me to write this out -food was finished, and then our hopes and thought lay wholly in the -direction of the next feed, so called from force of habit. - -On the 20th we were impeded by such a bad light that we could only see -a little way; but by 4 P.M. we reached Depot A, at which was the tin -of jam that we had originally intended to eat on Christmas Day--and -never did jam taste more delightful! Our depoted tobacco and cigarettes -were also there, and apart from the intense enjoyment of a good smoke, -I felt sure that tobacco would make up for the shortage of food until -we reached the Bluff depot. This last depot was the one which I had -told Joyce to lay out, and which was the one ray of hope in front of us -during these days of hunger and disease. - -At any rate, we had to stake upon finding provisions at the Bluff, for -we had not food enough to carry us back to the ship. In fact, if we did -not find it we were lost men Each time we took in another hole in our -belts we said that everything would be all right as soon as the Bluff -was reached, and so eager were we to reach the good things in store for -us that on the 21st we struggled on through a blizzard with as many as -67° of frost. - -[Illustration: Shackleton standing by the broken Southern Sledge, which -was replaced by another at the Grisi Depot] - -In ordinary polar work no one would think of travelling in such -weather, but our need was extreme and we had to keep on going. Food -lay ahead and death stalked us from behind. We were so thin that our -bones ached as we lay on the hard snow in our sleeping-bags. Was it to -be wondered at that, blizzard or no blizzard, we were determined to -struggle forward until we dropped? - -And on the 22nd we had a splendid day, and came across the tracks of -men with dogs, which assured us that the depot had been laid all right. -Soon afterwards we passed their noon camp, and as tins were lying round -which had different brands from those of the original stores, we were -certain also that the ship had returned. - -After carefully searching the ground for unconsidered trifles, we -found three small bits of chocolate and a tiny bit of biscuit, and we -"turned backs" for them. I was unlucky enough to get the biscuit, and -a curious and unreasoning anger took possession of me for a moment at -my bad luck. Nothing could show more strikingly how primitive we had -become, and how much the question of even a morsel of food affected our -judgment. - -However, we were near to the Bluff, but though we felt certain that -food was going to be there in plenty, we also were occasionally beset -by the thought that if by some chance it was not, then all chance of -our safety was at an end. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX - -THE FINAL STAGE - - -Early on the morning of the 23rd we broke camp, and in a few hours 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 indeed a cheerful sight for weary and hungry men, and directly -we saw it we devoured the few biscuits we still possessed. - -At 4 P.M. we reached this haven, and found that Joyce and his party -had done their work splendidly; and I, climbing to the top of it, told -those below of the glorious feeds awaiting us. Luxuries there were in -plenty: Carlsbad plums, cakes, eggs, plum puddings, and even fresh -boiled mutton from the ship. Apart, however, from these luxuries there -was an ample supply of ordinary sledging rations, so that we were safe -from a want of food, and had only to get back to the ship. - -With what thankfulness we set upon our provisions those who have -not suffered from want and hunger cannot imagine. Suddenly we found -ourselves with meals fit for the gods, and with appetites that the gods -might have envied. Our contracted bodies, however, would not stand -the strain of much food, but I cannot express the relief it was to -know that we had only to stretch our hands to touch food, even if we -could not eat it. I lay writing in my bag that night with biscuits and -chocolate and jam beside me. I dare say this reminds the reader of a -greedy schoolboy; but it is true, and I see no reason to think that it -was anything but perfectly natural. - -At the Bluff we did not receive much news of the _Nimrod_, except that -Evans, who had towed us down in the _Koonya_, was now in command of it; -and we heard nothing of either the northern or the western party. - -Now our main object was to get back to the ship before she was -compelled to sail, and full of hope we proceeded on our way during the -24th. - -On the following day, however, Marshall was attacked by paralysis -of the stomach and renewed dysentery, and as a blizzard was blowing -we decided to lie in our bags and wait. These misfortunes were -particularly distressing, for it was absolutely necessary to push on if -we were to catch the _Nimrod_. According to orders, the ship might very -possibly leave on March 1 if the Sound was not clear of ice, and we had -already arrived at February 26 in a year which unhappily was not Leap -Year. - -On the 26th we did manage to do twenty-four miles, but although -Marshall never complained, he suffered severely, and as his dysentery -was getting worse and worse, I decided, on the afternoon of the 27th, -to leave him in the care of Adams, and to push ahead with Wild. - -My hope was that we should pick up a relief party at the ship, and so -we hurried on with no sleep and with the briefest stoppages for meals, -until we had been marching for nearly twenty-four hours. - -By this time our food was finished, and naturally we were very tired, -but although we kept on flashing the heliograph in the hope of -attracting attention from Observation Hill, where I thought a party -would be' on the look-out, there was no return flash. - -Still, there was nothing to do except to push ahead, and once we -thought that we saw a party coming over to meet us, but to our sorrow -the "party" turned out to be a group of penguins at the ice edge. - -At 2.30 P.M. we sighted open water ahead, but the weather had suddenly -become so thick that it was impossible to see far, and our arrival at -the ice edge was quite sudden and unexpected. The ice was swaying up -and down so warningly that to continue on that course was to run grave -risk of being carried out, so we decided to follow another route, seven -miles round by the other side of Castle Rock. - -[Illustration: Return journey of the Southern Party: at the Bluff -Depot. (_See page 159_)] - -At last, after what seemed a never-ending struggle, we reached Castle -Rock, from whence we could see that there was open water all round -the north. Indeed, it was a different home-coming from the one we had -anticipated. - -Often on the Barrier and up on the plateau our thoughts had turned to -the day when we should return to winter quarters, but never had we -imagined that we should have to fight our way to the back door, so to -speak, in such a cheerless fashion. - -At 7.45 P.M. we reached the top of Ski Slope, and from there both the -hut and the bay could be seen. But no sign of the ship could we find, -and no trace of life could be seen at the hut. - -With our minds full of gloomy possibilities, we hurried on to the hut, -and discovered that every one had gone away. - -A letter had been left for us stating that all the parties had been -picked up except ours, and that the ship would be sheltering under -Glacier Tongue until February 26. As it was already February 28 there -is no need to say how distressed we were at this new development of the -situation. For if the ship was gone, both the plight of the two men out -on the Barrier and of ourselves was a most serious one. - -That was a bad night for Wild and myself, for although we were able -to have a good meal, we had left our sleeping-bags behind, and had to -wrap pieces of roofing-felt round us in our attempts to keep warm. Our -efforts were neither successful in that direction nor in that of trying -to signal for help. For we could not get the magnetic hut to light, and -we were so tired and cold that when we endeavoured to tie up the Union -Jack on the hill the knots were too much for us. - -In the morning, however, we managed to make both of these signals, and -all our fears vanished with one glad swoop when we saw the ship in the -distance. - -At 11 A.M. on March 1 we were once more on board the _Nimrod_, and I -will not attempt to describe the load which was suddenly lifted from -my shoulders, or the reception we received from our friends who had -given us up for lost, and who on that same day were going to send out a -search-party in the hope of finding some traces of us. - -The ship brought us nothing but good news from the outside world, and I -found that every member of the Expedition was well, and that the work -laid down had been accomplished. - -The immediate thing, however, to do was not to delay over these -splendid reports, but to bring in Adams and Marshall; and in the -afternoon I started off again from the Barrier edge with Mackay, Mawson -and McGillan, leaving Wild on the _Nimrod_. - -We found that Marshall's health had been improved by the rest, but the -march renewed the attack, and it was with feelings of great relief that -we at length got him back to winter quarters and put him to bed. - -By 1 A.M. on March 4 we were all once more safe on board the _Nimrod_; -but Adams, after surviving all the dangers of the interior of the -Antarctic continent, was nearly lost within sight of safety. Owing to -the fact that he was wearing new finnesko he slipped at the ice edge, -and only just managed to save himself from going over, and to hang on -until he was rescued by a party from the ship. He had begun with a -painful accident and nearly finished with a fatal one. - - * * * * * - -The Southern Party were in safety once more, but how often and often we -were almost hopeless of ever making our way back to the ship I cannot -say. We had taken our lives in our own hands, and God had preserved -them. Perils from starvation, disease, and sudden death had surrounded -us, and as we had learned to know what it is to suffer and to endure, -we had also learned what it is to feel supremely grateful for mercy and -for guidance. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI - -NOTES ON THE SOUTHERN JOURNEY - - -We brought back with us from our march towards the Pole vivid memories -of how to feel intensely, fiercely hungry. - -From November 15, 1908, until February 23, 1909, we had but one full -meal on Christmas Day, and even then scarcely any time had passed -before we were as hungry as ever. Our daily allowance of food would -have been a small one for a city worker in a temperate climate, and in -our own case hunger was increased by the fact that we were performing -vigorous labour in a very low temperature. - -When our evening meal was prepared we used to "turn backs" in order to -ensure fair divisions of the food. The cook used to pour the hoosh into -pannikins and arrange the biscuits in four heaps, and as soon as we -were all satisfied that the divisions were equal one man would turn his -back, and another, pointing at one lot, would say "Whose?" - -[Illustration: The Southern Party on board the "Nimrod." Left to right: -Wild, Shackleton, Marshall, Adams. (_See page 164_)] - -Then the man with his back turned would mention a name, and so the -distribution proceeded, each of us feeling sure that the smallest share -had fallen to his lot. - -On alternate days we had chocolate and cheese for lunch, and since -the former was more satisfying and easier to divide we infinitely -preferred it. Considering how greatly we depended during our march upon -pony-meat, the reader will readily understand that the loss of Socks -was a terrible blow to us. - -If we had been able to use poor Socks for food there is no doubt that -we should have been able to get further south, and perhaps even have -reached the Pole itself. But I must also mention that had we managed to -get to the Pole, we could scarcely have caught the ship before she was -compelled to leave by the approach of winter. - -During the last weeks of the journey outwards, and the long march back -when our allowance had been reduced to twenty ounces per man a day, I -confess without one atom of shame that we really thought of little but -food. Man becomes very primitive when he is desperately hungry, and -neither the glory of the mountains that towered high on our sides, nor -the majesty of the great glacier up which we travelled so painfully, -appealed to any extent to our emotions. - -I used often to find myself wondering whether people who suffer from -hunger in the big cities of civilisation felt as we were feeling, and I -concluded that they did not, for no barrier of law and order would have -been allowed to stand between us and any food that had been available. -The difference must be that the man who starves in a city is weakened -and hopeless and without spirit while we--until nearly the end--were -vigorous and keen. - -We could not joke about food in any way that is possible for the man -who is hungry in the ordinary sense. True we thought and talked about -it most of the time, but always in the most serious manner. - -On the outward march we were not severely hungry until we reached -the great glacier, and then we were so occupied with the dangers of -climbing and of crossing crevasses that we were unable to talk much. -And afterwards on the plateau our faces were generally so covered with -ice that unnecessary conversation was out of the question. - -It was on the march back, after we had got down the glacier, and were -tramping over the Barrier surface that we talked freely of food. -Strange feelings, indeed, did I have when I looked back over our notes, -and saw the wonderful meals that we promised to eat when we could get -inside a really good restaurant. - -We used to tell each other, with perfect seriousness, about the new -dishes that we had thought of, and if the dish met with general -approval there would be a chorus of "Ah! That's good." - -The "Wild roll" was admitted to be the high-water mark of gastronomic -luxury. He proposed that the cook should take a supply of well-seasoned -minced meat, wrap it in rashers of fat bacon, and place around the -whole an outer covering of rich pastry so that it would take the form -of a big sausage-roll. Then this roll was to be fried with plenty of -fat. - -My best dish, which I admit I put forward with a good deal of pride -as we marched over the snow, was a sardine pasty. And I remember that -one day Marshall came forward with a proposal for a thick roll of -suet pudding with plenty of jam all over it, and there arose quite a -heated argument whether he could claim this dish to be an invention, -or whether it was not the jam roll already known to the housewives of -civilisation. - -One point there was on which we were all agreed, and that was our wish -not to have any jellies or things of that sort at our future meals. The -idea of eating such slippery stuff as jelly did not appeal in the least -to any one of us. - -Perhaps all this sounds very greedy and uncivilised to anyone who has -never been on the verge of starvation, but I wish to say again that -hunger makes a man primitive. Not a smile broke from us as we planned -wonderful feats of over-eating, in truth we were intensely serious -about the matter, and we noted down in the back pages of our diaries -details of feasts we would have when we got back to the land of plenty. - -The dysentery from which we suffered was certainly due to the meat -from the pony Grisi. This animal was shot when greatly fatigued, and -I think that his flesh was poisoned by the presence of the poison of -exhaustion, as is the case with animals that have been hunted. The -manner in which we contrived to continue marching when suffering, and -the speed with which we recovered when we got good food, were rather -remarkable, and the reason doubtless was that the dysentery was due to -poison, and was not produced by organic trouble. - -Providentially we had a strong wind behind us during that period of -distress and this assuredly saved us, for in our weakened state we -could not have made long marches against a head-wind, and without long -marches we would have starved between the depots. - -In the early part of the journey over the level Barrier surface we felt -the heat of the sun severely, although the temperature was very low. It -was quite usual to feel one side of the face getting frozen while the -other side was being sunburnt. Later on when our strength had begun to -lessen, we found great difficulty in hoisting the sail on our sledge, -because when we lifted our arms over our heads to adjust the sail, the -blood ran from our fingers and they promptly froze. Our troubles with -frost-bite were doubtless due partly to the lightness of our clothing, -but there was compensation for this in the greater speed with which we -were able to travel. - -I am convinced that men engaged in polar exploration should be -clothed as lightly as possible, even if they are in danger of being -frost-bitten when they halt on the march. We owe many grudges against -the glacier which caused us so many difficulties, but my chief one now -is that we brought back no photographs of a very interesting portion -of it. This was due to the facts that we expected to take as many -photographs as we had plates to spare on our return journey, and that -when we returned we were so short of food that we could not afford the -time to unpack the camera. - -The glacier itself presented every variety of surface, from soft snow -to cracked and riven blue ice, but later the only constant feature were -the crevasses, from which we were never free. - -Some were entirely covered with a crust of soft snow, and we discovered -them only when one of us broke through and hung by his harness from -the sledge. Others occurred in mazes of rotten ice, and were even more -difficult to negotiate than the other sort. The sledges, owing to their -length, were not liable to slip down a crevasse, and when we were -securely attached to them by their harness we felt fairly safe, but -when the surface was so bad that relay work was necessary we used to -miss the support of a sledge on the back journeys. - -We would advance one sledge half a mile or a mile, put up a bamboo pole -to mark the spot, and then go back for the other. For the walk back we -were always roped together, but even then we felt a great deal less -secure than when harnessed to one of the long, heavy sledges. - -One piece--or two pieces--of fortune we assuredly did have upon the -glacier, for both when we were struggling up and scrambling down it -the wind was behind us. But on the glacier we were often troubled at -night by the fact that there was no snow on which to pitch our tent, -and consequently when we were weary after the day's march an hour had -frequently to be spent in smoothing out a space for the camp on a -rippled, sharp-pointed sea of ice. - -The provision bags and sledges were packed on the snow cloths round the -tents and it was indeed fortunate for us that we met no bad weather -while we were marching up the glacier. Had a blizzard come on while we -were asleep, it would have scattered our goods far and wide, and we -would have been faced with a most serious situation. - -The upper glacier depot was overhung by great cliffs of rock, shattered -by the frosts and storms of countless centuries, and many fragments -were poised in such a fashion that scarcely more than a touch seemed -necessary to bring them hurtling down. All around us on the ice lay -rocks that had recently fallen, and it was not a comforting sensation -to feel that at any moment a huge boulder might drop upon our camp. - -We had no choice of a camping-ground, as all around was rough ice. The -cliffs were composed largely of weathered sandstone, and it was on the -same mountain higher up on the glacier that Wild discovered coal, at a -point where the slope was comparatively gentle. - -[Illustration: The "Nimrod" pushing through heavy Pack Ice on her way -South. (_See page 174_)] - -One of our greatest disappointments was that the last ridge of the -great glacier having been passed and the actual plateau gained, we did -not meet with a hard surface, such as the _Discovery_ expedition had -encountered in the journey to the plateau beyond the west of McMurdo -Sound, but still had to battle with soft snow and hard sastrugi. - -After the fierce blizzard which raged from the night of January 6 until -the morning of January 9, we had better conditions under which to make -our final march southwards, for the wind had swept away the soft snow -and unencumbered with the sledge we could advance more easily. - -In reviewing the experience gained on the southern journey, I do not -think that I could suggest any important improvements in equipment for -future expeditions. Evidently the Barrier surface varies remarkably, -and the traveller must be prepared for either a very hard or a very -soft surface, both of which he may encounter in the same day's march. - -On the glacier we should have been glad to have had heavy Alpine boots -with nails all round, but as the temperature is too cold to permit of -the explorer wearing ordinary leather boots, some boot would have to be -designed which was at once warm enough for the feel and strong enough -to carry the nails. - -Our clothing proved to be quite satisfactory, but experience goes to -show that a party which hopes to reach the Pole must take more food per -man than we did I would in no case take cheese again, for chocolate is -more palatable and easier to divide. - -Each member of our Southern Party had his own particular duties to -perform, Adams being responsible for the meteorological observations -which involved--among other duties--the taking of temperatures at -regular intervals. Marshall took the meridian altitudes, and the angles -and bearings of all the new land, and his work was most discomforting, -for at the end of a day's march and often at lunch-time as well, he -would be compelled to stand in the biting wind handling the screws of -the theodolite. He also prepared the map of the journey and took most -of the photographs. - -Wild attended to the repair of the sledges and equipment, and also -assisted me in the geological observations and the collection of -specimens. My other work was to keep the courses and distances, and to -work out observations and lay down our directions. - -I kept two diaries, one my observation book, and the other a narrative -diary. But although all of us kept diaries we were more often than I -care to remember too spent and cold at night to pay much attention to -them. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII - -THE RETURN OF THE "NIMROD" - - -During the winter the _Nimrod_ had been laid up in Port Lyttelton, and -had been thoroughly overhauled so that she should once more be ready to -battle with the ice. Captain F. P. Evans had been appointed master of -the ship under my power of attorney, Captain England having resigned -on account of ill-health, and towards the end of the year sufficient -stores were taken on board to provide for a party staying at Cape -Royds through the winter, in case one of the sledging-parties had not -returned, and also to provide for the ship if she herself was frozen -up. - -The _Nimrod_ left Lyttelton again on December 1, 1908, and enjoyed fine -weather for the voyage southwards, the experience of Captain Evans -on this voyage going to show that, under normal conditions, the pack -that stretches out from the Barrier to the eastward of the Ross Sea is -impenetrable, and that the _Discovery_ was able to push to within sight -of King Edward VII Land in 1902 because the ice was unusually open -during that season. Twenty-eight miles from Cape Royds fast ice was -encountered, and as there seemed to be no immediate possibility of the -ship being able to proceed, Captain Evans decided to send Mackintosh -with three men to convey a mail-bag to the winter quarters. No very -great difficulties were anticipated for this expedition, but as it -turned out, not only difficulties but also dangers and almost death -were to be met with. - -On January 3 Mackintosh set out with McGillan, Riches and Paton, but in -the afternoon Riches and Paton returned to the ship and Mackintosh and -McGillan proceeded alone. - -On the second day their way was blocked by open water with pressure ice -floating past, and although they walked for two hours in a westerly -direction to see how far the water reached, they did not get to the end -of it. The whole of the ice to the southward seemed to be moving, and -as the open water seemed to take away any possibility of reaching Cape -Royds, they started back to the ship. - -Presently Mackintosh discovered that there was also open water ahead -of them, blocking the way to the ship, and a survey of the position -revealed the unpleasant fact that the floe-ice was breaking up -altogether, and that they were in serious danger of drifting out into -the Sound. Safety lay only in a hurried dash for the shore to the -east, and every two hundred yards or so they had to drag their sledge -to the edge of a floe, jump over a lane of water, and then with a big -effort pull the sledge after them. - -After an hour of this work their hands were cut and bleeding, and their -clothes were frozen as stiff as boards, for they had frequently slipped -and fallen when crossing from floe to floe. At last, however, they -approached the land, and came to a piece of glacier ice that formed a -bridge. The floe that they were on was moving rapidly, so they had to -make a great effort and drag the sledge over a six-foot breach. They -succeeded in doing this and were in a safe position again, but had they -been fifteen minutes later they would have been lost, for by that time -there was open water where they had gained the land. - -Near this spot they decided to camp, and McGillan was almost at once -so badly attacked by snow-blindness that his face was badly swollen -and his eyes tightly closed. So bad indeed was McGillan that, until -Mackintosh could bear the pain no longer in silence, he did not know -that his companion was suffering from the same complaint as himself. - -For several days they stayed in camp, and when their eyes were better -they studied the bird-life of the neighbourhood, until, tired of seeing -no sign of the ship. Mackintosh decided that they would leave the heavy -mail-bag in their tent and march to Cape Royds. Then followed one of -those battles against crevasses and hidden dangers with which those -who take part in polar exploration are too intimately acquainted. Once -McGillan fell into a yawning chasm and was only held up on a projection -of ice, and frequently one slip would have meant the end of all things -in this world for both of them. - -At last a point was reached at which their way was blocked in every -direction by crevasses, ascent was no longer possible, and below them -lay a steep slope running down for about 300 ft. What lay at the bottom -they could not tell, but their case was desperate and they decided to -glissade down. - -Their knives, which they attempted to use as brakes, were torn from -their grasp, but they managed to keep their heels in the snow and to -reach the bottom in safety. - -Hunger had seized them for they had practically no food left, but two -hours after they had dashed down the slope they could see Cape Royds -and hoped soon to be at the winter quarters. - -Immediately afterwards, however, such thick snow began to fall that -they could not see two yards ahead, and for hours they were stumbling -along in the blinding storm. Occasionally they rested for a few -minutes, but icicles hung from their faces, and they did not dare to -stay still for long. - -Heavy snow continued to cut off all view of the surrounding country, -and they had been wandering for twenty-seven hours after their -glissade, when Day found them in a state of complete exhaustion, and -just staggering along because they knew that to stop meant death. Had -not Day been outside the hut--to which the travellers had no idea they -were close--watching for the return of the ship, that expedition, -undertaken so light-heartedly, must almost certainly have been a fatal -one to Mackintosh and McGillan. - -The two weary men reached the hut on January 12, but a week before that -date the _Nimrod_ had arrived at Cape Royds, and had gone north again -to search for them. Doomed to disappointment and horror were the men -at the hut when they learned that not only were they not to have any -letters, but that also Mackintosh and McGillan had left the ship on the -3rd to try to bring the letters more quickly over the sea-ice and over -the bay, which even then was filled with loose pack and which a few -days before had been open water. - -[Illustration: The "Nimrod" held up in the Ice. (_See page 178_)] - -On January 7 the _Nimrod_ left Cape Royds again to seek for the -lost men, and in a few hours was beset by ice, and so remained for -practically the whole of the time between the 7th and the 15th. On -the afternoon of the 16th, however, the ship cleared the ice, and -approached the only piece of shore on which there was a chance of -finding Mackintosh and McGillan. Near the end of a stretch of beach a -small patch of greenish colour was seen, and the telescope revealed -the details of a deserted camp and a tent torn to ribbons. A boat -was at once sent ashore, and the bag of letters was discovered, and -also a note from Mackintosh telling of his risky attempt to cross the -mountains. - -As Murray, who was on the ship, knew the frightfully crevassed -character of the ground which Mackintosh and McGillan had determined to -cross, little hope of their safety remained. - -Judge, then, the joy of those on board the _Nimrod_ when two men came -out to meet the ship on its arrival at Cape Royds, and one of them was -seen to be McGillan. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIII - -THE WESTERN PARTY - - -How well Joyce and his party, consisting of Mackintosh, Day and Martin, -placed a depot of stores about fourteen miles off Minna Bluff, and how -glad the Southern Party were to find them there has already been told. - -In the depoting of these stores Joyce made two journeys, starting for -the first from winter quarters on January 15 and returning to Hut Point -on January 31, and leaving there again with a second load of stores -(which had been brought by a party from the _Nimrod_) and reaching the -Bluff Depot for the second time on February 8. - -On their re-arrival at this depot they found, to their surprise, that -the Southern Party had not appeared, and for some days Joyce and his -companions searched the horizon with glasses, in the hope of sighting -the overdue travellers. - -They waited until the Southern Party was eleven days after the time -fixed for their return, and then decided to lay a depot flag in towards -the Bluff so that by no chance could the food be missed, and, secondly, -to march due south to look for the Southern Party. In this march they -were, as is known, unsuccessful in finding the weary travellers, and -eventually they returned to the Bluff Depot and found everything as -they had left it. - -Filled with gloomy thoughts as to the fate of Adams, Marshall, Wild and -myself--for we were then eighteen days overdue--they started on the -16th to march back to the coast. But although they did not find us, -they had nevertheless saved our lives by the provisions they had so -laboriously brought to the depot. - -At the same time that we of the Southern Party were fighting our way -towards the Pole, the Western Party, consisting of Armytage, Priestley -and Brocklehurst, were working in the western mountains. - -On December 9 they left winter quarters and reached the "stranded -moraines" four days later. These moraines, which were found by the -_Discovery_ expedition, are relics of the days of more extensive -glaciation, and as they present a most varied collection of rocks they -are of very great interest. - -There the party succeeded in securing a large number of skuas' eggs, -but the anticipated feast was not enjoyed, for, to quote the words of -one of the expedition, only about a dozen of the eggs were "good enough -for eating." The other eggs were thrown on the snow near the tent, with -the result that there was an invasion of skuas, the birds not only -eating the eggs but also making themselves a nuisance by pulling about -the sledge-harness and the stores. Geological specimens this party -secured in valuable abundance, and, as was the case with the other -sledging expeditions that were out at the time, a special feast was -provided for Christmas Day. - -That Priestley enjoyed this feast is shown by his diary, in which he -wrote, "The plum pudding was 'top-hole.' Must remember to give one of -the pot-holed sandstones to Wild for the New Zealand girl who gave him -the plum pudding." - -This party were on the look-out for the men who had gone north in -search of the Magnetic Pole, but failing to find any sign of them, they -went back to their depot on January 14 and pitched camp to wait for -the Northern Party until the 25th, when they were either to make their -way back to winter quarters or to signal for the ship by means of the -heliograph. - -On the 24th, however, this party had the narrowest escape from never -seeing either winter quarters or the _Nimrod_ again. They were camped -on the sea-ice at the foot of Butter Point, in a position which to -all appearances was one of safety. Armytage indeed had examined the -tide-crack along the shore and had found no signs of more than -ordinary movement, and the ice all round seemed to be quite fast. - -[Illustration: The Bluff Depot. (_See page 179_)] - -But early in the morning of the 24th, Priestley, who was first out -of the tent, abruptly dispelled any feelings of security that his -companions possessed. At once he discovered that the ice they were on -had broken away and was drifting north to the open sea, and, returning -to tell the others, they immediately turned out, to find that this -statement was only too true. Two miles of open water already intervened -between the floe and the shore, and they were to all appearances moving -steadily out. - -"When," Armytage wrote in his report, "we found that the ice had gone -out, we loaded up the sledge and started to see whether we could get -off the floe to the north. The position seemed to be rather serious, -for we could not hope to cross any stretch of open water, there was no -reasonable chance of assistance from the ship, and most of our food was -at Butter Point. We had not gone very far to the north when we came -to an impassable lane of open water, and we decided to return to our -original position. We went into camp and had breakfast at 11 A.M." - -After that the three men waited for some time on the off-chance of -the ship coming along one of the lanes and picking them up, or of the -current changing and the ice once more touching the shore, but at the -end of four anxious hours there was no improvement in their position. -Killer-whales were spouting in the channels, and occasionally bumping -the ice under the floe. - -Unable to wait any longer, the party marched right round the floe -but met with open water in every direction, and at 10 P.M. they were -back in their old position, only encouraged by the fact that they had -apparently stopped moving north, and were possibly getting a little -nearer to fast ice again. - -Soon afterwards Brocklehurst turned out to see if the position had -changed, and reported that the floe seemed to be within a few hundred -yards of the fast ice, and was still moving in that direction. Then -Armytage got up, and half an hour later saw that the floe was only -about two hundred yards off fast ice. - -"I ran back," he reported, "as fast as I could, deciding that there was -a prospect of an attempt to get ashore proving successful, and gave the -other two men a shout. - -They struck camp and loaded up within a few minutes, while I went back -to the edge of the floe at the spot towards which chance had first -directed my steps. Just as the sledge got up to me I felt the floe -bump the fast ice. Not more than six feet of the edge touched, but we -were just at that spot, and we rushed over the bridge thus formed. We -had only just got over when the floe moved away again, and this time -it went north to the open sea. The only place at which it touched the -fast ice was that to which I had gone when I left the tent, and had I -happened to go to any other spot we would not have escaped." - -After this Providential deliverance from a perilous situation, the -party made their way back to Butter Point and camped about 3 A.M.; and -when they got up some hours later open water was to be seen where they -had been drifting on the floe, and also the _Nimrod_ was sighted some -miles out. - -The heliograph was flashed to the vessel, and in the afternoon the -party--having left a depot of provisions and oil at Butter Point in -case the northern travellers should arrive there--were safe on board -again. - -Towards' the end of January fine weather was very rare, for the -season was advanced, and consequently the fast ice remaining in the -Sound began to break up quickly and took the form of pack trending -northwards. - -The waiting for the other parties to come in was unpleasant for the -remaining members of the shore-party and for those on board the ship, -because the time was approaching when the _Nimrod_ must either leave -for the north or be frozen in for the winter. And still both the -Southern and the Northern Parties tarried. - -Instructions had been left that if the Northern Party had not returned -by February 1, a search was to be made along the western coast in a -northerly direction. This party by that time was three weeks overdue, -and so Captain Evans proceeded north with the _Nimrod_ on the 1st, and -began closely to examine the coast. This search was both dangerous and -difficult, for Captain Evans had to keep near to the coast, in order -to guard against the chance of missing any signal, and the sea was -obstructed by pack-ice. The work, however, was done most thoroughly -in the face of what Captain Evans afterwards described as "small -navigational difficulties." - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIV - -INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE NORTHERN PARTY - - -The Northern Party, which consisted of Professor David, Douglas Mawson, -and Alistair Mackay, was under the command of the Professor, and the -tale of their adventures will be related by himself. But before the -party set out upon this important expedition I gave final instructions -to them, an extract from which is given. - -[Illustration: The Motor hauling Stores for a Depot. (_See page 188_)] - - "Dear Sir," I wrote to the Professor, "you will leave winter - quarters on or about October 1, 1908. The main objects of your - journey to be as follows: - - "(1) To take magnetic observations at every suitable point, in - order to determine the dip and position of the Magnetic Pole; and - if time, equipment, and supplies are sufficient, you will try to - reach the Magnetic Pole. - - "(2) To make a general geological survey of the coast of Victoria - Land; this work, however, is not to interfere with your attempt to - reach the Pole. - - "(3) I particularly wish you to be able, to work at the geology of - the Western Mountains, and for Mawson to spend at least a fortnight - at Dry Valley to prospect for minerals of economic value on your - return from the north. I do not wish to limit you to an exact date - for return to Dry Valley, if you think that by lengthening your - stay up north you can reach the Magnetic Pole; but I consider that - the thorough investigation of this valley is of supreme importance. - - "(4) The _Nimrod_ is expected in the Sound about January 15, 1909. - If the ship is not in, or if she does not see your signals, you - will take into account your supply of provisions, and proceed - either to Glacier Tongue or Hut Point to replenish, if you have not - sufficient provisions at Butter Point. - - "(5) At Butter Point a depot of at least fourteen days' food and - oil will be laid for you. - - "(6) I shall leave instructions for the master of the Nimrod to - proceed to the most accessible point at the west coast and there - ship all your specimens. - - "(7) If by February 1, after the arrival of the _Nimrod_, there is - no evidence that your party has returned, the Nimrod will proceed - north along the coast, looking out for your signals. - - "(8) Should any accident happen to you, Mawson is to be in charge - of the party. - - "(9) Trusting that you will have a successful journey and a safe - return, - - "I am, yours faithfully, - "(Signed) Ernest H. Shackleton. - "_Commander._" - -In addition to these instructions, I also wrote to the Professor: - - "Dear Sir,--If you reach the Magnetic Pole, you will hoist the - Union Jack on the spot, and take possession of it on behalf of the - above expedition for the British nation. - - "When you are in the Western Mountains, please do the same at one - place, taking possession of Victoria Land as part of the British - Empire. - - "If economic minerals are found, take possession of the area in the - same way on my behalf as commander of this expedition. - - "Yours faithfully, - "(Signed) Ernest H. Shackleton. - "_Commander._" - -This letter was dated September 20, 1908, and on that same night we -gave a farewell dinner to the Northern Party. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXV - -THE NARRATIVE OF PROFESSOR DAVID WE START FOR THE MAGNETIC POLE - - -The first thing to be done in connection with our attempt to reach -the Magnetic Pole was to lay depots, and so on September 25, after -delay from bad weather, Priestley, Day and I (David) started in the -motor-car, dragging behind us two sledges over the ice. - -One sledge with its load weighed 606 lb., the other 250 lb., and as -soon as Day put the car on her second gear we sped over the floe-ice -at a rate of fourteen miles an hour, much to the admiration of the -seals and penguins. Accidents, however, both to the car and to Day, who -alone of us could be trusted to drive it, hindered us from making our -final start until October 5. On that day Brocklehurst took a photograph -of the Northern Party and soon afterwards we boarded the car and the -sledges and, cheered by those remaining behind, proceeded on our way. - -At first Day, Priestley and Roberts accompanied us, but we had only -gone a little over two miles, when the snow had become so thick that I -did not think it prudent to take the car farther, and accordingly we -had to say good-bye to our companions. Strapping on our harness, we -toggled on to the sledge rope, and with a "One, two, three and away," -we began our long journey over the sea-ice. - -On the following morning we had to start our relay work, and dragged -the Christmas Tree sledge on first, as we were specially liable to lose -parcels off it, for a distance of nearly half a mile. Then we returned -and fetched up what we called the Plum Duff sledge, chiefly laden with -our provisions. - -After a heavy day's work on the following day, we camped for the night -close to a seal-hole which belonged to a fine specimen of Weddell seal, -but our slumbers were disturbed by the snorting and whistling of the -seals as they came up for their blows. - -The seals, however, were nothing to the Emperor penguins, which -awakened us by their chatter on the morning of the 10th. Evidently -they had marched down on our tent during the night to investigate us, -and the sounds they made may be described as something between the -cackle of a goose and the chortle of a kookaburra. - -I saw four of them standing by the sledges, and when they caught sight -of me they were much interested, and the conversation between them -became very lively. I have no doubt that they took us for penguins of -an inferior type, and the tent for our nest. At any rate, they were -kind enough to take careful note of our doings, and to give us a good -send-off when we left them. - -During that day a blizzard was behind us, and as the strength of it -increased we found that we could draw both sledges at the same time, -which was, of course, a great saving of labour. Tempted, however, to -continue our march under these favourable conditions, we went on longer -than was wise, with the result that when we stopped it was extremely -difficult to get the tent up. - -Slipping the tent over the poles placed close to the ground in the lee -of the sledge, two of us raised the poles while the other shovelled -snow on to the skirt of the tent, which we pulled out by degrees until -it was finally spread to its full dimensions. Glad indeed were we to -turn in and escape from the biting blast and drifting snow. - -This violent blizzard blew throughout the whole of the next day, and -we spent it for the most part in our sleeping-bags; but on the 13th we -arrived at Butter Point, which is merely an angle in the low ice-cliff -near the junction of the Ferrar Glacier valley with the main shore of -Victoria Land, and made a depot there. - -Altogether we lightened our load by about 70 lb., and we also -left letters there for Lieutenant Shackleton and R. E. Priestley -respectively, stating that in consequence of our late start from Cape -Royds, and also on account of the slowness of our progress thence -to Butter Point, we could not return to the Point until January 12 -at the earliest, instead of the first week in January, as had been -anticipated. Months later we heard that this little depot survived the -blizzards, and that Armytage, Priestley and Brocklehurst had read our -letters. - -A few days later we landed at Cape Bernacchi, and on October 17 we -hoisted the Union Jack and took possession of Victoria Land for the -British Empire. The geology of Cape Bernacchi is extremely interesting, -the dominant type of rock being a pure white coarsely crystalline -marble, which has been broken through by granite rocks, the latter in -places containing small red garnets. - -On the next day we reached a headland where the rocks resembled those -at Cape Bernacchi, and Mawson considered that some of the quartz veins -traversing this headland would prove to be gold-bearing. - -That same night I was attacked by snow-blindness through neglecting to -wear my snow-goggles regularly, and as I was no better when the time -came for us to march, I asked Mawson to take my place at the end of the -long rope, the foremost position in the team. So remarkably proficient -was he on this occasion, and afterwards, at picking out the best track -for our sledges and in steering a good course, that at my request he -occupied this position throughout the rest of the journey. - -Uneventful days followed, but by the 23rd it was quite clear that at -our rate of travelling--about four statute miles daily by the relay -method--we could not get to the Pole and back to Butter Point early in -January, so we held a serious council as to the future of our journey -towards the Magnetic Pole, and I suggested that the most likely means -to get there and back in the time specified by Lieutenant Shackleton -would be to travel on half-rations, depoting the remainder of our -provision at an early opportunity. - -[Illustration: Loaded Sledge showing the Distance Recorder or -Sledge-meter] - -After some discussion, Mawson and Mackay agreed to try this expedient, -and we decided to think over the matter for a few days and then make -our depot-. - -In pursuing our north-westerly course we presently passed a magnificent -bay, which trended westwards some five or six miles away from the -course we were steering. On either side of this bay were majestic -ranges of rocky mountains, parted from one another at the head of the -bay by an immense glacier with steep ice falls. - -On either side of this glacier were high terraces of rock reaching back -for several miles from a modern valley edge to the foot of still higher -ranges. It was obvious that these terraces marked the position of the -floor of the old valley at a time when the glacier ice was several -thousand feet higher and some ten miles wider than it was when we saw -it. - -We longed to explore these inland rocks, but time was too precious. -Later on we discovered that the point opposite which we had arrived was -really Granite Harbour, and that its position was not correctly shewn -on the chart. - -By the night of October 29 we were all thoroughly done up after -completing our four miles of relay work, and we discussed the important -question whether it was possible to eke out our food supplies with -seal-meat so as to avoid putting ourselves on half-rations, and we all -agreed that this should be done. The chief problem in connection with -the seal-meat was how to cook it without the aid of paraffin oil, for -we could not afford paraffin for that purpose. - -On the next day we tried the experiment of strengthening the brew of -the tea by using the old tea-leaves of a previous meal mixed with the -new ones--an idea of Mackay's which Mawson and I did not appreciate at -first, though later on we were glad enough to adopt it. - -By this time the weather had become warmer, and consequently the saline -snow on the sea-ice was sticky, and gripped the runners of the sledges -like glue. Only by the greatest exertion could we drag the sledges -along even at a snail's pace. - -But although we were thoroughly exhausted when we camped on the evening -of the 30th, our evening meal revived us so much that we walked over to -a small island about three-quarters of a mile distant, which turned out -to be a truly wonderful place for a geologist and a perfect paradise -for the mineralogist. - -On this island, which we afterwards called Depot Island, Mawson -discovered a translucent brown mineral, which was proved to be titanium -mineral. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVI - -ACROSS THE ICE BARRIER - - -How to reach the Pole was still our engrossing subject of discussion, -and on November 1 we decided that our only hope of reaching it, was -by travelling on half-rations from the point we had reached to the -point on the coast at the Drygalski Glacier, where we might hope to be -able to turn inland with reasonable prospect of success. Mawson was -convinced that we must keep six weeks of full rations for our inland -journey, and this meant that we must march on half-rations for about -100 miles. - -While I was busy in calculating times and distances for the remainder -of our journey, Mawson and Mackay conducted experiments upon the -cooking of seal-meat with blubber. At winter quarters Mackay had -experimented with blubber as a fuel, but his efforts had not been taken -seriously, and, to our sorrow, his blubber lamp had been left behind. - -Eventually, however, as a result of Mackay and Mawson's experiments, we -secured an effective cooking stove, which was made out of one of our -large empty biscuit tins, and a broth from seal-meat was made upon this -stove. The broth was apparently very nutritious, but in my case it was -also indigestible. - -While Mawson was still engaged on cooking experiments, Mackay and I -went to the highest point of the island, and chose a spot for a cairn -to mark our depot and Mackay began to build the cairn. - -It had, of course, become clear to us, from what we had already seen of -the cracking sea-ice, combined with our slow progress, that our retreat -back to camp from the direction of the Magnetic Pole would probably be -cut off altogether through the breaking up of the sea-ice. - -Under these circumstances we resolved to take the risk of the _Nimrod_ -returning safely to Cape Royds, where she would be instructed to search -for us along the western coast; and also the risk of her not being able -to find our depot and ourselves. - -We knew that there was some danger in this course, but we also felt -that we had got on so far with the work entrusted to us by our -commander that we could not honourably turn back. - -Under these circumstances we each wrote farewell letters to those who -were nearest and dearest, and at 4.30 A.M. on the following morning we -posted them in one of our empty dried-milk tins, which had an air-tight -lid, and, having walked up to the cairn, I lashed our post-office to -the flagstaff by means of cord and copper wire. - -There we also left several bags of geological specimens, and with -lighter loads were prepared to go onwards towards the Pole. - -It was later than usual when we left our depot, and as the sun's heat -was already thawing the surface of the snow our progress was painfully -slow. So terribly hard, indeed, was it to get along at all, that, after -going two miles, we camped and resolved to go on again at midnight, -when we hoped to avoid the sticky surface. - -This experiment was fairly successful, and by November 5 we were -opposite to a most interesting panorama some twenty miles north of -Granite Harbour. - -During that same day we had a very heavy surface to hamper and tire -us, but as an offset to these troubles we had that night, for the -first time, the use of a new frying-pan, ingeniously constructed by -Mawson out of one of our empty paraffin tins. Indeed, Mawson's cooking -experiments continued to be highly successful and entirely satisfactory -to the party. - -At this time we encountered a good deal of brash ice, and noticed that -this type of ice surface was most common in the vicinity of icebergs. -The brash ice is, I think, formed by the icebergs surging to and fro in -heavy weather and crunching up the sea-ice near to them. The sea-ice, -of course, refreezes, producing a surface covered with jagged edges and -points. - -But although brash ice was too plentiful biscuits were too scarce, and -we were already reduced to one Plasmon biscuit each for breakfast and -one for evening meals, and we had become exceedingly careful over the -crumbs. At first, on this expedition, when biscuits were more plentiful -we had munched them boldly, regardless of the loss of crumbs. Not so at -this time, when crumbs were collected most carefully by the man to whom -they belonged. - -Uneventful days of sledging followed--days on which we were tired at -night and hungry nearly always; but on the 9th we were cheered by a -fine, though distant, view of the Nordenskjold Ice Barrier to the north -of us, and we were all extremely anxious to find out what sort of -surface for sledging this great glacier was going to offer us. - -According to the Admiralty chart, prepared from observations by the -_Discovery_ expedition, this glacier was twenty-four to thirty miles -wide, and projected over twenty miles from the rocky shore into the -sea. We hoped that we should be able to cross it without following a -circuitous route along its seaward margins. - -Two days later we reached the Nordenskjold Ice Barrier, and as Mawson -wished to take some observations, Mackay and I decided to explore the -glacier for the purpose of selecting a suitable track (if we could find -it) for our sledges. - -On our return we were able to tell Mawson the good news that the -barrier was quite practicable for sledging; while he informed us that, -as the result of his observations, the Magnetic Pole was probably -about forty miles further inland than the theoretical mean position -calculated for it from the magnetic observations of the _Discovery_ -expedition seven years before. - -Early on the morning of the 12th we packed up and started to cross the -barrier, and on the second day we had not sledged for more than a -thousand yards when Mawson suddenly exclaimed that he could see the end -of the barrier, where it ended in a white cliff some 600 yards ahead. - -We halted the sledge, and while Mawson took some theodolite angles -Mackay and I tried to find a way down the cliff, but failed to find it. -Once more we reconnoitred, and this time Mawson and I found some steep -slopes formed by drift snow, which were just practicable for a light -sledge lowered by an alpine rope. - -We chose what seemed to be the best of these slopes and Mackay, having -tied the rope round his body and having taken his ice-axe, went down -the slope cautiously, Mawson and I holding on to the rope meanwhile. - -The snow gave a good foothold, and he was soon at the bottom without -needing support from the rope. Then, when he had returned to the -top, we all set to work unpacking the sledges, and after loading one -sledge lightly we lowered it little by little down the slope, one of -us guiding the sledge while the other two slackened out the alpine -rope above. The man who went to the bottom unloaded the sledge on -the sea-ice, and then climbed back again, while the others hauled up -the empty sledge. This manœuvre was repeated again and again until -everything was safe, and we very glad to have crossed the ice barrier -so quickly. There can be little doubt, I think, that this Nordenskjold -Ice Barrier is afloat. - -On the following day we were naturally anxious to be sure of our exact -position on the chart, in view of the fact that we had come to the end -of the barrier some eighteen miles quicker than the chart had led us to -anticipate. Accordingly, Mawson worked up his meridian altitude, while -I plotted out the angular distances he had found respectively for -Mount Erebus, Mount Lister and Mount Melbourne. - -As the result of the application of our calculations to the chart it -became evident that we were opposite to what on Captain Scott's chart -was termed Charcot Bay, and consequently were nearly twenty miles -nearer north than we had thought ourselves to be. This was splendid -news, and cheered us up very much. - -We were still travelling by night and sleeping during the afternoon, -and when we got out of our sleeping-bags at 8 P.M. on the night of the -15th there was a beautifully perfect "Noah's Ark" in the sky. We also -saw fleecy sheets of frost-smoke arising from over the open water on -Ross Sea, and forming dense cumulus clouds. This warned us that open -water was not far away, and impressed us with the necessity of pushing -on if we hoped to reach our projected point of departure on the coast -for the Magnetic Pole before the sea-ice entirely broke up. - -Difficult surfaces continued to beset us, and our progress was -consequently exceedingly slow. - -By the 24th we were suffering both from exhaustion and want of sleep, -and I rued the day when we chose the three-man bag in preference to the -one-man bag. - -A three-man sleeping-bag, where you are wedged in more or less tightly -against your mates, where all snore and shin one another, and where -each man feels on waking that he is more shinned against than shinning, -is not conducive to real rest. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVII - -THE DRYGALSKI GLACIER - - -On November 26 Mawson and I ascended a rocky promontory, while Mackay -was securing some seal-meat, and from the top we had a splendid view -across the level surface of sea-ice far below us. - -But although what we saw was magnificent, it was also discomforting, -for at a few miles from the shore an enormous iceberg, frozen into the -floe, lay right across the path which we had meant to travel on the -next day. - -To the north-west of us was Geikie Inlet, and beyond that, stretching -as far as the eye could follow, was the great Drygalski Glacier. -Not a little concerned were we to observe with our field-glasses -that the surface of this glacier was wholly different to that of the -Nordenskjold Ice Barrier. - -Clearly the surface of the Drygalski Glacier was formed of jagged -surfaces of ice very heavily crevassed, but we could see that at -the extreme eastern extension, some thirty miles from where we were -standing, the surface appeared to be fairly smooth. - -It was also obvious to us, from what we had seen looking out to sea to -the east of our camp, that there were large bodies of open water at no -great distance from us trending shorewards in the form of long lanes. -The lanes of water were only partly frozen over, and some of these were -interposed between us and the Drygalski Glacier. - -Not a moment was to be lost if we were to reach the glacier before the -sea-ice broke up, for one strong blizzard would have converted the -whole of the sea-ice between us and the glacier into a mass of drifting -pack. - -The thing, indeed, for us to do was to push on with all our might, and -still with slushy surfaces to hinder us we pulled and tramped until--on -the 28th--we came to a point where for some time it seemed as if our -progress further north was completely blocked. Eventually, however, we -found a place where the ice might just bear our sledges, and, having -strengthened it by laying down slabs of sea-ice and shovelfuls of snow, -we rushed our sledges over safely. Extremely thankful were we to get -them over to the other side, for the ice was so thin that it bent under -our weight, and once Mackay broke through and very nearly got a ducking. - -Next we had to encounter some very high sastrugi of hard tough snow, -and as these were nearly at right-angles to our course, the work of -dragging our sledges over them was very distressing. And after the -sastrugi we met with an ice-surface which kept continually cracking as -we passed over it, with a noise like that of a whip being cracked. - -We were unable by this time to talk about anything but cereal foods, -such as cakes of various kinds and fruits, for we were very short of -biscuits and were consequently seized with food obsessions. - -The sun, however, which had during the afternoons considerable heating -power, and in one way was hindering us by making the surfaces so -slushy, helped us in another way. For when I put some snow into our -aluminium cooking-pot and exposed it for several hours--while we were -camping--to the direct rays of the suns, I was glad to find that half -the snow was thawed down, a result that, of course, saved us both -paraffin and blubber. - -[Illustration: The Northern Party on the Plateau, New Year's Day, 1909. -(_See page 211_)] - -On the 30th the ice ridges fronting us became higher and steeper, and -strain we ever so mightily we could scarcely get the sledges to move up -the steep ice slopes, and the sledges also skidded a good deal as we -dragged them obliquely upwards. - -The glacier was now spread before us as a great billowy sea of pale -green ice, with here and there high embankments of marble-like _névé_ -resembling railway embankments. Unfortunately for our progress, the -trend of the latter was nearly at right-angles to our course, and -as we advanced the undulations became more and more pronounced, the -embankments higher and steeper. - -These embankments were bounded by cliffs from forty to fifty feet in -height, with overhanging cornices of tough snow. The cliffs faced -northwards, and such serious obstacles were the deep chasms which they -produced to our advance that we had often to go a long way round in -order to head them off. - -December began with a very laborious day, and after battling on for -several hours we had only advanced a little over half a mile. So -we decided to camp, for Mackay and me to try to find a way for the -sledge out of the maze of chasms that beset us, and for Mawson to take -magnetic observations. - -During that afternoon we discussed our situation at some length. Most -probably the Drygalski Glacier was twenty miles wide, and if we were -to cross it along the course we were travelling at the rate of a mile -a day it would take us twenty days to get over, even if we took no -account of the unforeseen delays which our experience had already -taught us were sure to occur. From what Mackay and I had seen ahead -of us, our difficulties were bound, for a considerable distance, to -increase rather than grow less. - -Under these circumstances we were reluctantly forced to the conclusion -that our only hope of ultimate success lay in retreat, and so we -resolved to drag the sledges back off the glacier on to the sea-ice by -the way along which we had come. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVIII - -CREVASSES - - -Our retreat began early on the morning of December 2, and after a -week's struggle on the glacier Mackay, just before camping-time on -the 9th, sighted open water on the northern edge of the Drygalski Ice -Barrier, from three to four miles away. This convinced us that we could -not hope for sea-ice over which to sledge westwards to that part of the -shore where we proposed to make our final depot, before attempting the -ascent of the great inland plateau in order to reach the Magnetic Pole. - -On the 10th, however, at the end of the day's sledging we rejoiced to -find ourselves off the true glacier type of surface, and on to one -of the undulating barrier type. This improvement enabled us to steer -westwards, and on the following day we had a fine view of "Terra Nova" -Bay, and as far as could be judged the edge of the Drygalski Ice -Barrier on the north was scarcely a mile distant. - -So surprised were we at the general appearance of the outline of the -ice, which did not seem to agree with the shape of this region as shown -on the Admiralty chart, that we halted a little earlier than usual to -reconnoitre. Mackay started off with the field-glasses to a conspicuous -ice-mound about half a mile to the north-west, Mawson began to change -his plates, while I went out with my sketch-book to get an outline -panoramic view of the grand coast ranges in sight. - -So few had been the crevasses of late that I failed to take my ice-axe -with me and I had scarcely gone half a dozen yards from the tent when -the lid of a crevasse collapsed under me, and let me down nearly up to -my shoulders. - -I only saved myself from going right down by throwing out my arms and -staying myself on the snow-lid on either side. The lid was so rotten -that I did not dare to move for fear that I might be thrown into the -abyss, but fortunately Maws on was near, and on my calling to him he -brought an ice-axe and chipped a hole in the firm ice on the edge of -the crevasse nearest to me. Then he inserted the chisel edge of the -ice-axe in the hole and, holding on to the pick-point, swung the handle -towards me. Grasping this, I was able to climb out on to the solid ice. - -On the following day we sledged on until we were close to the ice-mound -already mentioned, and decided that as this mound commanded such a -general view of the surrounding country, it must also be a conspicuous -object to any one approaching the Drygalski Glacier by sea from the -north. And so we decided that as we could find no trace of the "low, -sloping shore"--as it was called on the Admiralty chart--we would make -our depot at this spot. - -We estimated that we still had 220 miles to travel from this depot -on the Drygalski Glacier to the Magnetic Pole, and therefore it was -necessary to make preparations for a journey there and back of at least -440 miles. We considered that with _détours_ the journey might possibly -amount to 500 miles. - -Our first business, therefore, was to lay in a stock of provisions -sufficient to last us for our journey, and after Mackay had killed some -seals and Emperor penguins we started cooking our meat for the trip. -Our calculation was that the total weight--when we depoted one sledge -with spare equipment and all our geological specimens--would be 670 -lb. But we were very doubtful whether we, in our stale and weakened -condition, would be able to pull such a load. - -We unpacked and examined both sledges, and found that of the two, the -runners of the Duff sledge were the less damaged. - -On the 14th we were still busy preparing for the great trek inland. -Mackay was cooking meat, Mawson was employed in transferring the -scientific instrument boxes and other things from the Christmas Tree -sledge to the Duff sledge, while I was engaged on fixing up depot -flags, writing letters to the commander of the _Nimrod_, Lieutenant -Shackleton, and my family, and fixing up a milk-tin to serve as a post -office on to the depot flag-pole. - -When we were fully prepared the Christmas Tree sledge was dragged to -the top of the ice-mound, where we cut trenches with our ice-axes in -which to embed the runners of the sledge; then we fixed the runners -into these grooves, piled the chipped ice on top, and then lashed the -flag-pole about six feet high with the black flag displayed on the top -of it very carefully to the sledge. We all felt quite sorry to part -with the Christmas Tree sledge, which by this time seemed to us like a -bit of home. - -Anxious as we were to start for our dash towards the Pole, we were -prevented by a furious blizzard from getting on our way until the 16th. -Then we were delighted to find that, in consequence of our three days' -rest we were able to pull our sledge with comparative ease. - -Soon afterwards we reached another open tide-crack, and had to spend -some time in going round it, and on the far side of this crack we -encountered a large pressure ridge forming a high and steep slope -which barred our advance. Its height was about eighty feet, but if we -were to go on there was nothing to do but drag our sledge up the slope, -a most exhausting work which was made more difficult still by the fact -that this ice-slope was traversed by numerous crevasses. - -At last we got up the slope, only to see in the dim light that a -succession of similar slopes were ahead of us, becoming continually -higher and steeper. The ice, too, became a perfect network of -crevasses, some of which were partly open, but most of them covered -with snow lids. - -Suddenly, when crossing one of these lids, and just as he was about -to reach firm ice on the other side, we heard a slight crash, and -Mawson instantly disappeared. Fortunately the toggle at the end of his -sledge-rope held, and he was left swinging in the empty space between -the walls of the crevasse, being suspended by his harness attached to -the sledge-rope. - -Mackay and I hung on to the rope in case it should part at the toggle, -but when Mawson called out for the alpine rope to be passed down to him -I left Mackay and hurried back to the sledge to get it. Just, however, -as I was trying to disengage a coil of rope, Mawson called out that he -felt he was going, so I returned to help Mackay in his effort to keep -a strain on Mawson's harness rope. Then Mawson said that he was all -right, and the rope having suddenly cut back through the lid of the -crevasse was probably the reason why he had felt that he was falling. - -I now held on to the harness rope while Mackay got the alpine rope, and -made a bow-line at the end in which Mawson could put his foot. In the -meantime Mawson, who was down about eight feet below the level of the -snowy lid, secured some ice crystals from the side of the crevasse and -threw them up for subsequent examination. - -The alpine rope having been lowered, we eventually hoisted him up -little by little to the under surface of the snow-lid, but as his -harness rope had cut back a narrow groove in this snow-lid several feet -from where the snow gave way under him, he found his head and shoulders -pressing against the under side of the snow-lid and had difficulty in -breaking through this in order to get out his head. - -At last the top of his head appeared, and presently he got safely -out on the near side of the crevasse, a deliverance for which we -were all supremely thankful. After this too-exciting episode we were -extra-cautious in crossing crevasses, but the ice was simply seamed -with them. - -Twice when our sledge was being dragged up ice-pressure ridges it -rolled over sideways with one runner in a crevasse, and once the whole -sledge all but disappeared into a crevasse, the snow-lid of which -partly collapsed under its weight. Had it gone down completely we -should certainly have been dragged down with it, as it weighed nearly -one-third of a ton. - -It was clear to us that these numerous crevasses which we had reached -were caused not by the Drygalski but by the Nansen Glacier. - -On the 20th we held a council of war, the question being whether -we should continue in the direction of the Mount Nansen Glacier, -or whether we should retreat and try to find some other way to the -plateau. Mackay was in favour of hauling ahead over the glacier, while -Mawson and I favoured retreat, and at last we decided to retreat once -more. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIX - -UPWARDS AND ONWARDS - - -So far as the possibility of reaching the Magnetic Pole was concerned, -our fortunes seemed to have reached a low ebb. It was already December -20, and we knew that we had to be back at our depot on the Drygalski -Glacier not later than February 1 or 2, if there was to be a reasonable -chance of our being picked up by the Nimrod. That meant that we had to -travel at least 480 to 500 miles before we could hope to get to the -Magnetic Pole and back to our depot, and there remained only six weeks -to accomplish this journey. - -At the same time we should have to pioneer a road up to the high -plateau, and now that everything was buried under soft snow it was -clear that sledging would be slower and more difficult than ever. Under -the circumstances it was, perhaps, not to be wondered at that we were -not hopeful of our chance of success. - -However, there was nothing to do but to reconnoitre in a south-westerly -direction to see what way was most practicable for us, and after -paddling, unwillingly, in many shallow pools of water and crossing much -pressure-ice and several crevasses, we at last saw that we should have -to drag our sledge up a steep slope encumbered with soft deep thawing -snow. - -We also collected several specimens, including a solitary coral, and -while we were collecting them we could hear the roar of many mountain -torrents descending the steep granite slopes of the great mountain mass. - -Occasionally, too, we heard the boom and crash of an avalanche -descending from the high mountain top, and such sounds were strange to -our ears, accustomed so long to the almost uninterrupted solitude and -silence of the Antarctic. - -[Illustration: The Northern Party at the South Magnetic Pole From left: -Dr. Mackay, Professor David, Douglas Mawson (_See page 215_)] - -On the 22nd we were suddenly struck by a furious blizzard which -hindered us until Christmas Eve, but by ten o'clock on that evening we -had succeeded in struggling on until we were above the uncomfortable -zone of thaw, and everything around us was once more crisp and dry -though cold. We had reached over 1200 ft. above sea level, and our -spirits mounted with the altitude. - -On Christmas Day we were delayed at first by a blizzard, but in spite -of this we managed to travel about four miles and to camp at night over -2000 ft. above sea-level. Having no other kind of Christmas gift to -offer, Mawson and I presented Mackay with some sennegrass for his pipe, -his tobacco having been exhausted long before. - -The following day saw us again crossing crevasses, and as some of them -were from 20 to 30 ft. wide, it was fortunate that the snow lids were -strong enough to carry safely both the sledge and ourselves. Mackay -suggested that, for greater security, we should fasten the alpine -rope around Mawson, who was in the lead, and secure the other end of -it to the sledge. The rope was left just slack enough to admit of the -strain of hauling being taken by the harness rope, and so Mawson had -two strings to his bow in case of being suddenly precipitated into a -crevasse. It was a good system, and we always adopted it afterwards in -crossing heavily crevassed ice. - -On the next day we made a small depot of our ski boots, all our -geological specimens, and about one day's food supply together with a -small quantity of oil, and this we called the Larsen Depot as it was -close to one of the southern spurs of Mount Larsen. - -Our eyes were now straining, as we advanced with the sledge, to see -whether any formidable mountains still barred our path to the plateau, -and our thankfulness was unbounded when at last we realised that -apparently we were going to have a fairly easy ascent of hard névé -and snow on to the plateau. On that day we advanced a little over -ten miles, and on December 30 we reached an altitude of nearly 5000 -ft., our breath freezing into lumps of ice and cementing our Burberry -helmets to our beards and moustaches as in winter time. - -New Year's Eve brought with it some disappointment from Mawson's -announcement--after he had taken a fresh set of magnetic -observations--that he made out the Magnetic Pole to be further inland -than had been originally estimated. We were still dragging the sledge -on an up grade and on a softer surface than before, and as we were also -obliged to put ourselves on somewhat shorter rations, in order to form -an emergency food-supply in case our journey proved longer than we -anticipated, we were very much exhausted by night. - -On that same evening a skua gull came to visit us, I am afraid not with -any intention of giving us New Year's greetings, but because he mistook -us for seals crawling inland to die, as is not infrequently the habit -of these animals. - -New Year's Day gave us beautifully calm weather, and to celebrate the -beginning of 1909 Mawson provided us with a grand hoosh and a rich pot -of cocoa, which we enjoyed thoroughly after an exhausting march. - -Hunger, indeed, was beginning to beset us, and we should also have -liked more to drink if we could have afforded it. In fact instead of -talking about what we would like to eat, we began to talk about what we -would drink if we had the chance. Mackay would have liked to drink a -gallon of buttermilk straight off, Mawson wanted a big basin of cream, -while my choice was several pots of the best coffee with plenty of hot -milk. - -We were still climbing on January 3, but on the next day we were -pleased to find that the up grade was becoming less steep. We had -reached an altitude of over 6000 ft. and found breathing in the cold -air distinctly trying. It was not that definite mountain sickness -had attacked us, but that we felt weaker than usual as the result, -doubtless, of the height combined with the cold. - -Still, we were progressing at the rate of about ten miles a day, and -that was enough to make us hopeful in spite of everything. - -On the 6th I left off my crampons and put on a new pair of finnesko, -with the result that I fell heavily over one of the sastrugi, and -slightly straining some muscles on the inner side of my left leg, just -below the knee, I suffered a considerable amount of pain for the rest -of the journey. - -Mountain lassitude still continued to attack us and our hands were -often frost-bitten when packing up the sledge. By the 9th we were -completely out of sight of any mountain ranges, and were toiling up and -down amongst the huge billows of a snow sea. - - - - -CHAPTER XL - -THE MAGNETIC POLE - - -Each successive evening saw us some ten miles nearer to the -Magnetic Pole, but by the 11th we had various inconveniences (to -name them mildly) to add to our difficulties. Mawson had a touch of -snow-blindness in his right eye, and both he and Mackay suffered much -through the skin of their lips peeling off, leaving the raw flesh -exposed. Mawson, particularly, experienced great difficulty every -morning in getting his mouth to open, as his lips were firmly glued -together. - -The compass by this time was very sluggish, in fact the theodolite -compass would scarcely work at all. This pleased us all a good deal, -and at first we all wished more power to it; and then, recognising our -mistake, we amended the sentiment and cordially wished less power to it. - -On the evening of the 12th, Mawson, after carefully analysing the -results set forth in the advance copy of the _Discovery_ Expedition -Magnetic Report, decided that, although the matter was not expressly so -stated, the Magnetic Pole instead of moving easterly, as it had done -in the interval between Sabine's observation in 1841 and the time of -the _Discovery_ expedition in 1902, was likely now to be travelling -somewhat to the north-west. - -The results of dip readings taken earlier in the journey also agreed -with this decision. It would, therefore, be necessary to travel farther -in that direction than we had expected, if we were to reach our goal. -Most extremely disquieting news was this for us, as we had come almost -to the end of our provisions, after making allowance for enough to take -us back on short rations to the coast. Still, in spite of anxiety, our -overwhelming weariness enabled us to get some sleep. - -At breakfast on the following morning we fully discussed our future -movements, and Mawson, having carefully reviewed his observations as -to the position of the Magnetic Pole, decided that we must travel four -more days if we were to reach it, and we resolved to go on sledging for -that time. - -On that day we advanced thirteen miles, and on the next the snow -surface over which we were sledging sparkled with large reconstructed -ice crystals, about half an inch in width and one sixteenth of an inch -in thickness, which it seemed a sacrilege to break. - -On the 15th about twenty minutes before true noon Mawson took magnetic -observations with the dip circle and found the angle only fifteen -minutes off the vertical, the dip being 89° 45'. Naturally we were very -much rejoiced to find that we were close to the Magnetic Pole. The -observations made by Bernacchi, during the two years of the _Discovery_ -expedition sojourn at winter quarters on Ross Island, showed that the -extent of daily swing of the magnet was sometimes considerable. The -compass at a distance from the Pole pointing in a slightly varying -direction at different times of the day, indicates that the polar -centre executes a daily round of wanderings about its mean position. - -Mawson considered that we were already practically at the Magnetic -Pole; and that if we waited for twenty-four hours taking constant -observations at the spot we had reached, the Pole would, probably, -during that time, come vertically beneath us. We decided, however, to -go on to the spot where Mawson concluded the approximate mean position -of the Magnetic Pole would lie. That evening the dip was 89° 48'. - -From the rapid rate at which the dip had been increasing, as well -as from a comparison of Bernacchi's magnetic observations, Mawson -estimated that we were about 13 miles distant from the probable -mean position of the South Magnetic Pole. To locate, he said, the -mean position accurately it was possible that a month of continuous -observation would be necessary, but that the position he indicated was -as close as we could locate it. - -Consequently we decided to make a forced march of 13 miles on the -following day to the approximate mean position of the Pole. - -On Saturday, January 16, we were up at 6 A.M. and soon started, pulling -our sledge for two miles. We then depoted a lot of our heavy gear and -equipment, and having gone on for another two miles we fixed up the -legs of the dip circle, the compass moving in a horizontal plane being -useless for keeping us on our course. - -Two miles farther on we fixed up the legs of the theodolite, and after -another two miles we put up our tent and had a light lunch. - -Afterwards we walked five miles in the direction of the Magnetic Pole -so as to place us in the mean position calculated for it by Mawson, 72° -25′ South latitude, 155° 16′ East longitude. Mawson placed his camera -so as to focus the whole group, and in the meantime Mackay and I fixed -up the flag-pole. - -Then at 3.30 P.M. we bared our heads and hoisted the Union Jack with -the words uttered by myself, in conformity with Lieutenant Shackleton's -instructions: "I hereby take possession of this area now containing the -Magnetic Pole for the British Empire." - -At the same time I fired the trigger of the camera by pulling the -string which Mawson had arranged, and finally we gave three cheers for -His Majesty the King. - -The temperature at the moment we hoisted the flag was exactly 0° Fahr. - -It was an intense satisfaction and relief to all of us to feel that at -last, after so many days of toil and danger, we had been able to carry -out our leader's instructions, and to fulfil the wish of Sir James -Clarke Ross that the South Magnetic Pole should be actually reached, as -he had already in 1831 reached the North Magnetic Pole. - -At the same time we were too utterly weary to be capable of any great -amount of exultation. I am sure the feeling that was uppermost in -all of us was one of devout and heartfelt thankfulness to the kind -Providence which had so far guided our footsteps in safety to that goal. - -With a fervent "Thank God" we all did a right-about turn, and marched -as quickly as tired limbs would allow us back towards our little green -tent in the wilderness of snow. Reaching our depot a little before 10 -P.M. that night, we turned into the sleeping-bag faint and weary, but -happy that a haunting load of possible failure was at last removed from -our minds. - - - - -CHAPTER XLI - -RETURNING - - -I called the camp later than usual on the following morning, and we -discussed our chances of catching the Nimrod if she searched for us -along the coast in the direction of our depot on the Drygalski Glacier. - -At the Magnetic Pole we were fully 260 statute miles distant, as the -skua gull flies, from our depot, and as we had knocked off eleven of -these miles on the previous day we still had 249 miles to cover. If, -then we were to reach the Drygalski depot by February 1, we had only -fifteen days in which to do it, and we should have to average sixteen -and two-third miles a day in order to reach the coast in the time -specified. - -This, of course, did not allow for any delay from blizzards, and we -knew from the direction of the sastrugi during our last few days' march -that the prevailing direction of the blizzards was likely to be exactly -in our teeth. The prospect, therefore, of reaching our depot in the -specified time did not appear to be bright. - -[Illustration: Ready to start Home. (_See page 233_)] - -On starting, however, on the 17th we had most glorious weather, and -the wind which had helped us towards the Pole turned round and helped -us away from it. In spite of our late start we sledged 16 miles, and -on the following day, although Mawson's left leg was paining him, we -covered practically the same distance. - -The 19th saw us still keeping up the same rate of progress, but owing -to some miscalculation of mine we discovered that we had no tea for -this week, our sixth week out, unless we took it out of the tea-bag for -the seventh week. Accordingly we halved the tea in the seventh week -bag, and determined to collect our old tea-bags at each camp as we -passed it, and to boil these bags together with the small pittance of -fresh tea. - -As we progressed coastwards we soon had quite an imposing collection -of muslin bags with old tea leaves, and with the thorough boiling they -got there was a strong flavour of muslin added to that of old tea. But -nevertheless we considered that this drink was nectar. - -In view of the steady sixteen miles a day that we were doing Mawson -proposed on the 20th that we should return to nearly full rations, -a proposal which was hailed with delight, for we were becoming very -exhausted through insufficient food. - -Up to that date we had been able still to follow our old sledge tracks, -which was a great blessing when the magnetic needle was of so little -use to us. But on the following days we, lost these tracks, and had a -great deal of pie-crust snow to cross, which made our work terribly -fatiguing. - -However, we managed to keep up our sixteen miles per day, and on -January 24 we were cheered by sighting Mount Baxter. Towards evening -we discussed whether we were following approximately our old out-going -tracks. Mackay thought we were nearer to the mountain than before, I -thought we were farther to the south-west, Mawson, who was leading, -said that we were pretty well on our old course. Just then I discovered -that we were actually on our old tracks which showed up plainly for a -short distance, and which were striking evidence of Mawson's skill as a -navigator. - -On the next day we encountered a mild blizzard, but we also managed to -sight Mount Nansen just before we camped, and when we resumed our march -we reached a surface of hard marble-like névé, which descended by short -steep slopes. - -At first we did not realise that we were about to descend what we -had called the Ice Falls on the outward journey, and as the sledge -occasionally took charge and rushed down this marble staircase Mawson -and I came some heavy croppers. - -On the 27th we were delighted at last to sight Mount Larsen, and to -have reached a point only forty miles from our Larsen Depot. - -The wind was blowing at about 25 miles an hour, and occasionally, in an -extra strong puff, the sledge took charge. On one of these occasions -it suddenly charged into me from behind, knocked my legs from under -me, and nearly juggernauted me. But I was quickly rescued from this -undignified position by Mawson and Mackay. - -At lunch, with a faint hope of softening the heart of Mackay--who was -messman for the week--I mildly informed him that it was my birthday. -He took the hint and both at lunch and dinner we all fared, what we -considered, sumptuously. - -We advanced twenty miles towards the coast on that day, but it had -been a most fatiguing journey, and when we started again we decided -that pulling the sledge was less exhausting than the sailing had proved -to be. - -Hour by hour we steadily pulled on, Mounts Nansen and Larsen growing -larger and clearer, and we began to hope that we might be able to reach -our depot that night. But later on Mawson's sprained leg pained him -so much that we had almost decided to camp, when Mackay's sharp eyes -sighted our little blue flag tied to the ice-axe at our depot. It was, -however, past midnight before we turned into our sleeping-bags. - -On the next morning--January 30--we were up at 9 A.M., and after -breakfast we collected the material at our depot, such as ski boots, -oil, and geological specimens and loaded these on to our sledge. - -During this day we discussed whether it would be wiser to descend -by the old track up which we had come, or make down the main Larsen -Glacier to the point where it joined the Drygalski Glacier. Mackay -favoured the former route, while Mawson and I were in favour of the -latter, and, as subsequent events proved, Mackay was right and we were -wrong. - -We held on down the main glacier, and the descent was soon so steep -that only with difficulty could we prevent the sledge from charging -down the slope. - -On January 31 we took half the load off the sledge, and started with -the remainder to try and work a passage of the ice-pressure ridges of -the combined Drygalski and Larsen Glaciers on the smoother sea-ice, and -eventually on to the Drygalski Ice Barrier. - -While Mawson and Mackay pulled, I steadied the sledge on the lower side -in rounding the steep sidelings, but in spite of my efforts to keep -it on even keel the sledge frequently capsized. At last we arrived at -the foot of an immense ice-pressure ridge, a romantic-looking spot -with a huge cliff of massive granite rising up on our left to heights -of about 2000 ft., although I admit that at the time we did not exactly -appreciate its romantic beauty. - -Mackay reconnoitred, and found that the large pressure ridge which -seemed to bar progress towards our depot must be crossed. So taking -our ice-axes we smoothed a passage across part of the ridge--a tough -job--and then unloaded the sledge and passed each one of our packages -over by hand. Finally we dragged the sledge up, and hoisted it over and -lowered it down safely on the other side. - -Little by little the surface improved after this, until our progress -was once more barred, but on this occasion by what may be termed an ice -donga, apparently an old channel formed by a river of thaw-water. - -We encountered three of them during that afternoon from a few feet to -50 or 100 ft. broad, and often we had to take our sledge a long way -round to cross them. - -Our difficulties were increased by the innumerable crevasses and steep -ice ridges, and once Mackay and I were in the same crevasse at the -same time, he up to his shoulders and I up to my waist. Fortunately, -however, we were able to save ourselves from falling right through the -lid by throwing out our arms. - -While we sledged on through the night, snow began to fall, and when we -camped at 7 A.M. on February 1 we were all most thoroughly weary. - - - - -CHAPTER XLII - -OBSTACLES IN OUR COURSE - - -It continued to snow heavily during the day. But although Mawson's leg -pained him a great deal we had to push on, for we were still sixteen -miles, we thought, from our depot on the Drygalski Glacier, and we -had only two days' food left. So we started to sledge in the thick, -driving snow, but as the work under these conditions were excessively -exhausting, and we were also unable to keep our proper course while the -blizzard lasted, we camped at 8 P.M. and were soon sleeping the sleep -of worn and weary wanderers. - -On the morning of February 2 we were rejoiced to find the sun shining, -and we resolved to make a desperate attempt to reach our depot on this -day, for we knew that the _Nimrod_ would be due--perhaps overdue--by -the night. On looking back we saw that our track of the day before was -about as straight as a corkscrew. - -Once more we pulled out over the soft snow, but although a little -refreshed by our good sleep we found the work extremely trying and -toilsome. - -We crossed an ice donga, and about four miles out reached the edge of -a second donga. Here we determined to leave everything but our sledge, -tent, sleeping-bag, cooking apparatus, oil and food, and make a forced -march to the Drygalski depot. Accordingly we camped and having fixed -up our depot, we marked the spot with a little blue flag tied on to an -ice-axe. - -The sledge thus lightened was far easier to pull, and having crossed -the donga by a snow-bridge we pulled steadily onwards, Mawson -occasionally sweeping the horizon with our field-glasses in hopes of -sighting our depot. - -Suddenly he exclaimed that he saw the depot flag distinctly on its ice -mound, about seven miles distant, but when Mackay and I looked through -the glasses neither of us could see any trace of the flag. Mawson -considered that both of us must be snow-blind, but when he looked again -he at once exclaimed that he could no longer see the flag. The horizon -seemed to be walloping up and down, just as though it was boiling, -evidently the result of a mirage. - -Mawson, however, was so confident that he had seen the flag, well -round on the starboard bow of our sledge that we altered our course, -and after going a little over a mile, we were rejoiced to hear that he -could distinctly see the depot flag. Full of hope we kept on sledging -for several miles farther, but at midnight when the temperature had -fallen to zero I felt that one of my big toes was getting frost-bitten. -All day my socks had been wet through, and with the sudden fall of -temperature the water in the socks had turned to ice. - -So we halted for me to change my socks and for all of us to have a -midnight meal, and much refreshed we started off again, thinking that -at last we should reach our depot, or at all events the small inlet a -little over a mile from it. But "the best laid schemes of mice and men -gang aft agley." - -There was an ominous white streak ahead of us with a dark streak just -behind it, and soon we saw that this was due to a ravine in the snow -and ice surface interposing itself between ourselves and our depot, and -shortly afterwards we reached the near cliff of the ravine. - -This ravine was 200 yds. broad, and from 30 to 40 ft. deep; and it -was bounded by a vertical cliff or very steeply inclined slope on the -north-west side, and by an overhanging cliff on the south-east side. -Inland the ravine extended as far as the eye could reach. - -We determined to try to cross the ravine, at the bottom of which we -were excited to see a number of seals and Emperor penguins dotted over -the ice floor. At last by means of making fast the Alpine rope to -the bow of the sledge we reached the bottom, and there Mackay killed -two penguins to replenish our exhausted larder. Meanwhile Mawson was -looking out for a spot where we might swarm up, and as I was feeling -much exhausted, I asked him to take over the leadership of the -expedition. - -I considered myself justified in taking this step as the work assigned -to us by our leader was accomplished, and we were within two or three -miles of our depot and had no reason to fear the danger of starvation. - -On the other hand, as regards our ultimate personal safety, our -position was rather critical. In the first place, we were not even -certain that the _Nimrod_ had arriven in Ross Sea; in the second place, -assuming that she had, if was quite possible that she would miss -sighting our depot flags altogether. - -In the event of the ship not appearing within a few days, it would have -been necessary to take immediate action with a view either to winter -at the Drygalski depot or to an attempt to sledge over the steeply -crevassed glacier for over 200 miles to Cape Royds. - -Even at the moment, had some immediate strenuous action been necessary -from the _Nimrod_ suddenly appearing, I thought that it would be best -for Mawson, who was less physically exhausted than I was, to be in -charge. - -He had, throughout the whole journey, shown excellent capacity for -leadership, and when I spoke to him he at first demurred, but finally -said he would act for a time. - -At first we thought that there was one very difficult but apparently -possible means of ascent up the cliff face; our efforts, however, in -this direction were doomed to failure, and we were compelled to retrace -our steps up the ravine down which we had previously lowered the sledge. - -This was a tremendous labour, for we could only force the sledge up a -few inches at a time; eventually, however, we found ourselves on the -level plain at the top of the ravine, but, of course, on the wrong side -as far as our depot was concerned. There we thought it safe to camp, -for we were within three miles of the open sea, and had the _Nimrod_ -sighted our depot flag and stood in to the coast, we could easily have -hurried down to the entrance of the inlet and made signals to her. - -At 7 A.M. we turned in after toiling for twenty-three hours, and at -about a quarter-past seven, as we learnt later, the _Nimrod_ must have -passed; but owing to a light wind with snow drift she was unable to -sight either our depot flag or tent. - -Having had four hours' rest we packed our sledge and started along the -north bank of the snow gorge, the snow and ice at the bottom being -dotted with basking seals and moulting Emperor penguins. - -At first, in our tired and weak state, we were much dispirited to find -no means of crossing the ravine, but eventually Mackay, who had gone -ahead, shouted that he had discovered a snow-bridge across it, and when -he had rejoined us we pulled the sledge to the head of the bridge. - -There was a crevasse at both the near and far ends of the bridge, and -stepping over the crevasse at the near end we launched the sledge with -a run down to the centre of the bridge and then struggled up the steep -slope facing us, Mackay steadying the sledge from falling off the -narrow causeway, while all of us pulled for all we were worth. - -In another minute or so we were safely across with our sledge, and -thankful to have surmounted the last obstacle between us and our depot. - - - - -CHAPTER XLIII - -SAFE ABOARD - - -As we were all thoroughly exhausted and had reached a spot from which -we could get a good view of the ocean beyond Drygalski Barrier, we -camped at 10.30 P.M. on that evening (February 3) a little over a mile -away from our depot. - -During that day we had two of the most satisfying meals we had eaten -for a very long time; a soupy mincemeat of penguin for lunch, and -plenty of seal for dinner. - -And after the second meal Mawson and I turned into the sleeping-bag, -leaving Mackay to take the first of our four-hour watches on the -look-out for the _Nimrod_. During his watch he walked up to the depot -and dug out our biscuit tin, which had served us as a blubber lamp and -cooker, together with the cut-down paraffin tin which we had used as a -frying-pan, and carried them to the tent. - -Then he cooked some penguin meat and regaled himself with dainty -morsels from the savoury dish, and when he called me at 4 A.M. I found -that he had thoughtfully put into the frying-pan about two pounds of -penguin's breast for me to toy with during my watch. - -During the afternoon of the 4th we discussed our future plans, and -decided that we had better at once move the tent up to our old depot, -where it would be a conspicuous object from the sea, and where, too, we -could command a more extensive view of the ocean. - -[Illustration: A view of the Hut in the Summer. Meteorological Station -can be seen on the extreme right. (_See page 60_)] - -We also talked about what it would be best to do if the Nimrod did -not appear, and determined that we ought to tackle the journey to Hut -Point, keeping ourselves alive on the way, as best we might, with -seal-meat. - -While, however, Mackay thought we ought to start in a few days, Mawson -and I, on the other hand, thought that we should wait where we were -until late in February. From whatever point of view we looked at it, -our lot was not a happy one. - -Dispirited, indeed, by forebodings of much toil and trouble, we were -just preparing to set our weary limbs in motion to pack up and trek -up to the depot, when--Bang! went something, seemingly close to the -door of our tent. The sound thrilled us; in another instant the air -reverberated with a big boom, much louder than the first sound. - -Mawson was the first to give tongue, roaring out, "A gun from the -ship!" and dived for the tent door. As the latter was narrow there was -for the moment some congestion of traffic. I dashed my head forwards, -only in time to receive a few kicks from the departing Mawson. Just as -I was recovering my equilibrium, Mackay made a wild charge, rode me -down, and trampled over my prostrate body. - -When at last I got started, Mawson had got a lead of a hundred and -Mackay of about fifty yards. "Bring something to wave," Mawson shouted, -and rushing back to the tent I seized Mackay's ruck-sack. - -And then as I ran forward again, what a sight met my gaze! Not a -quarter of a mile away was the dear old Nimrod, steaming straight -towards us up the inlet, and at the sight of the three of us hastening -frantically to meet the ship, hearty ringing cheers burst forth from -all on board. - -It would be hard, indeed, for anyone who has never been situated as -we had been, to realise the sudden revulsion of our feelings, or to -understand how those cheers stirred every fibre within us. In a moment, -as dramatic as it was heavenly, we seemed to have passed from death -into life. - -My first feelings were of intense joy and relief, then of fervent -gratitude to the kind Providence which had so mercifully led our -friends to our deliverance. - -Suddenly, however, a shout from Mackay called me back to earth: -"Mawson's fallen into a deep crevasse--look out, it's just in front of -you," he called, and I saw him kneeling near the edge of a small oblong -hole in the névé. - -"Are you all right, Mawson?" he asked, and from the depth came up the -welcome word, "Yes." - -Mackay then told me that Mawson was about twenty feet down the -crevasse, and we decided to try to pull him up with the sledge harness -and hurried back to get it. Our combined strength, however, was not -enough to pull him up, and as there was a danger of the snow lid at -the surface falling in on Mawson unless it was strengthened with some -planking, we gave up our attempt, I remaining at the crevasse while -Mackay hurried off for help to the Nimrod. - -"Mawson has fallen down a crevasse, and we got to the Magnetic Pole," -Mackay called out, and almost in less time than it takes to write it -officers and sailors were swarming over the bows of the _Nimrod_ and -dropping on to the ice barrier. - -I called to Mawson that help was at hand, and he replied that he was -quite comfortable, for although there was seawater at the bottom of -the crevasse, he was able to sustain himself a couple of feet above it -on the small ledge that had stopped his fall. - -Meanwhile, the rescue party, headed by J. K. Davis, the first officer -of the _Nimrod_, had arrived, and when the crevasse had been bridged -with a piece of sawn timber, Davis, with the thoroughness which -characterised all his work, promptly had himself lowered down the -crevasse. And presently Mawson, with only his back slightly bruised -from this fall, and then Davis were safely on the top. - -What a joyous grasping of hands and hearty all-round welcoming -followed, and foremost among those old friends who greeted us was -Captain Evans who had commanded the _Koonya_, and who was then -in command of the _Nimrod_, a fact which gave us the greatest -satisfaction. Quickly he assured me of the good health of my wife -and family, and while willing hands packed up our sledge and other -belongings, Captain Evans walked with us to the rope ladder hanging -over the bows of the _Nimrod_. - -Quickly as all this had taken place, Mackay had already found time to -secure a pipe and some tobacco from one of our crew, and was pulling -away to his heart's content. - -After our one hundred and twenty-two days of hard toil over the sea ice -of the coast, and the great snow desert of the Hinterland, the little -ship seemed to us as luxurious as an ocean liner. Pleasantly the buzz -of our friends' voices--giving us all the news--blended itself with the -gentle fizzing of steam from the _Nimrod's_ boiler, and surely since -the days of John Gilpin "were never folk so glad" as were we three. - -Afternoon tea came first and then the joy of reading the home letters, -and finding good news in them. Later we three had a novel experience, -the first real wash for over four months, and after diligent scrubbing -bits of our real selves began to show through the covering of seal-oil -and soot. - -Of course we over-ate ourselves at dinner, but all the same we were -ready to partake liberally of hot cocoa and biscuits before we turned -in at 10 P.M. - -Under Providence we felt we owed our lives to the thorough search, -sound judgment and fine seamanship of Captain Evans, and the devotion -to duty of his officers and crew. - -My last thought in the twilight that comes between wakefulness and -sleep is expressed in the words of our favourite record on the -gramophone, "So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still will lead -me on." - - - - -CHAPTER XLIV - -THE RETURN TO NEW ZEALAND - - -The _Nimrod_, with Professor David, Mawson and Mackay aboard, got back -to winter quarters on February 11 and landed Mawson. No news had been -heard of the Southern Party, and the depot party, commanded by Joyce, -was still out. On February 20 it was found that the depot party had -reached Hut Point, and had not seen Marshall, Adams, Wild or myself. My -instructions had provided that if we had not returned from our journey -toward the South Pole by February 25, a party was to be landed at Hut -Point with a team of dogs, and on March 1 a search-party was to go -south. Murray, who was in command of the expedition during my absence, -was in no way responsible for the failure of that party to be landed, -and obeyed faithfully my full instructions. - -All arrangements being completed, most of the members of the expedition -went ashore at Cape Royds to get their property packed in readiness for -departure. The ship left Cape Royds on the 21st, and was lying under -Glacier Tongue when I arrived at Hut Point with Wild on February 28, -and after I had been landed with the relief party in order that Adams -and Marshall might be brought in, the ship went to Cape Royds so that -the remaining members of the shore-party and some specimens and stores -might be taken on board. - -The _Nimrod_ anchored a short distance from the shore, and two boats -were launched. As everything had to be lowered by ropes over the cliff -into the boats, the work of embarkation took some time, but by 6 A.M. -on March 2 only the men and dogs remained to be taken on board. - -A stiff breeze was blowing, and by the time the dogs had one by one -been lowered into the boats, the wind had freshened to blizzard force, -and the sea had begun to run dangerously. The waves had deeply undercut -the ice-cliff, leaving a projecting shelf. - -One boat, in charge of Davis, succeeded in reaching the ship, but a -second boat, heavily laden with men and dogs, was less fortunate, and -before it had gone many yards from the shore an oar broke. - -The _Nimrod_, owing to the severity of the storm was forced to slip her -moorings and steam from the bay, and an attempt to float a buoy to the -boat was not successful. - -Consequently Harbord and his men were in great danger, for they -could not get out of the bay owing to the force of the sea, and the -projecting shelf of ice threatened disaster if they approached the -shore. Flying spray had encased the men in ice, and their hands were -numb and frozen. - -At the end of an hour they managed to make fast to a line stretched -from an anchor a few yards from the cliff, the men who had remained on -shore pulling this line taut. - -Their position was still dangerous, but eventually the men and dogs -were all safely hauled up the slippery ice-face before the boat sank. -Hot drinks were soon ready for them in the hut, and although the -temperature was low and nearly all the bedding had been sent on board, -they were thankful enough to have escaped with their lives. - -On the following morning (March 3) the ship came back to Cape Royds, -and having got all the men and dogs aboard, went back to the Glacier -Tongue anchorage to wait for the relief party. - -About ten o'clock that same night Mackintosh was on deck talking to -some other members of the expedition, when he suddenly became excited -and said, "I feel that Shackleton has arrived at Hut Point." He was -very anxious that the ship should proceed to the Point, but no one paid -much attention to him, and Dunlop advised him, if he was so sure about -it, to go aloft and look for a signal. Accordingly Mackintosh went -aloft, and immediately seeing our flare at Hut Point the ship left at -once, and by 2 A.M. on March 4 the entire expedition was safe on board. - -If we were to try to complete our work there was no time to be lost, -for the season was far advanced and the condition of the ice was -already a matter of anxiety. But as I was very eager to undertake -exploration with the ship to the westward towards Adelie Land, with -the idea of mapping the coast-line in that direction, I gave orders to -steam north, and in a very short time we were under way. - -First of all, I wished to round Cape Armitage and pick up some -geological specimens and gear that had been left at Pram Point, but -young ice was forming over the sea, and it was evident that we had -scarcely an hour to waste if we were not to spend a second winter in -the Antarctic. - -Having brought the _Nimrod_ right alongside the pressure ice at Pram -Point, Mackintosh at once landed with a small party, and as soon as -they returned we steamed north again. - -On passing our winter quarters at Cape Royds we all turned out to give -three cheers, and to take a last look at the place where, in spite of -discomforts and hardships, we had spent so many happy days. We watched -the little hut, which had been our home for a year that must always -live in our memories, fade away in the distance with feelings almost -of sadness, and there were few men aboard who did not cherish a hope -that some day they might again live strenuous days under the shadow of -mighty Erebus. - -I left at the winter quarters on Cape Royds a supply of stores -sufficient to last fifteen men for one year, for the changes and -chances of life in the Antarctic are such that this supply might be -most valuable to some future expedition. The hut was locked up and the -key hung where it might easily be found, and we re-adjusted the lashing -of our home so that it might withstand the fury of many blizzards. -There our hut stands waiting to be used, and containing everything -necessary to sustain life. - -I was anxious to pick up some geological specimens left on Depot -Island, but as the wind had freshened to a gale, and we were passing -through streams of ice, it was too risky to chance even a short delay, -and consequently I gave instructions that the course should be altered -to due north. - -My object was to push between the Balleny Islands and the mainland, and -to make an attempt to follow the coast line from Cape Nort westward, -so as to link up with. Adelie Land. No ship had ever succeeded in -penetrating to the westward of Cape North, heavy pack having been -encountered on the occasion of each attempt. In our attempt we did not -manage to do all that I hoped, but all the same we had the satisfaction -of pushing our little vessel along that coast to longitude 166° 14′ -East, latitude 69° 47′ South, a point farther west than had been -reached by any previous expedition. - -On the morning of March 8 we saw, beyond Cape North, a new coast-line -extending first to the southwards and then to the west for a distance -of over 45 miles, and Professor David was of opinion that it was the -northern edge of the polar plateau. - -Gladly would we have explored this coast but that was impossible, for -the ice was getting thicker and thicker, and it was imperative that we -should escape to clear water without delay. - -I still, however, hoped that we might skirt the Balleny Islands and -find Wilkes Land, but about midnight on March 9 I saw that we must go -north, and the course was set in that direction. - -As it was we were almost too late, and the situation looked black -indeed when we were held up by the ice, and the ship was quite unable -to move. Fortunately we found a lane through which progress could be -made, and by the afternoon of the 10th we were in fairly open water. - -Our troubles were ended, for we had a good voyage to New Zealand, and -on March 22 we dropped anchor at the mouth of Lord's river on the south -side of Stewart Island. I did not go to a port because I wished to get -the news of the expedition's work through to London before we faced the -energetic newspaper men. - -That day in March was a wonderful one to all of us. For over a year we -had seen nothing but rocks, ice, snow and sea. No green growth had -gladdened our eyes, no musical notes of birds had come to our ears. No -man who has not spent a period of his life in those "stark and sullen -solitudes that sentinel the Pole" will understand fully what trees, and -flowers, and running streams mean to the soul of a man. We landed on -the stretch of beach that separated the sea from the luxuriant growth -of the forest, and scampered about like children in the sheer joy of -being alive. - -Early next morning we hove up the anchor, and at 10 A.M. we entered -Half Moon Bay. There I went ashore, and having despatched my cablegrams -from the little office I went on board again and ordered the course to -be set for Lyttelton, the port from which we had sailed on the first -day of the previous year, and we arrived there on March 25 late in the -afternoon. - -The people of New Zealand would have welcomed us, I think, whatever -had been the result of our efforts, for since the early days of the -_Discovery_ expedition their keen interest in Antarctic exploration has -never faltered, and their attitude towards us was always that of warm -personal friendship. - -But the news of the measure of success we had achieved had been -published in London and flashed back to the southern countries, and -we were met out in the harbour and on the wharves by cheering crowds. -Enthusiastic friends boarded the _Nimrod_ almost as soon as she entered -the heads, and when our gallant little vessel came alongside the quay -the crowd on deck became so great that movement was almost impossible. - -Then I was handed great bundles of letters and cablegrams. The loved -one at home were well, the world was pleased with our work, and it -seemed as though nothing but joy and happiness could ever enter life -again. - -[Illustration: Emperor Penguin. (_See page 238_)] - - - - -CHAPTER XLV - -PENGUINS - -(_Some Notes by James Murray, Biologist to the Expedition_) - - -Though so much has been written about them, penguins always excite -fresh interest in every one who sees them for the first time. - -There is endless interest in watching them; the dignified Emperor, -dignified in spite of his clumsy waddle, going along with his wife (or -wives) by his side, the very picture of a successful, self-satisfied, -unsuspicious countryman, and gravely bowing like a Chinaman before a -yelping dog, and also the little undignified matter-of-fact Adelie, -minding his own business in a most praiseworthy manner. Often they -behave with apparent stupidity, but sometimes they show a good deal -of intelligence. Their resemblance to human beings is always noticed, -partly because they walk erect, but they also have many other human -traits. They are the civilised nations of the Antarctic regions, and -their civilisation, if much simpler than ours, is in some respects -higher and more worthy of the name. - -But there is also a good deal of human nature in them. As in the -human race, their gathering in colonies does not show any true social -instinct; each penguin is in the rookery for his own ends, there is no -thought of the general good. You might exterminate an Adelie rookery -with the exception of one bird, and he would not mind so long as you -left him alone. - -Some suggestion of unselfishness does appear in the nesting habits of -the Adelie, and like men the Adelies have the unpleasant habit of -stealing and the pleasant one of not making eating the prime business -in life. Both Emperors and Adelies, when nesting is off their minds, -show a legitimate curiosity, and having got into good condition they -leave the sea and go off in parties for weeks, apparently to see the -country. - -We saw the Emperor penguins only as a summer visitor, when having -finished nesting and having fed up and become glossy and beautiful, -they came up out of the sea, apparently to have a good time before -moulting. While the Adelies were nesting the Emperors came in numbers -to inspect the camp, the two kinds usually paying no attention to each -other unless an Adelie thought an Emperor came too close to her nest, -when an odd unequal quarrel followed. Little impudence, pecking and -scolding, and being more than able to hold her own with the tongue, but -knowing the value of discretion whenever the Emperor raised his flipper. - -The Emperors were very inquisitive and would come a long way to see a -motor-car or a man, and when out on these excursions the leader kept -his party together by a long shrill squawk. Distant parties saluted in -this way. - -The first party to arrive inspected the boat, and then crossed the lake -to the camp, but when they discovered the dogs all other interests were -swallowed up. After the discovery crowds of Emperors came every day, -and from the manner in which they went straight to the kennels one was -tempted to believe that the fame of the dogs had been noised abroad. - -As regards meetings, Emperors were very ceremonious, whether meeting -other Emperors, men, or dogs. They came up to a party of strangers -in a straggling procession, some big aldermanic fellow leading. At a -respectful distance they halted, and the old male waddled close up and -bowed gravely until his head almost touched his breast. With his head -still bowed he made a long speech in a muttering manner, and having -finished his speech he still kept his head bowed for a few seconds -for politeness sake, and then raising it he described with his bill -as large a circle as the joints of his neck would allow, and finally -looked into our faces to see if we understood. If we had not, as -usually was the case, he tried again. - -He was infinitely patient with our stupidity, but his followers were -not so patient with him, and presently they would become sure that he -was making a mess of it. Then another male would waddle forward and -elbow the first Emperor aside as if to say, "I'll show you how it ought -to be done," and went again through the whole business. - -Their most solemn ceremonies were used towards the dogs, and three old -fellows were seen calmly bowing and speaking at the same time to a dog, -which was yelping and straining at its chain in the desire to get at -them. - -Left to themselves the Emperor penguins seemed perfectly peaceable, but -if they did use their flippers they could strike forward or backward -with equal ease. - -They seemed to regard men as penguins like themselves, but if a man -walked too fast among them or touched them they were frightened and -ran away, only fighting when closely pressed. As one slowly retreated, -fighting, he had a ludicrous resemblance to a small boy being bullied -by a big one, his flipper being raised in defence towards his foe as -he made quick blows at the bully. It was well to keep clear of that -flipper, for it was very powerful and might easily break an arm. - -Many of the stupid acts of both kinds of penguins are doubtless to be -traced to their very defective sight in air, and to this defect one -must ascribe the fact that when they fought the blows from their bills -always fell short. - -The Emperor can hardly be said to migrate, but nevertheless he travels -a good deal, and the meaning of some of his journeys remain a mystery. - -On journeys they often travel many miles walking erect, when they get -along at a very slow shuffle, making only a few inches at each step. -In walking thus they keep their balance by means of their tails, -which forms a tripod with the legs. When, however, they are on a -suitable snow surface, they progressed rapidly by tobogganing, a very -graceful motion, when they made sledges of their breasts and propelled -themselves by their powerful legs, balancing, and perhaps increasing -their speed, by means of their wings. - -Eight of them visited the car one day, sledging swiftly towards us, -and one obstinate old fellow, who was not going to be hurried away -by anybody, had to see the car bearing down upon him before he was -persuaded to hustle. - -The Adelie is always comical. He pops out of the water with startling -suddenness, like a jack-in-the-box, alights on his feet, shakes his -tail, and toddles off about his business. He always knows where he -wants to go and what he wants to do, and it is difficult to turn him -aside from his purpose. - -In the water the Adelie penguins move rapidly and circle in the same -way as a porpoise or dolphin, for which they are easily mistaken at a -little distance. On level ice or snow they can get along about as fast -as a man at a smart walk, but they find even a small crack a serious -obstruction, and pause and measure with the eye one of a few inches -before very cautiously hopping over it. They flop down and toboggan -over any opening more than a few inches wide. Very rarely they swim in -the water like ducks, and on these infrequent occasions their necks are -below the surface and their heads are just showing. - -The Adelie shows true courage in the breeding-season, for after he has -learned to fear man he remains to defend the nest against any odds. -When walking among the nests one is assailed on all sides by powerful -bills, and for protection we wore long felt boots reaching well above -the knee. Some of the clever ones, however, realised that they were -wasting their efforts on the boots, and coming up behind would seize -the skin above the boot and hang on tight, beating with their wings. - -Some birds became so greatly interested in the camp that they wanted to -nest there. One bird (we believe it was always the same one) could not -be kept away and used to come every day, until at last he was carried -away by Brocklehurst, a wildly struggling, unconquerable being. - -The old birds enjoy play, while the young ones are solely engaged -in satisfying the enormous appetites they have when growing. While -the _Nimrod_ was frozen in the pack some dozens of them disported -themselves in a sea-pool alongside. They swam together in the duck -fashion, then at a squawk from one they all dived and came up at the -other side of the pool. - -Early in October they began to arrive at the rookery, singly or in -pairs. The first to come were the males, and they at once began to -scrape up the frozen ground to make hollows for nests, and to collect -stones for the walls with which they surrounded them. - -[Illustration: An Adelie calling for a Mate after commencing the Nest. - -(_See page 242_)] - -When the rookery is pretty well filled, and the nest-building is in -full swing, the birds have a busy and anxious time. To get enough -suitable small stones is a matter of difficulty, and may involve long -journeys for each single stone, so the temptation is too strong for -some of the birds, and they become habitual thieves. The bearing of the -thief, however, clearly shows that he knows that he is doing wrong, -for very different is his furtive look, even after he is quite out of -danger of pursuit, from the expression of the honest penguin coming -home with a hard-earned stone. - -A thief, sitting on its own nest, was stealing from an adjacent nest, -whose honest owner was also at home but looking unsuspectingly in -another direction. Casually the latter turned his head and caught the -thief in the very act, whereupon the culprit dropped the stone and -pretended to be busy picking up an infinitesimal crumb from the neutral -ground. Undoubtedly then the penguin has a conscience, at least a human -conscience, that is the fear of being found out. - -This stone-gathering is a very strong part of the nesting instinct, -and even if at a late stage the birds lost their eggs or their young, -they began again, in a half-hearted way, to heap up stones. Unmated -birds occupied the fringe of the rookery, and amused themselves piling -and stealing till the chicks began to hatch out. - -After the two eggs were laid the males--who always seemed to be in the -majority--used to do most of the work, and judging from certain signs -it would seem that some of the birds never left their nests to feed -during the whole period of incubation. Many birds lost their mates -through the occasional breaking loose of a dog, and these birds could -not leave their nests. - - - - -CHAPTER XLVI - -THE ADELIES AND THEIR CHICKS - - -The rookery is most interesting after the chicks arrive. The young -chicks are silvery or stately grey, with darker heads, which are heavy -for the first day or so and hang down helplessly. After hatching the -parents take equal share in tending the chicks, whatever they may have -done before. For some weeks the nest cannot be left untended, or the -chicks would perish of cold or fall victims to the skuas. - -When the young ones can hold up their heads the feeding begins, and at -first the parent tries to induce its offspring to feed by tickling its -bill and throat. After the chick has once learned to feed the parents -are taxed by the clamouring for more food. - -For some weeks after hatching life in the rookery is smooth enough, for -one parent is always on the nest and the young birds do not wander. -Then the trouble begins, for the young begin to move about, and if -anything disturbs the colony they suffer from panic. - -The chicks knowing neither nest nor parent cannot return home, so they -meet the case by adopting parents, and although some of the old ones -resent this method most of the chicks succeed in getting into nests. -The old bird may have chicks already, but as she does not know which -are her own she cannot drive the intruders away, and sometimes we saw a -sorely puzzled parent trying to cover four gigantic chicks. - -The times comes when both parents must be absent together to get food -for the growing chicks, and then the social order of the rookery gives -way to chaos. But the social condition which is evolved out of the -chaos is one of the most remarkable in nature, and both serves its -purpose and saves the race. The parents returning with food come back -from the sea with the intention of finding their nests and feeding -their own young ones, but the young one assumes that the first old one -that comes within reach is its parent, and, perhaps, it really thinks -so, as the parents are all alike. - -An old bird, coming up full of shrimps, is met by clamorous youngsters -before it has time to begin the search for its nest. The chicks order -the parent to stand and deliver, and the latter scolds and runs off. -But the chicks are both wheedling and imperative, and soon there begins -one of those parent hunts which were so familiar at the end of the -season. - -The result, however, is never in doubt. At intervals the old one is -weak enough to stop and expostulate, but there is no indecision on the -part of the young ones, which in the most matter-of-fact and persistent -manner hunt the old one down. - -Sometimes these chases last for miles, but in the end the old one -stops, and still spluttering and protesting delivers up. - -One would think that under these circumstances the weaker chicks would -go to the wall, but as far as could be seen there were no ill-nourished -young ones. Perhaps the hunt takes so long that all get a chance. - -A few days after the eggs began to hatch there was a severe blizzard, -which lasted for several days. Where the snow had drifted deepest, -nests and birds were covered out of sight, and the indication of the -whereabouts of a bird was a little funnel in the snow, at the bottom of -which an anxious eye could be seen. On a moderate estimate about half -the young perished in this blizzard. - -[Illustration: Adelie trying to mother a couple of well-grown -Strangers. (_See page 215_)] - -The old Adelies do not mind the cold, their thick blubber and dense fur -protecting them sufficiently, and in a blizzard they will lie still and -let the snow cover them. Once after a blizzard I went to the rookery -and could see no penguins, but suddenly, at some noise, they sprung out -of the snow, and I was surrounded by them. - -While the Adelie appears to be entirely moral in his domestic -arrangements, his stupidity (or his short-sightedness, which causes -him to seem stupid) gives rise to many complications. All the birds go -to their nests without hesitating when they come from the sea by the -familiar route, but if taken from their nests to another part of the -rookery, some easily find their way back but others are quite lost. -They are most puzzled when moved only a little way from home, and they -will fight to keep another bird's nest while their own is only a couple -of feet away. - -There is no doubt, however, that the presence of our camp upset their -social arrangements, and probably when undisturbed there would be no -confusion and complications. - -As it was, a mere walk among the nests caused innumerable -entanglements, for one bird would leave its nest in fright, and flop -down a yard away beside a nest already occupied, or on a nest left -exposed by another frightened bird. - -But in all such cases, even when a bird got established on the wrong -nest, things were always put straight afterwards. When they calmed down -they became uneasy, probably observing the landmarks more critically, -and they would even leave a nest with chicks for their own empty nest. - -We tried some experiments on the penguins in order to trace the working -of their minds. If one of us stood between a bird and its nest so -as to prevent it from approaching, the bird would make many furious -attempts to reach home. After a time, however, it would appear to -meditate, and then walk off rather disconsolately, and having made -a tour of the colony would approach the nest from the other side. -Apparently it was greatly astonished to find that the intruder was -still there, and this curious trait was often seen. - -It is like the ostrich burying its head in the sand and imagining -itself safe, or like a man refusing to believe his own eyes. It appears -to think that if it comes to the nest from the other side the horrible -vision will have disappeared. - -A lost chick was never sought for, indeed there would have been no use -in such a proceeding for it could not be recognised. On account of -this peculiarity we were able to make many readjustments of the family -arrangements. When the blizzard destroyed so many chicks we distributed -the young from nests where there were two to nests where there were -none, and these chicks were usually adopted with eagerness. - -When both birds are at a nest that is disturbed, or when the mate comes -up from feeding to relieve guard, there is an interchange of civilities -in the form of a loud squawking in unison, accompanied by a curious -movement. The birds' necks are crossed, and at each squawk they are -changed from side to side, first right then left. We were for some time -mistaken in thinking that this harsh clamour was quarrelling. - -A bird returning from the sea came to the wrong nest and tried to -converse with the occupant, who would have nothing to do with him. -The occupant knew that her mate had just gone off for the day, and -would not be such a fool as to return too early, so she sat still, -indifferent to the squawking of the other. Presently a look of distress -came into the visitor's face as he failed to get a response, but he was -very slow to realise that he had made a mistake. - -The Adelies are not demonstrative of their affections, and it is -difficult to discover if they have any beyond the instinctive affection -for the young. One curious incident, however, did occur, which -possibly, was in opposition to what we expected after a long study of -the penguins' habits. - -An injured bird which we had tried to nurse died, and shortly -afterwards a live penguin was found standing by it. We moved the dead -bird to a distance, and after a time found the other again standing -beside it. It was the general opinion that this was the dead bird's -mate which had found it out. From any point of view the occurrence was -puzzling, but I find it less difficult to believe that the bird had -found its dead mate than that it took an interest in a dead stranger, -because there were always plenty of dead birds about a rookery, and the -living went about entirely indifferent to them. - -Instances of real kindness were sometimes noticed; for instance, our -passage through the rookery frightened away the parent of a very young -chick, and a bird passing a few yards away noticed this and came over -to the chick. The bird cocked his head on one side as if saying: -"Hullo! this little beggar's deserted; must do something for him." Then -he tickled its bill, but the chick was too frightened to feed. After -coaxing it in this way the bird turned away and put some food on the -ground, and then lifting a little in his bill he put some on each side -of the chick's bill. This was not an isolated case, but was observed -on several occasions, the helper always running off when the rightful -parent returned. - -[Illustration: Penguins listening to the Gramophone during the Summer] - -One incident seemed to reveal true social instinct. From a small colony -all the eggs except one were taken to see if the birds would lay again. -As it happened they did not, and, after the birds had sat on their -empty nests for some time, they disappeared. But when the time came for -the solitary egg to hatch quite half the nests were re-occupied, and -the birds took their share in defending the one chick. - -When the young birds have shed most of their down they cease from -hunting the old ones for food, and congregating at the edge of the sea -appear to be waiting for something. When the right time, which they -seem to know perfectly, comes, they dive into the sea, sometimes in -small parties, sometimes singly, disappear and may be seen popping up -far out to sea. They dive and come up very awkwardly, but swim well. - -It is marvellous how fully instinct makes these birds independent, -for the parents do not take them to the water and teach them to swim, -indeed the old ones stay behind to moult. Though the chicks have -spent their lives on land and only know that food is something found -in an old bird's throat, when the time comes they leave the land and -plunge boldly into the sea, untaught, to get their living by straining -crustacea out of the water in the same way as a whale does. - -Some of our party did report that they saw penguins teaching the young -to swim, but if this ever happens it is not general. - -Like the Emperor, the Adelie is fond of travelling when free from -family cares. The great blizzard unfortunately left hundreds of old -birds with no chicks to guard and feed, and they began to explore the -country in bands. The round of the lakes was a favourite trip, and -tracks also led to the summits of some of the hills, although the -short-sighted Adelie could hardly have gone there for the view. - -There was no general trek southwards, such as the Emperors made, but -the Southern Party found tracks of two Adelies at a distance of some 80 -miles from the sea. - -While chaos reigned in the rookery I found two Adelie chicks exhausted -and covered with mire, and I took them to the hut and bestowed upon -them the dignified names of Nebuchadnezzar and Nicodemus. They were -placed in a large cage in the porch, and fed by hand with sardines and -fish-cakes. They did not, however, like our way of feeding them, and -it was necessary to force the food so far down their throats that they -were compelled to swallow it. - -In a few days they became quite tame and recognised those who fed them. -Familiar only with our peculiar method of feeding them, one of them -used to show when he was hungry by taking my finger into his bill. - -We shortened their names to Nebby and Nicky and they answered to them, -but they answered with equal readiness to the common name of Bill. When -sounds from the rookery reached them they would become greatly excited, -and tried so desperately to get through the netting of their cage that -we used to take them out for a walk. Then they would make no attempt to -go to the rookery and were rather frightened. - -Nebuchadnezzar was a very friendly little fellow, and would follow -me about outside and come running when called. But their feeding was -unnatural, and for this reason, doubtless, both of them died after a -few weeks. - -A single ringed penguin appeared at Cape Royds at the end of the -breeding season, just as the Adelies were beginning to moult. It -is about the same size as the Adelie but is more agile, and at a -little distance, among a crowd of old Adelies, he looked not unlike a -young Adelie with the white throat. But when I picked him up by the -legs to investigate, he surprised me by curling round and biting me -on the hand--a feat that the Adelie could not perform--and a closer -examination showed me what he was. Never before had a ringed penguin -been seen in this part of the Antarctic. - - - - -CHAPTER XLVII - -NOTES - - -The first seals which we met on this expedition were seen on our voyage -from New Zealand before we entered the actual line of bergs. I did -not see them myself, but from descriptions I gathered that one was a -crabeater, and the other a Weddell seal. Later on, of course, seals -were to be seen in numbers, and one of the reasons why I selected Cape -Royds for our winter quarters was because I saw plenty of them lying on -the bay ice, and consequently we should not be likely to suffer from a -lack of fresh meat. - -On the return from the Magnetic Pole, Mackay found two young seals, -which behaved in a most unusual manner, for instead of waiting without -moving, as did most of the Weddell seals, they scuttled away actively -and quickly. - -Later on he discovered that these two seals belonged to the -comparatively rare variety known as Ross seal. - -On our voyage back to New Zealand I sent a party to the seal rookery -near Pram Point to see if they could find a peculiar seal that we had -noticed on the previous night. - -This seal was either a new species or the female of the Ross seal. -It was a small animal, about four feet six inches long, with a broad -white band from its throat right down to its tail on the underside. The -search, however, proved a fruitless one. - -On our voyage out albatrosses were 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 lift of the _Koonya's_ stern upon a sea. - -Skua gulls were bathing and flying about in hundreds when we first -arrived at Cape Royds. But the most remarkable bird seen on our -expedition was discovered by Marshall and Adams on our southern -journey, remarkable because it was seen in latitude 83° 40′ South. - -This bird was brown in colour with a white line under each wing, and it -flew just over their heads and disappeared to the south. - -They were sure that it was not a skua gull, which was the only bird I -could think would venture so far south. Indeed, on my previous southern -trip, when in latitude 80° 30′ South, a skua gull had arrived shortly -after we had killed a dog. - -As regards bears I have nothing to say except that there are none down -south. - -[Illustration: The Special Surcharged Expedition Stamp with Postmark] - - - * * * * * - - -Transcriber Note - - -Minor typos corrected. Text rejoined where split by images. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SHACKLETON IN THE -ANTARCTIC *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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