With Scott : the silver lining

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SLEDGE-MATES AT CAMBRIDGE, Novemser, 


1913. 
(Standing) Debenham and Wright of Caius ; (sitti 


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) Taylor of Emmanuel and 


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THE SILVER LINING — Voeyace 


BY 


faePrith TAYLOR, D.Sc., Ere. 


WITH NEARLY 200 ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS 


LONDON 
Seer BILDER & CO., 15, WATERLOO PLACE 
1916 

All rights reserved 

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INTRODUCTION 


Tue great adventure of Scott’s last expedition has been given 
to the world in the faithful simplicity of the leader’s own 
words, as they were set down from day to day. His diaries 
were but the basis of the book that should have been written. 
We have not the half of what he could have told us. But in 
another sense, that half is greater than the whole. Here 
stand first impressions, not retouched: the ebb and flow of 
his hopes and fears, the lights and shadows of the moment, 
never reviewed in later perspective after the event ; thumb- 
nail sketches of character, vividly set down; notes of the 
day which reveal his spirit entering into the spirit of his 
men : and at the end, the singleness of heart that could give 
all and accept all for one high purpose. I have often liked 
to think—surely it is true—that the universal thrill awakened 
by his example strung up the soul of the nation unawares for 
the great call so soon to be made upon it. 

The other half of the picture has been partly filled in. 
Others have given the history of outlying explorations with 
their tale of human resource and endurance; they have 
recorded scientific results or described special branches of 
natural history in the Antarctic. Something, however, is still 
left to be told. No one will forget Captain Scott’s almost 
incredulous delight at the goodwill and harmony of his little 
company under the trying conditions of Ross Island. It is 
for Mr. Griffith Taylor to tell of the daily life of that 
company from within, to tell in careless detail its lighthearted 
cheerfulness lining solid effort, which the cloud of English 
earnestness so constantly turns out upon the night. 

The “ other side of the shield” is too often a byword for 
irreconcilable contradictions. It is not so here. The reader 


Vv 


vi INTRODUCTION 


is doubly grateful. He is grateful for the details of the daily 
round as it passed in the explorers’ hut; he is grateful for 
the sense that new testimony only bears out former report. 

Nor are these personal impressions all, though they 
extend over a longer period than that covered in the “ Last 
Expedition.” Mr. Griffith Taylor also gathers up what has 
in large measure appeared elsewhere, the story of his own 
explorations and much of his general scientific results in 
geology and physiography, so that his Antarctic experiences 
stand together as a union in thought and action of all that 
is typified by the old name and the new, Cambridge and 
Melbourne, each his Alma Mater. 

The book makes its appearance in the midst of a great 
war, when books are too often regarded as a first luxury to be 
cut off. Nevertheless I hope that many will be able to find 
in its pages some refreshment of mind, some relaxation from 
the long strain, some strengthening of faith in the latent 
spirit of the Greater England which has sent its sons from the 
four quarters of the world to stand beside the Old Country 
in the hour of destiny. 


LEONARD HUXLEY. 
February, 1916. 


CONTENTS 


Getrinc To kKNow THE MEN F P 5 F E ; : 


II 
Tue Tzérra Nova cors Soutu 

i. The Geologists visit the New mei Glaciers : 
ii. Ship Life in Calm and Storm 
ii. Learning the Ropes 

iv. Blocked by the Pack Ice 

v. Through the Ross Sea . 

vi. Making Winter Quarters at Cape oe 


III 

Firsr Western Expepirion, January—Marcu, 1911 
IV 

A Monts in tHe Otp Discovery Hur, Marcu—Arrit, IglI. 
V 

In Winrer Quarters with Caprain Scott, Aprit—Novemser, 1911 
VI 

Granire Harsour Expepition . 
Vil 

Tue Voyace Back, Fesruary—Marcu, 1912 ; : : : 
Vill 

Tue Enp of THe Expepition . : - ° ° : : 


APPENDIX 5 


Inpex . 


PAGE 


113 


187 


211 


329 


413 


437 


449 
456 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


FULL PAGE PLATES 


FACING PAGE 


Sledge-mates at Cambridge . 5 . Frontispiece 
Officers and Crew, Captain Scott’s Anes Pepeditihas Ig10 . 
Icing Ship in the Pack on the Starboard Quarter : : 
The Norwegian Dinghy or Pram retrieving Birds in the Pack os . 
A Quiet Sunday Evening on the Terra Nova . . ‘ é 
D. Lillie, Ship’s Biologist . : : 
The Northern Fringe of the Pack Ice penine ic Wake of ie Ship 
through Open Pack . : : : ; . . . 
Catching the Fish in the Pack . ; - ' 
Surveying the North Coast of Ross Island from the Terra Nona | : 
Photo from the Ship of Cape Evans. . ° . : . 
The First Hour Ashore ; : : : ° 
Two Motor Sledges on the Beach at en: — 5 : ; . 
Photo of the Hut showing the Ramp and Erebus. , : . 
Penguin Courtship on the Ice-foot near Cape Evans A . 
Ship aground on a Reef off Cape Evans close to the Tunnel Bete . 
Griffith Taylor in Summer Rig (on a Keen day) on Cape Evans . ; 


Model of Country traversed on First Journey . . . ° 
My First Camp in Antarctica at the Snout of the Ferrar Glacier ° 
Photo taken just before we packed the Sledges for the First Sledge 

Journey . . : ° ° : : : 


Trying Times on the eeuies Gace F F ; ° 

Tables of Ice “‘ Mesas” in the Lower Koettlitz cut out of ‘Thaw-water 

Alph River cutting through the Moraines and Ancient Ice . ‘ 

Discovery Hut . 

Crater Heights, the Gap ae isenra ae Hill as Hg from the old 
Discovery Hut 

Mount Erebus from the Old Bitcovery ae 


ix 


16 
61 
61 
65 
66 


66 
70 
88 
88 
g2 
92 
106 
106 
108 
108 
118 
126 


126 
163 
163 
189 
189 


196 
196 


x LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


PACING PAGE 


Bowers’ Party adrift on the Sea-ice 
Over the Hutton Cliffs to test the Sea-ice 


Captain Scott wearing the Wallet in which he ee ‘te Sedging 
Journals . J - - - 


Simpson sending up a “ Ballon Sond a 


The East Corner of the Hut showing the Eddy Trench compe out by 
Blizzards on the Windward Side of the Hut 


Captain Scott’s Autograph List forthe Aurora Watch . : : 

Some Antarctic Archives > 

ee on Cape Evans, sie the Deep Bday on re Windward 
ide 

Debris Cones on eae s End re mile par of 1 Hut) 

“« Blizzometer Record ” during the Search for Atkinson 

Lakelets of Cape Evans 

A fine Steam Cloud blowing South ia ickinn ‘ : 

A Glacieret near Island Lake (C. Evans) due to Wind-blown sale : 

Ice-quakes in the Sea-ice A = 

The Tide-crack at the North-west Cisse of Cane Rises ‘ 

High Cliff and the South End of the Barne Glacier 

“The Barrier Silence” 

Bernard Day on the Motor Sledge just bliin he dint for ies South 

The Start of the Motor Sledges 

Wilson packing his Pony Sledge the Day Ketidh the ket for re Pole . ‘ 

The Hut after the Winter 

Relief Model of the Region traversed in re Seibel sini 

The Second Western Party the Day they were picked up by the Ship . 


A Panorama of Cape Roberts, where the Western med was isolated for 
Three Weeks. Looking North : : 3 


Avalanche Cliffs on the South Side of Granite anaes k 

The Field of Crevasses (Skauk) at the Foot of bai Tongue . 

Granite Hut, Cape Geology : 

Forde cooking Seal-fry on the Blubber-stove at en Rais , 

Heavy Sledging off Sey se! — ay where we tried to a to 
Land : - . 

The “ Half-Ton ” after Nelson left us of nd Mouth of Dry V alley “ 

A Tight Corner! Crossing the Forty-foot Tide-crack off Point 
Disappointment, Granite Harbour ; : : : 

The First Western Party in a Natural Ice-tunnel amid the Pinnacles of 
the Koettlitz Glacier . 

The Second Western Party at Cape Geology ee Harbour, on 
Christmas Day, 1911 . ‘ ; . 


198 
207 


214 
218 


218 
226 
266 


380 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


x1 


FACING PAGE 


Gran’s Midsummer Bath 

The Couloirs of Mount England Glick ane into efi ee 

The Rush to Safety : over the Edge of the Blue Glacier . 

Engineer Williams at the Winch 

Bernard Day on the Capstan 

A. B. Cheetham, who holds the Record for crossing ae ats Circle 
G. C. Simpson 5 

A very “Ordinary Seaman ” 

Pennell on Bridge 

Photo of Crew off Akaroa . 


ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT 


Block Diagrams illustrating the Basins, Gorges, and Riegel in the Val 
Ticino below Saint Gothard ; 

Section across Poop of Terra Nova 

Harbours visited on the Voyage to New mika 

The Cuspate Peaks of Mount Cook and the Matterhorn 

The Snout of the Tasman Glacier from Sebastopol . : , 

Glaciers in New Zealand visited in November, 1910, by the Geologists 

Looking down the Snout of the Mueller Glacier from the Stocking 

Plan of the Deck of Terra Nova . : : : ‘ 

Vertical Section of Terra Nova illustrating Incidents in the Great 
Storm, January 2-3, 1911 

Figures of Latitude and Longitude 

Iceberg Forms 

Sounding Apparatus . ‘ ; ‘ , 

Course of Terra Nova through ie Antarctic Pack as far as Cape Evans, 
Dec, 7, 1910—Jan. 4, 1911 . 

Coasting Ross Island, Jan., 1911 

Life’s Round in the Antarctic 

Cape Evans from Inaccessible Island 

Sun-holes . 

Antarctic Spoor : : - F : . ; ; 

Iceberg Equilibrium. The Tilting of the Tunnel Berg during the 
Winter, 1911 . : - : » : . : : 


a9 
Sip 
411 
418 
418 
426 
426 
428 
428 
435 


PAGE 


xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


Sketch of T'wo Grottoes cut in Glacieret near the Hut, Jan. 15, 1911. 


Sketch Map of Cape Evans, Jan. 21, 1911 

Geological Sketch by Captain Scott ; 
Facsimile (reduced) of Captain Scott’s Sledge hemeaiss 
Geological “Sandwich” near the Dun and Hedley Glaciers 
Moraine Material at the Taylor Glacier, looking West 
Crater on the Flank of the Taylor Valley 3 

The Avalanche-fed Lacroix Glacier in the Taylor ue. 


122, 


Sketch Section across the Taylor Valley at Suess Glacier, showing the 


Nussbaum Riegel which bars it . . 
Looking west up the Dry Valley below Taylor Glacier 
“The Compleat Explorer” 
“« Anarthoclase”’ Felspar : 
The Age of Rocks above the Tay tsi Glacier : 
Plan of the bygone Twin Glaciers of Lake Luzern 
The Morphology of Frozen Ski-boots . 
“My Footgear” 
Empty Hanging Valley on in North Wall of the Davi is Gude 
“ How Evans won his Bet ” 


The “ Palimpsest” theory. Genesis Sketch PRE shane re 


chief types of Valley Erosion 
Forks for Blubber . ‘ “ 3 : 
Map showing our Journey round the Breaking Barrier 
Sketch Map of the Environs of Hut Point . 
Plan of the rejuvenated Discovery Hut 
The Blubber Stove in the Old Discovery Hut . 
Steig-eisen 
The Sackcloth Fete 
Blubber-Lamp made from ‘Tin Misiiebne 
Testing the Sea Ice off Castle Rock 
From Castle Rock to Cape Evans . 
The Two Tents on the Ice-shelf at Little mae Isle . 
Plan of Hut, 1911, showing Nicknames and Bunks of Explorers 
The Electrical Breadmaker : : : x k : 
Changes in Wind Direction 
Simpson’s Clue 
Simpson’s Instruments - : 
The Arch Berg before it fell in sea sega tie Gate Berg “ 
Balloon Meteorograph 


PAGE 
102 


107 
114 
123° 
131 
135 
137 
140 


141 
142 
144 
145 
147 
149 
154 
159 
161 
163 


175 
176 
178 
190 
igi 
193 
197 
200 
201 
205 
206 
208 
212 
216 
217 
218 
221 
227 
234 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


Evans teaches us to Cobble 

Temperature Curves , 

Sections of Fossils, Beardmore Glacier . i 
Fossil “ Sponge-Coral ” from the Beardmore Glacier 
Archeocyathinac Marble set ina Ring . 

Bill’s Nose-nip : ‘ 

A Characteristic Portrait in a Bliz! 

Vertical Temperature Gradient in Hut 

How we found Midwinter 

The Night Watch Supper . 

Lost in the Blizzard . 

The Twin Glaciers . 

The Future Ice-age . : : 

Reversal of the Steam Banner of mee 

The Mouse-trap Camera ‘ 
The Wind-ridge on Inaccessible Isle th Tracks : 
The Dissected Debris Cone 

A Peculiar Animal seated on the top of 2 a Debris Gone 
Book-plate illustrating Polar Clothing . 

Robinson Anemometer 

Sunshine Recorder . 

“'Taylor’s Patent Heel-tips ” 

The Waved Edge of Glacier Tongue 

The Seal’s Method of rasping away the Ice 

“ Polar Wireless ” 

Ice Crampons . : 

Our Water Ep) The G Granite Ce at Cine enlehy 
Gomphocephalus, Antarctic “‘ Springtail” 3 


Pressure-ridges in the Sea-ice looking West from Cape Gesiogy to bie 


Punch Bowl Cwm ; ; 
Pulpit Rock, the home of the Sea-kale . 
Ironclad Boots for Antarctic Geologists 


Looking North-west from Cape Geology, setts He Gtanite Clift of 


the Kar Plateau capped by dolorite 
Gran’s Béte Noire : 
Sketch Map of Region near the Devil’s ee Boi 
Mount Suess Nunatak looking West from Redcliff . 


Sketch Map of Mount Suess Nunatak and Gondola Nunakol 


* Erratic” perched on Six Small Stones, Gondola Ridge . 


xiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 
Sketch-diagram of South-west Face of Mount Suess, showing the Fossil- 


bearing Beacon Sandstones . . - 389 
Gondola Ridge from the top of Mount a king icant aes . “ggu 
Sea-kale at 77° - e 5 Z 5 - « 393 
Flexure in 30-feet Berg, Cape ea: s : 403 
Diagram illustrating the Way we managed to “ Raise nt date a re a Laff 

upon Luff”, : : : ; ; : : - 420 
Method of fixing Ice Anchor ; : ; ; : . 421 
Trimming Coal in the Starboard Main Hold ; : : é 5 Beg 
Chart of Bay of Whales’. : ; : : : ; or ae 
Chart of Parties (Amundsen reaches the Pole) ; : : - 439 
Chart of Parties (Scott reaches the Pole) ; ‘ : ; - 441 
Chart of Parties (the Last Camp) E : : ; : -) gage 


Clossopteris - : - : : : F ; : - 444 


MAPS 


PAGE 


. The Chief Travels of the Sixteen Officers at Headquarters, Cape 


Evans, Ig1I_ .. : . < E < : < A 12 
. Map of Antarctica showing Localities of Recent Expeditions . S| ei? 
. Map of the Coast from Cape Royds to Hut Point : Facing 86 


. Physiographic Features of Cape Evans due largely to the Retreat of 
the Erebus Glacier. : : : . : » 299 


. Return Voyage of the Terra Nova in March, 1912 : : « 414 
. Recent and Future Exploration : : : 2 : « 450 


. Map of the Region traversed on the Western Journeys, 1911-1912 
At end of text 


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NG TO KNOW THE MEN” 


* 


“GETTING TO KNOW THE MEN” 


“ Wuere can I find Dr. Wilson ?” 

I had just entered the quadrangle of the Biological Schools 
at Cambridge, when a door opened quickly, and a well-knit, 
wiry individual ran down the steps towards me. 

“ Which Dr. Wilson ?”’ said he. 

“Wilson of Antarctica,” I replied. 

With a quizzical smile that | was soon to know well, he 
returned, “1 am Dr. Wilson.” 

It was in this way that I made the acquaintance of the 
Scientific Director of the expedition ; and in the ensuing con- 
versation at Christ’s College I learnt the requirements of 
Captain Scott. But the steps leading to this Sunday interview 
were rather amusing to look back on. 

On a Saturday afternoon of December, 1909, I had been 
having tea with Wright of Caius, and we discussed many 
topics, such as cancer and Canada, eugenics and Shackleton. 
He remarked that he would like to go with Scott next August, 
and that he would go if I would! However, we did not 
discuss this topic, for I left to dress for the Philosophical 
Society’s Dinner at John’s. In the old Combination room 
were most of the scientific dons, and Dr. Marr beckoned to me. 

““] wanted to see you. Would you like to go with Scott 
to the Antarctic as English geologist ?”” He was pleased to 
say that my glacial work and travels suited me for the post. 
I said I had not thought of it at all. He added that Dr. 
Wilson would probably call on me on Sunday, to which I 
replied that I had intended to be off to the Alps at 9.30! 

I departed, only to fall into Professor Seward’s hands. 
He asked the same question ; and Hutchinson of Pembroke 
came up a moment later and said, “Don’t you think Taylor 
ought to go to the Antarctic?” I suggested that I felt as if 
I were being pushed out into the cold ! 

B 2 


4 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


I postponed my trip to Grenoble for half a day, and had 
a long talk with Wilson. He gave me a letter to Captain 
Scott, which I presented after my return from France. 

We had a fine trip! Four Australians cycling through 
the High Alps in mid-winter. When it did not snow it 
rained—and mostly it did not snow! At the pass of Croix 
Haute we had to traverse thirty kilometres of heavy snow, 
and later in the Auvergne we found that snow formed quite 
a good surface for a bicycle, which discovery nearly led to a 
fatality in the Antarctic, as will appear later. 

On my return to London a month later (8th January) I 
called at the Antarctic offices and had an interview with 
Captain Scott. 

I soon gained an insight into the multifarious occupations 
of a Polar commander. The offices of the expedition were 
in Westminster, at 36, Victoria Street, halfway between the 
Abbey and the vast railway station at Victoria. They were 
situated in a district peculiarly devoted to the empire’s interests, 
for most of the colonies have their representatives there ; and 
that greatest boon to travellers, the Army and Navy Stores, is 
just across the way. 

I will try to give some idea of the appearance of the expe- 
dition’s headquarters during the busy months of preparation. 
In a large room occasionally sat Captain Scott, but he was 
usually busy with some ingenious foodstuffs or patent ap- 
pliance in one of the other rooms. Adjacent was the secretary’s 
office, and there he was to be seen, inter alia, wading through 
some of the eight thousand applications from eager souls 
anxious to get out of the rut by joining the expedition in one 
capacity or another. Naturally enough, the names of naval 
officers were numerous, both on the staff and among those 
applying. In fact, the navy could beat any other team that 
the expedition could get together at any game whatsoever. 
An explorer friend of mine had no great opinion of navy 
men, and strongly advised me to learn boxing to uphold the 
dignity of science. So I started a boxing club at Cambridge 
among the scientists, but we did not know then that navy 
champions like Parny Rennick and Dr. Atkinson were to join 
the expedition. Here let me add that arrogance was the last 
attribute of my dear naval friends down South. 

In a third room at headquarters were samples of patent 


“GETTING TO KNOW THE MEN” 5 


foods. One open tin discloses shrivelled root-like objects 
about the size of lead-pencils. This was desiccated rhubarb, 
and it seemed merely concentrated sourness in its present 
state, though it furnished many dishes at headquarters later 
on. Cabbages and greens too much resembled coarse leaf 
tobacco to be eulogized bya non-smoker. A Cambridge friend 
—doing physiological research—was extremely pleased when 
he heard I was going South. ‘“ Ah,” said he, “ you can try 
my patent food all next week ; you'll need nothing else for 
any of your meals, and I can give you a full supply for the 
Antarctic.” Owing to various contingencies, the tin remained 
unopened, and I left it, with my blessing, for the landlady. 

In another corner of the same room an eager inventor is 
explaining the excellences of his patent stove, which burns 
almost without fuel and is guaranteed “ to produce little or no 
carbon dioxide” ! 

Here I first saw Dr. Simpson, who was wrestling with this 
invention, which—apart from its chemical peculiarities— 
seemed suitable for warming his magnetic hut. The equip- 
ment of this mansion seemed to occupy all his waking 
thoughts, while his chief exercise seemed to be taken by 
whirling sling thermometers. 

The other room was almost filled with a huge petty officer 
who was sorting gear for the sledges. I looked at his sturdy 
proportions with considerable respect, which would have been 
increased had I known how invaluable “ Taff” Evans was to 
be on my first expedition in the Antarctic. An old 1902 
sledge was lying in the passage, whose splintered runners and 
weather-worn appearance told graphically of the screw-pack 
and “ bottle-glass ”’ ice it had surmounted in the past. 

Captain Scott was busy at first, but I soon had a long talk 
with him. In my journal I wrote as follows :— 

** Scott is just what I expected, a sturdily built, clean-shaved 
naval officer, with plenty of humour and decision. He told 
me that Mawson was coming over from Australia immediately. 
His idea was to have two geologists on the Erebus side of the 
Barrier, and one on King Edward VII. land. The latter 
party would have wireless if possible. He drew a moving 
picture of me wiring signals of wind velocity, etc., to Mawson. 
«Just like old times, a friend at each end,’ said he. Scott is 
going to try for the Pole along the old route, I gather, and 


, 6 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


not vid King Edward VII. land. The ship will leave in July 
and make a long trip vid Madeira and Kerguelen to enable 
the men to shake together.” 

Lieutenant Campbell was often in and out of the offices. 
His was an independent command, and he was collecting his 
stores and labelling them with a distinctive broad green band. 
The cases were made of Venesta—a patent three-ply material, 
extremely light and extraordinarily tough. One could hardly 
break into them with a pick-axe! They were bound with 
iron and made to contain about 4o lbs. weight, to facilitate 
handling. 

The question of Antarctic clothing greatly interested many 
ladies of my acquaintance. Some of them, indeed, were so 
urgent that I should look into this matter, that I began to get 
alarmed myself. On inquiry 1 found that the fur boots were 
carefully arranged to go over four pairs of socks and a layer of 
senna-grass ; which seemed to point to a somewhat wide 
margin of safety. Of the Antarctic suits—trousers, jerseys, 
and overalls—I was told there was a supply in two sizes— 
long and short! I looked at the scientific director as he 
smilingly gave me this information, and judged what would 
fit him would suit me, so that no measurement was necessary 
in this class of tailoring. 

The first order from Captain Scott concerned the purchase 
of clothing for the voyage to New Zealand. For this £8 was 
allowed by the Expedition. I told Captain Scott that I was 
not making the voyage in the Terra Nova, and had a kit of 
tropical gear already. He remarked with a twinkle in his eye, 
“Never mind about that, I dare say you will be able to spend 
it on something useful !” 

A few days later 1 went to the West India Dock and saw 
the Terra Nova for the first time. Here was Lieutenant 
Evans “ merry and bright” from the start! He was assisting 
Captain Scott to chalk out cabin spaces on the deck. In a 
later section I describe her equipment very fully, so that there 
is no need to dwell on it here, save that amongst the large 
liners in the dock she had somewhat the appearance of a 
minnow among the Tritons. At any rate, the “leviathan ” is 
half as large again as Shackleton’s Nimrod, and if Columbus 
could board her no doubt he would feel himself on a 
Lusitania. 


“GETTING TO KNOW THE MEN” 7 


About this time I received a cable offering me a post on the 
Commonwealth staff. Through the kindness of the authorities 
concerned I was able to hold both positions concurrently ; and 
I went South with a definite commission to study all the 
scientific factors—but especially the meteorology—which 
might concern Australian interests. 

Early in February Mawson came up to Cambridge to stay 
a few days with me. We had passed through Sydney 
University together, and done our early geological field work 
under Professor David. We had kept in touch with each 
other and had many common friends. During my cycle trip 
through the Alps, Glasson (from Adelaide) told me that when 
any of Mawson’s acquaintance at Adelaide University wanted 
chocolate, the explorer would take an ice-axe and break a lump 
off the huge block he had looted from Shackleton’s Expe- 
dition! I felt that an expedition of this type had peculiar 
attractions for me, but, alas! our chocolate supply was never 
on such a prodigal scale. 

Mawson gave us a talk at the Research Students’ Club 
that evening. He told us many harrowing tales, and glances 
of pity were bestowed on Wright and myself by the other 
members of the club! The next afternoon he was persuaded 
to give a lecture in the geological school, so that we knew a 
lot more of Antarctic conditions before he left. By this time 
he had decided not to accept Scott’s offer of a position on the 
staff, but he gave all of us much useful information as to 
equipment and research, 

Two other Cambridge men—both biologists—were ap- 
pointed to the staff. I had heard of Lillie’s adventures in the 
Atlantic, where he had carried out anatomical dissections with 
an axe! His subjects were whales, on which, I take it, ordinary 
instruments would have had but little effect. 

He was a John’s man, while Nelson came from Christ’s. 
Nelson had been “down” for some time, working at the 
Plymouth biological laboratory. I had heard of him from a 
friend of mine who had worked there also, 

Wright, of Caius, had been a mate of mine for several terms. 
He was a leading light in our Peripatetic Club, and was in fact 
the best walker among the members, Wright and I heard so 
much of the prowess of the naval men in every branch of 
athletics that we decided to show them that the scientists had 


8 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


some muscle. One morning we set off from Cambridge at 5 a.m. 
with some boiled eggs and chocolate and walked to London, 
where we reached St. Paul’s, Islington, at 5 p.m. It was a 
non-stop effort, and Wright came through “ smiling,” but my 
feet were so sore that I could hardly stand next day. My 
chief recollection is one of loathing for hard-boiled eggs, and 
of the relief with which I dropped three-quarters of our 
provisions in a secluded corner of King’s Cross ! 

During the Easter vacation | planned a trip to the Enga- 
dine and Como to study glacial erosion in some detail. I had 
already spent some months in this part of the Alps, and 
wished to gain fresh data on many questions. A college 
friend accompanied me. Professor Bonney was kind enough 
to give us advice as to the best routes during March, for my 
previous trips had been in summer. He also discussed the 
questions of valley erosion at some length, and I was glad to 
hear that they would form the basis for his presidential 
address to the British Association at Sheffield. He was 
strongly opposed to W. M. Davis’ views on the subject, 
holding that water and not ice had cut out most of the Alpine 
valleys. 1 had learnt my glaciology from the eminent 
American while in the Swiss Alps, and was naturally Davisian 
in consequence. However, Antarctica led me to place more 
stress on frost action as an eroding agent, so that my position 
is now between the two schools ! 

We had an interesting and useful trip lasting for six 
weeks. This is hardly the place to discuss the results of 
this journey, though in some sense it belongs to the Expe- 
dition, for Captain Scott paid the bulk of my expenses. I 
visited for a second time the wonderful valleys north of 
Bellinzona, the Val Mesocco to the north-east and the Val 
Ticino to the north-west. At Mesocco and Faido are two 
of the most striking bars or “riegel” across the Alpine 
troughs, and later in Antarctica I was to find a third even 
more striking example. Thus, about twenty miles south of 
Saint Gothard is the dasin of Piotta, a trough with vertical 
walls two thousand feet high and a flat valley floor. This 
is analogous to the Antarctic valley containing Lake Bonney 
(77° 30° S.). Then at Fiesso this basin is bounded by a 
great bar or riege/, through which a narrow defile passes at 
one side; so also at the Nussbaum Riegel in Antarctica. 


“GETTING TO KNOW THE MEN” 9 


Below Fiesso is the broad trough of Lavorgo closely paralleled 
by the broad “dry valley ” in the southern continent. 


Rirolo Madrano Fiotta Fiesso Prato Lavorgo 


Block diagrams illustrating the basins, gorges, and riegel in the Val Ticino 
below Saint Gothard. (Cf. Taylor Valley, Antarctica.) 


On my way back from Italy I stopped for a few days with 
the glaciologist Nussbaum at Bern, and explored the queer 
drainage in the, valleys near that city. In the last Ice Age all 
this fertile country lay below the Rhone Glacier, and I was to 
find that many of the features in Antarctica reproduced, in 
the present, the past history of the Swiss scenery. 

I reached London on the evening that Peary gave his 
lecture in the Albert Hall. Mawson had given me his ticket 
and I decided to go, though I had to appear in my touring 
rig of puttees and peletin. I heard that Bernard Day—our 
motor expert and lately with Shackleton—had the next seat. 
It was a tremendous crowd and a very interesting lecture. 
As is somewhat usual with Americans, he gesticulates more 
than is common among British speakers. He had just 
received the medal (which was designed by Lady Scott) and 
expressed his sense of the honour done him and the care 
with which he would cherish this token of the Geographical 
Society’s esteem, when the medal dropped violently from his 
hand amid audible amusement from the thousands comprising 
his audience. However, he picked it up and proceeded with 
his remarks with the greatest sang froid. Day and I were 
much impressed by his method of relaying with dog teams, 
and felt that he deserved full credit for his long-sustained 
attack on the North Pole. Three years later I was to be 
again in the Albert Hall to hear Commander Evans describe 
the British conquest of the Pole; but Bernard Day had now 
settled “on the land” near my own home in Sydney, New 
South Wales. 

Before I left England I had met most of the officers, 
Bowers I first saw at dinner one evening with Captain Scott. 


10 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


Lady Scott was coming out to Australia, and was much in- 
terested in the political and social questions of the “ British 
continent.” She had done some long tramps in Switzerland, 
and told us much about the Fabian Society and about her art 
life. She had heard of our tramp to London. “ Did you 
really walk sixty miles in ten hours?” So had rumour: 
reported it. It was mortifying to confess to a bare fifty miles 
in twelve hours! Birdie Bowers appeared in the full insignia 
of a Lieutenant of the Indian Marine. He was at this time 
so busy loading the ship at the docks that I did not see him 
again until I joined the Terra Nova in New Zealand. 

On the 12th of May I joined the Orontes and I reached 
Melbourne at the end of June. For the next three months I 
was busy at the new Federal capital—then unnamed,—where 
I carried out various surveys for the Commonwealth. 

In July Professor David sent me some microscope slides 
made from a limestone obtained by Shackleton’s party on the 
Beardmore Glacier. To our delight I was able to identify 
them as fossil “corals” of Cambrian age, of the same genus 
as those from South Australia on which I had been working 
at Cambridge. Some account of these Antarctic fossils which 
Wright also discovered in some of his specimens from the 
Beardmore is given in the account of our life at headquarters. 

Professor David gave me invaluable advice on Antarctic 
matters. At the School of Geology at the University of 
Sydney is a large “ Antarctic Room” filled with specimens 
collected on the 1907 Expedition. Here Priestley had been 
working out results for many months, and here he presided 
over informal “tea” at 4.30 every afternoon! Here I met 
Alan Thomson, a geological scholar from Oxford, who was to 
have been one of us, but that he developed lung trouble at 
the last moment. In consequence of Thomson’s illness, 
Priestley obtained Shackleton’s permission by cable, and 
thereupon accepted Captain Scott’s offer to join us. Many 
were the yarns Priestley told us of his 1908 experiences. He 
said that the young Eskimo dogs, born down there, never 
knew water, yet they held out a water-can for a drink when 
they saw it! More credible was the story of how they buried 
the water-can (containing a future drink) and were profoundly 
disgusted on digging it up to find that their refreshment had 
vanished! The yarn which I fear I completely disbelieved— 


“GETTING TO KNOW THE MEN” II 


anent killing skua gulls by throwing a slab of rock vertically 
upward—I proved practically a few days after landing at Cape 
Evans, as will appear in its own place. 

Meanwhile the Terra Nova had left Cardiff and slowly 
sailed by the “ wind-jammers’” route to New Zealand. They 
had an exciting time at South Trinidad—a lonely island off 
Brazil—swimming through shark-infested surf to the shore. 
Here they made some biological collections, and on the 
remainder of the voyage many of the land-lubbers became 
respectable sailor-men. I hardly knew Wright when I saw 
him reefing sails and running up the ratlines as if to the 
manner born. 

The third geologist appointed on Professor David's 
recommendation, was Frank Debenham, scholar at my old 
university, and a family friend for many years. Indeed, the 
three sons of each family had gone to the same school, and 
five of us to the same university. It was extremely pleasant 
to be associated with men like Debenham and Wright, and I 
was indeed fortunate to have them as sledge mates in the 
difficult times to come. 

By degrees all the party were assembling at the Anti- 
podes, Meares had been collecting dogs and ponies in 
Manchuria. He had spent several years in this part of Asia, 
and was already renowned for his journeys into unknown 
Tibet. He passed through Sydney in October—accom- 
panied by Lieutenant Bruce—a few days before I arrived. 

Captain Scott, Wilson, and Simpson were now in 
Australia busy on various matters. During the voyage 
Simpson and Wright had carried out experiments on the 
electrical state of the air, and the latter was now engaged on 
testing and standardizing his pendulum apparatus before he 
left civilization. 

On the 22nd of October, 1910, Debenham and I left 
Sydney for New Zealand. We were to join Captain Scott 
at Christchurch, and the Terra Nova was now lying at 
Lyttelton—the port of that city. 

Some of the officers I did not meet until I reached New 
Zealand. There was Ponting, whose beautiful book on Japan 
had just appeared. He had had a most varied experience, 
including mining and ranching in California, before his genius 
in artistic photography manifested itself. He and Meares 


THE SILVER LINING 


WITH SCOTT 


12 


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“GETTING TO KNOW THE MEN” 13 


were old friends, and had travelled together in many Eastern 
countries. Indeed, this fore-knowledge was a usual thing 
among members. Simpson had almost accompanied Scott 
in 1902. Wilson, of course, made his name on that expe- 
dition; and had been chiefly connected with the Grouse 
Commission since. 

Cherry-Garrard was making an extended tour of the 
world when the expedition was started, and volunteered from 
Australia. He was the sole representative sent by the 
University of Oxford. He came out from home on the 
Terra Nova, and was one of the landsmen who took kindly 
to a sailor’s life. A characteristic of Cherry’s was his never- 
ending series of gifts to his mates. A most acceptable pair 
of huge Jaeger socks brought about our real introduction ! 

Captain Oates had seen service in many parts of the 
Empire. With difficulty one could get him to talk of his 
experiences in India (in the province of Indore) or in the 
South African war, where he served with distinction. He 
was very busy with the ponies during the voyage south, and 
I hardly spoke to him until we were marooned together in 
the Old Discovery Hut. One heard that he was a keen 
yachtsman, but his strong character and real sense of humour 
were hidden under a very quiet exterior. Our naval surgeon, 
Dr. Atkinson, and myself had no work in common until 
the same month of March at Hut Point brought us together 
when the Western and Depot parties joined forces. 

Perhaps the most interesting career among the younger 
officers was that of Trygeve Gran. He was only a few years 
over age, and yet he had seen more of the world than any 
member except Captain Scott. Born in Bergen, and educated 
in Switzerland, he had travelled all his life. He knew 
Europe from Turkey to Iceland, and shared with Simpson 
and Campbell a knowledge of Arctic life. He had fought 
rebels in Venezuela, tramped across South America, spent 
several years in the merchant service and navy of Norway, 
and was now a sub-lieutenant and a B.A. of Christiania. 
His chief record hitherto had been that of winning the Blue 
Ribbon of Norway, the Holman-Kol cup for ski-running. 
This narrative will have much to say of him, and will show 
that his versatility and willingness to help were remarkable even 
among the group of men who were my mates in Antarctica. 


14 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


People have often asked me what attraction Antarctica had 
for me personally. It was purely scientific at first, but now I 
realize that the companionship with such ideal mates was the 
chief joy in Antarctic life. I have not, up to the time of 
writing, felt any of the “call to the Antarctic” that others 
describe ; but travel anywhere with my mates of the South 
would be equally attractive. 

At the risk of being tedious, I will try to describe the 
chief problem in science which | hoped to help solve by my 
sojourn in Antarctica. Briefly, it is the study of the effect 
of ice (chiefly as glaciers) in carving out the features of the 
earth’s surface. It may quite legitimately be asked, “ What 
is the value of that knowledge? What bearing has it on 
science and human interests ?” 

Most people know that Europe has passed through an 
Ice Age comparatively recently, but few—even among geo- 
logists—would be prepared to agree that almost every factor 
of human environment in Central Europe has been affected 
by this ancient ice-cap. All inter-communication, much of 
the agriculture, all the scenery ; nay, even the very possibility 
of continuous habitation is due to the work of the ancient 
glaciers. The Gothard, Simplon, and Mont Cenis railways 
pass along deep glacier-cut gorges (see p. 9) until they 
reach comparatively narrow ridges which can be pierced by 
tunnels. The great Alpine passes are but cols due to glacial 
erosion. The fertile uplands (the true “ Alps”), where the 
Swiss flocks pasture, and the extensive deep-lying plains of 
deep rich soil are glacial debris. The magnificent waterfalls, 
the tributary valleys “ hanging ’’ over the main gorge, are only 
found in regions where ice has played an important part in 
its past history. In winter it is only in these deep gorges, 
excavated two thousand feet below the general level in 
countries like Switzerland, that the inhabitants and their 
flocks can hibernate until the grass covers the country in the 
succeeding spring. 

There can be no more valuable branch of geology than 
one which tries to chronicle the actions which have made the 
Alpine countries of the world so different from the more 
normal regions. But it is by no means universally allowed 
that this work is principally due to ice. One school of 
geologists maintains that water can carve out a land surface 


“GETTING TO KNOW THE MEN” 15 


in a simliar way; and in Switzerland, New Zealand, and 
similar regions, it is difficult to decide whether the living 
waters or the long-vanished glaciers have cut out a certain 
gorge or canyon. Where, then, is the solution to be found? 
We cannot observe Europe in the clutch of an Ice Age; but 
it is possible to find a region—once, no doubt, as warm as 
portions of Europe—now undergoing its period of intense 
cold and accompanying glacial erosion. 

In almost waterless Antarctica the land is being slowly 
carved out into features which must be related to those 
obtaining in Alpine Europe and other elevated regions, if 
(as I believe) the Great Ice Age has left an unmistakable 
imprint of itself in a characteristic topography. 

I may fittingly conclude the “series of introductions” by 
a list of the officers. This gives their positions ; and, what 
may be found more useful to the reader, their nicknames and 
the personnel of the various parties into which the expedition 
split up on arrival in Antarctica. 


LIST OF OFFICERS AND THEIR PARTIES. 


Leader.—CartTaiIn Ropert Fatcon Scort. 
Second in Command.—LiruTENANT E. R. G. R. Evans. 
Chief of Scientific Staff.—Dr. E. A. Wison. 


SHIP. 


Harry Pennell, Commander R.N. 

Henry de P. Rennick, Lieutenant R.N. 
Wilfred M. Bruce, Commander R.N. 

Francis Drake, Assist. Paymaster R.N. (retired). 
Dennis Lillie, M.A., Biologist. 

James Dennistoun (1911-12 voyage). 

Alfred B. Cheetham, R.N.R., Boatswain. 
William Williams, Engineer. 


SHORE ParrIEs. 
A. Northern Party (Jan. 1911—-Nov. 1912). 


Victor Campbell, Lieutenant R.N. 
G. Murray Levick, Surgeon R.N. 
Raymond Priestley, Geologist. 
(And Abbott, Dickason, Browning.) 


16 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


B. Depét Party (Jan. 1911—April, 1911). 

Robert Falcon Scott, Captain, C.V.O., R.N. (The Owner). 
Edward R. A. R. Evans, Lieutenant R.N. (Teddy). 

Henry R. Bowers, Lieutenant R.I.M. (Birdie). 

Lawrence E. G. Oates, Captain (Titus). 

Edward L. Atkinson, Surgeon R.N. (Atch). 

Edward A. Wilson, B.A., M.B., Chief of Scientific Staff (Uncle Bill). 
Cecil H. Meares, in charge of dogs (Mother). 

Apsley Cherry-Garrard, B.A., Assistant Zoologist (Cherry). 
Tryggve Gran, B.A., Sub-Lieutenant (Trigger). 

(And Keohane, Crean, Forde, and Demitri.) 


C. Western Party (Jan.—March, 1911). 


Griffith Taylor, B.Sc., B.E., B.A., Geologist (Grif). 
Frank Debenham, B.Sc., B.A., Geologist (Deb.). 
Charles Wright, B.A., Physicist (Silas). 

(And Edgar Evans.) 


D. At Cape Evans (Jan—April, 1911). 

George C. Simpson, D.Sc., Meteorologist (Sunny Jim). 
Edward W. Nelson, Biologist (Marie). 

Herbert G. Ponting, Camera-artist (Ponte). 

Bernard C, Day, Motor Engineer (Rivets). 

(And Lashley, Hooper, Clissold and Anton.) 
All those in lists B, C, and D were united under Captain Scott at 
Headquarters during most of 1911. 


E. Midwinter Party (July, 1911). 
E. A. Wilson, H. R. Bowers, A. Cherry-Garrard. 


Pott Party AND SUPPORTS. 


A. Pole Party. C. Summit Party. 

Captain Scott. E. L. Atkinson. 

E. A. Wilson. C. S. Wright. 

L. E. G. Oates. A. Cherry-Garrard. 

H. R. Bowers. P. Keohane. 
Edgar Evans. 

B, Last Support. D. Dog Sledges. 
E.R. G. R. Evans. C. H. Meares. 
Lashley. Demetri Gerof. 
Crean. 


E. Motor Party. 


B. C. Day. 
F. J. Hooper. 


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“GETTING TO KNOW THE MEN” 


2np WestTERN Party (Nov. 191 1—February, 1912). 


Griffith Taylor. Tryggve Gran. 
Frank Debenham. R. Forde. 


At THE Hout (Nov. 1911 to Jan. 1912). 


George C. Simpson. Clissold. 
E. W. Nelson. Anton. 
H. G. Ponting. 


Tue Hur Party puRING THE SECOND WINTER. 


E. L. Atkinson. C. S. Wright. 
E. W. Nelson. A, Cherry-Garrard. 
F, Debenham. T. Gran. 


Crean, Forde, Lashley, Hooper, Archer, Williamson and Demetri. 
They were joined by the Northern Party late in 1912. 


seve J ai 


II 


THE TERR-L NOUVcL GOES SOUTH * 


* My thanks are due to the Editor of the Me/bourne Argus for permission 
to reprint this section. 


CHAPTER” I 
THE GEOLOGISTS VISIT THE NEW ZEALAND GLACIERS 


On the morning of the 4th of November the Australian 
contingent reached Lyttelton. The first ship we saw was the 
Terra Nova snugly berthed alongside the wharf, and separated 
by a few feet from the shed No, 5 in which most of the gear 
was stored. She was readily recognizable by her characteristic 
rigging surmounted by the crow’s nest. The funnel is painted 
a rather vivid yellow, and is decidedly abaft of the centre of 
the ship, a feature which is usually represented wrongly in the 
models of the ship displayed in some of the Dominion’s shops. 

Technically the Terra Nova is a barque equipped with an 
auxiliary screw. She was built at Dundee, and carries three 
masts (two square-rigged), of which the mizen, for reasons 
explained later, is rarely used. Socially she is a Royal Yacht, 
which means that she may fly the white ensign, a privilege 
only accorded to, certain favoured vessels of the Empire. In 
fact, I think, apart from our barque, all the units of the Royal 
Yacht Squadron are on pleasure bent ; and certainly no other 
is frozen in the Antarctic Pack as we are at the time of writing. 
Originally she was used as a whaler, and differs little in general 
arrangement from the Nimrod (Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship), 
though she is approximately twice as powerful a vessel. Almost 
the only wooden vessels now built are those used in the polar 
seas, and as no steel vessel could stand the wear and tear 
caused by the constant collision with ice, it follows that an 
Sete expedition usually makes use of a converted whaling 
vesse 

When I first saw her in the West India Docks at London, 
she had a wide and spacious poop and a distinctly narrow and 
confined saloon. Now the proportions are reversed. The 
poop-deck consists merely of the space around the wheel and 

21 


22 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


binnacle ; all the remaining area has been filled with labora- 
tories and with two central structures, the deck-house and 
chart-house. Below, a relatively noble room has been pro- 
vided ; with an enclosed balcony much more useful and not 
much less ornamental than the classic specimen in Verona ! 

In naval parlance, our saloon is dignified by the title of 
“‘wardroom,” and has none of the inconveniences usually 
associated with polar exploration. It is plainly furnished with 
a long centre table and two lateral leather-covered seats. The 
stove (not yet needed) certainly blocks the passage behind the 


Steuer 


Lia eurregey 


Section across poop of Terra Nova (not to scale). 


head of the table, but under normal conditions, especially 
before the expansive after-dinner moments, there is sitting 
accommodation for seventeen officers. Three more sit on 
boxes at three corners—the fourth being left open as a 
breathing space for the steward. Hence twenty of the twenty- 
four constituting the “afterguard” are accounted for, and the 
remainder are usually on watch, and arrive uproariously hungry 
after the majority have reached the tobacco stage. 

On our early appearance we were cheerily hailed by the 
two officers on board, One had just converted the deck- 
house “balcony ’’’—which overlooked the wardroom—into a 
bathroom, the other was devouring ham and eggs down 


THE TERRA NOVA GOES SOUTH 23 


below. But most of the officers, after their four months’ 
voyage, were staying in Christchurch some eight miles away, 
and came into the ship by early train. Lyttelton is a mag- 
nificent harbour of extraordinary origin. Port Phillip, it is 
well known, is a drowned coastal plain, hence its low banks 
and rounded contour ; Port Jackson is a drowned river valley, 
as is obvious from its winding outline and deep frontage ; 
while Wellington Harbour occupies earthquake landslides. 
But Lyttelton Harbour is a drowned mountain valley, with 
hills rising fifteen hundred feet almost continuously around 
the elongated basin. The eastern flanks of this isolated 
mountain (Banks Peninsula) are drowned in the Pacific; the 
western flanks are buried, several thousand feet probably, in 
the silts and shingle of the Canterbury Plains. The fair city 
of Christchurch, which has arisen on an even plain stretching 
twenty miles north, south, and west, has a wonderful harbour 
at her door, owing to this unique juxtaposition of plain and 
buried mountain. Most of the members of the Expedition 
tramped over the old bridle-track to see the view from the 
top, but all traffic passes through the railway tunnel—one and 
a half mile long—cut deep in the volcanic rocks of the 
Peninsula. 

The office of the Expedition was close-to the cathedral 
in Christchurch, almost in the shadow of the steeple, which 
has a habit of toppling down under the stress of earthquake 
shocks. Here was the secretary struggling with a mass of 
correspondence—very largely letters asking for autographs, 
penguin eggs, and rocks from the south. These modest 
requests, however pathetically they are worded, cannot be 
attended to in the last few days of preparation of a large expe- 
dition. More annoying were the sheaves of letters sent later 
on board the Terra Nova, addressed in such terms as “ Mr. 
Wood-B. Pole-seeker, King Edward VII. Land.” The 
addressees not being known, they will probably languish in a 
New Zealand Dead Letter Office. 

Captain Scott arranged that those scientists who were 
specially engaged in glacier investigation should immediately 
proceed to the New Zealand Alps to study polar conditions 
amid somewhat less strenuous circumstances than in Antarc- 
tica. Ido not propose to do more than give a brief outline 
of the features of this region, which may reasonably be 


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THE TERRA NOVA GOES SOUTH 25 


supposed to be analogous to those obtaining in Victoria 
Land. 

We carried a pair of Norwegian ski as a present from the 
Expedition to the guide at the Hermitage below Mount 
Cook ; and we were shod in Norwegian ski-boots, whose 
chief characteristics are a square high toe—to fit the ski-iron 
—and a large size—to contain comfortably three pairs of 
socks! We were also provided with some special surveying 
instruments, aneroids 
made of aluminium 
and only half the 
ordinary weight, and 
a queer type of hand 
compass, the shape 
of a gypsy’s kettle. 
The needle was sur- 
rounded with a heavy The cuspate peaks of 
oil and the case care- 
fully sealed in, so 
that the oscillation 
should be “dead- 
beat,” and not waste 
valuable time in 
coming to rest. 

A hundred-mile 
motor ride bridges Y] ii 
the gap between the / I) 
railway at Fairlie and y 
the Government ac- 


commodation house N.B.—In both these peaks and also in the 
“the Hermitage” be- Antarctic “Matterhorn” (in ‘Taylor’s 


neath Mount Cook. Valley, 7.v.) the “faceted” slopes are due 
A i to the eating away of the sides by ciirm 
Sree epicty a- (cirque) erosion. 

versed the foothills— 

bare but for coarse tussocks of grass—the Alps came nearer 
and were more visible. The snowline was very strikingly 
marked on the mountains. To the north Mount Cook 
(12,349 feet) showed almost 7000 feet of snow, and thence 
as the mountains decreased in height less and less projected 
above the snowline, until on those 5000 feet high only the 
peaks retained any snow. The Swiss Alps are iz the same 


Yj 
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26 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


latitude (44°), but there the snowline is at 8000 feet, so that 
to get an adequate comparison of the two Alpine regions 
one must add on 3000 feet to the European peaks. Or, put 
in another way, there is as much snow scenery on Mount 
Cook (12,349) as on the Matterhorn (14,780), one of the 
highest peaks in Europe. It is a striking example, illustrat- 
ing the fact that the southern hemisphere is, on the whole, 
ten degrees colder than the northern. For both Alpine lands 
are, as is said above, about 44° latitude. If we use the 
accepted factor of 1° F. decrease in temperature for 300 feet 
ascent, we see that ten degrees difference in temperature would 
alter the snowline 3000 feet, as is actually the case. 

The Mount Cook region forms an interesting stage in 
glacial development between Antarctica and the Kosciusko 


Murchison Gt: 


The Snovt of the 
Tasman Glacrer 


fom Seba sfepol 


region in Australia. Later we shall see what are the appear- 
ances where the snowline reaches sea-level—just north of the 
Antarctic Circle. As we reach the Tasman valley draining the 
Mount Cook area, we are struck by several peculiarities in 
the scenery. There are no spurs projecting into the broad 
main valley, but each of the valley walls lies in one plane to a 
much greater degree than in normal valleys. Perched up on 
the high slopes are little hanging valleys, from which small 
streams cascade to the broad main valley. Along the slopes 
are lines of debris, like wandering railway ‘embankments, 
which (though a thousand feet above the present river) mark 
the height of the ancient glaciers. These latter carved the 
undercut cliffs and left the tributary valleys up in the air. 
These signs are not wanting in the Australian glacial region, 


THE TERRA NOVA GOES SOUTH 27 


where, indeed, they may be more obvious than in Antarctica, 
for they have been exposed by the retreat of the glaciation, 
whereas they will be to some extent concealed beneath the 


immense icefield of 
the south. 

But in New Zea- 
land are enormous 
glaciers, bigger than 
‘any in Europe, more 
accessible and (being 
under Government 
control) much more 
economical from the 
point of view of the 
ordinary tourist. Let 
us imagine ourselves 
a mile or so north of 
the Hermitage on the 
slopes alongside the 
Tewaewae Glacier. 
This hanging tribu- 
tary is, however, 
never known by its 
Maori name, but by 
a more homely one 
(which can hardly be 
a translation) — the 
“ Stocking.” 

Just below us is 
the junction of the 
Hooker and Mueller 
valleys, each contain- 
ing a large glacier. 
We have crossed the 
lower portion of the 
Mueller Glacier to 
reach this spot. It 


a% Pome 
se Dome 


Map of glaciers in New Zealand visited in 
November, 1910, by the geologists. N.B. 
The Tasmanian glacier from X to Y is 
covered with moraine blocks. 


hardly presents the features usually associated with glaciers by 
those who gained their impressions from written descriptions. 
Here it is a disturbed sea of debris, consisting of blocks of 
slate varying in height from twenty feet to a few inches. 


28 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


Here and there large boat-shaped hollows show sheer black 
faces which glisten in the sunlight. Down these falls a con- 
stant stream of shingle, and occasionally a huge monolith 
tumbles with a roar into the body of the glacier. For there 
are ancient crevasses in the glacier, though it needs close 
inspection to see that their dark walls are formed of ice. 

We must go several miles higher up the glacier to reach 
the clean white fields of snow and ice usually associated with 
the name. It is this tumbled debris—the surface moraine— 
which forms one of the most formidable obstacles to exploration 
of the coastal regions of Antarctica; while the smooth normal 
glacier surface is excellent travelling. All round the snout of 
the Mueller Glacier extends an almost circular rampart con- 
sisting of two lines of fortifications. There is an outer wall 


Hooker 
GlI:® sSilrand Water 


from Hooker 


Hermitage Kea Pr 


L ooking down the Snoul of fhe Mveller Glacer, poem fhe Stocking 
(su 10 
some 300 feet high, curving grandly from the Stocking’s wall 
right across the Hooker Valley, and thence above the Hermitage 
back to Kea Point. This is thickly covered with shrubs, and 
contrasts strongly with the somewhat lower inner rampart of 
new-piled blocks of slate. At first glance this suggests an 
ancient crater wall; but it is a glacial product, the terminal 
and lateral moraines shovelled out to the edges of the glacier 
by the ever-moving river of ice. 

More striking still is the course of the water draining 
from the Hooker Glacier. This lies about two miles away to 
the north of the snout of the Mueller, and from ice caves in 
its terminal face a broad stream rushes to join the waters of 
the Mueller Glacier. It will be readily understood that in 
this small area, including the short ice-free strip of the valley 


THE TERRA NOVA GOES SOUTH 29 


and the snouts of the two glaciers (depositing huge piles of 
debris), the deposits are very erratically arranged. Moreover, 
the waters of the Hooker actually hit the side of the Mueller 
Glacier, dip underneath for half a mile, and then reappear as 
a sort of miniature maélstrom. I dwell on this because it 
shows how difficult it may well be for geologists in the year 
10,000 a.D. (when the ice has long vanished) to explain the 
origin of the topography in such a region as Mount Cook. 
Much the same difficulty has occurred time and again in 
regions glaciated in comparatively late periods, such as in 
England, U.S.A., and even in the Australian Alps. One of 
the most promising features in Antarctic scientific work is the 
light it is bound to throw on geological phenomena somewhat 
like this, though on a much grander scale. 


CHAPTER II 
SHIP LIFE IN CALM AND STORM 


Tue few days between our return from the New Zealand Alps 
and the sailing of the Terra Nova were occupied by multifarious 
duties. The ship had been dry-docked at Lyttelton, and a 
bulkhead built across the fore hold. This space was filled 
with water, and the leaks detected where the water spouted 
out. At the same time the lock nuts on the four-bladed 
propeller were inspected by chipping off the casing of concrete 
in which they were embedded. A cross section amidships 
was almost rectangular. I was surprised at the enormous 
lateral bulges which almost made the boat flat-bottomed here- 
abouts, though she narrowed to a sharp overhanging bow 
heavily plated with iron. To a landsman the rudder appeared 
strangely fong and narrow, almost like a simple vertical beam. 
But a broad rudder would project dangerously in floe work. 

After caulking, the ship was brought back to shed No. 5, 
and the loading of the stores proceeded rapidly. On Friday 
(25th October) the dogs and ponies were brought across from 
Quail Island, some five miles higher up the harbour. Neither 
gave much trouble, and I was struck with the calm way the 
dogs endured the pulling and ignominious lifting by neck, 
back, or legs without retaliating. Probably our dogs are 
more gentlemanly than those of former expeditions. 

The ponies are placed in stalls in the fore part of the ship. 
Four are just abaft the cook’s galley in a strong shed, boarded 
up for four feet, but otherwise open in front. The mess deck 
—which may be described as the ground floor of the fore part 
of the ship—has been given up to the remaining dozen in 
similar stalls, six along each side. The seamen whose quarters 
have thus been annexed have gone one storey lower. The 
dogs were at first chained up everywhere—over the hatches, 

30 


THE TERRA NOVA GOES SOUTH 31 


on the deck-house, in the waist, everywhere except the poop. 
The two Peary dogs—somewhat larger but not so sturdy as 
the Siberians—are marooned in the alley between the labora- 
tories and the deck-house, where they are tripped over every 
few minutes by some hurrying scientist. They are both black 
and indistinguishable to me, but are known—by a somewhat 
invidious juxtaposition of ideas—as Peary and Cook. 

On Saturday, the 26th, a farewell address was given by 
the Bishop of Christchurch. It took place at noon on the 
poop, and was attended by all the members of the expedition 
and some half-dozen visitors. The time of departure had 
been fixed for three o’clock many days previously, so that 
every one was ready and there was no delay. We were 
accompanied to the Heads by half a dozen excursion steamers 
and tugs, and by numerous small launches. Guns were fired 
from the battery and from the warships at anchor in the port. 
A New Zealand flag floated on our mizen mast-—presented 
by a local school. Many of the launches had kindly messages 
displayed. One particular large banner in the distance excited 
our curiosity. With the glasses we made out, “ Excursion 
to the Heads, one shilling.”” What a descent trom the sublime 
to the ridiculous ! 

At the Heads Captain Scott left us to join at Dunedin, 
but our most popular manager, Mr. Wyatt, accompanied us 
in his cabin. In anticipation of bad weather—which happily 
spared us—the newly joined members of the expedition de- 
voted their attention to stowing their personal baggage. I 
must confess I felt this a hopeless task. 

Our cabin measures six by eight feet. On the roof beam 
is cut, “Certified to accommodate two seamen,” but four 
scientists and their belongings have spent a large portion of a 
month therein, and ultimately with little discomfort. But 
four wooden bunks and a wash-basin take up a large portion 
of six by eight feet. Our Antarctic clothing had been issued 
the day before we sailed—a solid block of woollen goods, 
with a canvas “sausage” four feet long which they filled 
completely. Four of these formed the piéce de résistance of 
our baggage. But each of us had another similar bag of 
ordinary clothing, and a box for books, etc. On top of this 
pile reposed a layer of sea-boots of enormous length and 
weight, but during bad weather beyond price. Cameras 


32 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


and other delicate trifles were shoved in through the door, 
when one had managed to open it sufficiently. 

I had no idea where we were going to bestow ourselves, 
but an old voyager explained to me how it was to be done. 
Obviously there was no floor space, no room for shelves, no 
cupboards ; but the bunks (one above the other) are big solid 
wooden structures provided with four blankets and a thick 
mattress. A man does not need much more space than a 
coffin to sleep in, and these bunks were nearly three feet 
apart. It was almost impossible to fill that wonderful space 
beneath the mattress! I emptied into it two rucksacks of 
books, etc., one of the aforementioned “ sausages,” a drawing- 
board, all sorts of tools, diaries, hammers, bottles of ink, hunting 
knives. When this was safely under the mattress my sleep 
was not troubled by these crumpled rose-leaves. 

The three new-comers were all geologists, and as such 
needed no laboratory on the ship, but the other scientists 
were able to stow away many articles in the physical, chemical, 
and biological laboratories. These palatial quarters will be 
described later, when it will be understood that this does not 
imply that ‘¢heir mattresses were free from protuberances. 
Wires festoon some of the bunks to eke out the accommo- 
dation. The space over one’s feet is not wasted, for small 
wooden boxes are nailed thereon—or maybe a small bookcase. 
I thought that two of the shoulder-bags used in the Alps 
(known as rucksacks) would be most useful if hung alongside 
my bunk. This ingenious idea failed dismally, as will appear 
later. No one in our cabin has succeeded in controlling the 
vagaries of our ubiquitous water-can. It would appear to be 
an ordinary utensil of a brown-yellow colour, with a spout. 
But somewhere or other it has a pair of legs and a mischievous 
brain contained within it. And usually it is drunk with its 
powers for mischief, and is discovered on its side spilling 
water on our socks and shoes, or inebriate in another corner 
destroying all satisfaction in one’s last dry change. It is only 
of late that we have had peace, for now only half a cup of 
water per day is allowed, and the bucket over the bulwarks 
serves all other purposes. 

Let us pay a call next door—further for’ard, but still on 
the port side of the wardroom. This apartment is known 
as the “nursery.” It is bigger than our dwelling, but needs 


THE TERRA NOVA GOES SOUTH 33 


to be, for six stalwart explorers have their quarters there. 
Black envy at times embitters the friendly feelings between the 
neighbours, for has not the nursery a cupboard with a whole 
drawer (two inches high) to each inmate! A somewhat 
doubtful joy is theirs, however, for by far the most prominent 
piece of furniture therein—and, indeed, there are only two 
besides the cupboard—is a Broadwood pianola! One of the 
first I ever saw was in Samoa, twenty miles from a town, and 
owned by a native gentleman. In that case it was a separate 
attachment, and as his piano had lost many of the strings, 
little good resulted from the combination. But our pianola 
is a thing of beauty and a joy for ever. The new-comer 
notices a bulge in the ceiling—apparently of rubber—with a 
hose pipe attached thereto. This is a primitive but necessary 
adjunct to our pianola, and is, in fact, its little umbrella, which. 
keeps it dry when the stormy winds do blow and poop-decks 
leak. The other piece of furniture, mentioned above, is a 
tall wooden cabinet, containing 250 rolls for the pianola. 
Although probably every member of the expedition has barked 
his shins thereon, yet all is forgiven when Wagner, Gilbert 
and Sullivan, Strauss, the Washington Post, or Ragtime tunes 
(not being a musician, I do not know the names of 245 of 
them) are echoing through the wardroom. Another trial to 
the men of the nursery is that their apartments form a short 
cut to the engine-room. It is only since we reached the pack 
that a constant procession of intruders, bearing unpleasing 
foot-gear and damp clothing (to spread on the cylinder head), 
has ceased to trespass. 

Across the for’ard end of the wardroom is an important 
room dedicated to the culinary arts. Here the two stewards 
cut up succulent joints, and during a gale a merry jostling 
and jangling of countless plates and pannikins rival the notes 
of the pianola. The entrance to the wardroom is on the 
starboard side. It is beset with angles and pitfalls. When a 
visitor has safely negotiated the steep steps leading from the 
poop-deck, and turned sharply round to enter the wardroom, 
he is in grave danger of falling down a hatch to the lazaret 
and chronometer-room. Theoretically, when the hatch is 
open (about six hours a day) an iron bar is placed across the 
passage. Practically the natives feel with an exploratory toe 
in the dark entrance, and press on boldly if the hatch is down. 

D 


34 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


Opening on to these somewhat dismal surroundings is the 
cabin of Meares—the man of dogs and wild adventures in 
the Far East. 

A large portion of the starboard side of the wardroom 
is occupied by the “ owner’s” cabin. Here are Captain Scott 
and Lieutenant Evans, the latter taking charge of the ship on 
its voyage south. The four after cabins (two on each side) 
are not quite so circumscribed as those of the scientists, but 
they are the permanent quarters of the navigators, while 
nous autres are mere birds of passage, and will soon be scat- 
tered over the face of Victoria Land. 

The ship was hove-to just outside Lyttelton Harbour, and 
one had leisure to admire the wonderful coast-line of Banks 
Peninsula. Everything indicates a late submergence of this 
part of New Zealand. Inland valleys sloping away from the 
coast—relics of a former topography—are laid bare and 
chopped in half by the erosion of the waves. I strolled over 
to the top of the ice-house, where one of the junior scientists 
was sitting stoically among the dogs, and Lieutenant Pennell 
was bending over the large standard compass which ornaments 
the ice-house roof. He said, “ You haven’t a knife on you, 
have you?” I proudly pulled out the bowie I’d just bought 
with evil designs on Antarctic seals. He remarked, “ You'll 
have to take that off. I’m swinging ship.” 

This consisted in rotating the ship as rapidly as feasible, 
meanwhile taking timed observations on the sun to obtain 
true bearings. By this means the total effect of the iron in 
the ship and stores on the magnet of the compass was ascer- 
tained. On leaving Antarctica next year this operation must 
be repeated. The aforesaid assistant was noting times when 
the observer called out “Top!” The actual swinging occupied 
about an hour, during which one could trace the devious 
track of the ship by the circular wake over her stern. 

The Clerk of the Weather was kind to us, and our journey 
of thirty hours from Lyttelton to Port Chalmers was peaceful 
and uneventful. The farewell evolutions of Lieutenant Ren- 
nick on the poop-deck, whereby he sent and received messages 
which apparently afforded him considerable amusement, 
directed attention to the value of semaphore signalling in the 
frozen south. Next day might be seen eminent scientists 
wildly waving their arms according to the accepted code of 


THE TERRA NOVA GOES SOUTH 35 


the Boy Scouts, Personally I prefer the Morse code, for it 
can be learned in ten minutes by a dodge which may interest 
my readers as it did the Antarctic party. Each sign is repre- 
sented by a word or combination, which can readily be asso- 
ciated with the letter required. In these key-words dots are 
represented by vowels and the isolated letters s, z, and / ; 
dashes by the consonants (including w and y). Thus A (dot, 
dash) is an; B (dash, dot, dot, dot) is base; C is cave ; die, 
e, safe, gnu, hush, is, kit, aloe, Mr., no, POR, Epps, QRST, are, 
555, t, Usk, azov, awl, yell, bruz. Of the remaining letters J is 
the exact opposite of B and X of P. It was rather a curious 
coincidence that both Dr. Simpson and myself became inte- 
rested in these codes through reading a tale, “‘ Raymond Fre- 
zols,” years ago in the good old B.0.P. 

At dusk on Sunday the 27th we entered the heads of Port 
Chalmers. This is another drowned upland valley of a similar 
nature to Lyttelton Harbour. The novices in the after-guard 
chose this opportunity to essay the rigging. The scientists 
who had made the voyage from England lay out along the 
yard in fine style, in a manner which seemed distinctly pre- 
carious. Standing on a jumping “ foot-rope,” and leaning 
over the broad wooden surface of the yard, both hands can be 
used for furling the sails. When the next sailor gets off the 
foot-rope the latter jerks up a foot or more, so that this posi- 
tion one hundred feet above the water is not one likely to 
attract a nervous person. On this particular occasion it was 
too much for the hardy sailor man. The wind was dead 
astern, and we were burning Westport coal—which is a tre- 
mendous soot-producer, whatever its steam qualities are. As 
a result, a dense mephitic fog enveloped every one, full of 
sulphurous fumes, with clinging clots of soot. It was a weird 
spectacle to see the men working in what one might call a 
“© Hades in the Heavens ”—while elsewhere the whole atmo- 
sphere was calm and clear. Our photographer rushed out to 
try and get the effect, but the wind shifted slightly, and the 
men had come down for a breather. Soon they returned and 
made a “harbour stow”’ for the credit of the ship and the 
gratification of the good folks of Dunedin. 

The most striking object in a polar exploring ship is un- 
doubtedly the crow’s nest. This is a large barrel, about four 
feet high, with a rudimentary seat therein, and a floor which 


26 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


chiefly consists of a trap-door. After a good dinner on Sunday 
evening—which I note consisted of tinned bloater, sheep’s 
tongue, rhubarb, and blancmange, with jam and potted meat 
(if the former edibles did not suffice)—I climbed up 150 feet 
or so of ratlines and reached the crow’s nest. There are two 
stories or landing-stages on the way, the “ maintop,” about 
60 feet up, which is quite a large platform, immediately under 
the main yard. There are two ways of reaching this—firstly, 
up the main ratlines, which bring you right under the main- 
top, when it is necessary to claw out by a small ladder—over- 
hanging very unpleasantly at first—called the “ futtocks.” 
The other, simpler route—scorned by every true sailor, but 
very acceptable at first—is an accessory lateral ladder, which 
gets there just the same. Another pair of ratlines—the higher 
set a little to one side, as before—lead to the next stage—the 
“crosstrees.” This is not a platform, but a mere brace of 
horizontal beams. Another 30 feet and the crow’s nest is 
reached. It is a scramble at first to get in. The trap-door 
is lifted by one’s head, and then the difficulty I experienced 
was to get my knees through, for the interior of an empty 
barrel does not afford much of a grip. It is not used until 
the pack is reached, but is then invaluable in tracing out the 
leads or lanes of open water, though, at that height, it is 
almost impossible to tell whether a floe is one foot or 20 feet 
thick. 

Wednesday (30th November) was our first day out of 
sight of land. Shore-going suits were either sent back to 
Lyttelton from Port Chalmers or stored away in tin trunks 
on board. Little will they be needed for eighteen months or 
more. Fearful and wonderful were the rigs that appeared. 
Caps were of all shapes and sizes, from a Stetson with a back- 
strap to a red piratical nightcap. One member turned out in 
a salmon-coloured knitted confection, which by various fold- 
ings could be used as a cap, a cravat, or a purse (of the old- 
fashioned sausage shape). Coats of all kinds clothed us. A 
black leather jacket with the fur inside is much admired. 
This is worn by our Siberian traveller (Meares), and is suit- 
ably accompanied by a sort of fur busby of fox-paw fur. 
Norfolk shooting-coats are popular ; one man braved the cold 
in a light-textured serge suit, such as clerks wear by the thou- 
sand. But a most welcome gift at the last moment of a 


THE TERRA NOVA GOES SOUTH 37 


hundred grey jerseys furnished every man with a pair of beau- 
tifully warm garments that have in every sense driven all else 
under cover. They are rather large, so that when increasing 
cold necessitates more clothing this goes on under the grey 
jersey. Nether garments soon became fairly uniform also. 


BRITISH 
ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION 
1910-13, 


Track of the “Terra Nova mmm 
Route of Southern Partly 


Map of Antarctica showing localities of recent expeditions. (1) Campbell, 
1gtt ; (2) Campbell, 1912; (3) Taylor, 1902; (4) Taylor, 1911 ; 
(5) Scott, January 18, 1912. Based on map from Royal Geographical 
Fournal, July, 1913. 


The special Antarctic clothing is being kept till we land, but 
by most of us nothing but the heavy corduroy trousers have 
been found thick enough to withstand the cold since we 
crossed the Antarctic circle. These trousers are extremely 
broad in the beam, rivalling a Dutchman’s. But at the ankle 


38 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


they fit tightly when buttoned up, so that they resemble a 
giant’s riding breeches worn by a dwarf ! 

When Nelson ran short of thick breeches he made some 
by the simple process of cutting out a kilt of dreadnought 
blanket, putting in two brass eyelets and lashing it with 
string. As he had a red mob-cap, a sweater, and long sea- 
boots, he stalked about for days a living representation of 
Captain Kidd. 

The official breeches are adorned with bone soup-plate 
buttons which displease some of the wearers, so that the bowie 
knives have come into play and cut them off. Tastes vary 
with regard to knives. Experienced men seem to prefer a 
shilling butcher’s knife with a rough wooden handle ; but the 
budding sailorman, if he has any money, cannot resist the 
ornamental daggers, ranging to two feet in length, with highly 
ornamental handles, cross-guards, and sheaths. For seal- 
killing these are practically useless, for the cross-guard pre- 
vents a deep stab, which is the speediest method of despatching 
the animal. 

There is much variation in footgear. Our Canadian wears 
*‘ shoe-packs ” or soft-soled boots, with some resemblance to a 
polony in shape. During the earlier part of our voyage in the 
“ furious fifties,” every one used sea boots of leather, rubber, 
or leather and canvas. A local New Zealand brand were very 
comfortable, though heavy, and so long that, as an envious 
officer remarked, “‘ they only needed braces to turn them into 
trousers.” It seemed almost impossible to get wet in them, 
but in the gales we discovered they were waterproof from the 
quantities of water we poured out on changing them. This 
had all swept in from above, but was just as wet as if it had 
soaked through in the normal manner ! 

Every week increasing cold has led to a greater bulk of 
underclothing, but little change is apparent in the outer man. 
With plenty of food, plenty of blankets, and plenty of rope- 
hauling, the cold is hardly noticed so far. 

The poop-deck was converted into a barber’s shop the first 
day outward bound. Scissors were despised by the operators, 
who preferred horse-clippers, with which they simply and 
thoroughly removed every possible hair. Ponting (the 
photographer) has a specially close-cutting pair of clippers, 
designed to trim off frosty beards on sledging trips, and one 


THE TERRA NOVA GOES SOUTH 39 


officer was so pleased with the first cut that he was retrimmed 
with the latter weapon. The result was very comic, and called 
forth enquiries from ribald youths as to when he was likely to 
hatch out ! 

We began the month of December with a spanking breeze 
in the most favourable quarter. The fore and main masts 
were clothed in sails. There is a huge boom on the mizen 
mast which swings over the poop-deck (as in a yacht) when in 
use, and carries a spanker, but the alterations to the poop and 
the presence of the funnel of the auxiliary engine so block the 
sails, and indeed to some extent offer the same obstruction to 
the wind, that our ship is to all intents and purposes a two- 
master. Howbeit, we bowled to southward at a rate of nine 
knots. The average speed of the engine is five or six knots, 
so that the sails were of great assistance. Indeed, when little 


4l aboraforles PORT 


tiake 


t STARBOARD 
BRIDGE eo ere has 


How space was utilized on the steamer. 


cargo is in the hold she has reached the respectable speed or 
ten and a half miles per hour. 

Let us take a walk around the decks in their present 
crowded condition. The last day of loading the supercargo 
announced that the engineer could have “two inches of 
coal.” 

This amount is not quite so small as it might seem. It 
was found that the ship was still two inches off her Plimsoll- 
mark (though one of the advantages of being a Royal yacht, I 
believe, is that she is, to a certain extent, freed from ordinary 
loading regulations), and as each inch of loading represented 
nine tons, this meant an addition of eighteen tons to our 
precious fuel. The most prominent cargo was, therefore, this 
coal, in bags, which were laid wherever there was any crevice 
to spare. The “waist ”—as the deck between the elevated 
poop and foc’sle is termed—was several bags deep where it 


40 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


was not occupied by the huge motor sledges and cases and 
cases of petrol. Many bags were deposited on the for’ard 
portion of the poop-deck. And over all sprawled the dogs. 
Much of this deck cargo—including all the coal—would be 
restowed later, the latter in the ship’s furnaces during the first 
week, But “ much water went over the bulwarks” (to mis- 
quote a proverb) before we reached clear decks. 

Under the rising wind on the evening of the first, the 
water repeatedly came in board, and the “ afterguard,” com- 
prising the non-nautical officers, were set to the task for which 
their knowledge was adequate, that of heaving coal sacks to 
the bunker manholes below the bridge. Slippery decks, soak- 
ing sacks, and swamping seas—for the wind continued to 
increase—made this by no means a pleasant task. It was often 
necessary to haul the sacks right over the engine-room from 
one side to the other of the ship. A sudden lurch and down 
would slip a leg between two cases of petrol while the sack 
fell on one’s person, and “‘ Peary ” (or “‘ Cook ’’) assisted in the 
mélée. One special mantrap consisted in the stiffening beams 
connecting the roofs of the laboratories and the deck-house. 
When the deck of the alley-way between was covered with 
sacks of coal a man’s head was very liable to crash into these 
beams in the effort to escape a sea. I had that misfortune 
several times, and our headstrong Canadian friend’s score must 
have mounted well into the ’teens. 

Next day (the 2nd) the wind had veered to the west and 
south, and had increased very greatly ; in fact, we experienced 
a full gale. The ship was hove-to for two days, and though 
we novices could see well enough that things were very lively, 
we did not know how grave a risk we were passing through. 
It was rather a rough breaking-in, for by this time our cabins 
were swimming in water. At first I rather selfishly hoped 
that my /ower bunk would be protected from the thirteen 
Niagaras flooding the upper bunk by the floor of the latter ; 
but as the storm increased in violence both were soaked— 
blankets, tools, books, cameras, everything except a foot or so 
at the head end. 

Early on Friday (the 2nd) it was obvious that not much 
more could be done with the hand-pumps. The seas were 
incessantly washing over the waist—where the pumps are 
placed at the foot of the main mast—and burying the deck 


THE TERRA NOVA GOES SOUTH 41 


under several feet of water. Casks of petrol were drifting 
about and staving in; the hammering on the port bulwarks 
was tremendous, and it was a risky business to get from the 
poop to the foc’sle. This was, of course, not unnatural in 
a gale, and would have caused little anxiety beyond that 
consequent on conditions of heavy lading and loose deck 
cargo. But it can be readily understood that water was 
finding its way into the bilge by a hundred channels with the 
constant sweeping of the decks by the waves. The poop 
was repeatedly washed, giving the helmsman a tough time 
to keep her head in the right direction. At this time 
the pumps all refused duty! A curious compound of 
coal-dust and oil had formed into balls and pellets, which 
collected in the bilge and choked both the hand and engine- 
driven pumps. But this could not be cleared out because 
the bilge was feet deep in water ; moreover, the suction end 
of the hand-pumps could not be reached without lifting the 
hatches, an impossible expedient under the circumstances. 
Thus were we driven to a method almost unique with a ship 
of 750 tons—that of bailing out with buckets ! 

Day and night—in two-hour shifts—the bailing went on, 
until, luckily, the gale moderated. A very strenuous time, 
which I never desire to experience again. 

Down in the engine-room floor are some movable iron 
plates, which cover a hole about two feet deep. Into this 
sump the bilge-water and normal leakage drains, and is 
pumped out with the greatest ease either by the donkey- 
pump or by the hand-pumps. But during this gale the 
water was nearly four feet deep, covering the whole floor 
of the engine-room from side to side, and gradually creeping 
up till it was in the ashpits, only an inch or two from the 
heated bottom plates of the boilers. If these latter were 
reached there was great probability that they would buckle, 
and practically ruin the boilers. Luckily there was no lack 
of unskilled labour in the persons of the after-guard, and they 
assisted the stokers by forming a chain from the bottom of 
the ship to the poop-deck. Three iron ladders with two 
intermediate platforms led from the floor plates to the open 
air, and a gang of a dozen men occupied this for twenty 
continuous hours. 

Outside was the sound of the booming gale shrilling 


42 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


through the sHrouds and ratlines in one continuous shriek. 
Cold waves washed over the bridge, but luckily did not pene- 
trate very rapidly through the sou’-westers, oilskins, and thigh- 
boots worn by every one. But while the upper end of the 
chain was in an Antarctic atmosphere, the heated waters washing 
about the engine-room filled the latter with a steamy, oily 
heat, so that several of the workers kept their clothes dry 


Door.fe Poop Deck 
porr. deck 


’ 
ms, ,? 
0 


<3. VS 


Maa Toot 


- 
ange 
r 
- 
+) 
— 
on 
~ 
- 


os a 


Vertical section illustrating incidents in the great storm, January 2-3, 1911. 


by leaving them behind in their cabins. Down below the 
sound of the rushing waters dashing from side to side with 
every oscillation of the ship was broken only by a cry of 
“Water” as the chain of buckets went up, and “ Empty” 
as they descended rapidly to the bottom. Occasionally some 
one would raise a chanty, which was sung vigorously until 
breath failed through swinging up the heavy buckets. One 
of them was a shade heavier than the others, and it was always 


THE TERRA NOVA GOES SOUTH 43 


a relief to be done with shat one for a brief space. At the 
hatchway, luckily on the lee side, the end man held the empty 
buckets to prevent them washing overboard. He was kept 
moderately warm by the water from the emptying buckets, 
since being in the line of fire he received most of it amid- 
ships, whence it trickled down inside his boots, forming a 
novel mode of keeping the feet warm. 

Now and again would come a welcome cry of “Spell 
Ho!” and those below would climb into the cool air, and 
those outside dive inside to thaw themselves. Then to it 
again till five minutes before the watch ended, when some 
one would be sent off to warn the relief. The relieved watch 
turned in, into bunks soaking wet in many cases, and by the 
time one had warmed up and snoozed a few minutes, there 
came a cry of “ Turn out ; your watch!”’ However, by Friday 
night we were holding our own and gaining slightly on the 
water. Meanwhile the engineers were working double tides 
to cut a hole through the bulkheads so as to get at the lower 
end of the hand-pumps. This was accomplished after many 
hours’ work, and with the aid of a rat-trap the pumps were 
brought into use again. This humble implement was shaped 
to cover the end of the pipe, and served admirably to keep 
the coal-balls from clogging the valves. Soon sixteen men— 
eight on each long crank handle—were clanking away despite 
the incoming waves, and as the sea moderated the outrush 
from the hand-pumps assisted the steam-pumps so that on 
Saturday afternoon the ship was practically dry. 

The toll of the gale was fairly heavy. Two of the ponies 
in the foc’sle stalls had died of the buffeting and exhaustion ; 
one dog had been washed overboard ; and the port bulwarks 
the whole length of the waist (about thirty feet) had been 
badly damaged. The after-portion for two panels (to use a 
landlubber’s term) had been torn out bodily, while for’ard of 
that the planking was washed away, leaving only the frame- 
work, Personal gear suffered greatly. Books and diaries in 
my bunk had been pulped, a camera so warped as to be nearly 
useless, and several surveying instruments, which I had placed 
in a canvas rucksack on the wall, ruined or badly damaged. 
During the gale I had felt that the rucksack was quite dry, 
but on clearing out the bunk a little later I found the bag 
contained half a bucketful of a sort of ‘ hoosh ”—consisting 


44 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


of rusty water, aneroids, compasses, and razors well mixed 
together! Waterproof bags have their disadvantages under 
such circumstances. In the log the gale is given the number 
10, 12 being the maximum. We were unfortunate in meet- 
ing with it so early in the voyage; but, now it is all over, 
one is not sorry that for half an hour or so, in the words of 
Captain Scott, it was touch and go. 


CHAPTER III 
LEARNING THE ROPES 


Sunpay (4th) is a calm, restful day. I think most people 
on board slept well after the gale. “Rise and shine, Mr. 
Taylor, sir,” is the curious reveillé of the steward at 7.30. I 
don’t know how we are to shine, for I haven’t had a wash for 
three days, except a bucketful of sea-water caught with my 
own (by no means) fair hands. Many of us have had all our 
suits soaked, and as to-day is really sunny and almost warm, 
some queer garbs are seen. One scientist reverted to a 
fashionable Tudor garb—to wit, a long speckled knitted tunic 
reaching the knees, and a pair of very long thick blue stock- 
ings! Now that the ship has stopped rolling through 40°, it 
is possible to wedge oneself among the stanchions under the 
deck-pump and obtain a bracing bath. But, as the gentleman 
who occupies the cabin under the pump ungallantly objects to 
the water, so to speak, killing two birds with one stone, and 
bathing Aim also, we are deprived of this pleasure, and revert 
to the even more chilly method of heaving up buckets from 
the vasty deep. The deck-house balcony—an enclosed strip 
of the poop overlooking the wardroom—forms our dressing- 
room, and was invaluable during the gale as a changing stage 
between the howling outer void and the snug wardroom 
below. 

The first duty was to secure the loose boxes and cargo. 
The coal-sacks were all emptied into the depleted bunkers, 
and the cases of petrol for the motor-sledges transferred from 
the poop further for’ard. 

A glance at the sketch-plan of the deck (p. 39) will show 
that the three enormous cases containing the motor sledges were 
almost as large as the permanent structure. Two of them, 
just in front of the main mast, help to form the walls of a snug 

45 


46 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


“hangar” or enclosure for the dogs. Large tarpaulins over- 
hang at the sides, and partly cover the central space ; and here 
the dogs are snugger than they are likely to be in Antarctica. 
On the port side the broken bulwarks have been roughly 
barricaded by ropes and planks ; the narrow alley alongside 
being largely occupied by spare timber and scantling, on which 
three or four other dogs are chained. 

A prominent building is the ice-house, with a flat roof, 
on which are two most important instruments and some half- 
dozen dogs. The ice-house has walls a foot thick, and con- 
tains carcases of sheep, with, I believe, just three of beef. 
It may well be believed that there is little need at present 
(latitude 68°) for careful insulation ; indeed, half a dozen car- 
cases have been preserved by hanging them in the rigging ; 
alongside some penguins, though the latter are not for food, 
but consecrate to the taxidermist. Mention has been made 
of the standard compass—tested by swinging the ship early 
in the voyage—by which the helmsman’s compass and various 
others on board are verified. In the centre of the ice-house 
is the range-finder—an historic instrument, which was used 
on the Scotia in her Antarctic explorations. It will be men- 
tioned later, when the icebergs are described. 

Merry are the meals we have in the wardroom. Gigantic 
meals ; four per diem, and one extra if you are on night- 
watch. Eight o’clock, twelve o’clock, four o'clock tea, and 
7.30 for dinner. Let me try and give some idea of a dinner, 
say, on Saturday night. About three-quarters of an hour 
beforehand the steward, who is dressed, as are the officers, in 
grey jersey and corduroy trousers, appears with the remark, 
“Table, sir!’ This is a sign to clear off charts, calculations, 
diaries, and not unusually novels, from the oilcloth, that he 
may set the table. If any books are missing after this clear- 
ance it is safe to examine the “nursery,” for our steward has 
a fixed idea that untidiness is a characteristic of the latter 
cabin, and so deposits findings on the pianola, whence they 
may emerge after many days. Tin mugs, bottles of lime- 
juice, ship’s biscuits—either captain’s or digestives—butter, 
and enamel jugs of water are the table furniture. As the bell 
is jangled the afterguard pour into the wardroom. Four men 
do not get seats, but if you stand up the range of action is 
much greater, so that it really compares favourably with a 


THE TERRA NOVA GOES SOUTH 47 


seat. Captain Scott seats himself in the office chair at the 
head, and Lieutenants Evans and Campbell, if they are in 
time, sit next him. Dr. Wilson (chief scientist) has a fond- 
ness for the stool out of the pantry. I havea suspicion that 
his shrewd mind has realized that this combines the comfort 
of the seat with the mobility of the stander. The others sit 
where fancy lists ; geologist next to pony expert, chemist, and 
motorman, taxidermist, navigator, lord of the dogs, doctors, 
etc., etc., each with his elbows lovingly exploring his neigh- 
bour’s anatomy. Two of our ’Varsity men, from Cambridge 
and Oxford respectively, prefer an elevated perch on a 
“sausage,” or clothes-bag, at the far corners. Perchance 
thus they feel like dons at their college high table. Enamel 
soup-plates are passed along, and the steward brings in two 
enormous jugs of pea or tomato soup. Meanwhile requests 
—one might say demands—of a nature strange to a lands- 
man’s ears fly across the long table. ‘Carry on with the 
bread, Marie!” “‘ Give the butter a wind, Jane!” (pronounced 
“wined”). ‘Belay with the biscuit!” ‘* Where’s that 
drunkard’s companion?” (This last remark, terrifying to a 
teetotaler, merely refers to a knife with a corkscrew, a very 
precious possession.) I should like to record the ship-names 
bestowed on my esteemed comrades, some of whom rejoice 
in three or four synonyms, but forbear, for personally I should 
hate it to be known that I—a staunch Imperialist—have 
occasionally answered to the cry of “ Keir Hardie.” 

Soup despatched, plates of roast mutton are handed out 
from the pantry, with potatoes and beans, or some weird 
fibrous vegetable which was originally kale, I believe. Lime- 
juice is practically the universal drink, and is extremely palat- 
able. Indeed, this and the mutton and butter are most 
excellent, while all the food is good. There follows plum-duff, 
roly-poly, apple pie, or stewed fruits and blancmange, surely 
the best sweets, if the homeliest, yet devised by cooks. By 
this time hunger’s pangs are dying, and some one starts a 
chorus. We seem to prefer choruses of a rousing nature, though’ 
‘it doesn’t much matter what words we sing, so long as the 
tune hath a right good swing.”’ For instance, “ Rings on her 
fingers,” etc. (or as the Canadian sings it, “ Fings on her 
ringers”), is very popular. ‘“ My name is Gertrude,” “ Did 
she plant a tiny seed of love in stony heart ?”’ 


48 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


(with an honoured member’s name inserted in the song) are 
always encored. Then, since it is Saturday night, “ Sweet- 
hearts and Wives” is drunk in something stronger than the 
juice of the lime by about half the party. (I imagine this 
toast does not appeal to the other moiety. ) 

After dinner some dozen adjourn to the nursery for a con- 
cert. An upper bunk forms the dress circle, the washstand is the 
royal box, and the others crowd round the pianist. We have 
two flautists, two banjoists, and an expert on the mandolin, but 
are badly off for pianists. However, two of us can strum a 
little and are practising to eke out the performance. At any 
rate, there’s no need for the piano except the final chord of the 
bar, for the goodwill if not the execution of the other per- 
formers is so great that the piano is lost. After an hour of 
‘Scottish Student,” the party disperse somewhat, except an 
enthusiast who plays favourite music on the pianola. Certainly 
ours is a quick-change programme ; from “ The Tarpaulin 
Jacket,” rather badly strummed, to “ Lohengrin,” as played in 
grand opera ! 

By ten or eleven all but the watch have turned in, and we 
are one day nearer the Pole. 

The 6th and 7th were days of dull weather, with some rain, 
and a wind veering to south-west, but we made good progress 
under steam, with just sufficient sail to keep her steady. As 
a matter of fact, in ordinary weather, she is a very steady ship, 
and anticipations of five weeks’ mal-de-mer have in my case 
not been realized in the slightest. All but one unfortunate 
turned out throughout the gale—an heroic effort in the case of 
two of the after-guard, who had no interest in the dinner-bell 
for over a week. 

Indoor work perforce occupied us, except when the setting 
of sails required volunteers at the ropes. I hesitate to describe 
this operation, for up to the present I have not been able to 
distinguish the “main weather braces” from the “fore 
to’gallant lee shrouds.”” However, I am busy learning them 
and the words of some of the chanties. 

One of the most popular describes the adventures of a 
mythical hero, “ Ranzo,”” who “was no sailor” at the be- 
ginning of the epic, but being taught navigation by an un- 
usually affable captain, ends up by realizing that proud position 
himself! The chorus, “Ranzo, boys, Ranzo,” is easily 


THE TERRA NOVA GOES SOUTH 49 


remembered. Moreover, it is etiquette to pull only during the 
chorus. No wonder the sailorman loves this chanty. At the 
conclusion of the hauling some mysterious signal passes along 
the “centipede” of sailors, and the experts let go, while the 
novice is jerked forward off his feet by some one coiling the 
rope rapidly round the belaying pins. Then we troop back to 
the wardroom, leave our oilskins and sea boots in the 
“balcony,” and resume our reading, writing, or embroidery. 
This last may seem unusual, but was a fact. 

Many of the after-guard were provided with silken sledge 
flags given to them by friends before leaving. Others had 
had them made in Christchurch. One of the officers, nothing 
daunted by feminine and professional examples, boldly set to 
work and evolved a fine one under the jeers of his com- 
panions. ‘The first sledge flags were carried in the north on 
the Franklin Relief Expeditions, and they are all made on the 
same pattern. They are three feet long and one foot wide, 
the end having a triangular notch a foot deep. At the staff 
end is worked a square St. George’s Cross (red on white) 
while any desired design, such as a private crest, school shield 
or professional emblem, occupies the centre of the flag. A cord 
or ribbon of appropriate colour runs all round the flag. Some 
are very ornamental, and they will make a brave show down 
south. A maple leaf, and a map of Australia are patriotic 
signs. A flash of lightning adorns the meteorologist’s banner. 
Shields of the Cambridge colleges are numerous, and several 
well-known schools, both in Australia and England, are 
commemorated. 

Members of the party were soon seized by Dr. Levick in 
the interests of science. He was armed with a wonderful 
array of slips of coloured glasses, and with a simple telescope, 
across which the glasses could be inserted. With these he 
examined the colour of all our eyes, for it is maintained that 
there is a perceptible change in the iris after a sojourn in polar 
regions. I do not suppose green eyes would change into the 
more popular violet, but on our return we may find we have 
moved up or down his scale of colours ; just as one learned 
ethnologist declares that the hardy Norsemen are Africans 
decolorised by a changed environment ! 

In the evening a few of the after-guard may bring out 
novels, but there has been little time except a day or two in 

E 


50 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


the Pack for this relaxation. It is interesting to see how 
tastes differ. Some swear by Conan Doyle and dislike 
Merriman. Others find the White Company tedious (though 
they are rare) and revel in biography. One officer—with an 
eye to the penguins may be—is carefully perusing the 
“ Amateur Poacher,” while all of us have studied the book on 
Ski-Running. A most acceptable and suitable gift from Mr. 
Reginald Smith and others was a complete set of those handy 
sevenpenny and shilling books containing almost all the best 
English fiction of the last fifty years. They are well printed, 
fairly strong and not so valuable that one needs to don a 
dress-suit to read them. The strong book cupboard (now on 
the “ balcony”) will be a most welcome addition to our 
winter quarters during the long night. 

One problem, or set of problems, is engaging the attention 
of every class of officer, be he doctor, biologist, or geologist. 
It is that of field astronomy, for it is obviously essential that 
each sledging party should be able to locate itself fairly 
accurately by the sun or stars without reference to the natural 
features. The latter will probably be uncharted, or—in the 
Barrier and plateau journeys—non-existent. It is not a 
specially easy business, but bulks largely in exploration, and 
I should feel proud if I can briefly explain the two simplest 
methods so that a layman can follow them. 

Latitude is distance (in angular measure) north ‘or south 
of the equator. The South Pole is 90°, and Melbourne 38° 
(subtended at the centre of the earth). 

The sketch shows a vertical section through the earth, the 
polar explorer being supposed at I in the midst of illimitable 
ice plains. The position of the sun at midday is shown. 
With a sextant or theodolite he measures the angle between 
the horizon (H,H) and the sun (which equals SOH). He 
knows the angle SOP; for this is given in the nautical 
almanac for the time of the observation. Now the angle 
IOE is the required latitude, and we have all the data needed 
to get it; as thus: Latitude, IOE = IOS + SOE = (go° — 
SOH) + (90° — SOP) (i.e. a right angle less altitude from 
sextant, added to a right angle less the almanac angle). By 
this short calculation the explorer can tell his exact distance 
from the equator ; for a degree equals sixty-nine miles, 

But he does not know whereabouts is his position on 


THE TERRA NOVA GOES SOUTH 51 


this parallel of latitude. To do this we require the /ongitude. 
All that is necessary is to find the difference in time between 
that at Greenwich and the local time (as shown by the sun) 
in the aforementioned illimitable plain. A chronometer (a 
watch with a special compensation for temperature changes) 


£ 
Pore ay 3: os" 


Reguired JOE 
Given LSOP ona 
Observed (80H 


Latitude. 
aX 
Regured L275 
Pad Given PZ ond PS 
< 


Observed SZ 


EQuaroR 


Longitude. 


The celestial triangle is shaded. ‘The earth is to be considered a point. 


gives him Greenwich time; and the problem is to get the 
exact local time and to transform the hours into degrees by 
multiplying by fifteen (24 hours = 360°). Our next diagram 
is on a larger scale. We have increased our spherical surface 
so that the sun lies on its surface at S.A vertical line, OZ, 


52 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


above our explorer hits this celestial’sphere at Z. (The earth 
is really a mere dot at O compared with this huge sphere.) 

Now we have a problem as clear as that involved in 
determining latitude. The position of the sun (S) on the 
sphere’s surface is determined by the intersection of two lines, 
PS and ZS. Of these PS is tabulated in the almanac, and 
SZ, between the sun and the zenith (directly overhead), is 
measured by the sextant. The remaining side PZ of the 
triangle PZS is given by 90° minus the latitude EZ. Hence 
PZ the colatitude is known from our previous calculation. 
Given three sides of a triangle (even if it be on a curved 
surface), we can, as in Euclid, determine the angle at the 
pole ZPS. But this angle is the angle between the required 
meridian of longitude PZE and the longitude of the localities 
at that moment experiencing midday. It is extremely simple 
to find out what the latter longitude is, since we know 
Greenwich time from the chronometer. For suppose our 
chronometer says it is seven in the morning at Greenwich, 
then at this time it will be midday at 75° east (five hours 
difference) at Bombay. If our angle ZPS turns out to be 
100° under these conditions (and we know it is midday at 
Bombay), our longitude is 75-+ 100, or 175°; about that of 
Cape Crozier. 

I feel rather proud of this explanation. I have never seen 
the problems so described before, and it has passed the critical 
review of a navigator. May it help every reader who may 
chance to be lost with a sextant and nautical almanac ! 

After the gale the dogs took some time to recover their 
normal spirits. We had heard that the Peary dogs were 
huge, ferocious beasts, ready to eat a man on sight. But 
they tamed down wonderfully, and, truth to tell, seem some- 
what afraid of the stockier Siberian horde. It is prophesied 
that they will fall victims to the latter when shore fightin 
starts, and consequently they may be sent with the Edward VII. 
Land (or eastern) party. They are fed on biscuits, and 
(lately) on seal meat, and are certainly not kept very hungry, 
for one often sees a little food left. Poor Osman, the leading 
dog, was very sick after the gale, and was accommodated with 
some straw in an iron washing-dish. In this he curled up 
snugly, and recovered in a few days. The ponies and dogs 
consume about 80 per cent. of the drinking water ; but the 


THE TERRA NOVA GOES SOUTH 53 


latter were not so thirsty as expected, so that for some days 
each officer was allowed about as much as a dog in his cabin ! 
Of course, with special soaps it is possible to get off a certain 
amount of grime with salt water, but fresh water is a great 
treat. 

There are several pets on board. Firstly, a beautiful 
collie, who spends her time in the foc’sle, snuggled in some 
sacks. Then there’s ‘‘ Niggsy,” the cat, “that walks,” as 
Kipling says. Imperturbable, as usual, he tolerates fulsome 
fondling, and escapes as soon as may be. Smaller fry in the 
shape of rabbits and a guinea pig accompany us. Early in 
the voyage one of the rabbits seems to have challenged a 
pony to mortal combat. At any rate, its flattened carcase 
was found in the stall. Poor piggy inhabited a cigar-box on 
occasion, and this was carelessly dropped overboard one day, 
so that unless a crab-eating seal carries him there he will 
never reach Antarctica. 

During the next few days the geologists were busy dis- 
cussing the first sub-expedition in Antarctica. It will probably 
be of interest to readers to know how the amount of sledging 
stores is arrived at. It is a problem almost as intricate as a 
determination of longitude! The first factor to be considered 
is time. We will work backwards. The middle of March is 
getting very cold and dark, and this fixes the end of sledging. 
The venue of the proposed survey lies around Mount Lister, 
across MacMurdo Sound, and towering some 13,000 feet 
(see Map at end). Here, near Butter Point, three scientists 
(and perhaps one other officer) and a sailor will be landed 
from the ship as soon as possible after the winter quarters 
are well started. This may be about the 20th of January. 
The time factor is therefore two months. 

Our programme will be approximately as follows :—To 
leave the ship at Butter Point and march two days up the 
Ferrar Glacier to Descent Pass. Here we depdt four weeks’ 
provisions, and push on with two weeks’ to the Dry Valley, 
which we explore and map. Meanwhile the ship has made 
another depdt (near the Dailey Isles) of a fortnight’s stores, 
which we pick up on the 1st of March. So that we have to 
carry with us from the ship only six weeks’ provisions, and of 
this only four weeks will need to be moved over long dis- 
tances. So much for the distance factor, 


54 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


A man can drag 200 lbs. ; there are five men in the party, 
and the time is six weeks. Two pounds of food per man per 
day is roughly 12 lbs. a day for the party, giving a total of 
500 lbs. food. One gallon of oil will last five men for a week 
and weighs with its tin 10 lbs. Hence for six weeks, say 
70 Ibs. oil. 

Now for equipment. Two sledges weigh 130 lbs. ; one 
tent, 35 lbs. ; five sleeping-bags, 65 lbs. ; finneskoes (shoes, 
etc.), total 50 lbs. ; cookers, 25 lbs. ; ropes, repair tools, ice 
axes, a spade, etc., total 70 lbs. Finally, since we shall have 
much rock work and hard glacier ice, a pair of Day’s under- 
runners for the sledges—made of T steel—will be carried. 
They weigh 40 lbs., and the equipment amounts to 400 lbs. 
in all, 

Instruments are essential, and weighty. One of the five- 
inch theodolites, specially built for the expedition, only weighs 
11 lbs. Thermometers (two), aneroids (three), clinometers 
(two), hypsometers (one), prismatic compasses (three), ham- 
mers and chisels will add 40 Ibs. to our load. For personal 
gear (tobacco, diaries, socks, etc.), one is allowed 10 lbs. each, 
totalling 50 lbs. Cameras and oddments, 30 lbs. Now let us 
see how the grand total stands :— 


Ibs. 
Food ay is rc ts: a1 880 
Fuel ase ine re a se 
Sledges, etc. 3 one ae - “Go 
Instruments er es Re oe Ce 
Personal gear... ae _  

Ana ae shumb s make Oke ben Vins 
and Re Seals And whales ee 

Along comes the Orca et 

“g Ae eae Rem down feload, 

‘wale up ebove Me Afterguard 
attack Phem on the fee 

A bd wx ployer fiwbles dew : 
and slaves the mushy back 19, 

He's cvumpled up betw ean Te Poe 
And so qt Heer shack mn. 

And there's no dovbt Re soen Lecems 3 

P a paleek fer iiiser 

Invigorating diatoms , al though 

they*re none Be wiser ~ 


So the prefeplasm pe Sses OmnlS ey 
hever- ceasing rovnd, 
Like ahvuge recYMing deci- 
mal, te which noeng 
‘Ss found 


(As will be seen later, the human element in the cycle was 
nearly supplied !) 

One never sees the penguins swimming on the surface. 
Occasionally a snake-like head pops up and looks around for 
a few seconds, but usually they are swimming rapidly with 


THE TERRA NOVA GOES SOUTH 85 


their flippers a foot or two below the surface, or imitating the — 
dolphins in curving leaps through the air. On the shore 
near the rookeries the snow was worn into long gutters where 
the penguins promenaded to and fro. The winds are too 
strong for any economic deposit of guano to arise. We saw 
brown patches driven by the wind on to a snow bluff five 
hundred feet above the rookery. 

About 6 p.m. on the 3rd Erebus came into sight. We 
approached it from the north-east—an unusual direction—and 
so, perhaps, obtained a more comprehensive view of the outer 
crater than previous observers, It is a wonderful ‘“‘Somma”’ 
ring, like that of Vesuvius, and being composed of dark steep 
rock, it stands out in strong contrast to the inner white cone 
and the outer snow-covered slopes. Ponting got a fine photo- 
graph of it, which will be of interest to vulcanologists. Having 
given up all idea of wintering on the north-east quarter of 
Ross Island, we immediately steamed west to McMurdo 
Sound. 

We were engaged on a survey of the north coast of Ross 
Island. Bowers with sextant, Pennell at the compass, Camp- 
bell at the range-finder, each with an assistant, formed a busy 
group on the ice-house. 

All that night we steamed steadily west to Cape Bird, 
passing Beaufort Island on the starboard, and then turned 
south again to Cape Royds. Beaufort Isle was the scene of 
an exploit of one of our seamen (Paton), who was shut in 
by pack some five miles away from the island in the whaler 
Morning. He and a mate broke leave to try and reach the 
isle across the floes, but had to return without accomplishing 
their wish. On his return to civilization Paton found he had 
become a proud father. The child was christened Beaufort 
Paton on the suggestion of Lieut. Evans. 

About 5 a.m. we came into sight of the western face of 
Erebus. McMurdo Sound was closed in here by loose pack, 
but the ship threaded her way through fairly readily. We 
were keenly interested to see the condition of the ice at Cape 
Royds, and two of our afterguard (Priestley and Day) have a 
personal interest in the headquarters of Shackleton’s expedi- 
tion. Soon after the queer volcanic knob on the end of Cape 
Barne hove in view we sighted the meteorological screen, and 
immediately afterwards the hut of the 1907 expedition. But 


86 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


the bay, instead of its old-time surface of sea-ice, was a sheet 
of open water, with two stranded bergs in one corner. 
Obviously it was no better as a landing-place than Cape 
Crozier had been. The hut looked in good order, though 
the door had apparently been broken in, but we could not 
see many details, for it was essential to push south and see 
how much ice had broken away. An hour later we reached 
Inaccessible Island, and here a solid wall of sea-ice prevented 
all further progress. Forty-eight hours of coast observation 
caused one watcher to retire to his bunk. On returning to 
the deck I found that the Terra Nova had come to a standstill 
against the sea-ice, about a mile south-east of Inaccessible 
Island, and the same distance from the shore. Here on a 
large area of dark eruptive rock—freed from snow at this 
season—we are building our hut. In the future the locality 
will be known as Cape Evans. 


CAPE EVANS : 
ei. Lands End | 


‘inaccessible Is. KS 
500 Ft 


Tent IC 


Pes Z 1910 Hut 


ee 


EREBUS VOLCANO 


Bkittie 2) 500 Ft. 


‘© and 


A “Big a 
Razorback  
. Tf | 


-=- 
oe ee 
~- 


Broken of f 
3-11 


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CHAPPER? VI 
MAKING WINTER QUARTERS AT CAPE EVANS 


On the morning of the 4th we carried out hawsers, and put 
in ice anchors in the ice, over which so many journeys were 
to be made in the next fortnight. Captain Scott, Evans, and 
Dr. Wilson went off to choose a suitable site for the hut, and 
returned very pleased with their brief survey. 

Let us look landward from the Terra Nova, and examine 
the locality where the expedition will spend some six months 
of the ensuing twelve. We are drawn close to the ice, which 
stands about eight inches above the sea, and some eighteen 
inches below water-level. It is variable in texture, that near 
the ship being rather mushy and honeycombed below—while 
several large cracks traverse it. Further away is a belt of 
clear hard ice, and then bands of snow-covered and clear ice 
for a mile or so, until the shore is reached. Here along the 
western slope of Erebus extends a belt of the dark volcanic 
rock, kenyte, and in consequence of the rapid heating of dark 
objects by the continuous sunshine, this is largely free from 
snow. Immediately at the shore-line is a belt of very soft 
ice, fantastically honeycombed, and threaded by streams of 
fresh water. Crossing a snow-bank, we rise slightly, and 
reach the kenyte gravel on which our hut and the head- 
quarters generally are placed. Walking along this gravel 
slope, we come to a flowing stream, falling over a little water- 
fall—a rarity, as may be imagined, in Antarctica. Moreover, 
this stream rises in quite a respectable lake—which, if not 
large enough for a regatta, at all events affords good exercise 
in chasing the skua gulls, which have been attracted by the 
Open water. Continuing eastward, the steeper lower slopes 
of Erebus are reached. The lower portions are of the same 
dark eruptive rock; but a few hundred feet from the sea- 


87 


88 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


level these are covered bya pall of snow, which extends 
almost uninterruptedly to the summit of Erebus. The slope 
steepens considerably at an elevation of some five thousand 
feet, and when the top is clouded over, the lower portion is 
not unlike the base of Fujiyama in Japan. On a clear day 
the steam-cloud capping Erebus is very obvious. Usually it 
is seen drifting to the south from a sharp vertical column 
arising directly above the crater. Sometimes, however, the 
steam-cloud spreads out fairly symmetrically, and on one 
occasion it simulated a gigantic cedar-tree, with a central trunk 
and spreading branches. To the south are two stranded bergs, 
which I shall describe in detail later. As a background to 
these dazzling white pyramids is the sombre ridge of Inacces- 
sible Island, which some of us before long—in spite of its 
name—managed to conquer. To the north-east is the cliff- 
like edge of the Cape Barne glacier, reaching almost to the 
curious dark erratic outline of Cape Royds. Fifty miles away 
to the west, across the sound, the wonderful glacial valleys of 
the western mountains are seen veiled in clouds. 

Now began a strenuous time for all on board. It was 
necessary to get the heavy cargo off the ship while the floe 
remained firm. Though the weather was excellent there was 
no telling when a heavy wind would send all the sea ice into 
Ross Sea. Gang-planks were run out, and the wildly excited 
dogs pulled, pushed, and tumbled into the hands of men on 
the ice. Then they went at a gallop over mushy ice to the 
bow ice-anchor chain ; there they were tethered at intervals of 
a foot or so. We had not been at work long when inquisitive 
visitors turned up. These were the Adelie penguins, who 
waddled eagerly forward, and promenaded about, with their 
heads bent on one side in a very critical fashion. Unfortu- 
nately the dogs were as keenly interested in them, and 
simultaneously twenty of them rushed at the nearest penguin. 
A scene of wild confusion ensued. The heavy cable was 
jerked about so violently that the end dogs were lifted several 
feet into the air and hung there a moment suspended by their 
chains. Whips, yells, and curses were of no avail until the 
miserable bird had been torn limb from limb. For some 
hours one man had to be on the watch to warn off trespassers 
and prevent penguin suicide. 

The ponies, with one exception, were much less trouble, 


SURVEYING THE NORTH COAST OF ROSS ISLAND FROM THE 
TERRA NOVA, JAN. 3, 1911. 


Photo looking aft from the foc’sle, showing six officers at the standard compass, 
[See p. Ss. 


PHOTO FROM THE SHIP OF CAPE EVANS, Jan. 26, 1911. 


The Tunnel Berg appears on the right. Behind is the dark line of the Ramp, and 
twelve miles away the cone of Erebus with a small steam cloud, 


THE TERRA NOVA GOES SOUTH 89 


and were swung out ina box on a rope from the yard with 
great ease. The motor sledges were transhipped in their 
cases—which had hitherto formed efficient walls to the dog 
“hangar.” Three ropes attached to the mainyard, and 
manned by ten men, enabled the case—weighing about a ton 
—to be swung up, outward, and downward on to the floe 
without a jar. The motors were then taken from their cases, 
and run further on to the floe, where Day and Nelson soon 
had them running. It was their buzzing which annoyed our 
high-spirited steed, ‘Hackenschmidt.” He careered about 
the waist of the ship, and was more trouble to land than all 
the other sixteen. He continued his career of uselessness 
during the following busy season. Ponting found much 
material here for his cinematograph, and had the machine 
clicking merrily most of the forenoon. He has literally miles 
of films, and it is amusing to see the way he snips off a foot 
or so of an exposed film quite callously to develop it and judge 
the result. As he says, it only represents a second which will 
never be missed in a series of several minutes. 

It was a large hauling job that confronted us. Material 
for a hut, 50 by 25 feet, with walls and roof of six or 
eight layers; sledging equipments, tents, etc., for thirty 
men ; food for two years; fuel (chiefly a patent coal com- 
pound) for the same period; and fodder for the seventeen 
horses and for the dogs. All this had to be carried nearly two 
miles across the sea-ice on sledges, What now were the 
means of haulage? We had many and varied methods. 
Firstly, the motor sledges ; secondly, the ponies ; thirdly, the 
dogs; and fourthly, man power. Each has something in 
its favour. Speed of transit goes to the dogs, non-liability 
to accidents to the man-power ; gross tonnage to the motors, 
and general efficiency (with decent specimens) I should award 
to the ponies. 

The man-sledges got to work very early in the campaign. 
The sledges are nine and twelve feet long, with runners four 
inches wide, and upturned somewhat at both ends. There is 
a flexible bent prow, and six or eight vertical stanchions, which 
Support the upper frame—as simple a design as one could 
devise. Everything is secured by leather lashings, the abut- 
ting ends being sewn into a sort of leather bucket. A rope 
loop projects trom the front, but is fastened to the forward 


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THE TERRA NOVA GOES SOUTH gI 


stanchions, and not to the prow-piece, which serves chiefly to 
guide the sledge over hummocks of ice. A long rope with 
broad canvas belts (attached thereto by tributary ropes) con- 
stitutes the harness. When the load has been tied on by a 
piece of spun yarn, the leader steps into his belt, adjusts it 
over the hips, and, grasping his ski-sticks firmly, gives the 
word and plods on. Many a mile have we covered with 
bodies hanging forward over the belts, and our spiked boots 
and ski-sticks barely enabling us to pull the heavy load 
through a patch of snow-drift. But over moderately smooth 
sea ice it was quite easy for four men to pull a 1000 lbs. load 
on two sledges for a distance of a mile and a half in twenty-five 
minutes. 

There were two dog teams in constant use, one driven by 
Meares, and the other by the Russian youth, Demetri. Their 
sledges are Siberian, and somewhat higher in the frame. The 
chief difference consists in a high hoop or arch of wood, which 
is placed two feet from the prow. By this the driver can 
twist his sledge around. He also carries an iron-pointed 
staff, to be used as a brake and also to guide the sledge to 
some extent. The dog teams consist of five dogs—one leader 
who is specially trained to obey commands (and sometimes 
scorns to pull), and two pairs of dogs toggled to a central 
rope much as in the man harness. These dog sledges career 
about in long sweeping curves, and the air resounds with 
barbaric cries of “Ky! Ky!” or “Chui! Chui!” while the 
ice screeches under the impact of the driver’s pointed staff. 
His chief difficulty is to steer clear of penguins, for awful 
is the result if they sight an unfortunate bird! A dog 
team pulls the driver, so that 150 lbs. must be added to their 
load. Each dog pulls about one quarter that moved by a 
man, but at twice the speed. 

The motor 'sledges took some little time, naturally enough, 
to swing into the ranks. They have fourteen horse-power 
motor-car engines, four cylinders, magneto ignition. Most 
people have seen illustraticas of them, for they have been run 
in Norway and England previously, though designed for the 
expedition. The two axles bear two pairs of cog wheels 
about eighteen inches diameter. Around these run two end- 
less bands—one on each side of the sledge—which carry flat 
square plates. These plates constitute the bearing surface, 


92 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


and each plate is actually stationary on the ground until it 
comes under the rear cog wheel, when it is caught up and 
passed forward to the front cog-wheel. Hence the car runs on 
its own platform. The flat square plates grip the snow by 
diagonal bars. There is a large tool box in front of the engine, 
and a small elevated padded seat at the back. Otherwise no 
top hamper obscures the mechanism. When not in use the 
motor wears a huge quilted hood which keeps the cylinders 
from freezing. 

In work two men are necessary. One drives from the 
seat, and another holds the end of a rope fastened to a pro- 
jecting bowsprit. The latter is the helmsman, for at a pull 
sideways the sledge slews around without the expenditure of 
much effort. The camber on the plate belts also helps the 
turning of the heavy mechanism. The two motor sledges 
were in frequent use for the first few days, and hauled most of 
the hut material to the shore. They pulled about two tons, 
and one of their functions (most fully appreciated) was that of 
hauling back empty man-sledges—empty except for the wearied 
pullers who lay back on the sledges and dreamily regarded the 
clear sky on their welcome rest between pulls. 

The ponies had been standing continuously for five weeks, 
and were therefore not very fit for a few days. They were 
given a short rest at the pony-lines on the snow behind the 
hut, but soon came into requisition, and have done the greater 
part of the hauling since. The ponies had, however, many 
little peculiarities which were troublesome, not only to those 
uninitiated in the mysteries of pony-driving, but to the experts 
as well. I shall have more to say on this later. 

Let us accompany a man-sledge from the ship to the hut. 
The question of knots troubles a landsman. At first it was 
not uncommon for the first jerk to result in the rope parting 
company with the sledge! The start was always difficult, for 
the sledges froze to the ice, and it was necessary to “‘ break 
them out”’ by extra help. 

We had not much eye for the beautiful scenery around, 
but were very keenly and vitally interested in the surface 
over which we had to pull the load. Ten feet of clear ice 
were less difficult to traverse than one foot of snowdrift only 
an inch deep. The party all wore snow-goggles of amber or 
green glass to prevent snow-blindness. These fogged from 


THE FIRST HOUR ASHORE. 


Demetri preventing penguin suicide, 


TWO MOTOR SLEDGES ON THE BEACH AT CAPE EVANS, 
JAN. 20, IgII. 


The tabular berg has just grounded where the ship lay at anchor and so she has 
steamed off to the north. The motor engine is covered by felting. The sea ice 
can be seen breaking away. 


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THE TERRA NOVA GOES SOUTH 93 


perspiration, and required frequent cleaning unless the sun 
were very bright, when luckily they warmed up somewhat, 
and the moisture did not condense so rapidly. At first we 
would follow the motor trail marked by staves and empty oil 
drums. But this was too heavily drifted in places, so we 
deviated south to reach clear ice. All goes merrily until we 
reach a snow belt. The first sledge touches the snow, and a 
slight jerk makes us pull to our belts. Another jerk announces 
the arrival of the second sledge, and if we are pulling three 
sledges the combined resistance reminds one of hauling three 
ploughs through stiff wet clay. On this snowdrift we see the 
pony hoof-marks and the long furrow cut by the dog-driver’s 
staff. Then on to clear ice again, where spiked boots are 
essential, We reach a broad band of troubled ice crossing the 


Svun-holes Se pit 


smooth surface. This is a recemented crevasse, and is practi- 
cally as strong as the rest of the surface. 

The older ice near the shore is “pitted” in a curious 
fashion. Imagine a red-hot horse-shoe planked down on the 
ice, with the front forced deeper into the ice. This is the 
shape and size of these holes, and it seems probable that they 
might save a man’s life in a blizzard ; for they are all directed 
to the south, and would form a sort of compass if he had no 
better! The explanation is that they are due to the action of 
the hottest solar rays, which, of course, occur when the sun is 
in the north. Curiously enough, those small holes have no 
effect on the sledge haulage, except that they tear the runners 
somewhat. On another patch of snow is a queer “ spoor.” 
A serpentine trail of four or five parallel lines, with large 


94 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


three-toed footprints, alternating with the curves of the con- 
tinuous serpentine trails. Suddenly it changes into a broad, 
shallow gutter in the soft snow! What strange beast has made 
this? It is of course due to the penguin. As he ponderously 
heaves from foot to foot his stiff tail feathers swing in unison. 
When he is tired of this method of progression he drops on 
his breast and propels himself by his toe-nails. Hence the 
broad gutter! This trail is very like those fossil prints set 
down to gigantic Plesiosaurians in bygone times. 


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Antarctic spoor, January 12, 1911. 


To our right is a patch of very dark ice with an evil crack 
leading to a small pool. We skirt this warily, and are not 
much surprised to hear a sudden plop ! as two or three penguins 
shoot out of the water and land at our feet, and often right in 
the way of the sledge. A pony-sledge passes us and then 
stops—amid our jeers—to breathe the steed, for the ponies are 
short of wind at this early stage. We hear a steady droning, 
and the motor rolls by. But we beat across country, while 
the helmsman is hauling the behemoth on to a new course. 
The belt is beginning to cramp our muscles, and the steady 
stab and drag of the ski-sticks at first blister the hands. Soon 
the welcome bamboo at the camp comes into sight. Snow 
bridges have been built across the tide-cracks just below the 
hut. Here the ice rises and falls a couple of feet during the 
day. We save a little “go” for the last hundred yards, and 
rush her at the tide-cracks. ‘Up she rises,” and several 
willing helpers from the hut lend a hand, and so our load 
pulls up on the belt of snow by the hut. Here Bowers takes 
charge, and his gang puts the wood near the hut site, the food 
on another spot, fodder here, and oil in the far corner. Then 
we run the sledge out of the way to the ice, and if there is no 
motor returning, pull it back with light loads and rapidly 
easing muscles to the ship. 

We were returning on Friday evening, somewhat wearied, 


THE TERRA NOVA GOES SOUTH 95 


when Ponting met us and told us the “ owner”’ wished every 
one to hurry to the ship, for the killer-whales were breaking 
up the floes, and the stores on the ice would be lost! We 
ran on and found the sea-ice all broken away at the stern ; 
but Ponting had not explained his own very exciting adven- 
ture. Two dogs had broken loose and were racing about at 
the edge of the ice, when a party of eight killer-whales ap- 
peared at the stern of the ship, evidently attracted by these 
strangely active “seals.” An orca is twenty to thirty feet 
long, and has the most fearsome jaw of all the creatures that 
hunt in the high seas. Thirteen long conical teeth are set in 
each jaw, each projecting a couple of inches from the bone— 
and (unlike those of the crab-eater) built for business. Pont- 
ing, ever keen on good photographs, took his camera along to 
get a close view of these fellows. He narrates that they lifted 
their wicked-looking heads above the water to look at him, 
and he was just pressing the button, when he felt as if an 
earthquake had hit him. The whole floe was being broken 
away by the orcas, and he was separated from firm ice by two 
feet of water. He did not stop to finish that photo ! 

After dinner Debenham and I made a trip across the ice 
to Inaccessible Island. This rises sharply from the sea, about 
one mile south of the ship, and is usually surrounded by a 
belt of water—due to the warming action of the very dark 
rocks of which it is composed. Here we came across our 
first “sastrugi.” They are long, deep furrows cut by the 
drifting ice crystals in the sides of snow-drifts as they are 
driven onward by the blizzard winds. Thus they lie on the 
windward sides of the drifts, and make sledge-travelling very 
difficult if they face the sledge. If the drifts are across the 
path of the blizzards the sastrugi may cut right through the 
former. Inaccessible Island was almost covered with the debris 
of kenyte lavas, though here and there bosses of solid rock 
remained, especially towards the summit ridge. In these cold 
latitudes the frost action breaks down the rocks very rapidly, 
without destroying the mineral structure to such an extent as 
is the case in warmer regions. The kenyte weathered into 
blocks, which irresistibly suggested the Easter Island “ idols.” 
Every variety of this rock was found. Some with large 
crystals an inch long, others like glass, of a chocolate colour ; 
vesicular lava, full of bubbles, looking like petrified bath- 


96 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


sponges, and pieces of kenyte caught up in a later flow of 
lava, and burnt just to the tint of a red brick. Just before 
midnight we returned to the ship, and labelled our specimens 
in broad sunlight, before turning in. 

There are two icebergs stranded off Cape Evans, and 
Captain Scott arranged that Wright and myself should have 
some time free to study their structure while the sea-ice was 
firm around them. He came along himself to have a close 
view, and Ponting brought a sledge, filled with cameras, to 
collect photographs. They were both pyramidal, and pro- 
jected a hundred feet or so above water. Most probably they 
had been much tilted, for a very prominent layer of snow— 
which from its included air melted slowly—was now almost 
vertical. It was obvious that they were affected by the tide, 
for a pool filled with brash ice almost surrounded them, and 
we could hear the ice fragments creaking as they rubbed 
together. 

A unique feature occupied our attention most of the time. 
Traversing the berg from end to end was an oval tunnel, forty 
feet high and fifteen feet wide, so regular in its outline that it 
looked as though a red-hot bar had been pushed right through 
(a distance of 150 feet). The scenic possibilities of this mass 
of shadow in the midst of the dazzling white of the berg were, 
of course, fully appreciated by Ponting, and I doubt if any 
mass of ice has ever been photographed so thoroughly, from 
the right, from the left, from above, below, outside and from 
inside, and right through it! By a stroke of almost unbe- 
lievable luck the view back through the tunnel just framed 
the ship at a mile distance. Next day the berg had swung 
through 180°, the ship had steamed away, and the sea-ice had 
moved out, so that Ponting was rightly overjoyed at the “ for- 
tuitous concourse of atoms,” which has given rise to one of 
the most interesting of his studies. 

We were equipped with rope and axes, and cut steps some 
sixty feet up the berg until we were well over the tunnel. | 
was much surprised when one of the blows of the ice-axe 
seemed to set free a strip of orange-peel! Visions of a 
Japanese hut far to the south floated through my mind, but 
on examining the object it was found to be a small fossilized 
fish. I dug it out six inches below the surface, and as the 
sun melts off quite an appreciable layer every day, this fish 


THE TERRA NOVA GOES SOUTH 97 


may have been enclosed in the berg for a very long period. 
The species was probably Notothenia, and somewhat resembles 


Sep. lou 


Iceberg equilibrium. The tilting of the Tunnel Berg during the winter, 
1911. N.B. The front of the tunnel broke away before September. 


the garfish of Australian waters. This reminds me of some 
rather curious biological specimens discovered by one of the 
H 


98 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


non-scientific members in our little waterfall. They were 
white spherical objects, two millimetres wide, which could be 
peeled like an onion, and each seemed to enclose a little pearl. 
But Lillie identified them as crystalline lenses from the eyes 
of Notothenia, which were the only things found indigestible 
by the omnivorous skua gull, and so accumulated in the stream 
near their nests. 

Both ends of the berg tunnel were fringed by beautiful 
icicles, many being branched almost as much as the famous 
Jewish candlestick. The exterior of the berg on the more 
gently sloping side was armoured with a panoply of plough- 
shares projecting horizontally, and due probably to the sun 
melting the surface differentially, as described in the case of 
the sea-ice. It was unpleasant to climb, and a fall would have 
precipitated one into a most uninviting pool. As we watched 
it two killer-whales rose to the surface, and “ blew off steam ” 
through their dorsal spouts. They moved towards the south, 
under the solid ice, and we could see them long after spout- 
ing occasionally along a narrow open crack leading in that 
direction. 

We were very fortunate in our weather at this time. 
Bright calm days, so warm that one could sit outside in the 
lee of a pile of fodder after lunch—as many of us did—and 
enjoy a short siesta. From the first day work was carried 
on busily at the hut. The foundation was excellent, for the 
surface all round our camp consists of kenyte gravel, on which 
the snow melts as soon as the sun strikes it ; which is porous, 
so that water will not lie on it; and finally, is so springy that 
our food-cases were not damaged, however heavily they were 
dumped on the gravel. The main timbers were prepared 
long before we left New Zealand, and most of the matchboard 
was cut to size, tied in bundles, and roughly labelled. The 
floor area is fifty feet by twenty-five feet, and the roof is quite 
plain, with a central ridge. Three small windows, permanently 
shut, and with doubled panes, admit sufficient light in summer ; 
while later on an elaborate acetylene plant will come into use. 
Of greater interest were the precautions to keep out the cold. 
Vertical tongue and groove matchboard was nailed both out- 
side and inside the framework, an air-space thus being enclosed 
between them. Next, a layer of a patent quilted seaweed 
material, made of sea-grass sewn into jute sacking, was tacked 


THE TERRA NOVA GOES SOUTH 99 


on in two-foot breadths. On the outside this was covered 
with weather-boarding, and on the inside by another layer of 
matchboard. The floor was made of thicker boards separated 
by ruberoid, while the roof has an inner matchboard ceiling— 
an air-space (with joists, etc.), matchboard, two layers of sea- 
weed quilt, matchboard, and two layers of ruberoid. Thus 
every portion of the hut has many layers, each of which is 
fairly wind-tight. The door opens into an air-tight porch, 
and this is protected from the south-east blizzards by a wind- 
screen. A large ventilator on the roof ridge is the only legi- 
timate air-gap, but in one corner the meteorologist has a sort 
of external cupboard for his instruments, which is bound to 
be cool. Everything went along swimmingly. The official 
carpenter and two of the petty officers carved out the more 
intricate details of carpentering, while the afterguard soon 
became moderately expert at nailing matchboard, chiefly with 
geological hammers. One of the scientists (subjected to 
criticism) complained that he never could drive a nail straight 
while any one was watching him. His tormentor declared 
that he must have afforded amusement the whole day, and 
pointed to a complete series of wilted nails due to the tyro’s 
efforts. For the roof-work the spiked boots of the geologists 
were in great request, for it was possible for us to manceuvre 
over the sloping boards at much greater speed than could 
“< Chips” and his assistants. 

On Sunday (the 8th) occurred an unfortunate accident, 
almost the sole mishap since the loss of the ponies in the 
gale. We swung out the third motor-car, having freed it 
from its case while it was inboard. 

It was landed on the sea-ice safely, and run smartly away 
to a firmer surface fifty yards away. I then left the ship with 
a one-man sledge-load bound for the hut. Captain Scott and 
Lieutenant Campbell were testing the ice, and warned me to 
be especially careful of certain wet patches near them. I got 
through to the shore without incident, but this unhappily was 
not the case with the motor-sledge, which started off imme- 
diately afterwards. I was not present, but heard that it was 
pulled across on to apparently firm ice near the doubtful 
portion, which had just been crossed safely. There one of 
the men went through, but was hauled out safely. He declared 
he felt himself being pulled under the floe by the strong tidal 


100 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


current. Almost the next moment one corner of the motor- 
sledge sank, and then gradually the end, and finally the whole 
of the machine crashed through the ice; and despite the 
utmost efforts of the hauling party it sank in a hundred 
fathoms. Thus was lost nearly a thousand pounds’ worth of 
valuable machinery, and since it is made largely of aluminium, 
it corrodes extremely rapidly, and would not be worth salvage, 
even if it were possible—now the ice is out—to grapple it at 
that depth. 

During the building of the hut meals were eaten in a huge 
brown tent alongside, and many of the afterguard slept in 
small tents on the shore. A new type of these latter looks 
exactly like a rounded sun-helmet lying on the ground. The 
rim is represented by the broad flap, which will be covered 
with snow on sledging journeys, though now a handful of 
gravel is sufficient to keep them secure. 

One evening I strolled into the skuary just behind the 
camp. Here are hummocks of kenyte with little lakes and 
shelving gravelly beaches. In the lakes a reddish plant akin 
to seaweed coats the bottom, and dries to a leathery wrinkled 
mass. The skuas nest anywhere, not even a semblance of a 
nest being perceptible. They resent intrusion very strongly, 
and every one is at first slightly intimidated by the tremendous 
swoops, rushing wings, fierce eyes, and shrill cries of protest. 
I wanted a specimen, and decided to test a method of obtaining 
it, which smacked somewhat of Munchausen when described 
to me in Australia. Taking a flat slab of kenyte I waited 
until a skua was approaching. Then, before the bird arrived, 
I threw the rock into the air almost straight up. The bird 
collided with it as it was falling, and dropped to the ground 
stunned. This scheme of hunting is really much more certain 
than it sounds, for the bird has apparently no fear of objects 
above it. 

The ship was moved to a fresh berth, some five hundred 
yards nearer the hut, and also nearer the slopes of Erebus. 
Henceforth almost all the transport was effected by pony 
teams. There were many incidents at first, for the ponies 
did not understand the icy surface, and were by no means 
too subdued by their long voyage to object to most of the 
duties demanded of them. Hackenschmidt is still obdurate, 
I believe, but the others have calmed down, and done their 


THE TERRA NOVA GOES SOUTH 101 


four trips a day as long as it was necessary. One soon 
gets to know their characteristics. Fiery ‘ Bliicher” trots 
through all the work, whether he is pulling an empty sledge 
or half a ton through a snowdrift; in fact, the driver is 
usually dragged alongside over the ten miles involved. With 
a slippery surface and only a single rope halter, it will readily 
be understood that four legs can defeat two if the whim seizes 
him. One gentleman, rejoicing in the name of “ Guts,” broke 
away three times, just as I had lugged him the weary mile to 
the ship, and galloped back unencumbered. But the least- 
envied duty in the expedition is a morning in the company 
of “ Weary Willie.” With drooping lip and stubborn eye, he 
improves on a crawl only when his driver precedes him with 
the halter over his shoulder, and practically drags both pony 
and sledge. In spite of a heavy load of patent fuel, he used 
to start back two steps to the minute quicker, thinking he 
was returning to the pony lines, but this soon degenerated to 
a crawl, and his objections to returning for another load 
necessitated special help at the turning-point. There was 
another pony, whom I only discovered on the last day, who 
was a happy mean between Bliicher and Weary. He was 
anonymous, but deserved a baronetcy. The last loads con- 
sisted of patent fuel (in foot cubes) and compressed fodder, 
while ballast, in the form of thirty tons of kenyte, was loaded 
from a snow-slide and taken back to the Terra Nova. 

Many of our minor pursuits irresistibly reminded me of 
a childhood’s day on the sands. There are little trenches to 
be dug, to lead telephone wires to the Observatory hill ; 
pemmican to be poked out of tins in solid cakes just like 
the little sand-heaps moulded in toy buckets; miniature 
bridges over the tiny creeks; and, most realistic of all, 
grottoes to be carved out of solid banks—not of sand, but of 
hard, clear ice. 

The track to the Observatory hill passes along a miniature 
glacier with a bank fifteen feet high on the nearer side. In 
this it was decided to cut an “ice house” for the mutton, and 
for seals and penguins. Next door the physicists cut out 
another grotto for magnetic work. Each took about a week 
to complete. 

A “drive” was made into the ice about six feet high and 
four feet wide. At a convenient distance this was widened 


102 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


out to fifteen feet, and we should probably have cut out a 
prosaic rectangular chamber, but that we found that the floor 
of almost impenetrable frozen kenyte gravel sloped up very 
steeply. Moreover, the sun melted the “glacier” at a great 
rate, so that we had to leave a fairly thick roof. These 
restrictions produced a very pretty style of architecture—a 
sort of double crypt with a central partition, and gentle, 
sweeping curved roof, like an opened cockle-shell lying with 
the convex sides uppermost. The sunlight filtered through 
the roof and entrance wall, making the ice look like alabaster. 

It was hard work chipping the ice. We were helped by 


Glacier 1€& 


Gravel Sez 


SSE 
Sketch of two grottoes cut in glacieret near the hut, January 15, 1911. 


a few layers of dust mixed with skua feathers—representing 
very ancient surfaces—along which the ice broke readily. 
One half was covered with a rough flooring, and on this 
were deposited a hundred carcases of sheep given by the 
New Zealand farmers. In the other half a hundred penguins 
occupy one corner, and later we shall add seal-meat. 

A little nearer the hut the physicists excavated an |_-shaped 
grotto, of severely rectangular cross section, and lacking those 
picturesque sweeps in the roof which were necessary in the 
other cave. It penetrates the “glacier” for about twenty- 
five feet, and is entered by an aperture some three feet high. 
One feels very like a rabbit entering its burrow, but this 


THE TERRA NOVA GOES SOUTH 103 


constriction is necessary to ensure equable temperature. A 
mild blizzard was blowing while we were cutting it out, 
though in the calm—not to say stuffy—atmosphere of the 
grotto a temperature of twenty below freezing had little effect 
on one’s comfort. To be sure files, and saws, and other iron 
tools developed an octopus-like surface, for they stuck to 
one’s fingers as if smeared with gum. The wall struts—for 
the lining—-were cemented simply and effectively by a mush 
of ice and water, which solidified immediately. Two large 
kenyte boulders formed jagged obstructions on the floor. 
When foundations for the instrument standards were being 
made, it was found that under the layer of gravel forming 
the floor was another layer of ice. It is quite possible that 
our hut may be built on gravel over a thick ice sheet. This 
will be tested by a shaft in the winter leisure. 

On the highest portion of Cape Evans is hoisted the 
Union Jack. Near by is the meteorological screen, and two 
anemometers are merrily whirling round. We have been 
laying telephone wires across the space between the hill and 
the hut to connect the instruments there to the meteorological 
laboratory (“ corner” would be a better term) in the hut. 

On Sunday 15 work was suspended for a day, for every- 
thing was progressing well. Many of the men took ski on to 
the slopes of Erebus, behind the hut, and had a pleasant time, 
diversified by many tumbles, in consequence. To the north 
of these slopes extended the hitherto untraversed Barne glacier, 
which formerly blocked all communication with Cape Royds 
during summer. Its seaward face is a high cliff of ice, strongly 
crevassed, and reaching from Cape Evans to Cape Barne. 
Wright and myself received permission to go on the glacier, 
and providing ourselves with an alpine rope, ice axes, food, 
and wind-proof clothing, we set off up the rocky slopes behind 
the hut. We soon reached an irregular snow surface deeply 
pitted where boulders had sunk, with little runnels of water 
murmuring below the crusts in ice in numberless little gullies. 
As the ice became more apparent we roped up and marched to 
the north, gradually ascending the slope of the glacier. Our 
objective at this time was the rock ridge behind Cape Barne, 
about two and a half miles away. The glacier came down 
from Erebus in undulations resembling gigantic rounded 
steps. It seemed probable to us that the best surface would 


104 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


occur where the ice was in compression rather than in tension. 
Here in the hollows the crevasses would tend to close up, and 
we found them quite readily crossed. In the icy surface were 
broad ribbons of snow, slightly depressed below the surface, 
and curving grandly round the undulations of Erebus. These 
looked solid enough, but an ice axe hardly met with any 
resistance in the snow, and on sweeping it away one could see 
a chasm extending indefinitely down. Higher up the slope 
the snow formed bridges, but here in narrower crevasses it was 
only of value in veiling the depth. However, it was a mere 
question of jumping ; the leader gathering in the rope and 
taking a good leap while the follower drove his ice pick into 
the surface and held on firmly. If there had been any great 
danger involved, two men would, of course, have been in- 
sufficient, but we progressed in this fashion for a mile, then 
crossed another mile of softish snow without crevasses, and 
reached the Barne ridge, with rocks running from the coast 
halfway up to the crater of Erebus. Here to our surprise we 
saw nothing but kenyte hummocks and debris lying between 
us and Cape Royds. It would not have been human to have 
resisted this opportunity of visiting the headquarters of the 1907 
expedition. After resting a little among the huge mounds of 
kenyte boulders—actually bearing small tufts of red and green 
lichens—we tramped quickly across alternating patches of rock 
and snow, past small ice-covered lakes, and soon reached 
Back-door Bay. Here quite a large stream—for Antarctica— 
was falling over an ice cliff, and we reached the first sign of 
another settlement. This was a bamboo pole planted in a 
cairn. Then we scrambled over slopes of kenyte gravel, 
skirting the rotten ice which filled the outer part of Back-door 
Bay. The narrow gulf at the north-east end of the bay still 
contained firm ice, and we crossed this without attracting any 
remark from a colony of twenty seals, and so reached Cape 
Royds. Here signs of occupation were very evident, though 
the hut was some distance away on the further (northern) 
slope of the hill. A sledge with cases of tinned meat, a ladder, 
and the tubes of the hand-boring plant, had been left close to 
the water of Back-door Bay. We carried off a tin of beef in 
case the hut contained nothing more attractive. 

Following some old sledge tracks we topped a rise, and 
were right on the hut. 


THE TERRA NOVA.GOES SOUTH 105 


Every one is familiar with the appearance of Shackleton’s 
hut. It is very snugly placed in a little dell leading to a 
small lake, which empties into the sea over some steep cliffs a 
quarter of a mile away. It seemed extraordinary that so many 
empty boxes and such piles of debris could have been the 
result of fourteen months’ stay. I suppose our camp will 
appear the same three years after we have departed. We 
skirted round the ruined pony shelter, over boxes of cork 
packing and cases of empty bottles. The door of the porch 
had carried away, but the inner door was standing. A foot of 
ice sealed it at the bottom, but hanging on the door was an 
envelope addressed in Professor David’s hand, “To Any One 
who may visit Cape Royds.” It did not enter his mind 
when he placed it there that an old student of his would be the 
first to see this. The envelope contained a short account of 
the results of the 1907 expedition, left there “in case the 
Nimrod is lost on her return voyage.” I carried the re- 
cord back to Captain Scott, a very interesting document, 
though luckily not of vital importance, since the expedition’s 
success was not marred by any accident at the eleventh 
hour. 

We then set about getting into the hut. Cutting into the 
ice with our ice axes we came to a tightly fixed block of wood 
—which we thought had been placed there to fasten the door. 
More chips of ice were removed by the ice-axes, and we saw 
that it was merely a broom, which had fallen down and been 
embedded its whole length in a foot of ice. There was nothing 
for it but to cut away this stubborn sentinel, and then it was 
possible to open the door a foot or so. 

We entered with much curiosity. All the windows had 
been covered with battens, but I did not expect to find it so 
snug and untouched by the weather. Not a grain of snow 
seems to have entered. We opened one window, and the 
place might have been abandoned the day before. On the low 
table in the centre a meal had been left. Condensed milk, 
saucers, biscuits, jam, and gingerbread. The latter were very 
good, and not harmed by two years’ exposure. At the back 
was a tray from the oven with a batch of scones just cooked, 
and a loaf of bread. I lifted the latter, and the whole outer 
surface peeled away, leaving a ball in the middle. This is 
just the way basalt weathers when exposed to the air, and it is 


106 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


known technically as “ spheroidal weathering.” I did mot eat 
the bread. 

The 1907 expedition left in a hurry, I believe, which 
accounts for the somewhat unkempt appearance of the hut. 
Boots were scattered on the floor, books over the bunks, socks 
drying on lines. In one corner a roulette machine, in another 
a packet of paper used in their printing press. I fear I was 
most interested in tinned fruits, and searched through a huge 
store of unused food in one corner of the hut. Tea, pickles, 
jams, milk, onions, sausages, hams, cocoa, delicatessen, every-. 
thing but canned fruit. Finally we saw that the dark room 
was built of cases of bottled fruit, and in honour of the first 
crossing of the Barne Glacier we broached a case and 
extracted a bottle of gooseberries and another of currants. It 
was a queer meal. I had brought bacon and ship’s biscuit. 
Wright selected plum-pudding, sardines, and Nestle’s milk. 
I found preserved ginger, raisins, and corned beef. We drank 
alternately of currant and gooseberry vinegar, and ate through 
the above menu. Antarctica is immune from dyspepsia, for we 
felt none the worse. 

We strolled round the headquarters. The penguins were 
very interesting, for they were busy feeding half-fledged 
chicks. There are no nests near Cape Evans, but the atmo- 
sphere is the purer! I was not prepared for the shape and 
size of these chicks, They were nearly as tall as their parents, 
and twice as large round the most important part of their 
anatomy. Huge balls of dark grey fluff, with feeble little 
squeaks no louder than a chicken’s—in strong contrast to 
the indignant cries of their parents. 

After a couple of hours at Cape Royds we turned south 
and experienced no difficulty until we reached the crevasses, 
for we followed our previous track. The crevasses seemed 
to have widened a little; we were somewhat tired, and the 
farther edge was now higher than the nearer. In some ex- 
amples—which we did not tackle—the difference in height 
reached two feet. However, we crossed them safely (though 
in two instances one foot went through the soft snow) and 
reached Cape Evans without misadventure. 

Captain Scott had made a journey on a dog-sledge to his 
old quarters (1902) at Cape Armitage, sixteen miles south of 
us Unluckily he found his hut filled with ice and practically 


PHOTO OF THE HUT, SHOWING THE RAMP AND EREBUS, 


JAN. 20, 1911. 


The south annexe built of food cases (on the right) and the stable on the left built 
of coal blocks are just being finished. 


PENGUIN COURTSHIP ON THE ICE-FOOT NEAR CAPE EVANS. 


THE TERRA NOVA GOES SOUTH 107 


useless, so much so that they slept outside. He had never 
seen the locality so free from snow. On the 25th of January 
he hopes to make a start on the depot journey to the south, 
and on the same day the western scientific party sets out to 
explore Dry} Valley, Snow Valley, and the Koettlitz Glacier. 
Captain Scott has honoured me with the charge of this party, 
whose personnel I have described previously. 

We have now occupied our hut for a week. Let me 
close the story of these early days by describing our life in 
the hut. To-morrow we leave it for some months of sledge- 
work, so that we have been very busy for some time past. 


SSN 
Soe 
Two Bergs D. sip Barne. 
aground) 1 Glacier 
Al 
P 


First sketch-map made January 21, 1911 (before any survey), showing ice 
fronts and positions of ship, A-E. 


From the porch one enters the quarters assigned to the sea- 
men and cooks. A large galley-stove is placed on the right, 
and behind it is the chief touch of colour in the hut in the 
form of rows of tins of food, spices, and utensils. A bunk 
suspended high up from one corner by an iron rod marks 
the resting-place of Engineer Lashley. To the left are many 
Wire mattresses supported on neat iron frames. A queer 
instrument like a guitar cut in half is the cherished possession 
of Anton, the Russian groom. His comical little bow when 
you address him—for he speaks no English—reminds me of 
the action known as “ louting low.” 

“Wor some time the ship had been lying quite close to 
the hut—about a quarter of a mile away at the spot C (on the 


108 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


accompanying sketch-map). The original edge of the ice is 
shown, and here the ship stayed (at A) until the motor sank. 
Then she moved to B, nearer the Barne Glacier. On the 18th 
she came along the crack which opened near the stranded bergs 
to the position C. But seventeen bergs came into sight, and 
one huge tabular, as if desirous of this site, bore right down 
on her. So the ship moved across the Sound to get away 
from the northern wind. In cruising about here, she ran 
aground at D off Cape Evans. There was sixty feet of water 
under the stern and only seventeen feet at the bows! That's 
pretty steep! They ‘rocked’ her by running across ship in 
unison, and after an hour got her off. I photographed her 
from the Cape where the land party watched the efforts of 
the seamen.” 

Later I heard that this collision with the reefs of McMurdo 
Sound tore out a small splinter a foot deep and about ten 
feet long! Luckily the stout old ship could spare this at 
her bows without grave inconvenience. 

A bulkhead of boxes, amid which two branded “ sherry ” 
mark the wherewithal of future festivities, separated the “ mess 
deck” from the “‘wardroom.” The latter occupies two-thirds 
of the hut, and here the sixteen officers live. A long table 
extends down the middle and reaches to a palatial inner room, 
sacred to Ponting, the photographer. The roof of the latter 
is by no means wasted, but constitutes an important laboratory. 
At the back are two incubators, not for eggs but for parasites, 
bacteria, and other pleasant creatures fondly cared for by Dr. 
Atkinson, whom we expect to see brooding for hours over 
his pets. The centre of the room is thus accounted for. 
The right and left are divided into cubicles. First, on the 
left, are five mattresses assigned to Messrs. Oates, Meares, 
Bowers, Atkinson, and Cherry-Garrard. The right wall was 
divided into three compartments, occupied respectively by 
Messrs. Debenham, Gran and Taylor, Nelson and Day, 
Simpson and Wright. We have to live in this space for 
six months of darkness, and as we are limited horizontally 
to seventeen square feet each, it will not cause surprise to 
find that we have imitated the New York sky-scrapers. The 
first few hours of our house furnishing were devoted to 
amassing enough thick timber to build strong frames for the 
mattresses. These are built in tiers, and so each cubicle has 


SHIP AGROUND ON A REEF OFF CAPE EVANS CLOSE TO 
THE TUNNEL BERG. 


The whale-boat is trying to tow off the ship, while a skua gull on the cape is an 
interested spectator. 


ees 
tae i. 


GRIFFITH TAYLOR IN SUMMER RIG (ON A KEEN DAY) 
ON CAPE EVANS, Jan. 25, i911. 


ay 


on 


. - 
- v vet! 


THE TERRA NOVA GOES SOUTH 109 


some clear floor space. In our own cubicle Debenham has 
raised his bunk five feet from the floor, and underneath this 
will ultimately develop a whole geological laboratory! In the 
far corner is a little oil-engine and dynamo, providing current 
for Dr. Simpson’s meteorological apparatus. On a table at 
one of the two windows is the “counter,” an important 
portion of the biologist’s sanctum. The rest of it is below 
the counter ! 

Half the left side of the wardroom is in part partitioned 
off. Captain Scott has one portion of this, His eastern 
boundary is a huge drawing-table under our second window. 
On the other side of this, and snugly fenced in by the dark 
room, are the quarters of Lieutenant Evans and Dr. Wilson. 

Near the dark room are the stove and the pianola. The 
removal of the latter from the ship nearly devastated the 
officers’ quarters afloat. The stairs were removed, and we 
had to get into the ship’s wardroom down a rope during the 
two days while they struggled with the pianola. However, 
it has safely arrived, though just the last few days a new 
gramophone has had greater popularity. 

During the two months of our absence the hut will be 
fitted with acetylene lighting. The four officers and five men 
who remain have also a contract to kill (and clean) a thousand 
penguins and skuas, so that they will be as busy as the 
sledging parties. 

Outside the hut the sea waves now wash the kenyte 
gravel. In the last two days a mile of sea-ice has floated off, 
and now the Terra Nova is hovering around only waiting to 
land the three parties (south, west, and east) before she turns 
her prow to the green northern land. All our preparations 
are made, and we join her to-morrow morning. 

The educative value and the interest of an expedition like 
this is inestimable. I have tried to describe some of the 
features with which I have been most impressed myself. 
During the voyage one learns something of seamanship, of 
biology, of navigation, and of naval matters generally. First- 
hand information on every conceivable subject from men who 
have seen many quarters of the world with an appreciative 
eye is obviously full of interest. The biologist discusses 
those portions of his subject which touch on geology or 
meteorology with students who are as anxious to approach 


110 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


them from other standpoints. In another way also is this 
expedition almost unique. It is hardly credible that twenty 
men should associate for three months in somewhat cramped 
quarters without a jar; yet I can truly say that the best of 
good fellowship has always existed. This is the best possible 
omen for success in the future. 


[Nore.—This narrative is left in the form in which it was sent back to 
Australia in January, 1911, in the belief that nothing is lost (and perhaps 
some touch of reality gained) by so doing. ] 


Ill 
FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 


January—Marcy, IgII 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 


On the 24th of January the ponies went over the sea-ice to 
Glacier Tongue ex rouse for the Barrier Depdt trip. Captain 
Scott and the western party sailed in the Terra Nova to the 
Tongue, which we reached about noon. 

Later we were able to study the Tongue in some detail, 
but we could see that it consisted of a huge pier of ice about 
half a mile wide, and projecting some five miles from the low 
cliffs south of Turk’s Head. The surface was undulating, 
and about a hundred feet above the sea in the centre. Its 
origin is doubtful. Probably it is old piedmont ice anchored 
on some hidden ridge, but it is added to by blizzards sweeping 
over the root of the Castle Rock Promontory and depositing 
snow on the leeward side of the cape. We saw sections of it 
stranded fifty miles to the north-west later, which proved its 
partial origin from snowdrifts. 

On the 25th Debenham, Wright, and myself marched to 
Hut Point, where the 1902 hut was situated. We took a 
light sledge and our sleeping-bags. It was very interesting to 
recognize the places of which we had read in the “ Voyage of 
the Discovery.” Castle Rock was very prominent, a huge dark 
square “keep” about two hundred feet above the promontory ; 
“Danger Slope”—an icy slope dropping down to 150-feet 
ice cliffs—on which Vince lost his life early in 1903. The 
conical hill, seven hundred feet high, just east of Vince’s Cross, 
was Observation Hill; destined to carry another cross two 
years later to the memory of the man who had built the hut 
below. 

Off Hut Point the sea-ice was very rotten and full of 
huge holes. However, we reached the ice-foot easily enough, 
and pulled up to the hut. The surroundings were very tidy 
compared to Shackleton’s quarters, which was very natural, 
for the 1902 expedition practically lived in the ship. It was 

113 I 


114 


WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


Original geological sketch by Captain Scott (January 19, 1911), directing our attention to an unusual outcrop at Hut Point. 


surrounded by tremen- 
dous eaves, which were 
meant to protect stores, 
etc. We found the door 
blocked by ice, and had 
to enter by a window. 
It was filled with snow 
to a depth of four feet, 
which had drifted in 
through various open- 
ings. We found a bul- 
wark of biscuit boxes in 
the middle, and various 
stores of chocolate, etc. 
Some brownish powder, 
after some cogitation, we 
determined to be pepper. 
It had quite “lost its 
savour” in the ten years 
of exposure. Alongside 
were the little magnetic 
huts. Wright comman- 
deered some _ asbestos 
sheets for our own mag- 
netic equipment, and 
then we set off to see the 
real object of our visit. 
Captain Scott had 
noticed an exposure of 
lamellar rocks of a sandy 
appearance among the 
almost uniformly dark 
basic rocks of this region, 
and, although no geolo- 
gist, he realized that it 
was possible that a frag- 
ment of the well-known 
Beacon Sandstone (a 
fossil-bearing rock) had 
been torn up by a basic 
lava on its passage to the 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 115 


surface. This would show the relative age of the two rocks 
concerned (the lava, of course, being younger), and so was 
well worth investigating. We found the outcrop readily 
enough from Captain Scott’s sketch, but Debenham and I 
decided that it was a weathered variety of eruptive rock, and 
not of sedimentary origin. 

Two other appearances were noticeable here, which were 
worth recording because we saw them later in various other 

uarters of Victoria Land. We could not account for them 
ms our first example. On the steep face of the cliff (five 
hundred feet high) near where poor Vince slipped to his doom, 
were four long horizontal ridges—one above the other—of 
dark masses of rock. They resembled lateral moraines left by 
giant glaciers, but I believe they are due to debris rolling down 
to the foot of a snow-slope. The latter varies in extent with 
varying seasons, and so the debris ridge may be deposited at 
another level. 

Another very curious feature soon attracted our notice. 
All the more or less level lowland around Cape Armitage, as 
well as the bare plateau of Crater Heights, was marked out 
like a gigantic tesselated pavement. I noted in my journal, 
“The lowlands of loose black rock appear to be rolled by a 
steam roller, while the surface is broken by gutters from four 
to eight inches deep.” These gutters marked out hexagonal 
and polygonal areas some twenty or thirty feet across. When 
a light snowfall had collected in the gutters, the valleys seemed 
to have been paved with black tiles united by white mortar. 

These symmetrical polygons are due to a slow movement 
of half-frozen soil, which has been noted in polar lands, and 
is called solifluxion or soil-creep. We saw many examples 
of these tesselations in the western moraines. 

We walked back to the camp on the sea-ice, pulling the 
asbestos sheets on the sledge. There was some cold tea to 
spare in Nelson’s tent, and we were glad to make our meal 
off this and some biscuits. Then, pillowing my head on a 
camera, I coiled into my sleeping-bag, and so spent my first 
night on trek. 

On the next morning we were told that we could ride 
back to the ship on the dog-sledges. Nothing loth, we tied 
our sledge behind Meares’, and soon covered the eight miles. 

The dogs pulled rapidly, but seemed to need frequent 


116 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


rests. It was much more lively than “ man-hauling.” Meares’ 
constant cries, “Tchui—Tchui! Ky—Ky!” directed the 
leading dog, and the six pairs behind him swerved left or 
right in unison. There were numerous seals on our route, 
and Meares had considerable trouble to keep the dogs to the 
straight path of duty. One ginger seal especially excited their 
interest, and ours also, for the colour is most uncommon. 
Usually the seals are a dull fawn brown, though the breast is 
often beautifully mottled with white spots. 

My first seal-killing had been done a day or two before. 

After dinner Wright and I had marched off on hunting 
bent. We walked over the great South Road—where we 
had cleared a track for the ponies over Cape Evans—and 
reached Gully Bay. Just over the tide-crack we came on 
three seals ; one beautifully dappled, one small and dark, and 
a huge, big fellow. We wanted the skin for making sandals, 
and so attacked the biggest specimen. There was not much 
attack about it! You just hit him hard on the nose, as 
Wright did with an ice axe, and then stab him under the 
fore-flipper, as I did with my Serbish dagger. To make sure, 
we pole-axed him also. Then we skinned him with consider- 
able difficulty, for two of us could hardly make the body 
budge! The skin and blubber were two inches thick and 
frightfully slippery; you could not grip it. We had to 
drive the ice axe into the loose flap of hide, and so gradually 
drag the carcase into the positions necessary for flaying. We 
left the hide on the head and limbs, and then cut through 
the cartilaginous breastbone and secured the huge liver— 
about forty pounds of it, I expect. We intended to drag the 
hide back with a rope, but all we could manage was the liver, 
of which I hung a part on each fore-finger. Then we walked 
back to the hut, about half an hour’s journey, and when we 
arrived I gave the liver to the cook. I soon found that my 
fingers were frostbitten, and through inexperience I stayed in 
the hut. For five minutes I tramped up and down with an 
almost unbearable pain in my fingers very like toothache. 
Never again did I expose my hands in the Antarctic in any 
constrained position, so that this first slight mishap was a 
good lesson to me. 

On the 27th of January the ship left Glacier Tongue, to 
carry Our party to the western side of MacMurdo Sound, a 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 117 


distance of thirty miles. I got a photo of the face of the 
Tongue—showing queer little bulbous icicles where the swell 
of the tide had licked them. The Tongue rises and falls with 
the tide, and so there was no very definite crack between it 
and the sea-ice at its end. Little did we think that this 
century-old natural wharf was to be torn away from its 
moorings a few weeks later ! 

Now that all chance of adding to our equipment had 
passed, we found that several important matters required 
attention. For instance, my ski-boots—in which I had to 
traverse rocky slopes for six weeks—developed a hole thus 
early in the campaign! This apparently trivial matter bulked 
very largely in the succeeding journey, and though they were 
roughly cobbled on board and stiffened with all sorts and 
conditions of nails—none being very suitable—they were a 
constant source of worry. 

In the afternoon we approached Butter Point, passing 
through a belt of “brash ice” to reach it. This curiously 
named headland is where the 1902 party started to explore 
the western valleys. Here a supply of butter was left for 
the returning travellers to reward them with a toothsome 
dish of fried seal’s liver (if they had “first caught their 
geal”). 

Butter Point is really the north-east end of a “ piedmont ” 
glacier. It is a mass of ice—almost stagnant—which covers 
a coastal shelf some five miles wide between the foothills and 
the sea. The snow slopes rose rapidly to a hundred feet or 
so, and then more gradually to five hundred feet. Many 
unsuccessful attempts to fix an ice-anchor in the hard snow 
(covering the glacier) resulted in our moving north a short 
distance, where a grip was obtained when the anchors were 
carried some two hundred yards inshore. 

On the summit of the snow ridge, about half a mile away, 
we saw the pole of the depdt left by the 1907 expedition. 
This was now visited by a sledge party to depét provisions 
for the forthcoming northern journey in spring. 

In the meantime our two sledges were lowered on to the 
ice, and packed in readiness for our start. The sledges differed 
in size, one being twelve feet long, and the other only nine 
feet. The latter Evans evidently regarded as the apple of his 
eye, but weight for weight it was much less efficient than the 


118 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


larger sledge, since it weighed almost as much, but could not 
carry three-quarters of the load. We had a heavy equipment 
for four men, averaging about 270 lbs. each, but as we were 
only proposing to take one sledge for a considerable portion 


of the journey, this was of little importance. 


Our total load was as follows :— 


Sledges, etc. 


Food and Fuel, etc. 


Tools, etc. 


Instruments, etc. 


Twelve-feet sledge 
Nine-feet sledge 


Two instrument boxes ... 


Iron under-runners 


Oil tins on platform 
One tin of spirits 
Seven weeks’ food 
Biscuits (four boxes) 


Ready bag (one week) ie 


Boxes protecting biscuit 
Cooker ... 


Three ice axes 
Crowbar and shovel 
Candles ... 
Lantern ... 

Alpine rope 
Bamboos Pe 
Tent and poles ... 
Four sleeping-bags 
Repair bag, etc. ... 


Theodolite 
Aneroids, etc. 

Zeiss camera 

Six dozen plates... 
Goerz camera 

Three dozen plates 
Box camera and films 
Polariscope 
Binoculars 

Compass, abney, etc. 


Total, i) 265 


Total ... 696 


Total’? (;. 1308 


~ ~ 
Nv Om = 
uw 


Total 


{ ag | tube Qn 


“IED WORM = MA ‘jason wineqssnN = N “pur[s] p[eoH = H 
yjodag Arg surg = q ‘pray qouxyy = YJ *purysy Aapieg sa = [TC "syooy [BIpaypjwg = O 
“yooq jo pua ye deur Surpyoy osje vag «= *UMOYsS ‘purysy peaf{ O} JUIOg Jafjng pue duvg aroospy 0} JuIOg sapng ‘shournof preMjnog 


‘AAUNYUNOL LSAIA NO CuSadAVAL AYMLNNOOD AO TAdOW 


at 
I of 7 “ . 7 
coat: ‘te ieee. nl 
a ; | 1 oh as Poe = 
a — ar ’ 
_ 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 119 


Personal Gear ... Aa Bee 1% bas A ae te ttc) 

LBS. 

Totals ... Sledges, etc. oN Se PSS 

Hood, ete.” ..: son By dicy- fo) 

A Golayiete! i: uy Habs fe (0) 

Instruments, etc. ... use fh NOE 

Personal... a at 50 

1040 


Several items in this list may be commented on. The 
heavy steel sledge runners were designed to fit under the 
wooden runners of the sledge, to take the wear and tear when 
we were crossing the rough ice of the glaciers. No favour- 
able occasion for their use arose until half our journey was 
completed, and then, as will be seen, the trial resulted in the 
smashing of the large sledge. We also carried the biscuit 
tins enclosed in their stout wooden cases up and down the 
Ferrar glacier, with the idea of preserving the biscuits from 
breakage. The cases were discarded on our return to Butter 
Point without any inconvenience from broken biscuit result- 
ing. These two items alone constituted one-tenth of our 
load, and we were glad when trials showed that we could get 
along much better without them. 

It will be noticed that an exceptionally large photographic 
battery was carried. This was necessitated by the character 
of the problems which engaged our attention. For instance, 
Wright was chiefly interested in the forms of ice structure 
which we encountered. The most delicate ice-crystals, which 
withered at a breath, must needs be photographed in situ. 
There was no possibility of his bringing back specimens for 
study in the hut during the dark winter months. For similar 
reasons a somewhat bulky polariscope—in which sheets of ice 
were examined in polarized light—formed part of Wright’s 
load, and accompanied him in a ruck-sack wherever he went. 
Debenham was engaged on the more usual work of collecting 
specimens, mapping their occurrence in the field, and studying 
the relations of the various rocks. For this purpose another 
camera was essential, since in general his investigations were 
carried out in the cliffs at some distance from the rest of us. 
The subject which primarily interested myself may be popularly 


120 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


described as the bearing of geology on scenery—in other 
words, “ How has the land surface been affected by the flow 
of glaciers, by the action of wind, frost, water, and ice ? How 
do the resulting features differ from those observed in more 
temperate regions where water plays such an important part 
and ice erosion is absent ?” 

During February we obtained nearly a hundred photo- 
graphs illustrating the typical valleys, glaciers, moraines, and 
general topography of the western mountains, which it is 
hoped will help to settle the question, “ How do glaciers 
erode the deep valleys they occupy?” But early in March 
our cameras became practically useless, for the cold stiffened 
the shutters and the snow obliterated the details of the land- 
scape. 

I asked Pennell to take some soundings off the glacier 
mouth, for it has been supposed that glaciers cut their troughs 
out even below the surface of the sea. Rivers, of course, 
cannot erode below this level, so that this investigation was of 
importance in connection with the Ice versus Water Erosion 
hypotheses. He found only seventy fathoms (420 feet), 
which bears little resemblance to the glacier-cut fiords of 
Norway, some 6000 feet below sea-level. There is often so 
much silt and debris washing down from these valleys, that it 
may be possible that a deep rock trough has been filled thereby. 
But I think it improbable for reasons which will appear later. 

Debenham went off with the eastern party to examine 
the depdt on Butter Point. Priestley was able to identify 
many of the articles here as having been left by David on 
the magnificent magnetic Pole journey. Meanwhile, Wright, 
Evans, and I got our stores and sledges on to the ice and 
started packing. Some of the seamen went off to kill a 
seal, accompanied by our doctor, Levick. The latter was to 
show them a humane and speedy way of ending the seal. 
He described the method to us on his return, but the effect 
was spoilt by the butcher declaring that the seal had travelled 
a hundred yards after Levick had officially killed it ! 

Debenham had arranged his northern depét by six o'clock, 
and then our party put the finishing touches to our two 
sledges. With the zeal of a new leader, I advised donning 
wind-proofs as evening drew on ; but experience showed later 
that they were rarely needed until mid-February ! 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 121 


I left my trusty “ mousetrap ” camera on board, some one 
snapping a photo of us just before the start. 

About 6.30 we pulled off from the ship across the sea ice 
which separated us from the glacier. The surface was good, 
and we dragged the sledges about five miles before camping. 
We headed for the northern side of the glacier. The southern 
side of the Ferrar was really more direct, but it was cut up into 
gullies and pinnacles such as made sledging almost impossible. 

I asked Evans to cook during the first week ; and Deben- 
ham was cook’s mate, to follow on later. So upon halting 
Evans took charge of the cooker and proceeded to light the 
primus, while Wright and I erected the tent overhim. Deben- 
ham filled the outer cooker with ice and then joined us in 
piling snow blocks on the flounce of the tent. After seeing 
that all was secure on the sledges we dived into the tent, and 
sitting on our rolled-up bags proceeded to change our socks. 
All of us, except the unfortunate cook, who was too busy 
mixing pemmican and salt and pepper and thickers—measur- 
ing out chocolate and cocoa, etc.—to have any time to attend 
to socks! This was one reason why cooking was not more 
popular! Our wet socks were hung on a rope slung upon 
the sledges, and by morning the frozen moisture had evapo- 
rated (ablated) completely off. 

However, on this particular evening, while the pemmican 
was being cooked, Wright and I walked amile or so to the 
south and reached a lateral “tongue ” or prolongation of the 
main glacier. There was a sudden rise of some three feet, 
and the surface, in place of being level and comparatively 
smooth, was carved out into deep irregular bowls with over- 
hanging margins, These were in all probability giant “ sun- 
holes,” and their floors were covered with a most beautiful 
carpet of snow crystals. Examined closely, each crystal plate 
was like the segment of a fan strengthened by cross-ribs. 
These plates were often half an inch across. 

The whole structure of sunholes, crystals, and hummocking 
ice reminded me of nothing so much as the appearance of a 
coral reef, and I suggested the name “ coral-reef surface ” 
for the type of ice and snow weathering. 

We returned and found the “hoosh” nearly ready. 1 
read the sledging orders which Captain Scott had given me a 
few days previously. 


netter of Instruction to Griffith Taylor. Bea. 


"Terra Nova” 

aki : 
pee 26° Iq u 
Dear Taylor, 

I ptrpose to disembark a sledge party of which you 
will have charge oh the sea ice 6f koe Surdo Sound as near the 
Ferrar Glacier as possibleM 

Your companions will be Messrs #emssee, Debenhum, 
Wright and Fetty Officer Evans. 

You Will have two sledges with food and equipment 
for 8 weeks. 

The object of your journey will be the gecologigal 
exploration of the region betwecn the Dry Valley and the 
Koettlitz Glacier. 

Your movenents must depend to gome extent on the 
breaking of the sea ice. Your best and safest plan aprears to 
ie ae carry atl Provision up the Ferrar Glacier to a point in 
the medial moraine abreast of Descent Pass and to make a depot 
at that point. With e fortnigit's food yon could then continue 
the ascent to the junction cf the Dry Valley Glacier and 
descend the valley of that Glacier. On returning to your Depot 
you will be in a rosition to observe thé extent of the open 
water and you can either descend the gY¥&cicr anc pass to the 
East Ln Geb Point or climb Descent Tass descending by the 
Blue Glacier or by one of the more Southerly foothill glaciers 
and thus continue the examination of the Koettlitz Glacier 
area. 

On completion of your work you shculd cross to Hut 
Point RS careful not to camp hear the open water. Supplies 


v0 pet 


cf provision will be found at-#ut Point ert snoicté—-be-weed 
seating 


138 


- = 4 Stems remaining from the 

And deals Cec ram, Ce formes, trtont Pome Pret 
Discovery Expedition. I regard it as practically certain . 
that Cape Evans can be safely reacked over the new sea ice ke 
before the third week in March provided that the party keeps 
well within the bays. __ 


ahe safest course would be t> climt the ridges 
Nbeyond Castle Rock, te continue on the sea ice’ 


~ —— 


behind Arrival Height,amd descenca to the sea cof to a point 
one or two miles from the end of Clacier Tongue and from 


thence to the South side of Cape Evans, 


Winton Jom Br but~ Gf lure 
” Yours sincerely, 


124 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


As usual we found the pemmican too rich at first, and I 
note that I could only eat three of the biscuits! This delicate 
appetite did not survive many days of Antarctic sledging. I 
slept soundly, only waking once at four ; but the thought that 
I carried the chronometer and was responsible for the punctual 
rising at 7.30 (6.30 local time) made me uneasy for many 
ensuing mornings ! 

We did not expect to return by this route, so that I 
thought it advisable to investigate the physiography of the 
lower end of the glacier. After breakfast we all went over to 
the south side of the valley. Wright was soon busy on hands 
and knees investigating the beautiful “fan” crystals. Deben- 
ham and I walked on further to some isolated moraine heaps, 
which projected about ten feet above the ice. I made a 
traverse over the glacier as far as the lower slope of the hills 
with the following results. The moraine heaps seemed to be 
the outward and visible sign of a large continuous ridge—or 
sheet—most of which was buried in old ice and snow. The 
mingling of fine silts and huge boulders, some four feet long, 
was characteristic of a glacial deposit, and a few doubtful 
striae were present. Many varieties of rock were represented, 
granites, recalling the famous “ Shap” of the Lake District ; 
splendid porphyries with large almond-like felspars in a brown 
matrix ; gneisses of many varieties with parallel layers of 
glistening mica and dull black hornblende; and some 
crystalline limestones and much dolerite; both of which 
occurred in situ about ten miles further west. These elon- 
gated silt and boulder ridges showed deep cracks along their 
sides, indicating, 1 imagine, considerable movement of the 
glacier which bore them. 

The next half a mile was rather difficult travelling, through 
pinnacle ice and through large lately frozen pools of water. 
Very striking were some of the ice-forms here. ‘“ Topsy- 
turvy”’ icicles, whose original support had almost melted 
away—leaving them attached below and surmounted with 
knobs like hatpins, and unsupported crusts of ice which 
dropped one into a pool of water, were types that made the 
most lasting impression. I soon reached the land—a sunny 
slope facing the noon sun. Here several merry little brooks 
hurried down over the powdery silt to hide themselves 
beneath the glacier. To be sure, they were only an inch deep 

e 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 125 


and meandered across little channels a couple of feet wide, but 
they were unusual enough to excite interest. Gradually the 
silts changed into a pebbly soil, and this into a uniform layer 
of coarse gravel as I ascended the slope. Larger stones and 
boulders became common, and one specimen seemed of special 
interest. It was a fragment of coarse granite some six inches 
long, with its upper surface weathered to such an extent that 
every felspar appeared as a separate glistening brick ; yet the 
moiety of the granite buried in the silt was as smooth as any 
pebble from the beach. I consider it by no means improbable 
that this relatively large amount of “ weathering’ had been 
accomplished while this fragment lay in its present insecure 
situation, 

A little higher up the slope I was amazed to see a carpet 
of green moss, as flourishing as any in more temperate regions. 
I sat down on a granite erratic, and noted that three types of 
vegetation were present. One was a veritable moss, to my 
unbotanical eyes, the ordinary moss of universal distribution. 
Of the other two species, which may have been algez, one 
resembled the seaweed called U/va, and the other had a some- 
what fibrous structure. The patch of green was sixty feet 
long and about fifteen feet wide, and is possibly the largest 
area of vegetation south of 774°! I was under the impression 
that these forms were quite common around MacMurdo 
Sound, but if I had known that they were inhabited by a most 
interesting primitive flea, 1 should certainly have added some 
to our load. However, we obtained thousands of the insects 
next year at Granite Harbour. 

On my return I found that Evans had laboriously collected 
the fragments of a shell, which, pieced together, built up a red 
scallop. He picked it up on the moraine, where it may have 
been blown by the wind. 

We inspanned at noon, and before lunch reached the low 
ridges marking the junction of the centre of the glacier with 
the sea ice. Here we obtained fresh water for the cooker, b 
cutting some three inches through the sea ice. Evidently at 
this season the sub-glacial drainage overpowered the sea-water 
at this spot, which was eight or nine miles from the open sea. 

To the north of this was that remarkable “ Double 
Curtain” glacier, which is photographed in the Discovery 
volume. After lunch Wright and I decided to walk in that 


126 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


direction, and we soon saw we should be justified in devoting 
some hours to its examination ; while Debenham came along 
later and collected the varied rocks in the vicinity. As we 
approached the northern slopes the surface of the Ferrar 
Glacier altered in character, and gave place to large lake-like 
areas of ice, which exhibited most beautiful figures on close 
examination. In the upper layers of the ice were included 
radiating designs which resembled a miniature Hampton Court 
maze in porcelain embedded in glass. These intricate 
patterns—which are characteristic of glacier ice—I termed 
“ Arabesques.” They are due, I imagine, to some variation 
in the solidifying water, perhaps owing to air being squeezed 
into the latest ice formed—or again show where stones have 
sunk deep into the glacier. 

Somewhat nearer the shore there were more unpleasant 
surfaces met with—large dome-covered ponds into which 
we fell at frequent intervals. We decided that a tramp over 
the Crystal Palace would give rise to the same sensations. 
Bounding the glacier and separated from the debris slopes by 
a wide stream was an avenue or colonnade of gigantic ice 
pinnacles thirty feet high. These were traversed by narrow 
crevasses, down one of which I had to climb to rescue an ice 
axe. The sun glistening on the icy minarets and beautiful 
icicles made a most impressive sight. This ice ridge is due to 
pressure from the glacier piling the ice against the cliff higher 
up. This crenellated selvage to the more level central level 
centre of the glacier—moves to the sea with the main body, 
and so preserves its lateral position, though no pressure can 
exist where we saw it—for it is many yards from the rock. 

Between the pinnacle ridge and the slopes was the water- 
bearing channel which invariably accompanies a large glacier in 
these regions. This physiographic feature is one of the most 
interesting and most important in connection with the char- 
acteristic topography of Antarctic valleys. The small valley 
bounded by ice on one side and rock on the other is 
conveniently termed the Lateral moat. Hereabouts it was 
rather complex, but further up the main glaciers its valley 
occupied merely a simple V. After crossing the pinnacles we 
had to negotiate a stream in which the water lay in pools 
several feet deep—though its flow was comparatively small. 
Then over a silt moraine and so across another slight 


MY FIRST CAMP IN ANTARCTICA AT THE SNOUT OF THE 
FERRAR GLACIER. 


Over a mile away is the Double Curtain Cliff Glacier. The Kukri Hills are 3000 
feet high. The Snout is only ten feet above the sea-ice on which is the tent. 
The socks are hung out to dry on the sledge. 


Griffith Taft 
Wright. Debenham. Taylor. Evans. 


PHOTO TAKEN JUST BEFORE WE PACKED THE SLEDGES 
FOR THE FIRST SLEDGE JOURNEY, Jan. 27, 1911. 


Note the biscuits in the four venesta cases. ‘The men are wearing windproof 
blouses. [See p. 120. 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 127 


’ 


depression to the talus slopes below the ‘‘ Double Curtain’ 
tributary glaciers. It seemed a simple matter at first to 
investigate the glacier front, but it lay much further up the 
slope than I had imagined, and was moreover protected by an 
icy mantle of frozen thaw-water which surrounded the snout. 
Wright cut steps across this “ mantle,” and found that the 
almost vertical face of the glacier was forty feet high, and 
composed of layers of snow which had only lately reached the 
condition of ice. 

Meanwhile I climbed up the steep rock slopes alongside 
the glacier. At first the rocky debris was a confused jumble 
of granites, dolerites, and basalt, with occasional limestones 
and gneisses. At 2500 feet elevation I reached the top of the 
slope and stood on the great shoulder which characterizes the 
Kukri Hills hereabouts. Here solid rock was plentiful—the 
same gray granite traversed by long dykes of dark basic rock. 
A wonderful panorama was spread out before me. I could see 
up the Ferrar Glacier as far as Knob Head. To the south- 
west jutted out the three giant gables—like the roof of a 
Gothic cathedral—which were so appropriately named 
Cathedral Rocks. 

I was much interested in my first view of Descent Pass, 
by which we proposed to reach the Koettlitz Glacier. Still 
further to the south-west the spurless wall of the Ferrar was 
notched by the “Overflow.” The latter appeared to spill 
out through a gloomy curving gorge which indisputably 
showed evidence of water erosion. In the far west towered 
the massive Royal Society Range, culminating in Mt. Lister. 
Its eastern face was carved into rounded “armchair” valleys 
(cwms) and deep razor-back ridges—another type of topo- 
graphy which has been recognized in temperate regions as 
characteristic of glacial erosion. 

On descending to the main glacier I found that the others 
had collected several small sponges and shells from the small 
silt moraine in the lateral moat. These organic remains are 
puzzling, for it is difficult to imagine that such light and 
fragile specimens indicate a sea-beach, which could only have 
raised so many feet above the sea at some far distant period. 

Objects of greater biological interest had been encountered 
on our walk to the side of the glacier. In the rough ice 
we saw many Emperor Penguins, stolidly motionless and 


128 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


obviously awaiting the end of their moulting season. We 
crossed over towards them and found that there were several 
flocks, probably totalling one hundred. 

In the nearest group were thirty-six individuals, only one 
of which had completed moulting. 

He was singled out for sacrifice and fel] by a blow on the 
neck. Evans and I dragged him to our camp, where I skinned 
and cleaned the carcase in preparation for a change of diet if 
our appetite failed on apemmican regime. The limbs I hacked 
off with my new bowie knife, and I was chagrined to find 
that penguin bones can chip the best Sheffield blade ! 

Already my boots began to give trouble. The soft leather 
sole would not hold the short nails, which only were 
available on the Terra Nova, so that I attempted to mend 
matters by driving in some Canadian lumber spikes supplied 
by Wright. 

After Wright had taken another round of angles with the 
theodolite we moved on up the Ferrar Glacier. The surface 
degenerated rapidly. The flatter portions were sun-carved 
into serried ranks of projections like plough-shares, and we 
used the term ‘‘Plough-share Ice” to describe this feature. 
Although this was unpleasant to walk on, yet the sledges 
travelled over it readily—for as a general rule bad walking 
meant easy pulling, and vice versa. But great holes, two or 
three feet deep, were cut out below the general level, and 
these were closer together as we moved further west. They 
were crusted with fan crystals, and indeed represented a stage 
of surface evolution which I have described as “coral reef 
structure.” We had much difficulty in guiding the sledges, 
and they capsized several times before lunch. Every now 
and again the sledge runners would jam, sending a jar through 
one’s frame, so that this unpleasant experience became known 
—quite naturally—as a “ jam-jar.” 

Towards evening we approached the first series of pressure 
rolls. Crossing diagonally (from south to north) were four 
frozen rivers which formed tempting surfaces, but unfortu- 
nately in the wrong direction, for they led to the broken ice 
of the Overflow. 

We camped in an undulation filled deeply with hard snow, 
a little below a fine tributary glacier and nearly opposite the 
Overflow. 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 129 


On the 30th we started up some steep undulations. We 
had anticipated easy going, for Evans, on his 1902 journeys, 
had always encountered clear smooth ice here. But the ice 
was buried under a foot of snow and only showed in oc- 
casional holes. I made brief notes of the surfaces throughout 
the day, at our various halts, and they are characteristic of 
glacier sledging and so are here reproduced. 

“ First Halt, Heavy going up the undulations ; three of 
them traversed already ; the surface is smooth but the runners 
stick to the snow. 

“Second Halt. We have crossed the head of quite a deep 
snow-covered valley crossing the glacier,—on both sides were 
numerous crevasses, but they were not wide, the largest being 
under three feet. I slipped in twice, and Evans and Wright 
had similar mishaps (in no case, however, did both feet go in). 
Definite snow bridges over crevasses. We halted at a dead 
seal, obviously a young specimen and yellowish in colour. 

“ Third Halt. We can see a good lateral moraine at the 
foot of the cliffs, for we are gradually rising up a steep slope 
with a bad surface. Only a few narrow cracks. 

“ Fourth Halt. Still on the same slope, which is hard 
going and causes much sweat, chiefly owing to our rather 
heavy loads, as the slope is only three degrees. 

“ Fifth Stage. Same surfaces ; stopped for lunch, having 
done 3600 paces in three-quarters of an hour (fide pedometer). 

“Sixth Stage. ‘The surface became less damnable and we 
did a mile in which short patches of ice appeared under one 
inch of powdery snow. Some ‘glass-roof’ ice is appearing 
into which we fall, and the snow is still one foot thick in 
many places. 

“ Seventh Stage (5 p.m.). Weare reaching plough-share ice. 

“ Eighth Stage. Snow is falling on the northern slopes, 
but does not reach down to our level. 

“ Ninth Stage. Much better surface, nearly all ice, though 
the snow has powdered it to a greyish colour. 

“Tenth Stage. ‘ Arabesques’ are showing in the clear ice 
underfoot, they seem to mark fairly old solid ice and indicate 
good travelling. 

“Eleventh Stage (8 p.m.). Crossing the glacier to Cathe- 
i aon ; surface good, but the moraine seems a long way 
ahead. 


K 


130 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


“ Twelfth Stage (9 p.m.). Stopped near the big moraine 
after heavy pulling over two inches of soft snow. Camped 
on big patch of hard snow by a huge boulder.” 

We spent the forenoon making our depét at this camp. 
It lay four miles north-west of Descent Pass, and would be on 
our route if we decided to return to the sea by the Pass. We 
left here what we did not require during our fortnight in the 
Dry Valley region. We piled three biscuit boxes on the 
smaller sledge, and packed the smaller provision bags under 
the sledge. We put the butter inside the instrument-box 
with the spare photographic plates. Also I decided to leave 
the heavy steel under-runners, for so far we had met with 
no rough ice. The penguin had been lashed on behind the 
sledge and had suffered considerably from the capsizes! Him 
we buried under some blocks of snow, pending a “ hoosh” 
on our return. We took a fortnight’s provisions in addition 
to the “ready-bag,” and I tied a note to our depét flag, 
mentioning the 11th as the probable date of our return. 

Just to the west of the main Cathedral Rocks was a very 
interesting tributary valley—the first real low-level tributary 
of which we had had a good view. Obviously owing to some 
difference in the snow-supply, this tributary is keeping pace 
with the main glacier, and enters the latter “at grade.” The 
majority of the other tributaries have not entered the Ferrar 
on a level (at grade) since it was two thousand feet thicker. 

The sun was quite powerful, and we had to wear goggles 
in consequence, but during our ensuing stay in Dry Valley 
there was so much bare rock that we had no need for them. 
At lunch my unlucky boots fell to pieces again, and Evans 
put some scientific sewing into them. But no sewing held, 
until continual frost turned the leather into a material almost 
as strong as steel. 

Towards six o’clock we reached the top of the steeper 
portion of the Ferrar Glacier, and found ourselves on a small 
ice plateau about 3200 feet above sea-level. On the south it 
rose to the south arm, while to the north was the entrance to 
Dry Valley. The col of ice leading in this direction is of 
considerable interest, for it shows what conditions were like 
near Luzern in the Great Ice Age. However, I will describe 
this form of “ Twin Glacier” in a later paragraph. 

A few miles before we camped we were hauling the sledge 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 131 


along the foot of the grandest geological section I have ever 
seen. The cliff was 3300 feet high (as determined by Abney 
level), and was divided into so many distinct layers that it 
resembled a gigantic sandwich! It was capped by a little 
triangle of yellowish rock, which represents the most eastern 
exposure of the Beacon Sandstone in the valley. Beneath 
this were two wonderful “sills,” or horizontal sheets of the 
basic lava called dolerite. They could be traced in the cliffs 
for miles and miles, and represented flows of lava wedged in 
between the granites and sandstones. These dolerite sills 
were strongly columnar, and near by some isolated pillars of 
enormous size were visible on the sky-line. Above and below 
the lower of these black sills were layers of grey granite, and 


<p TON N fa Do 
“ep oo ER G Fivuaviegilddai 
EFM AD er un Gl Grr y Gr . 
Patras , gly { H RU i HF too . Gr 
ie RM tele 
1g, Y = G, : YD i — S%, Sa a ae ALS 
CA MES i Nh in 
bs 3 


se 
aN 
a ea 


WN OR 


SSS 
pre ies oF 


et yo , _——  Ferrar Gl: = 


The !wonderfulgeological :“ sandwich ” near the Dun and Hedley Glaciers. 
(The 3000-foot-cliff at the south-west end of Kukri Hills, February 10, 
1911.) In descending order : ye//ow beacon sandstone; black dolerite ; 
red-grey granite ; black dolerite ;*red-grey granite ; dark brown talus. 


the lower portions of the granite were shrouded in a steep 
slope of brownish talus which reached to the flashing white 
surface of the great glacier. 

I hoped to reach the head of the Dry Valley glacier that 
evening, so that we pulled on till 9 p.m., and reached the 
beginning of the slope to the north. Here we formed our 
Fifth Camp just abeam of a tributary glacier—which, from its 
shape, we called the “South America” glacier. We had 
some difficulty in fixing the tent-flaps, for the glacier was now 
practically free from snow-drift, and there was nothing to 
weight down the skirt of the tent. But the night was calm 
and warm, so that I walked across to the lateral moat without 
helmet or gloves in perfect comfort. 


132 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


February 1, 1911.—To our surprise—after five days’ pull- 
ing over heavy snow in the Ferrar Glacier—we found no snow 
in the adjoining valley! We made across the valley a little to 
reach the medial moraine, and to get away from the disturbed 
ice at the corner. At lunch we camped in a huge hole along- 
side a giant boulder of granite. Here alone we found enough 
snow to secure the tent. Water was obtained from a mass of 
slushy ice on the sunny side of an adjacent boulder. 

Many points of interest appeared round us. All over the 
clear ice were circular patches of darker ice, varying in size 
from an inch to two feet. Embedded in the darker ice were 
the arabesque patterns described previously. These dark 
patches marked where stones had gradually sunk through the 
glacier, as the sun’s rays—rendered operative by radiation 
from their dark surfaces—melted the ice around them. As 
a consequence, only the most massive blocks remained above 
the ice hereabouts, and the medial moraine—in place of being 
a continuous ridge of heaped debris—consisted of a block 
here, another twenty feet off, a third somewhat further, and 
so on along a line down the valley. 

On the slopes of the north, under Obelisk Mountain, were 
two interesting glaciers. We named them from their shape 
“Catspaw”” and “Stocking” Glaciers. They spread over a 
low range of hills shaped somewhat like a broad terrace, and 
from my sketch it seems possible to prove considerable retro- 
gression on the part of the “‘Catspaw.” In 1903 the “ paw” 
was furnished with relics of a well-defined “ mantle” in the 
form of three “claws” prolonging the glacier some hundreds 
of feet. There was no trace of these in 1911. The irregular 
outline of this glacier suggests that it originally spread out 
and perhaps joined with the Stocking (to the east) and other 
isolated curtain glaciers. Hence the absence of any trace of 
a valley below these glaciers. They merely “spill” over the 
broad terrace and hang there supinely, quite unconnected with 
the main glacier below. This absence of marked erosion is, 
to my mind, a very important point, and similar features 
constantly occur. 

The gullies in the Solitary Rocks afforded an interesting 
piece of evidence as to the relation of outcrop to weathering. 
One of the trials of physiography is to decide how much of 
the outline of a valley must be set down to the varying 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 133 


resistances of the rocks involved, and how much is due to 
the generalized type which marks the physiographic age of 
the valley. For instance, a narrow gorge usually marks a 
valley of /ate origin; but it may be due to a hard band of 
granite and be quite local, the rest of the valley having the 
broader features of the mature stage of erosion. To return to 
our local evidence. I was glad to see that the gullies inter- 
secting the Solitary Rocks crossed the unconformity (junction) 
between the dolerite and granite without any change in their 
outline, proving that these two rocks offered much the same 
resistance to weathering. 

As in the Ferrar, the frozen surface streams ran across the 
glacier diagonally towards the north-east. Perhaps this uni- 
form northerly direction was due to the greater melting on 
the northern side of the glaciers by the noon sun. 

About six o’clock the slope became too steep for the 
sledges. We halted, therefore, about a mile from the snout 
and prospected for a good camp site. There was no snow 
anywhere, and the edge of the glacier was a steep slope some 
forty feet high, down which it would be little advantage to 
lower the sledge. The centre of the glacier was cut up by 
surface streams into asymmetric gullies twenty or thirty feet 
deep. Along the sunny (southern) side of these gullies were 
a series of “alcoves” arranged like the stalls of a choir. They 
were thirty feet deep, and about a hundred across, and were 
most beautiful objects—their steep faces being fretted into a 
thousand pilasters and niches. 

On the northern side these alcoves were much smaller, 
but presented the same features. We lowered the sledge 
down a convenient gully in the wall by means of the alpine 
ropes, and proceeded to pitch our tent on the rough ice 
forming the level floor of the alcove. These were ideal 
conditions for a sheltered camp—with the exception of the 
floor. We had a strongly-running stream an inch deep along- 
side which led to an amusing incident one evening. However, 
it was a good site, and though the wind howled along the 
surface of the glacier, nothing was even disturbed in our 
sheltered nook. 

I decided to spend two days round the snout of the glacier 
before moving down the valley towards the sea. The “groin”’ 
blocking the valley attracted my attention, though I was 


134 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


afraid it might prove to be merely a 500-foot moraine. So 
we arranged to spend the day in the matters most interesting 
to us. Debenham climbed up some 2000 feet to the “ coaly ” 
debris on the Kukri Hills. Wright (and Evans) investigated 
the physics of the ice in the vicinity of Alcove Camp. 
Debenham and I started together down the glacier, and 
experienced considerable difficulty in leaving the ice. Captain 
Scott had descended easily enough in 1903, so we kept along 
the southern edge, seeking a convenient place. The steep 
lateral slope gave way to a perpendicular cliff over fifty feet 
high, and we had to cross many ridges and small crevasses 
before we came to a gully which led to a “silt” fall. Here, 
partly by slipping and partly by being lowered by the wick- 
straps of my gloves, I managed to reach the lateral moat, and 
Debenham followed safely. (Afterwards Debenham cut steps 
up the less steep face nearer our camp.) 

Debenham finally climbed to an outcrop of black lava 
forming a wall eighty feet high, and obviously representing 
quite a late phase of volcanic activity. 

I carried lunch with me down the valley, and ate it under 
a huge granite erratic abreast of the snout of the glacier. The 
slopes of the hills contracted here, and practically enclosed the 
glacier save for a deep narrow gorge just under the 500-foot 
groin mentioned above. The slopes were strewn with frag- 
ments of grey granite, of fawn granite, and of a felsite 
containing hornblende laths and “zoned” felspars. Many 
of the basalt fragments seemed to show the effects of wind 
action, and exhibited the wedge form of “dreikanter.” The 
latter are elsewhere characteristic of desert regions, where also 
wind action is more pronounced than water erosion. Many 
of the large granite erratics contained felspars three inches 
long, and every gradation between granite, gneiss, and felsite 
seemed to be present. 

Many interesting features were shown by the glacier snout 
immediately below me. Between the groin—which I named the 
Bonney Riegel—and the glacier, extended an oval lake about 
a mile long, and half that in breadth. This connected with a 
much larger lake to the east by a deep waterway through the 
Bonney Riegel. The whole lake—some four miles long— 
I named Lake Bonney, after the President of the British 
Association, himself a climber and student of the Alps. Between 


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Moraine material at the Taylor Glacier, looking west. 


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Upper end, L. Bonney 


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136 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


the lake and the actual face of the glacier was an area of 
distributed silts, which extended under the glacier ; while the 
latter also contained bands of silt, which were boldly curved 
in the form of an arch with the centre thirty feet above the 
limbs. Here the glacier can be exerting no erosive action on 
its bed, and I believe that for a long period thaw and freeze, 
wind and water, have been the chief agents in eroding the 
Taylor Valley hereabouts. 

Leaving the glacier and the upper lake, I proceeded east 
to the Riegel. As I climbed up the slope of the hill, I was 
delighted to find that it was composed of granite im situ. 
This bar across a great glacial gorge was paralleled by many 
in the Swiss Alps, and any light which can be thrown on 
their occurrence in the path of an apparently irresistible power 
like an immense glacier, will be of interest. 

In my opinion this bar (or riegel), and the more important 
one we discovered some ten miles east, are relics of “steps” 
in the original topography. A series of “armchair valleys” 
(or cwms) were first cut out in the sloping margins of the 
newly snow-covered land area. The plateau-ice in the interior 
gradually grew in extent, and finally overflowed and drained 
out through the largest cwm valleys to the sea. By degrees 
it eroded many of the cwm features, but it left relics of their 
presence in the form of these “bars” and basins, This is 
what I call the “ palimpsest” theory, and I shall explain it 
more fully when I describe the elongated valleys of the 
Koettlitz ice tributaries. 

I slid down the steep eastern face of the Riegel, where 
King Frost had gnawed away the cliff and built up a steep 
ramp of talus, and reached the channel connecting the two 
parts of Lake Bonney. This was twenty feet deep and filled 
with water, of which only the top six inches was frozen. 
Large laminae of dull green algae covered the bottom of the 
lake, and just at the snout of the glacier a bright red alga 
lent an unusual touch of colour. 

Perched high up on the shoulder of the valley and close 
to the Rhone glacier, Debenham made out a small black 
crater, and I gota fairly good telephotograph of it from our 
camp. It is probable that the basalt debris I found near the 
lake had fallen from this crater, which was several hundred 
feet wide. Its position on this glaciated shoulder is very 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 137 


interesting, and seems to prove that eruptive action occurred 
here since the period of maximum glaciation. I managed to 
cut steps up the front of the glacier and so enter one of the 
many surface gullies. I had a very unpleasant time getting 
back to Alcove Camp, a distance of nearly two miles. I 
thought perhaps the northern side of the glacier, which was 
flatter, would be easier to negotiate. But the sun had 
weathered it into a series of small alcoves, whose floors were 
as smooth as glass and sloped towards the edge of the glacier, 
here fifty feet high. 

The alcoves were bounded by razor-like ridges, and I had 


= B 
" gS. 


Re} re 


The recent crater on the flank of the Taylor Valley. The Rhone (cliff) 
glacier appears on the left, February 7, 1911. 


to crawl along from one to the other, where I did not cut 
steps. The others had returned to camp earlier, and Evans 
proudly produced a fossil-bearing specimen which he called a 
“‘whisker-stone.” It certainly showed signs of organic life, 
but they were merely fibrous algae of a type fairly common in 
the south, so he did not get the reward for the first fossils. 
That evening Evans kindly sewed “toggles” on my sleeping- 
bag, so that I could lash it up after I had coiled in. We cut 
trenches in the ice to lead the thaw-waters away from the tent, 
and turned in to sleep soundly, though the wind was howling 
above us along the face of the glacier. But twenty feet below, 
snugly sheltered in the alcove, nothing disturbed us. 


138 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


Next morning before rising Wright remarked on the 
severity of his exercise the day before, which had left him so 
bathed in perspiration that he felt clammy all night. On 
examining his sleeping-place, however, he found that some- 
thing had blocked the stream by the tent, and its icy current 
had been flowing under his bag most of the night. With the 
temperature ten below freezing this hydropathic treatment 
was by no means appreciated by him ! 

February 4, 1911.—As we could not take the sledge beyond 
the glacier, we packed up the tent and sleeping-bags with five 
days’ food and our instruments, and carried them down 
towards the sea. Wright carried his pack in the Canadian 
method by a “‘tump-line” round his forehead. He took the 
theodolite. Evans wrapped his goods and the tent round the 
tent poles and carried them like a standard over his shoulder. 
Debenham and I took the food. I found as usual that the 
Italian method of carrying a harp—a strap over the right 
shoulder—suited my convenience best. Debenham copied 
the Australian swagsman with a smaller bundle in front nearly 
balancing a roll on his back. We took no cooker, and I left 
my camera below the Riegel after taking some photographs of 
the latter. 

We walked along the northern edge of the lake over a belt 
of smooth ice about twenty yards wide. The water here was 
very deep, especially where steep cliffs fringed the lake. 
Towards the centre the ice soon became much broken, and 
then a large portion of the centre of the lake was occupied by 
silt and morainic debris. In fact, the deep water was pro- 
bably controlled by the radiation from the dark rocks along 
the shore. The valley was by no means steep-sided as a 
whole, but there was evidently a well-defined shoulder terrace 
about 2000 feet above the lake bed on the north and a less 
marked one on the south. Above them the slope was 
steeper. 

Running into the lake at the east end were several small 
creeks. One I noticed particularly had cut a fine gully in the 
moraine of the typical V shape. This was twenty feet deep, 
and its debris was deposited as an alluvial fan or delta. I 
mention this as an instance of typical water erosion in 
Antarctica, though later we saw much larger examples. 

We had lunch at the east end of Lake Bonney, which 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 139 


extends four miles east from the snout of the Taylor Glacier. 
Here the wide valley was filled with morainic debris, and 
several tributary glaciers were close at hand. A large hanging 
glacier almost reaches the level of the lake. It is fed by three 
separate firn-fields, the ice being precipitated over a steep 
cragey cliff, and then reuniting into a broad glacier below. 
This I called the Sollas Glacier. Another similar glacier on 
the northern side almost reached the middle of the valley, and 
we passed just under its snout. The water from all these 
glaciers drained into Lake Bonney. I was much surprised to 
find that after we had passed the lake, the bed of the valley 
began to rise. This lake evidently occupies an area of internal 
drainage, and we pressed eastward wondering if we should be 
stopped by a range of hills. Evans had mentioned seeing in 
the distance (in 1903) a glacier which completely blocked the 
valley, so our supposition was not beyond possibility. 
Immediately east of Lake Bonney the bed of the valley 
was occupied by curious areas which Evans’ name of “ Foot- 
ball Fields” described quite well. These were four oval 
areas about 1000 yards long and half that width, as level as a 
playing-ground and composed of a gravelly silt with insignifi- 
cant shallow streams winding through each. Separating the 
“Fields” were ridges of moraine about fifty yards across. 
The “ Fields ” gradually became higher in an easterly direction, 
each, however, maintaining its own particular level. These 
isolated patches of dead level in the midst of a wilderness of 
moraine heaps often a hundred feet high need explanation. 
Level areas of silt under any conditions denote material 
deposited at base level. (This may be the permanent base level 
of all water erosion, z.e. the level of the sea, or a semporary 
level, as when a river enters a lake, the latter acting as a base 
level until it is filled.) The ‘football fields” represent, 
therefore, the last stages of a chain of lakes which occupied the 
bed of the valley at this point. Probably Lake Bonney will 
gradually be silted up in a similar manner, though here 
conditions are abnormal, for the drainage is a thorough puzzle. 
The lake would seem to have no outlet, and yet, as we have 
seen, it is quite shallow except a mere fringe near the cliffs. 
In midsummer a great quantity of thaw water runs down from 
the main glacier. Possibly evaporation and ablation may 
balance the inflow. It seems improbable that the water soaks 


140 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


out through the moraine in view of the frozen condition of 
the moraine a few feet down. 

From the football fields we passed under the snout of 
Lacroix Glacier. This ended in a vertical cliff of ice some 
thirty feet high, which as usual rested on debris and moraine 
material. 

This glacier was a beautiful example of an avalanche-fed 
cliff glacier. There was very little connection between the 
upper firm portion and the lower solid snout of the glacier, 
the supply being maintained by occasional falls of ice over the 
great granite cliffs separating the two portions. 

Below the snout there was a steep fall through boulders 
and fragments of granite to the centre of the valley, and along 


Matterhorn 


ff on : 


Lo 


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The avalanche-fed Lacroix Glacier in the Taylor Valley, February 7, 1911. 


this slope hurried a pleasant little brook three feet across and 
some three inches deep. It filled the air with as cheerful 
murmurs as any stream in more favoured latitudes. Lying 
among the moraines within the next few miles I counted no 
less than thirteen dead seals in various stages of decay. This 
fact was of some comfort to us, for we seemed to be ascending 
continuously, and could see no seaward outlet to the valley. 
Yet the seals had come through somewhere, and where they 
could pass, so surely could we ! 

About three miles beyond Lake Bonney we reached the 
water parting. The drainage from these high moraines was 
partly into Lake Bonney and partly to the east. Beyond we 
could see the valley contracting toa defile while striking knobs 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION I4I 


—recalling the Bonney Riegel—bounded the narrow gorge and 
led to terraces about 1700 feet high. To the south, however, 
an extension of these, 3000 feet high, quite barred the large 
valley we had just traversed. 

It was now nearly six o’clock and my shoulder was aching 
with my pack. Judging from the readiness of the others to 
drop their loads, I concluded that they felt the same. But 
we all had an idea that a few minutes later would give us a 
view of the Ross Sea. We wondered if we could pass around 
the snout of the wonderful tributary immediately in front. 
It opposed a face of ice forty feet high; but just where it 
butted into the steep south slope of the defile, there was 
a narrow gap where thaw-ice had filled in the interspaces 
between the cliff debris. Over this we carried our packs ; 


™m bs ea 


Suess Glacier 
blocking Defile 


Sketch section across the Taylor Valley at Suess Glacier, showing the 
Nussbaum Riegel which bars it. 


over this the seals must have laboriously crawled to die further 
inland. One seal reached no less than twenty miles from the ~ 
sea, and ascended many hundred feet on its death journey. 
Another, near Solitary Rocks some ten miles further west, at a 
height of 2000 feet, may have ascended the Ferrar Glacier— 
an incredible journey for a marine animal like the seal. 

We scrambled up the slippery ice mantle below the snout 
of the Suess Glacier—as we named this striking glacier—and 
reached the highest portion of the valley since we had left 
the Taylor Glacier. The rock slopes looked full of interest. 
Here were vertical strata of limestone and slate, which were 
the first sedimentary rocks that we had examined im situ. 
Unfortunately they were so folded and altered that no trace 
of fossils could be expected. 

We could not see the sea from the crest of the defile, 


142 


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Looking Wesk up te Dry Valles below Tayler Glacier, 


WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


where we were about 300 
feet up, and so moved east 
down the other slope. We 
reached another lake nearly 
a mile long with a splendid 
gravelly shore, on which I 
decided to pitch the tent. 
We had brought no floor- 
cloth ; but after the wet and 
icy floor in the “alcove” 
we found the warm gravel 
most comfortable. 

We had a frugal meal 
of biscuit, butter, and cold 
water. Our beverage from 
the lake was distinctly 
medicinal, and as the latter 
had no outlet we called it 
Lake Chad. 

I was distinctly troubled 
over the topography of the 
day’s march. We had left 
a huge open valley—a suit- 
able outlet for a large flow 
of ice like the Taylor Glacier 
—and had arrived at a 
narrow defile completely 
blocked by the tributary 
Suess Glacier. We reckoned 
we must be near the sea; 
but where was the large 
open moraine-strewn valley 
described by Professor 
David in 1908? 1 won- 
dered if we had got into an 
unimportant tributary and 
missed the main outlet of 
the valley altogether! So 
after dinner Evans and I 
made straight for the top of 
the ridge (immediately south 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 143 


of the tent) which seemed to block the great valley. It was 
a stiff ascent of 1600 feet over rough blocks of slate. There 
we reached a flat, bare ridge with a further ascent to 3000 
feet a little further west. To my surprise I saw that imme- 
diately to the south was a broad high-level valley gradually 
sloping to the east. I thought at first I was looking into the 
Ferrar Glacier, but soon saw that here in Antarctica was an 
example of the extraordinary valleys which are so characteristic 
of the Italian Alps. As shown by the cross-section, the dry 
valley is barred by a huge Riegel, which is traversed by a deep 
defile at the north, and scooped out to some extent into a 
huge elevated, rounded channel on the south. From this 
ridge, above the mile-long defile, Evans and I at last saw the 
sea gleaming in the east across some twelve miles of moraine- 
strewn valley. 

On the sth, Wright and Debenham remained near the 
camp, while Evans and I marched down to the sea to tie the 
survey on to Ross Island—if we could recognize any portion 
of that far-distant feature. We each carried much gear, and 
the annexed rough sketch shows how a geologist is loaded 
when “ on trek.” 

It was extraordinary to find two more very large tributary 
glaciers on the south side of the valley—reaching some way 
into the ice-free main valley, and blocking up the main drain- 
age to form a series of lakes. We named the first the Canada 
Glacier, and Wright later on clustered the names of various 
Canadian men of science on the adjoining peaks. The second 
we called the Commonwealth Glacier ; and to the small glacier 
which we ultimately reached, on the north-east end of the Kukri 
Range, I gave the name of Wales Glacier, so that our party’s 
homelands are well represented in Dry Valley! We had to 
climb 400 feet up the slopes here before we could see any- 
thing definite to the east ; but then I was able to sight the 
theodolite on to Mount Bird, Cape Bird, and Beaufort Island. 
It was a long and rough tramp back—across numerous little 
streams, running as usual to the north-east,—but we reached 
camp again at 9 p.m. and turned in thankfully. 

After a somewhat dry breakfast, Wright and I took the 
theodolite up to the top of the Riegel. We climbed some 
2400 feet, but did not reach the top of Mount Nussbaum— 
the central summit,—which I estimated at 3000 feet high. 


144 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


When we reached the scarp facing up the valley to the west 
the wind was tempestuous, so that we could not stand against 
it, much less use the theodolite. We sheltered under the lee 
of some projecting dykes of dark rock for some little time. 
There came a lull, and almost before we got the theodolite 
ready the gale had veered to the east—diametrically opposite 


on $5 


The Grpleat Expleve/ 


8-2-0 


—and continued to blow almost as fiercely from that quarter. 
This violent storm would have been unsupportable on the 
Barrier, but the party in our camp below practically felt none 
of it. Our apparent fine weather was due less to absence of 
wind than to the absence of loose snow, and to the abundance 


of shelter. 
I tramped to the south and found that the “‘ Round Valley” 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 145 


ended in a 1700 foot scarp above the trough containing Lake 
Bonney. There was little wonder that we had not realized on 
our seaward tramp, vid the defile, that such a high-level valley 
existed. 

This elevated ridge was comparatively free from debris, 
but there were huge erratics of granite with large felspar 
crystals three inches across. They 
were wonderfully scooped out by the 
wind, and were nearly twenty feet 
across in some cases. We also found 
small kenyte erratics containing large 
felspar crystals. These may have been 
carried across from Mount Erebus, 
or some unknown locality in the 
south. 

After supper I took the prospect- 
ing dish (which was the last article 
purchased in New Zealand) and 
washed for gold in the gravels along- “Anorthoclase” _felspar, 
side the lake. There were numerous thrown out of Erebus, 
quartz ‘“‘leads” in the slates and AS ies ea SO nee 
metamorphic gneisses, and eruptive in kenyte. 
rocks and limestone were in the 
vicinity. This is a juxtaposition which is always promising, 
and furnishes the “country rock”’ of most gold fields. But 
the quartz was too glistening and pure. It had not the 
“kindly” rusty appearance which the gold-seeker admires, 
and so I was not very sanguine. However, water was abun- 
dant in Lake Chad and I washed out many pans of dirt. 
The “tails” of heavy sand were not promising, even pyrites 
and magnetite being almost absent. We knew there would 
be no water available on the remainder of our journey, so I 
depdted the “ pan” on a boulder by Lake Chad, where some 
future archeologist will discover striking evidence for the lost 
kingdom of Sheba ! 

Next day we started back to Alcove Camp, buoyed by the 
thought of hot pemmican after nearly a week’s cold “ tucker.” 
We lunched just at the east end of Lake Bonney on our old 
site below the peak of the Matterhorn. The latter is the 
most striking mountain in the region. The conical summit 
(formed of black dolerite columns) perched on a broader 

i 


146 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


granite base, certainly gives it a resemblance to its forerunner 
in the Alps. We estimated it to be gooo feet high. Luckily 
we took careful angles which we worked out later in the hut. 
To our chagrin all observations resulted in a poor 5000! 
Such is the effect of lack of trees or any standard of com- 
parison in Antarctic scenery. Continuing west we found that 
the penguins seemed to have the same queer habits as the 
seals, for we found a skeleton some fourteen miles from 
the sea. 

We reached Alcove Camp about 5 p.m. and saw that our 
camp site was ruined by thaw water. We hunted around for 
a new floor, and the only available one seemed to be a pile 
of moraine rubble just like a heap of road metal! This we 
levelled off, and when the ice had melted away in the sun, we 
pitched our tent upon this stony bed. Then we had a hot 
meal, much appreciated after our days of cold food. 

We were up at 7.20, Greenwich time (really 6.20, local) 
and shifted our gear from the heap of road-metal to the 
surface of the glacier. We had a good breakfast, though I 
noted that twelve lumps of sugar did not seem to sweeten 
the cocoa. It was difficult to move the sledge, for the dark 
straps had sunk two inches deep in the hard ice and there 
frozen in again. We managed to get everything ready by 
IO a.m., and moved up the glacier. It was very sunny, and 
Evans wore a huge “ Madeira”’ straw hat, quite a yard across 
—a queer but useful article that his previous experience had 
led him to add to his kit. 

We had lunch about six miles up the glacier in the medial 
moraine. I took careful notes of the latter, which differed 
conspicuously from those of temperate glaciers. It consisted 
of huge blocks of granite with smaller pieces of dolerite and 
sandstone. They were often 100 feet apart, so that this 
moraine compared with Swiss examples was a very “ tenuous 
thread.’’ Comparatively little material can be supplied to 
these slow moving or stagnant glaciers, and all the small 
stones have undoubtedly sunk into the ice long ago. 

The upper portion of the Kukri Hills hereabouts showed 
by the fragments of the Beacon Sandstone torn off by the 
intrusive eruptive rock dolerite that the latter was newer. 
The relative ages of the other rocks could be deduced in the 
same way. For instance, the dolerite sent “dykes ’’ into the 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 147 


granite, so that the latter was older. These points are well 
shown in the section I sketched. 

Near the Solitary Rocks the glacier was moulded into a 
gigantic furrow or longitudinal undulation. We followed 
this up toward the ice-falls from the upper glacier and camped 
for the night on a small patch of snow in the lee of some large 
boulders of the medial moraine. These boulders had lee- 
ridges of snow, which, we were interested to see,-were gene- 
rally turned into solid ice and formed part of the glacier itself. 
This shows that nothing but a maturing process (resembling 
that of wine !) is necessary to convert snow into glacier ice. 


<< 
Ih; 


hi) 
Ij Hl m 
Rte 
ic 


it “sin 
Hf fk Vali im 
a hi i I | ieee 
! TA i { 
i } | 
| 


4 


Pi 
ty 
Ua ys ba PROT CR nt At IL 
Ari ve oh nue Wy aM: 
Seal Hy 1. HY Ny il } | 
nil || oA) uf baa Ty" 
iyi ate d "hy 
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i 


57k a ae Glacier 
. ~ a ¢ is 
Se: ee ( 

The age of rocks. ‘The granite (Gr.) is the oldest; it is penetrated by flat 
sheets of dolerite (D) at the junction with the main mass of the latter. 
The beacon sandstone (B.S.) has also been torn up and surrounded by the 
dolorite (below A and B), and has probably been lifted up by the lava 
(to B.S.). The talus (Ta) of loose rock is the latest deposit. From a 
sketch of the new end of the Kukri Hills made February 1, 1911. 


Wright and I went over to the Kukri Hills while the 
others pitched camp. I wished ‘to measure the “lateral 
moat.” Near the edge of the glacier there was a thick coating 
of snow. At the actual edge there was a sharp curve down- 
ward, and carefully peering over we could see that there was 
a frozen stream at the bottom of the gully, over 150 feet 
below us. I determined to measure the slope and angle 
accurately, and for this we had brought the alpine rope and 
ice axes. Wright lowered me over the edge, which I found 
was a snow cornice projecting over six feet. Under the 


148 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


cornice was a well-defined platform a few feet wide—which, 
however, narrowed on either side—and then came a long slope 
to the bottom. Wright paid out the rope, and I let myself 
down to its end. There I started to cut steps, but un- 
fortunately slipped and fell the last thirty feet—luckily 
without damage except to my knuckles. I can remember 
thinking that an ice-axe was an uncomfortable companion in 
this roll down the slope and so threw it away for fear lest it 
should claim close acquaintance with my person. The stream 
was over a hundred feet wide, and then I reached the foot of 
a steep rocky slope formed of dolerite blocks fallen from a 
bold crag a few hundred feet up. 

I climbed up the glacier side again, and then found that 
the large snow-shawls of the cornice prevented my getting 
back—for as Wright hoisted me the rope merely cut deep 
into the snow and soon my head was pulled into the lower 
parts of the huge cornice! I crawled along under the cornice, 
devoutly trusting it would not avalanche on me, but ulti- 
mately had to retrace my steps down to the stream. Again 
I slipped, and this time lost the skin off my other hand as I 
rolled once more into the moat. Luckily some few hundred 
yards north I saw a place where the cornice had fallen off, 
and here I was pulled up by Wright with such vigour that 
the ice-axe entered my leg ! 

The huge cross-section of these “moats” is worthy of 
note. They definitely prove that no /asera/ erosion of any 
importance is occurring in this portion of Antarctica. After 
returning to the tent the glacier treated us to rounds of 
volley-firing! These were due to the opening of contraction 
cracks as the ice shrank in the colder night temperatures. 

Wright and Evans spent the morning of the gth over 
near the ice falls from the upper glacier. These we named 
after the famous Cavendish laboratory in Cambridge. They 
had to cross a surface compounded of “ plough-shares”” and 
“thumb-marks,” which they found intensely slippery, so that 
even surefooted Evans fell and nearly broke his elbow. 

Debenham and I cracked sandstone boulders, but found 
nought of interest save worm burrows in some shaly bands. 
However, these indicate damp conditions for some portions 
of the Beacon Sandstone, and so show that the latter is not 
perhaps of desert origin. 


? 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 149 


The most extraordinary feature in this small ice plateau 
near Knob Head Mountain is that the moraines here lead down 
into Taylor Glacier. Hence they cut right across the upper 
portion of glacier above Cavendish Falls, and show that the 
ice west of the latter is almost wholly flowing into the Dry 
Valley region and not into the lower Ferrar, as was supposed. 
This looks as if the “South Arm” and the glacier from the 
north side of Mount Lister formed the main supply of the 


Lowerzer 
See 


oo NS 


Plan of the bygone ‘win glaciers of Lake Luzern, whose overflow led to the 
break through the high range near Vitznau. A close parallel with the 
conditions near Knob Head between the Ferrar and Taylor Glaciers. 


Lower Ferrar, while the northern portion (vée Upper Ferrar 
and Dry Valley) is a distinct glacier now temporarily united 
with it after the fashion of the Siamese twins. This type of 
union is by no means unknown, and indeed explains the 
structure of Lake Luzern—that beautiful high-cragged chain 
of lake basins in central Switzerland. Here also two inde- 
pendent glaciers (the Reuss and the Aar) cut out deep parallel 
gorges as they moved to the north. 

They spread out laterally, and ultimately the Reuss Glacier 
overflowed to the west, and cut through the high ridge forming 
the picturesque cliffs of the Rigi and opposite shores. 


150 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


As I have explained elsewhere (p. 280), when, after our 
return, I described this interesting parallel between Lake 
Luzern and the “opposed” glaciers at Knob Head, Captain 
Scott was good enough to honour me by naming the northern 
“twin ’’ the Taylor Glacier. 

That evening we camped near the ice divide between the 
glaciers. We had intended to ascend the South Arm, but 
after making our way in that direction for some time, we saw 
that a snowstorm was brewing, and so turned towards the 
Kukri Hills. 

They seemed to me less than a mile distant, but knowing 
the difficulty of judging distances, I suggested we should camp 
under the slopes, “about a mile and a half on.” Wright, 
with his Canadian experience, thought this would be well over 
two miles, and I remember the distance turned out to be three 
miles! Thereafter I calculated apparent distances with great 
care, and when convinced I had allowed for everything I would 
use a “ factor of safety” of 3—-and come out about right ! 

Debenham finished cooking, and being already an adept, 
had very properly saved some “ thickers”’ for his final “ flutter ” 
at breakfast. So Wright started with the evening meal. He 
imparted a scientific and physical aspect to the operation by 
suggesting a “drop test” to estimate the viscosity of the 
pemmican ; an observation of its meniscus (or curved surface) 
to see its sticking power; notes on colour and taste ; and— 
added one of his hungry audience—“I suggest 50 per cent. 
be subtracted from the cook’s allowance on account of 

rits !” 

" Perhaps as a result I had a dream in which my astral self 
did some logical reasoning! It is a fact that the fossils called 
trilobites gradually become more supple and less clumsily built 
as one traces them through newer formations, It occurred 
to me in the dream that this also held true for man and his 
monkey ancestors, and that the stiff, clumsy orang-outang, etc., 
developed into the limber human acrobat. Not a very epoch- 
making correlation, but the best my astral self has accom- 
plished to date ! 

On the evening of the roth we reached our depédt at 
Cathedral Rocks. We could see our flag from five miles off 
with the glasses. On arrival we found the food uncovered, so 
that the sun had melted the pemmican and butter. The skua 


a 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 151 


gulls had found the carcase of the Emperor, and our chance 
of a variation of the menu had departed with the skuas. 

That evening we discussed literature. Seaman Evans had 
read many popular works, and was far superior in this respect 
to any of the other seamen with whom I had much to do. 
He had read some of Kipling’s poems, and “had no use for 
them,” nor did Dickens appeal to him. As was perhaps 
natural, he preferred books with more “ plot’’ in them ; espe- 
cially did he delight in the works of the French writer whose 
name he anglicized as Dum—ass ! 

Our sledging library was quite extensive, for each of us 
had devoted a pound of our personal allowance to books. I 
will give the catalogue, if only as a caution to later explorers. 
Debenham took my Browning and the “ Autocrat’’; Evans 
had a William le Queux and the Red Magazine; Wright had 
two mathematical books, both in German ; I took Debenham’s 
Tennyson and three small German books. The Red Magazine, 
the “ Autocrat,” and Browning were most often read ; Evans’ 
contribution being an easy winner. Somehow we didn’t hanker 
after German. 

On the 11th Wright and Debenham carried out a very 
important operation to determine the movement of the Ferrar 
Glacier. They fixed stakes right across the glacier which were 
aligned on two prominent peaks. Some six months later 
Captain Scott re-measured this line, and found that very con- 
siderable movement, amounting to thirty feet, had taken place 
during the winter. 

Meanwhile P.O. Evans and I prospected for a route up 
the steep snow slope of Descent Pass. Evans had been with 
Armitage when he used this route in 1903. We found the 
conditions very different. Soon we were sinking nearly two 
feet at every step in soft snow, through which I knew it 
would be almost impossible to drag the sledges. The slope 
soon increased to 11°, so that we found some difficulty in 
progressing even unencumbered. There I first made the 
acquaintance of the “‘ Barrier Shudder.” Every now and then 
a shiver would shake the surface, and we could hear the eerie 
wave of sound expanding like a ripple all around. Sometimes 
one could see the whole snow surface sinking slightly, and at 
first the effect was very unpleasant. 

We had been roped for two miles and were still ascending. 


152 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


We now began to get among crevasses, though few were 
visible through the thick sheet of snow. Quite suddenly 
I slipped in to the thigh, and sounding with the ice-axe just 
in front found two inches of snow over the crevasse and very 
little more behind me, I was evidently standing in a narrow 
bridge. At the same time Evans called out that he was over 
another about fifteen feet behind, so that for a few moments 
things were rather involved. He got back on to firmer 
ground and hauled me back, and when we saw the surface 
begin to cave in bodily we decided, in Evans’ graphic language, 
to “give it a miss.” 

We seemed to be in the least impossible part of the pass, 
and I could see plenty worse ahead. So I decided to abandon 
this route and continue down the Ferrar to Butter Point, and 
so reach the Koettlitz Glacier vid the Piedmont Glacier. 

During our absence Wright had also slipped into a cre- 
vasse while fixing the stake nearest Cathedral Rocks. We 
inspanned after lunch, and moved down the glacier to our 
old camp at the mouth of the Ferrar. 

The morning of February 13 was bright and clear. We 
could see no change in the sea-ice filling New Harbour where 
we had crossed it a fortnight before. 1 therefore headed 
south-east towards Butter Point. Here we had an experience 
that might have ended our journey prematurely. 

We got along at a good rate for two miles, when Evans 
drew my attention to something black sticking up in the ice 
just ahead. 

We had noticed an unusual creaking sound, which I put 
down to ice crystals falling, but this strange object demanded 
investigation. I ran forward a little, and the black spike was 
obviously the back fin of a killer whale. The creaking was 
really a warning that the bay ice was on the move. Meanwhile 
the ice I was on moved off with a jolt, a mark of attention 
from the killer which we did not appreciate. However, I 
jumped the three-foot crack which resulted, and we hastened 
to the fixed ice nearly two miles south. It was a case of 
“ festina lente.” We could not drag the heavy sledges more 
than two miles an hour, and were continually crossing cracks 
where the oozy snow and creaking showed how insecure 
was our passage. Soon after we reached the Butter Point 
piedmont the whole bay ice moved off in great floes to the 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 153 


northward, so that seven miles of it had broken away since the 
ship landed us. It is quite impossible to tell whether sea-ice 
is solid or not, for the first cracks are so small and the eleva- 
tion of the eye so little that the only safe way to traverse 
sea-ice in late summer is to keep off it ! 

We expected to find the Butter Point piedmont an easy 
level surface, but of its kind it was the worst I met with 
down south. All the afternoon we were plugging up an 
interminable snow slope. Just as one got one’s foot braced 
to draw the sledges through the clinging snow, it would break 
through a crust and sink nearly to the knee. Then we would 
meet a few yards of firmer surface and bet whether we could 
make a dozen steps before the soft “ mullock” started again. 
Even worse was the jar when you expected deep snow and 
found a firm crust one inch below the surface. I carried a 
pedometer, and when we had done 27,500 of these paces I 
felt we had earned our supper. 

Blue Glacier now confronted us. P.O. Evans and I pros- 
pected across the snout, and were glad to find that though it 
showed crevasses in places, yet it was so free from snow that 
we should have no great difficulty in crossing them. They 
curved round parallel to the coast, and, of course, lay along 
the line of our march, so that we came on to them end-on 
and fell in several times. But by the evening of the 15th we 
were safely camped in the rugged ice south of the crevassed 
portion. Evans as usual enlivened us with navy yarns. He 
illustrated the kindness of the sailorman by a story of a mate 
of his who started a poultry-farm. To Jack’s disgust the 
ducks in his yard had no belief in altruism and with their 
broad bills gave the hens no chance. “So,” said Taff Evans, 
“‘evenchooly he gets a file and trims their bills like the hens, 
and then everything went all sprowsy !” 

If any one had asked us what we should like sent post 
haste from civilization, there would have been a unanimous 
yell of “Boots!” The rough scrambling over the rocks and 
jagged ice of the past fortnight, and the alternate soaking and 
freezing they had experienced, had ruined mine completely. 
Deep constrictions formed in the leather across the toe and 
behind the ankle and raised great blisters, and even boils 
in Debenham’s case. I had no sole on the right foot, but 
within the next day or so the temperature fell considerably 


154 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


and the thin leather lining froze as hard as steel and so pro- 
tected my foot. For days a loose boot-nail which had acci- 
dentally been pressed sideways into the sole when it was wet 
clung like a leech ! . 

Each morning we had a painful ceremony when it was 
necessary to don our frozen boots. Remarks more fervid 


“Wm Wair. Sock 


frozen fight 
Wrighhs & 
Ae ah en Taylor's 


ConslFicfion 


8 gE ee ~ - e 


Jhe Morphology of frozen Ski - books. 
IS 201 


than polite flew about the tent, and some of us found that 
quotations from the poet philosopher lubricated the process. 


“. . . Gritstone,—gritstone a-crumble : 
Clammy squares that sweat, as if the corpse they keep 
Were oozing through ” 


was supposed to be a very potent incantation. We carried no 
blacking, but this ceremony was called ‘‘ Browning the Boots.” 

Open water washed the face of the Blue Glacier. Black 
snaky heads—reminding me of prehistoric plesiosaurs—could 
be seen darting about amid the brash ice. They were Emperor 
penguins, which swim with their bodies submerged. 

To the south of us stretched the sea ice, which was evi- 
dently rotten and ready to move north. Beyond the Blue 
Glacier on the right stretched a broad fringe of moraine which 
extended fairly continuously along the north side of the 
Koettlitz Glacier. Immediately ahead of us was a fifty-foot 
ice cliff, but some distance to the south we found a lower 
place and managed with the Alpine rope to lower the sledges 
down to the sea ice. We crossed the “ pressure ice ”—where 
great cakes had been up-ended to form a frozen rampart—and 
reached a good sledging surface at last. Near by was a great 
pool of water containing many seals, where jostling ice pan- 
cakes were surging about, so there was obviously no time to 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 155 


lose. We pushed gaily south and camped that night in a 
little gravelly dell among the moraines. 

This crater-like dell was occupied by a frozen lakelet of 
greenish ice, the colour being due to alge. On the slope 
above the lake was a blanket of alga forming a sort of peaty 
layer an inch thick. 

The latter was apparently im situ, for it extended uniformly 
for about ten feet. This occurrence of peat points to an ele- 
vated old lake bottom, and we saw similar examples later on 
our journey. Even in Antarctica at present we see that con- 
siderable organic material is deposited, which might form a 
thin coaly layer in succeeding ages under suitable conditions. 
Indeed, the kerosene shale deposits of Australia are supposed 
to originate in some lowly plant-form like these alge. 

February 17, 1911.—We had a calm, clear night, and all 
slept very well on the soft sand of the moraine crater. Just 
to northward was a little bay filled with pancake-ice having two- 
feet motion. We made south across little bays over a very 
good surface, which was intersected by cross-channels of clear 
ice. Seals were very numerous along this coast. We counted 
one group of thirty. We could now see the first of the Ice 
Slabs (described in 1902), which seemed in its lower portion 
to run parallel to the coast. 

Wright espied some white material in the moraines, and 
we walked across to see this. It turned out to be a huge 
deposit of Mirabilite (sodium sulphate), about ten feet across 
and fifty feet long. It was granular in texture, and the dip of 
the bed was quite high. The Mirabilite was originally a level 
deposit in a saline lake, so that, just as in the case of the alge, 
we have evidence of strong upheaval of the moraine silts, 
since they experienced a long-continued phase of equilibrium. 
The granular mass was not unlike rock-salt in appearance. 

We proceeded south and crossed the mouth of the large 
bay marked on the Discovery map. We halted off the 
southern headland for lunch. 

I had a small adventure which might have been serious. 
On outspanning—which consisted in freeing one’s harness from 
the sledge—I walked over to look at a seal which had crawled 
about a hundred feet from the tide crack. He shook his 
head angrily at me, so that I made a loop on my harness—still 
attached to my belt—and lassoed him with unexpected ease. 


156 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


The seal bolted for the tide crack—and for a short distance 
they can “lollop along”’ fairly rapidly. It was amusing, at 
first, being pulled by an angry seal; but it suddenly struck 
me, “ What will happen when the brute dives into the pool ?”’ 
I could not get the loop off his neck, and had as much chance 
of stopping him as a railway train. I experienced some 
anxious moments before I managed to get ahead of him and 
jerk off the lasso, for it was impossible to slip out of the broad 
waistbelt in time. This adventure furnished considerable 
amusement to my unfeeling comrades, and became the subject 
of one of Wilson’s sketches in the South Polar Times. 

After lunch we took a round of sights from this low head- 
land. It was composed of moraine heaps with numerous 
circular sheets of water, which reminded one most strongly of 
crater lakes. On descending from the cape, Debenham found 
that the steep little cliff near the tide crack was formed of ice 
covered with a mere veneer of moraine silt. Probably a large 
portion of the promontory was ice, and we saw other examples 
of this pseudo-moraine further up the Koettlitz. As Deben- 
ham suggested, the crater lakes were due, in all probability, to 
the melting of the foundation ice. Probably the sun’s rays 
acting on the silt in a shallow pool have a powerful effect in 
deepening the lake when it is once initiated. The drainage of 
such a lake presents some difficulties, for though there was 
usually an apparent outlet, many were quite enclosed by a 
circular wall of debris. Steps of silt, appearing as small 
terraces, were common among the heaps. These probably 
represent crevasses in the underlying ice, and we actually saw 
several such crevasses in the ice exposure noted above. Per- 
haps these crevasses account for the (hidden) drainage, for 
ablation could not empty many of the lakes. The whole 
question of the origin of these unusual lakes is of great 
physiographic interest. 

We could see fairly rough ice ahead, but hoped to be 
able to get the two sledges several miles further before 
depéting one during our work on the Koettlitz. 

We proceeded somewhat to the east over blue ice. This 
soon became rippled and degenerated rapidly into a fearful 
“ olass-house”’ and “ bottle-glass” surface. We started to 
fall through the ice into hidden channels, and in some cases 
there was a foot of fresh water awaiting us. Things got 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 157 


worse and worse. We wriggled round ice “ mesas” with 
vertical walls, over huge curved platforms which threw us all 
together in the centre and then dropped beneath us. We 
thought it might be better nearer the land, but at last had to 
lower the sledge down two feet to the lower level, which was 
silt covered and all the harder to sledge on for that reason. 
The “ mesas”’ showed three layers. A flat cake of solid ice 
on top, then a few inches of very much weathered ice, and 
below a solid pedestal about three feet high. We hoisted 
the bamboo and flag and spread out to prospect. The ice 
became worse towards the coast, but Wright reported some- 
what better going towards the centre of the gulf. However, 
it was obviously unwise to drag our unnecessary sledge 
further, so we turned in our tracks and crossing many “ glass- 
houses” (into most of which we fell, though with little 
damage) we made for the headland where we had lunched. 

It began to snow and looked very threatening around 
Mount Discovery, There was an ugly luminous patch in 
the sky to the south-west, and a heavy snow cloud with a 
very ragged edge. On Erebus alone was a red-gold ray of 
sunshine. From these portents Evans prophesied a blizzard. 
We reached land without undue difficulty and crossed the 
pressure ice, pitching our tent in a dell not unlike our last 
camp, though it was flatter and more exposed to the east. 
We carried the smaller sledge well inland, but left the large 
sledge below on the sea ice, for we should have had to 
manceuvre it round an open channel, and we did not need 
it for laying our depét here. This channel along the coast 
was about twenty feet across with a five-knot current in it, 
which was flowing strongly north. Seals swam up it quite 
frequently, and often used to halt and observe the strange 
visitors alongside. While the pemmican was cooking I went 
on to the ice and killed a seal and extracted his liver. 

This camp marked the end of the third week. We 
celebrated it by eating a pound of mixed chocolates. Wily 
Evans led us to believe that Ae was the donor; but as a 
matter of fact, each sledge had a box of them packed in for 
birthdays and feastdays. 

The snow stopped about 8 p.m., but later in the night 
a strong wind from the south-east blew much sand on to the 
tent. We had an argument as to whether this was a blizzard 


158 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


or not, for there was no snow in the wind. Personally I now 
think it tends to prove that the snow in the blizzards is largely 
old snow caught up again, for the force and direction of the 
wind were just those of typical blizzards. We were protected 
from the open barrier surface by Brown Island and the 
Koettlitz glacier, and this region is one of small snowfall in 
any case. So we were not inconvenienced by such blizzards 
as blew on this western coast. 

The food was lasting out well. The first tin of biscuits 
was finished, and had lasted from the 3rd instant. (We had, 
however, an extra bag of loose biscuits.) 1 started my week 
of cooking on the 18th, and as we reached Hut Point in the 
seventh week I had only one turn at this duty. 

February 18, 1911.—It seemed advisable to get a good 
view of the Koettlitz from some high peak, so I decided to 
spend a few days in the vicinity of this camp before marching 
up the big glacier. We had a “ make and mend” morning— 
sadly needed by our boots. I had saved some staples from 
the venesta boxes (thrown away at Butter Point) and found 
they were satisfactory in holding the soles together. Luckily 
the others’ boots were very much better, though Debenham’s 
were much improved by some of Evans’ sewing. We had 
a large fry of |seal’s liver in butter, and Debenham and myself 
decided that as raw blubber tasted passably, we would fry liver 
in blubber for the next meal off seal meat. 

In the afternoon Wright and I crossed Davis Bay to the 
mouth of Hobbs Glacier (about two miles to the north-west). 
The promontory on which we were camped was about a 
quarter of a mile across, chiefly built of basalt fragments rich 
in olivine. 

The shore of the bay below Hobbs Glacier was in the 
form of an extraordinarily flat alluvial fan. This uniform 
level extended almost to the glacier for three-quarters of a 
mile, though it narrowed greatly away from the bay. It was 
mapped out in square “tesselations,” and at the sides were 
striking terraces about five feet higher with strongly marked, 
clean cut edges. The whole topography had a very recent 
appearance ; but the only explanation I can give for these 
levels points to a period when Davis Bay was dammed by ice 
so as to raise the waterline to the levels of the various terraces. 
A parallel case of terraces in a waterless region is given in 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 159 


Utah, where the hills around the great basin are fringed by 
similar deposits indicating a bygone lake. 

Down the fan ran a creek from the glacier, which cut into 
the silts at the shore to a depth of several feet. Evidently 
the base-line has been lowered by this amount since the fan 
was deposited. From the hill above the bay it could be seen 
that there were two fans, one of a lighter coloured silt being 
derived from the next valley to the south. We could also 
see that our camp was really on an island which corresponded 
to the stranded moraines south of Butter Point. 

February 19, 1911.—I cut out some sealskin from the 
carcase near-by to make a pair of “brogans” to cover my 
boots, lashing them over the sole 
with yarn, and over the sealskin | 
bound my iron crampons (steig- 
eisen) on. Then we all started 
to explore the valley immediately 
west of Davis Bay and south of 
the Hobbs Glacier. Leaving the 
sea-ice we reached a lighter coloured 
“fan” by a sharp step of five 
feet. Emerging through _ this 
broad gravel fan were “nunataks” 
of large stones which had evidently 
been deposited before the fan. 
They rose twenty or thirty feet 
above the fan, forming ridges lead- My footgear, 9-2-1 
ing towards the valley. We 
reached a gully about 500 yards from the bay, which was 
entirely water-cut, and was fifty feet deep. It had steep 
sides and its bed sloped considerably. The latter was filled 
with large rounded boulders, one or two feet in diameter, 
obviously waterworn. The account of the summer streams 
in 1903, given by Dr. Wilson, explains this striking example 
of ordinary water erosion, which I was unprepared to meet 
in icy Antarctica. 

The gully wound about through the morainic foot-hills, 
_ and widened considerably about a mile higher. Here it was 
occupied by an ice-sheet some 300 feet wide. In this sheet 
narrow little canyons four feet deep had been cut by the 
water, and very generally these canyons were roofed with ice. 


160 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


In other places the whole ice-shell had been undercut for 
thirty or forty feet by the relatively warm water. 

Gradually the valley—which I named after Professor 
W. M. Davis—became wider, and a tributary joined it from 
the north. (See folding map at the end of the volume ; and 
also p. 175, section No. II.) It drained the lowest slopes 
of the foothills, which extended to the scarp of the Western 
Mountains. These lowest slopes are largely covered by a 
gigantic deposit of moraine matter. This deposit extends 
many miles along the foothills, and can only be due to the 
great Koettlitz glacier. 

Four or five miles from the coast the steep hill-sides 
formed of solid rock rise somewhat abruptly from the 
moraine slopes to a fairly uniform height of 3000 feet. 

The sides of the valley along which we were walking 
were marked by lateral ridges in several tiers. These 
were about thirty feet high, and in some cases certainly 
contained much ice. At one spot the silty covering of 
the side of one of these lateral ridges was marked by 
vertical stripes of darker silt, as if the whole ridge had moved 
slightly and cracked along these lines. These ridges followed 
the contour of the hill between the tributary and the main 
valley, and reminded me of the parallel roads of Glenroy 
(though on a very small scale, of course). They are, I think, 
like terraces or beach deposits due to a bygone ice dam across 
the mouth of the main valley, such as one sees in the Marjelen 
See above Fiesch in Switzerland. Later we saw “ pocket 
editions” on Cape Evans. 

Continuing up the valley we found it bounded between 
solid cliffs of limestone, which were altered in places to a 
marble. We called these the marble cliffs, and they culmi- 
nated in a double peak of a fawn tint, which we called Salmon 
Peak from its colour. I kept along the base of these cliffs 
while the others walked up the thal-weg 200 feet lower. 
We soon saw that the upper portion of this “dry” valley 
was occupied by a glacier whose snout was forty feet 
high. 

ere light snow had fallen lately and occupied the 
furrows of the “ tesselations ” which ornamented the floor of the 
valley. For some reason (probably the direction of the wind 
and sun’s rays) only the north-south furrows were now filled, 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 161 


and these white zigzag markings on the black basalt-debris 
resembled so many white snakes ! 

The Davis Glacier snout was about six miles from the sea. 
A range of mountains 4000 feet high blocked the upper end 
of the U-shaped valley. I was very anxious to see whether 
the glacier really came into the valley from some hidden angle, 
for if not this glacier was of great interest. Here was a glacier 
which could not be more than eight miles long, which had cut 
out a valley 3000 feet deep and a mile or so broad. 

We separated here, Wright and the others taking the theo- 
dolite up a 3000 feet hill to the south, while I went a couple 


——$——— 


SS 


Empty hanging valley, on north wall of the Davis Glacier, showing catenary 
curve due to former glaciation, February 19, 1911. 


of miles further into the range to see the head of the glacier. 
Everywhere were the signs of recent recession of the 
Davis Glacier. First I had to cross the mouth of a side valley 
opening 600 feet above the glacier. This was quite free from 
ice, and was a perfect “ bowl-valley”’ or cwm. On the opposite 
side was another “ hanging valley ” at a lower elevation, with 
a most symmetrical U-cross section. It was abruptly trun- 
cated by the plane surface (35°) of the marble cliffs under 
Salmon Peak. I now climbed round the top of a cliff of ice 
which descended smoothly for 1000 feet to the glacier at an 
angle of 30°. After ascending over many outcrops of lime- 
stone schist, granite, and basic dykes, I reached the head of 
the glacier and saw that it originated in a cwm about three 
M 


162 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


miles from its snout. Its snowfield was very circumscribed, 
but reached the summit of the bounding ridge in several 
places. The glacier up here was not crevassed, and the main 
surface lay only two hundred feet below me. After making 
some rapid sketches I returned to the snout of the glacier 
where the others had already arrived. 

This Davis valley contains a typical example of the “ ice- 
slabs” mentioned by Ferrar. But I do not agree with his 
description of them. He writes, “They are the relics of 
glaciers which once drained the snow valley ; but owing to 
diminution of ice-supply, this has now become an inland basin, 
and its overflows have slipped away from it, leaving a 
subsidiary watershed bare.”’ 

In the first place, the head of this glacier was a typical 
cwm, with steeply sloping sides, and to all appearance a sharp 
crest to the ridge at the back. It did not resemble the dis- 
continuous lower portions of the Lacroix and Sollas Glaciers in 
Dry Valley, which fully deserve the title of ice-slabs. The 
latter lie supinely, one might say, on a gently sloping hill- 
side, in which they have cut no definite trough. The method 
of erosion of these curious valleys became clearer to me as we 
saw other examples in the next fortnight. 

Monday, February 20.—We spent the morning making a 
depét on the Ice-Borne Moraines. We left the camera legs 
with a flag thereon, and cemented them into the gravel by the 
simple method of pouring a cup of water on to it! The 
seal’s liver we put under the food stacked in the small sledge, 
and I left a note of our whereabouts in the instrument box. 
We took eighteen days’ food with us. 

We crossed about one mile of good surface and then 
reached ‘‘glass-houses,” “craters,” “pools,” etc., through 
which we struggled till two o’clock. After lunch Wright and 
I prospected and found some “ plough-share” ice about a mile 
to the south-east. We made for this, having to cut tracks 
along the bottom of the channels connecting “ glass-house ” 
areas. Debenham and I pulled on short traces while the 
others lifted the sledge over the constant succession of 
obstacles. The sledge fell two feet into a hole and capsized, 
but the brunt of the shock was absorbed by the empty oil 
tins. We were always falling, and occasionally disappeared a 
foot below the glass-house surface. 


TRYING TIMES ON THE KOETTLITZ GLACIER, Fes. 2, 1911. 


yy. 


The sledge has fallen through “glasshouse” ice into a thaw-water channel. 


TABLES OR ICE “MESAS” IN THE LOWER KOETTLITZ CUT 
OUT BY THAW-WATER. [See p. 157. 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 163 


Later we halted in a slight snowstorm. We were 
cheered to hear Evans say that it was the worst sledging sur- 
face he had ever seen, even though he added that it was not 
fit for sledges. I wore my iron steig-eisen all day, and so 
was able to hold my own somewhat ; but the others preferred 
to slip about, for the irons certainly made one’s feet very sore. 

For an hour we had fair going over “ plough-share”” and 
shallow glass-houses, during which we changed direction 
somewhat to the south. A thick snowstorm blotted all ahead, 
and we reached a region of “ basket-work”’ ice structures, 
which we called “ fascines,” and all sorts of ice tables. One 
shaped like an Armadillo standing on a pedestal was especially 
noticeable, and after pulling the sledge over three “ roof- 
pillars” (the roof having long ago fallen in) we cried 
“enough,” and camped in the shadow of the “‘ Armadillo.” 

“Tt is fairly warm to-night, the others smoking peacefully. 
They have almost given up trying to make me smoke. I had 
a difficulty in getting Wright to eat some extra pemmican ! 
‘Sugar Vat,’ ‘Liver Chewer,’ and ‘Pemmican Tub,’ are 
common ekenames. And so to sleep.” 

During the next four days we struggled up the middle of 
the Koettlitz Glacier. It was a strenuous time, but I recall a 
pleasant noon halt 
when P.O. Evans 
earned an _ honest 
penny. We saw him 
playing with the rope 
which lashed his 
sleeping-bag. Says 
Evans, “Ill show 
you how to make a 
clove-hitch with one 
hand, and I bet you 
a 1s. 3d. dinner (our 
usual currency) you can’t do it after you’ve seen me do it six 
times!”” Debenham took the bet, and we all watched Evans 
closely. Then “Deb” tried, and to our joy succeeded, for 
the handy-man was rarely “done.” But he never turned a 
hair, and booked the bets that now filled the air. Again 
Debenham proceeded to try, and failed—and Wright and I 
were equally unsuccessful. Evans made quite a haul, but 


One - hand 
Clove Hitch 


How Evans won his bef. 
20-2-4 


164 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


after saying he had never seen any one do it by sheer luck 
before, he proceeded to teach us the dodge ; and later Deben- 
ham became quite a knot-master under his willing tuition. 

“A fine sunny morning, the first for many days. Even 
this scene of desolation looks cheerful.” Thus my sledge 
diary for the 21st. But the route did not improve. I wrote : 
“We got going on awful stuff—rounded pools of ice, between 
tables. It got worse and worse, and after many bumps and 
leaps and falls I decided to prospect. We had done half a 
mile in the hour. . . . We started again about 3 p.m. Awful 
heavy work over ‘ glass-house’ and leaping three-foot chasms, 
between high fascines and across decomposing rivers of 
i¢e.”” 

About 4.30 we saw a ragged piece of skin projecting from 
under an ice-table, and found that it was part of a large fish. 
We spent half an hour chipping it out, and recovered the 
dorsal spines, skin, tail, and the vertebra. These were pre- 
served in a yellow fatty substance smelling like vaseline and 
quite soft. I made rather a ludicrous mistake here. I care- 
fully preserved a very hard irregular mass coated with this 
flesh, thinking it was a bone, but later, after we had carried 
it for days on the sledge, we found that this “ pelvic bone,” 
as we called it—melted in warm water! No head was found, 
and in this respect the fish—which was possibly about four 
feet long—agrees with the four large headless fish found by 
the Discovery Expedition. We had a hot discussion in the 
hut as to this problem of decapitation, but came to no definite 
conclusion, for it seemed too far for seals to carry it. 

That night we slept at Park Lane Camp. We had been 
traversing a frozen park, set out in circular beds with winding 
paths in every direction. The “flower-beds” were repre- 
sented by elevated masses of ice thirty feet across, exactly 
like an apple-pie with a raised crust—even to the four cuts 
made by the housewife across the top! The last two days 
we had only progressed seven miles, and for five of them we 
had carried the sledge rather than dragged it. 

Next day, however, we found that to the south the glacier 
was nearly continuous. It had not been dissected by thaw- 
waters to nearly the same extent, and by 4 p.m. we managed 
to advance ten miles to the south-west. We camped on a 
platform of weathered ice, so rotten that it resembled a layer 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 165 


of honeycomb. We found that this honeycomb ice was very 
common in this part of the Koettlitz. 

We tried to find an easier way out of the numerous undu- 
lations which now characterized the surface, but unsuccessfully, 
and so plugged on south-west. We used to “ pully-haul” up 
one side (i.e. hand over hand) and then toboggan down the 
other. P.O. Evans was an expert steersman, while we others 
used to keep the ropes clear. But we had some nasty falls, 
especially Evans, who got a cut deep in his palm from a piece 
of “ bottle-glass”’ ice, in spite of his thick mits. 

At noon we came across a picturesque tunnel in the ice, 
about three feet wide, seven feet high, and one hundred feet 
long. It had been cut out by thaw-waters which had now 
drained away. 

In and out wound the lanes, forming a regular network 
through all sorts of picturesque pinnacles. Here was one 
like a yacht on stocks, there a perfect wedding-cake twelve 
feet high, again a lady’s bonnet, and so on, in infinite 
variety. 

The long promontories of “ bastions” along which we 
skirted are probably dissected undulations of the original 
glacier surface, fifty to a hundred feet high. They are all 
steep to the north, and covered with sloping plough-shares on 
the south. The bergs which we left ten miles back were like 
jumbled blocks, and were not separated by simple channels— 
which looks as if they had been floating separately at some 
period and then frozen together again. This may explain the 
presence of the sponges and fish which we found so far from 
any open water. 

On the 24th I wrote: “This is the day of my release 
from the joys of cooking! We have done four weeks. A 
rotten night, cold, and pillow (of books, etc.) slipping away 
on the smooth surface. Every one restless. Smooth ice no 
good to sleep on, though I had a jersey under me. Bright 
next morning, and we took photos till 10 am. Then we 
made across country towards a hanging valley. Some of the 
lanes were overhanging, and I took a photo of Debenham 
and Evans sitting under a ledge. Sheets of plate-glass pro- 
jecting from low bastions were common, but there was no 
undulating country. More common were sharp bottle-glass 
angles sticking up abominably from about eighteen inches to 


’ 


166 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


two feet, and impeding the sledges, while pot-holes (due to 
the sun eating round black silt) caught one’s boots. 

“‘Lunched in this mullock about two and a half miles 
from the coast. Then on practically straight, making fair 
progress with Evans and C. S. W. at the sledge, lifting while 
we pulled. We had several upsets, and the rucksack was 
jerked off, but the fossil fish has survived so far. 

“‘ After a final dash up over steep silt bank between pin- 
nacle ridges (where the sledge balanced rockingly!) we reached 
a broad avenue between moraines and Stonehenge pinnacles 
of ice. I went back for my brogans, and fell a frightful 
‘cropper,’ getting a spike in my fifth rib. 

“After half an hour or so we plugged on steadily up a 
beautiful surface for two and a half miles. The moraines 
were getting bigger and wider, and were now about three 
hundred yards across. We finally reached a fifty-feet silt 
‘col,’ and had to portage the sledge. It was mighty heavy, 
and flattened our crampons. Later we reached a cul-de-sac 
among the moraines, and after a survey I decided to make a 
final camp, as we were now favourably situated to explore 
‘Snow Valley’ and Heald’s Island. I don’t understand the 
ice-slabs or the promontory on the 1902 map. I guess it is 
wrong. 

“The sun clouded and snow began. We put the tent 
in a sandy dell. It was so small that we had the tent like an 
old sock at the side! However, we are on earth again, and 
not on cold wet ice, even if one post of the tent is on a huge 
stone. 

“T cooked my last meal. Raisins in excess ( X 2), sugar- 
dust about right, cocoa X 2, chocolate short #, cornflour three 
portions left, cheese short 3, biscuits right, and pemmican two 
feeds left. Butter short owing to seal-liver feast. We had a 
good hoosh and drank thick chocolate. 

““My week’s cooking done, Praise Be! 9.20, snowing 
now and pretty cool.” 

Next morning was devoted to a “make and mend.” All 
our sleeping-bags and finnesko were wet with the sloppy ice- 
floors of the last week—for we had not been able to find any 
snow-drifts on which to camp. They are much warmer and 
drier than ice. 

Behind the tent to the north were slopes about 1000 feet 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 167 


high leading to empty “hanging” valleys. These radiated 
from the base of the Lister scarp, which rose in one steep 
face 10,000 feet to the summit. This face was pitted by 
gigantic “armchair” valleys or, as they are technically called, 
cwms, and presented a spectacle which probably could be 
paralleled nowhere in the world. 

Looking southward across the Koettlitz from the mouth 
of one of these hanging valleys one could see some sort of 
plan in the icy maze which had so bewildered us. Above 
Heald Island the valley was filled with the glacial stream in 
a normal uniform mass, interrupted only by crevasses and 
falls. But to the east of Heald Island it took the form of a 
glacier “ delta.’ Below the falls the ice descended to the 
east in a series of broad undulations, a portion of which we 
had traversed on the 23rd. Long promontories of ice fifty feet 
high extended from the unbroken glacier mass and probably 
represented the crests of the undulations. These degenerated 
at the ends into icebergs and monoliths of ice, and these again 
had weathered into the bastions and pinnacles. Lower down 
the thaw waters had etched these into still smaller units, and 
along the coast just below me the streams had formed a well- 
defined if narrow avenue of smooth ice, which promised us 
an easier return, 

On these slopes I found an ice-scratched block—the only 
specimen I had seen in a hundred miles of moraine debris. 

I walked along the margin of the glacier, and was amazed 
to see seal-tracks in the fresh snow. We were over twenty 
miles from the sea, and had not seen any possible route for 
seals on our outward journey. Yet here were two seals— 
asleep as usual—on the old glacier ice. I disturbed one of 
them to see what it would do. He sneezed and grunted at 
me. When I teased him further he began to warble! 1 
heaved a lump of ice at him, whereupon he lolloped twenty 
yards to a wet patch, lay over on his side, and produced a 
whole octave of musical notes from his chest, ranging up to 
a canary-like chirrup. Finally he crawled under a deep ledge, 
and vigorously butting with his shoulders, opened out a hole 
and flopped under the avenue ice. 

Later I came out among the moraines, and was unable to 
make out where our tent was. Soon I saw Wright’s foot- 
prints in the snow—two sets, one going each way. By 


168 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


Sherlockian logic, I decided to follow the shorter-pace footsteps, 
judging that the weary owner would walk with less “‘ vim” 
returning, and they seemed to be “slurred” also. Finally, 
a mile ahead I saw some skua gulls wheeling about, and sure 
enough below them I found our tent. 

When I reached camp I found that Wright and Debenham 
had both met parties of seals. We all thought of the constant 
stream along the tide crack by our last depét, and came to the 
conclusion that this was largely fresh water, and formed the 
main drainage of the Upper Koettlitz. By this sub-glacial 
stream the seals penetrated nearly thirty miles inland up the 
Koettlitz Glacier. 

February 26, 1911.—-It seemed advisable to take the 
sledge as far up the Koettlitz as we could without waste of 
time. So we portaged all our loads out of the cu/-de-sac over 
a moraine col and so reached the outer margin of the low 
level moraine, where another avenue of smooth ice ran parallel 
to the Grand Canal which we had been using. About two 
miles to the west we passed a seal and its hole. Soon the 
pinnacle ice came in so close that there was barely room to 
Squeeze in between it and the moraine. We had one spill 
within a few yards of our final camp, and unfortunately it 
resulted in the destruction of the focussing screen of my 
camera. In a sheltered bay among the moraine heaps we 
pitched our furthest camp, where we remained four days. 

About 2.30 we started for Heald Island, which lay three 
miles to the south across a tumbled sea of ice practically 
impassable for sledges. (This island is placed too far to the 
south on the Discovery Map.) 

First we crossed the definite line of high pinnacles which 
extended almost continuously for twenty miles parallel to the 
coast. This we called Stonehenge structure, for many ice 
masses strongly recalled the Druid monoliths. Then over 
a comparatively level area of honeycomb ice between low 
bastions. Finally we reached wide level lanes with a thirty 
foot wall on the side facing the sun, while the opposite wall 
sloped much more gently and was fretted into plough-shares. 

Looking back towards our camp we were facing north 
towards the sun, so that we saw the sheltered side of the 
moraine heaps. The whole surface seemed to be snow- 
covered. Yet from the opposite aspect the moraines seemed 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 169 


to be bare. I expected this constant thawing on one side of 
the moraines would have resulted in some asymmetry in their 
shape, but I was not able to detect any such characteristic. 

We had not much difficulty in traversing these lanes, and 
crossed several cols, down which Debenham and I—who were 
not wearing crampons—had to slide in somewhat undignified 
positions. Here we separated, Wright and Evans making for 
the lateral gully north of the island, while we moved more 
directly for its eastern face. We had been steadily rising up 
the lanes and came to the divide near to Heald Island. 
Here a narrow water-cut channel led down to a broad frozen 
river 100 yards across, which fringed the island on the east. 

Debenham collected along the slopes while I pushed on 
to get a summit view. This end of Heald Island was 1100 
feet high, and the slope was very steep, for the most part 
reaching 30°. It was covered with a talus of schists, lime- 
stones, and basalt, the latter being erratic, while the former 
were 7m situ on the top of the hill. 

I got good views of the topography from the compara- 
tively flat top of the island. The surface was scraped fairly 
smooth by glacial action, and only a thin veneer of basalt 
rubble was present in this eastern portion. 

I carefully noted the features towards the S.W., and was 
satisfied that the slope glaciers (Walcott, Ward, etc.) headed 
in sharp ranges 6000 feet high, which joined to the scarp of 
Lister without any intermediate longitudinal valley, such as 
was indicated on the 1902 map as “Snow Valley.” The 
surface of the glacier through which we had passed was very 
interesting. I could now see that it would take days to get 
the sledge up the glacier to a spot where our view would be 
materially increased, and judged it better to investigate fairly 
fully the features in this interesting region of the valley. 

The island evidently blocked the glacier greatly, for this 
was 700 feet higher on the south-west face than where we 
had crossed it. 

Next morning was foggy and cold, and there had been 
snow in the night. We boiled the hypsometer and found 
that the camp was only 100 feet above sea-level. At 11 a.m. 
we started off to explore a large tributary glacier which we 
could see across the low-level moraine. Debenham had a sore 
heel, due to the deep ridges which developed in our frozen 


170 ~ WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


ski-boots, so that he did not move far afield for the next day 
or two. 

After crossing two miles of moraines we reached a lake. 
It was drained by a stream which ultimately reached the 
pinnacles of the Koettlitz glacier. 

Between the ice cliffs and the lake this stream for a con- 
siderable distance flowed under the moraine, and ultimately 
entered the seals’ sub-glacial stream and so reached the sea. 
Coleridge’s lines entered one’s mind : 


“Where Alph the sacred river ran 
Through caverns measureless to man 
Down to a sunless sea.” 


So we christened this stream the Alph River. 

We marched along the lake and up the gully beyond. 
Here a tributary entered from a large cave in the moraine 
wall to the north. The roof of this cave was coated with 
most beautiful ice crystals, which resembled pine twigs in 
shape and were about two inches long. Many brownish ice 
stalactites and stalagmites fringed the walls of the cave, and 
Wright was lucky in obtaining some beautiful photos of these 
structures, 

At 4 p.m. we reached our goal—the steep face of the 
Walcott glacier, but as the weather looked stormy we had 
to retreat immediately. Wright and I compared compass 
readings here. The needles swung extremely sluggishly, but 
we found they were reliable to four degrees—which is about 
eight times the ordinary error. The fact that magnetic south 
was nearly due north also complicated matters here! We 
marched back by a different route and discovered a strong 
outcrop of basic lava about fifty feet thick, which was rich in 
olivine and had caught up fragments of garnet rock in its 
passage through the earth’s crust. 

It was a cold cloudy morning on the 27th when we 
started off for a tramp over the ancient low-level moraines. 
We could see a big tributary glacier about twelve miles away, 
whose vertical front was separated from the Koettlitz by two 
miles of bare moraine heaps. Debenham, with his bad heel, 
stayed around the camp where there was plenty of collecting. 

We went a short distance along one of the moraine 
avenues. Then we climbed eighty feet up and proceeded 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 171 


over the more or less level moraine debris for two miles. 
There we came on an interesting outcrop. It was very 
unexpected to find a deep gully 100 feet below the general 
surface with water still flowing in the creek at the bottom. 
The walls were largely composed of ice hereabouts, and*they 
were melting merrily in the sun. 

This stream originated in the lake which we had seen a 
day or two before, and we reached it vid some beautiful 
meanders. At its outlet was a cave twenty feet deep cut 
in blue ice. 

Evans and I had a bet as to the length of the lake, in 
which I recorded a win; but “ Taff” usually came off best 
in these encounters ! 

February 28, 1911.— We awoke to foggy and cold 
weather, which was unsatisfactory, as one of our chief objects 
was to climb a peak and get a good view of the hypothetical 
Snow Valley (between Descent Pass and the Walcott Glacier). 
Wright and I went back to Alph Lake some miles to the 
west, while Evans and Debenham made another journey to 
Heald Island and traversed it almost to its western end. 

I investigated the cave in the silts at the lake outlet. 
The cave seemed to be due to a block of ice breaking away 
at a silt band, for the roof was filled with stones, while the 
mass above was clear ice. The interest lies in the fact that 
these silts were obviously laid down in water, and the large 
boulders arranged in uniform layers indicated that a strong 
current had been operating. 

I left Wright at the lake, which he crossed later to 
examine the “crystal cave’’ we had seen previously. Mean- 
while I climbed up the steep delta of the stream leading to 
the “ Ward Hanger,” and visited the latter valley. 

This gully was about a mile long with steep sides sloping 
thirty degrees at first. I made for a black exposure which | 
could see ahead where the gully cascaded down from the 
hanging valley. This was a bed of decomposed basic lava, 
about twelve feet thick and pointing to fairly late volcanic 
action, 

Then I proceeded up the gully, scrambling over large 
rounded boulders. I hurried to the top of the slope and 
found that a very definite dam blocked the hanger, just as in 
the adjacent valley. These dams were, I think, high-level 


172 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


lateral moraines left by the Koettlitz glacier, and not serminal 
moraines of the small tributary glaciers. I could see that the 
latter (Ward) glacier now lay about five miles up the valley, 
and resembled the others which we had observed previously. 

Wright and I then traced the Alph River from the lake 
down to the glacier opposite Heald Island. We had to climb 
over several rough barriers of silt-coated ice, under which the 
stream flowed. The relative movement of the frozen surface 
and overhanging ice-cliffs led to very queer twists and bends 
in numerous icicles, thus forming a striking example of the 
plasticity of ice. 

The water was flowing strongly with musical gurgles under 
a lace-work of crystal-edged ice. We got very wet boots 
by slipping through on our walk at the foot of the steep 
slopes fifty feet high. The river ended in a little round lake 
separated from the Koettlitz by the silt-covered pinnacle 
described previously. 

We walked along the glacier edge towards the camp. At 
one spot the water was welling up through holes in the ice, 
and appeared to indicate a slight tide, for it had spread out to 
varying boundaries at various times. Probably a variation in 
temperature would account fully for the difference in supply. 

We reached the tent about a quarter past six. 

The weather had been dull, and it was useless to expect a 
good view of the western scarp and valleys. I decided to 
wait until the 3rd if necessary to climb up for this view. The 
hills were now snow-covered, and we had several valleys to the 
north to investigate before our return, 

The month of March opened with a bright sunny morning, 
just suited for our proposed climb up one of the hinterland 
ranges. We climbed up the slope about eight hundred 
feet and soon reached the level floor of the hanging “ valley ” 
just behind the camp. We marched along this to the north 
end of the valley towards a prominent peak on the eastern 
ridge. A stiff climb over snow slopes and rugged granite 
led to the summit, which we reached at 1 p.m. The aneroid 
made this 3000 feet above sea-level. It was a beautiful day 
and we could see Erebus, Discovery, Morning, and the Pyramid 
up the Koettlitz. Lister itself, as usual, was in the clouds, but 
nearly all below was visible. We could see numerous hinter- 
land ridges reaching from the Lower Koettlitz to the Lister 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 173 


scarp, and satisfied ourselves that no lateral “Snow Valley” 
existed below the scarp such as has been indicated in earlier 
maps. 

a was very cold on this hill (which we called Terminus 
Mountain) ; and after swinging the theodolite and taking several 
photographs we hurried back to the tent down Ward Valley. 

On March 2 we started our homeward trek ; nothing 
could be worse than our outward track up the middle of 
the glacier—though we were able to study the changes of 
the glacier ice and so did not regret it. I therefore decided 
to hug the coast on our return, though near the depdt the 
ice was so full of silt from the moraines that we had not 
seen any feasible route along the coast thereabouts. 

For the next few days we followed the course of the 
sub-glacial Alph River. Some four miles down-stream from 
Terminus Camp a rampart of ice pinnacles commenced, which 
recalled the monoliths of Stonehenge. These walled off the 
rough sea of the Koettlitz Glacier from the frozen surface of 
the “river.” This broad lane was here a quarter of a mile 
wide and consisted of a level surface broken up by deep 
sunken “paths.” The more elevated areas were preferable 
for sledging, for the paths occasionally let us through into 
water. The whole structure was due to the drainage of water 
away from rivers and lakelets whose surface had frozen. 

This splendid track—which we called “ Alph Avenue ”— 
enabled us to proceed with unexpected ease, and each day we 
halted and explored one of the numerous tributary valleys 
which characterized the hinterland. 

Each valley was of the same type. A great bar of debris, 
some three hundred feet high, blocked the mouth of the 
tributary. Within this was a bare rounded valley extending 
to the foot of Lister. Some five miles from the coast was 
the snout of a tributary glacier which had originally deposited 
the moraine, but now was shrunk back to a mere shadow of 
its former self. 

All along our route were groups of seals, and numerous 
skua gulls enlivened the surroundings. Coming back from 
one of our détours I was much amused to see Wright crawling 
about among the seals in his investigation of the ice—while 
thirty skuas were anxiously awaiting the demise of this 
obviously crazy seal ! 


174 WITE SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


The summer was over now and we were getting fifty 
degrees of frost in the nights. The weather was gloomy, 
the sun rarely appearing till it had sunk below the level of 
the pall of stratus. 

We had an eventful lunch just before reaching our depét. 
We pitched the tent and fastened the door to keep out 
the wind. I was sitting next the door with my precious 
lumps of sugar on the floorcloth when I noticed that water 
was creeping into the tent. In a few seconds it was several 
inches deep. We bolted our raisins, pocketed the lumps of 
butter and sugar and rushed out with the sleeping-bags. 
There was a small lake all round us, rapidly rising round 
sledge and tent. The water was rushing out of a crack one 
hundred yards below us, probably driven back by a high tide. 
We had quite a pilgrimage to get our sledge packed again, 
having to walk round the newly formed bay. 

The avenue petered out here, after furnishing us with a 
magnificent highway for twenty miles. We had some pretty 
rough work for the next mile or so, but reached our depédt 
safely on the evening of the sth. 

Having now described many of the glacial valleys it is 
interesting to see if we can discover how their peculiar topo- 
graphies have arisen. One great problem confronting 
geologists is to explain how the giant “steps” and “ basins” 
of the Swiss glacier valleys were produced. In Antarctica the 
gradual change in the character of the valleys as we proceed 
northward from Mount Discovery has led me to put forward 
a theory which I think holds good for these huge glaciers in 
latitude 78° S., and may help to explain those in 45° N. 

In old Greek manuscripts one can sometimes discern traces 
of an older script half obliterated by the later writings—this 
MS. is called a palimpsest. Just so in Antarctica—I think that 
beneath the largest outlet glaciers, such as the Ferrar and 
Taylor Glaciers, we can perceive the relics of an earlier cwm 
erosion. 

Near Heald Island is the gigantic scarp of the Royal 
Society Range 10,000 feet high. Cutting into its face are 
simple cwm glaciers such as the Walcott glacier. This stage 
is shown in section I. As the snow accumulates (and 
turns into ice iz situ) we get a gnawing process, in the 
moat, etc., at the margin of the glacier, which gradually extends 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 175 


backwards and eats out a long parallel valley such as the Davis 
Valley (section II). If the plateau ice-cap increases sufficiently 
it will drain to the sea as an ouslet glacier. This will obviously 


Young Icecap 


Wn 


The “ Palimpsest” theory. Generalised sketch sections, showing the chief 
types of valley erosion. I. Early erosion like that shown by Walcott 
Glacier, 78° 10'S. II. Headward erosion producing a “ finger” valley, 
shown by Davis Glacier, 78° S. III. Plateau ice overwhelming the 
cwm glaciers giving profile like the Ferrar Glacier, 77° 40’ S. IV. 
Pronounced erosion by “thaw and freeze” (= nivation), as shown in 


the Taylor Valley, 77° 30’ 8. 


tend to follow the lowest contours and so would naturally 
overwhelm a series of cwm glaciers (such as shown in II). 
Hence we get a glacier falling over steps (and cutting gradually 


176 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


through them) which were originally heads of cwm valleys 
(see section III). Finally, these big glaciers may retreat very 
slowly, and at their snouts—in a somewhat complicated way 
which I have explained elsewhere—further erosion by nivation 
will produce basins with level bottoms, such as those in the 
Taylor Valley * (section IV). In the maximum of glacier 
flow (for which we have to go to temperate climes for good 
examples) there is much “ planing” by the glacier, but not in 
Antarctica under the present conditions. At any rate, the con- 
clusion 1 have reached after two summers’ sledging, is that 
considerable frost, wind, and water action is occurring in the 
Ross Sea area, and very little true glacier erosion. Moreover, 
the gradual succession of types of valley erosion which we 
investigated makes me confident that some such cycle of 
evolution as sketched above is not only possible, but has 
taken place in the south. 

On arrival we swept the snow from our old ground and 
camped on the bare gravel, for our floorcloth was quite 
soaked. I went over to the seal I had killed a fortnight 
earlier and managed to cut through the frozen hide. Evans 
and I then managed to prize off some blubber with the spade. 
The blubber was quite soft where it was protected from the 
air. Evans and Wright were frankly sceptical as to the value 
of blubber as a means of frying ! 

“ After cleaning out the aluminium base of the cooker, 
Debenham cut the blubber into strips and heated it up. It 
soon began to melt and gave off much 
steam at first. The smell was like fried 
herrings and not unpleasant! We 
had thawed out some liver from my 
cache, and at + 2° F. it was as hard as 
iron! I cut it into strips and we 
cooked it in the blubber for a quarter 
of an hour or so. Debenham tasted 
it, and then I ate the first piece. 

“Jolly good! Absolutely no taste 
of fish or oil, which was curious in view of the smell of 
herrings. Evans took his bit gingerly, and then handsomely 
acknowledged that he had been sold. He reckoned their 


* The theory of nivation would be out of place here. It is explained in 
Hobbs’ “ Existing Glaciers,” and I deal with it fully in the official memoir. 


forks r 
Blubber 53-1 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 177 


cook had tried to poison them in 1902. We used safety pins 
as forks, and my bowie knife to turn it over. A vote of 
thanks to Deb was passed by the company ! 

“With luck we shall camp in the middle of the Dailey 
Isles to-morrow (Monday). On Wednesday get to Hut 
Point, and then two days to Cape Evans.” 

This prophecy was rather feeble! We took nine days to 
reach Hut Point, and five weeks elapsed before we saw our 
own headquarters ! 

March 6, 1911 (Monday).—A fairly sunny morning with 
a temperature of — 8° at 9.30. We spent some time in packing 
all our depéted goods. I carried an empty biscuit tin to the 
nearest large moraine heap, and buried it halfway in the gravel 
with a note of our journey. The sun, glancing on the bright 
metal surface, made this a very distinct landmark some distance 
from the moraines. 

We had now two sledges to pull, but the surface was very 
ood. We made for the nearest Dailey Island. After one 
and a half hours we reached old ice at a higher level than the 
sea-ice we had just left. Here I mounted a hummock and 
saw that open water extended to Davis Bay, and was practically 
within one mile of our track. We were rather astonished, for 
this ice (around Blue Glacier) had not been out for several 
years. We pushed on and camped two and a half miles from 
West Dailey Isle for lunch. Another two miles brought us 
to a most interesting locality. All around us were heaps of 
large sponges half buried in snow and ice. The three largest 
heaps were about 8 feet long and one and a half feet high. 
The sponges were a foot in diameter, and among the long 
spicules we found Bryozoa, Brachiopoda, Serpule, Molluscs, 
and a fine solitary coral. 

How did these marine animals come to be entangled in 
the old ice on which we found them? The ice was apparently 
normal fresh-water glacier-ice, but may have been originally 
sea-ice from which the salt had drained out. At any rate, it 
was floating—for half a mile further east was a succession of 
grinding ice-cracks, 1 believe the sponges were pushed up 
(from a depth of twenty feet or so below water) by the edge 
of the Koettlitz glacier, in some palzocrystic age when its snout 
was much less advanced. 

We pushed on about a quarter of a mile, and reached 

N 


178 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


irregular ice crossed by a deep gully due to tide cracks. Here 
we left the sledges, and all climbed up the West Dailey Island. 
We attacked the nearest snow-covered slope, though later we 
found it was the steepest portion of the island. There was a 
fair route along the snow, however, and we soon reached the 
top. Two asymmetric valleys crossed the island, whose cross 
section seemed to indicate glacial erosion from the south-east. 
Blocks of marble, kenyte, and gneiss were scattered over the 
island, which was itself composed of basic lava. We were 
most interested, however, in the view towards Erebus, for we 
hoped to see a clear route to Cape Evans. 


5, Caskle 
' Z : Rock 
‘gts 
443 : ri 
473 2 s 
S44 §  : Bhazard a 
~ t % id 
177% a “ 12-173 © 


: J Camp 
Pref | 
- Bea A 
A i, e* er G & ) od 
“ Or Brown 
= White 
A 


Map showing our journey round the breaking barrier. 


Four miles north of us was a prominent crack leading east 
and west. All the ice to the east and north-east was rough, 
pinnacled stuff as far as we could see. In the distance 
Inaccessible and Tent Islands appeared clearly, and also a 
curtain of frost smoke. We could not detect the latter much 
south of Tent Island, and hoped this meant that the ice had 
not gone out behind Glacier Tongue. 

I decided to camp after another mile, and then skirt along 
the pinnacle (bearing towards Cape Royds) until it appeared 
feasible to cross to the east. I photographed the little valleys 
on the island, and then we returned down a much easier slope 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 179 


to sea-level. Here we saw a young skua practising its first 
flights under the eye of two older birds. 

We camped in the snow amid troubled ice just off the 
north-east corner of West Dailey Island. 

March 7, 1911.—We had a wakeful night, for the pressure 
ice at 2.30 started groaning and creaking just under our heads. 
We had a temperature of — 13°, and the night was quite dark, 
though a glow was apparent to the south. In the morning a 
cold wind from the south-east arose. 

I had to prospect across half a mile of bad surface, but 
found a fair route for a single sledge before the packing was 
concluded. The sledges stuck badly on sharp snags, and we 
had to relay through tables and over snow-covered ledges and 
crevices. Then we reached a glass-house surface, which was 
fairly stable owing to the thick covering of snow. We held 
along the west side of the broad tongue of bad ice and made 
fair progress. It was pretty cold, however, and Debenham 
suffered two frostbitten toes. 

About 4.30 I felt that we ought to be near the end of the 
Pinnacle Ice as shown on the map. So we pulled towards it, 
and reached high ridges rather suddenly. We camped here, 
and Wright and I penetrated the ice for a mile, making for a 
specially high pyramid. The surface was frightful, consisting 
of big rough undulations much broken into snags and pyramids, 
and crossed by frozen rivers with window-glass buried in snow- 
drifts. We could see no difference in the distant east. It 
was evident that we could not cross. here, and must make still 
farther north. We felt that the whole broad tongue had moved 
north, It was necessary, therefore, to turn back and go rather 
to the north-west, Hence we called this Keerweer Camp, after 
the Cape Keerweer where the old Dutch captain retreated from 
Australia. 

_ March 8, 1911.—We moved off along the edge of the 
pinnacle to the north. We did about one and a half miles, 
and got bogged in bad country. A prospect ahead showed 
that we had entered a sort of cul-de-sac. We could see frost 
smoke rising all around us, and heard seals; and, apparently, 
orcas blowing and grunting, much closer than we could explain, 
for we could see no water. Finally, we decided to keep to 
the smoother ice, and so for the next mile or so were heading 
for Butter Point, directly away from our destination at Hut 


180 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


Point. Soon we turned more to the east, and topping a small 
rise, were confronted by a large bay of open water in the 
pinnacle ice, in which several orcas were apparently enjoying 
our discomfiture. The water lay right across our path, and 
we made as rapid a course as we could lay for the further side 
of the bay. 

Before going many yards into the pinnacle ice we came on 
a labyrinthic river of salt water fifty feet or so below the general 
level of the pinnacle. Luckily the pancake had jammed in this 
valley, and it was strong enough to carry the sledges. We 
had to haul up the sledges by hand on the further (southern) 
side. Here we lunched, and soon after came to a fifteen-foot 
drop, which necessitated casting off one sledge. 1 prospected 
ahead, and the other three followed almost as quickly as I 
could pick out a feasible route. Every now and again I 
climbed a pinnacle, and got a fair view, and so we got along 
much more easily than | had anticipated. 

The grade was good, but necessitated much winding about, 
and very often drifts of sand covered the ice and played havoc 
with the runners. The drifts of snow, eighteen inches deep, 
were no trouble compared with a thin film of sand on an ice 
ridge. 

“We could hardly get a fragment of ice hereabouts which 
was not full of sponge spicules, which did not improve the 
hoosh. It was very curious to see the skuas pecking at the 
numerous sponges lying around, while they neglected the small 
frozen fish (Notothenia), of which I saw a dozen ! 

By six o'clock we brought up our second sledge to the 
site I had chosen for a camp. Just north of the camp was a 
large cavern excavated in the side of a thirty-foot cliff by a 
meandering river, now frozen. We had a fairly sheltered 
position for the tent, but there was no snow for the flaps. 
However, ice blocks made that all secure. Before turning 
in we took a round of angles, which should fix the position 
of the edge of the open water quite accurately. 

March 9, 1911.—A comfortable night, the temperature 
only falling to —3°. We picked a pretty fair route across 
the meandering gully. At one place a snow-drift had built 
up a track above the undercut edge of the river. Then we 
went down-stream a quarter of a mile, and then hauled the 
sledges up the further bank. We could see quite a large 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 181 


patch of smooth snow towards Observation Hill, and made in 
this direction. As we were not more than sixty feet above 
sea-level, I judged this to be four miles off, which turned out 
to be the case, though it took us nearly two days to reach it. 

We pulled in relays, doing one and a quarter miles with 
the light sledge in less than an hour, and then returning for 
the heavy sledge with some knowledge of the conditions 
ahead. Twenty-five minutes took us back to the other sledge, 
and sixty-five minutes more with the heavy sledge brought 
our whole equipment one and a quarter miles nearer Hut 
Point. 

Bad sandy patches still annoyed us, but the ice was 
gradually becoming more level as we penetrated further south. 
In the afternoon we did a longer relay, with less sand but 
more snow. We had to cross several creeks, and had some 
upsets, but at the end of our day’s work a climb to a 
pinnacle showed up smooth sea-ice no great distance ahead in 
the direction of Tent Island. Six hours’ hard work—largely 
hand-hauling—had only given us three miles of progress, 
However, we were able to enjoy the chocolate provided by 
Evans in honour of his own birthday, and we christened the 
camp Birthday Camp in consequence. ‘ 

I feel that I cannot more fittingly describe the last few 
days of our First Journey than by transcribing my sledge 
diary. The style is “choppy,” but if the reader will picture 
the conditions under which the journal was written he will 
perhaps excuse lapses. We were now coasting the breaking 
Barrier edge, just where Bowers’s party had gone adrift a week 
before (see p. 197). It was getting very cold, and we had 
been sledging six weeks—over really awful surfaces since mid- 
February—and were feeling stale and in need of some com- 
fortable rest at night. 

“. . . Friday, March 10.—I am writing this on the morn- 
ing of the 11th, after a rotten night. The tent is flapping and 
C. S. W. wears a worried look as the icy aluminium pot 
sticks to his finger. I have filled the cooker with powdered 
snow. There is drift everywhere, an eighth of an inch thick 
in C, S. W.’s bag, who got out to survey the scene. I have 
a blistered ear, and am wet everywhere owing to perspiration. 
There is no joy in us, though sounding merry. I slept on 
the outside, where Debenham has slept hitherto, However, 


182 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


I could get my back warm against him, which is not the case 
when we reverse ! 

“We moved off about 11 a.m. with the light sledge. 
Debenham prospected one-third of a mile, and then returned 
to say that we could go on with both. So we pulled up the 
heavy one, and in less than half an hour reached the level ice, 
about 11.45. Hence we traversed about six miles of pinnacle 
ice. We had heavy going for a mile, owing to deep snow 
between hard patches, occasionally knee-deep. 

“‘ Now a long argument arose as to the course. Debenham 
wished to head straight for Glacier Tongue, and reach Cape 
Evans same night maybe. I judged it not much further to 
Hut Point, and we were rather near the sea edge. Evans felt 
frost-bite in toes, but said later it was due to chocolate-paper 
stuffing ! 

“We camped for lunch at 1 p.m., with good hopes of 
getting all ‘sprowsy’ by night. The others put on finnesko, 
as all very cold. My feet troubled me least of all. Good 
ho! so I didn’t change from boots, though blisters very raspy 
when one’s foot slipped into a deep crack! Left about 2.30 
and surface got much better—patches of hard white snow and 
some ice. We decided to get to Hut Point or bust! About 
5 p.m. we decided to bust, for there was apparently five miles 
of open water before the Hut! So we deviated with what 
speed we might to the south, gradually veering further south 
in the teeth of a young blizzard, which made much drift and 
at times obscured land. We donned coats and windproof, 
and during the last hour got very wet with sweat. Rather 
tired when at 6.30 we stopped near snow-drift, being four 
miles from the sea. 

“We had to put up the pole first and then the tent, which 
nearly blew away, and the floorcloth afterward. I got into 
finnesko and got fairly warm, though the primus went out 
several times through draught, etc. Huge blocks of snow on 
flap. Rather slow prospect of a week or two at Hut Point, 
when we felt yesterday pretty sure of getting to Cape Evans 
in two days! Wind moderated at intervals in the night. 
Good sunset and fairly clear, so this is not a true blizzard. 

“ Saturday, March 11.—Fairly clear, still some snow-drift 
and gusty. Up early. Every one uncomfortable in the 
night. Hope to reach the Hut vid Pram Point about 4 p.m. 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 183 


“ Drift packed hard round the tent, and had to dig out it 
and sledges. 

“‘ Made an early start at 9.45 a.m. Saw mists rising appa- 
rently all way from Hut Point to White Island. One column 
of dark cloud very persistent, the rest varied with wind some- 
what. So we made for east centre of White Island over poor 
surface owing to fairly soft snow. 

“‘ Finnesko nice and warm, felt as if one’s feet bare after 
boots. We did six miles and camped where we seemed to see 
the crack petering out. Then two miles in the hour to (3.45) 
where we deviated from White Island. Here Castle Rock 
was occulted by Observation Hill. 1 thought end of water 
would be only three-quarters of an hour away! We saw a 
black dot and cairn of snow and decided it was the Barrier 
depot. 

Me We had crossed one crack, probably an old one. The 
depét turned out to be a fawn-chested seal, active and bold, 
which moved off rapidly (4.30). (The open water was here 
only half a mile away.) The cairn was pressure ice, probably 
old line of permanent ice. About a mile further came on 
sledge tracks of depét party.* Don’t see their depdt anywhere. 
Not possible it has gone out, as undoubtedly some of Barrier 
has. At 5.30, after doing about four and a half miles, we 
reached southern end of broad bay of water. 

“C. S. W. took photo here, but so cold that spring shutter 
didn’t work, I fear, Then on for two miles further to our 
Barrier camp. 

“ Sunday, March 12.—Rotten night; slept about four 
half-hours and shivered, sore ear, cold knees and back, every- 
thing wet (on outside), Helmet a mass of ice, and so wrapped 
my head in wind-proof pants. Others better. Dreamt six 
individual dreams, including our relief by a rival party of 
kids! I got up to read aneroid and so acquired merit ! 

“‘ Primus a great bother in the morning. 

“Quite foggy and snowing considerably. Not safe to say 
where we'll be to-night ! 

“We left about 10. Foggy everywhere and drift blow- 
ing, but could see sun. Went (S. 40° W. magnetic) for two 
miles or so, then steered by sun. We saw a black object on 


* These tracks were made by the Rescue party, in their attempts to save 
the ponies, ten days earlier. 


184 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


ahead. Evans said an icefoot; I said boxes. They turned 
out to be bales of fodder nearly covered and an empty dog- 
biscuit box. From here tracks of five sledges (no ponies) 
lead to Pram Point. We piled up fodder higher, and left 
map and note tied to our depédt pole.* By this time wind 
getting stronger. 

“We marched on over undulations, mostly heavy going. 
Wind from the south-east. About 11.30 a.m. followed sledge 
track right to a narrow gulf leading into Barrier, with broken 
block sticking out. Ice twenty to thirty feet above water, 
some snowy, new ice in the open gulf (elsewhere all clear 
water). The shore went nearly due west from here. We 
crossed a strong crack rising several feet. C. S. W.’s foot 
went in here. I deviated to north-east from here, and pulled 
three-quarters of an hour in worse wind and drift. Camped 
at 12.45, about four miles from main edge and one and a half 
from crack (and edge). Very blowy and blinding, and cold. 
Had lunch and no better! Stayed in tent, and here we are 
held up indefinitely only six or seven miles from the Hut! 
We tried dancing to warm feet. Played cards, sang, changed 
socks. Finally, about 4.30, all went outside and filled cooker 
with snow. We decided to have an early supper and turn 
into our wet bags. We lit the Primus, and let the flames 
singe our feet to warm them. Talked of Cambridge cake and 
tea and other delights. I put on pyjama pants for the first 
time. Jt may prevent chills to-night, but I doubt it. Evans 
told cheerful tale of snow wall round tent at Cape Crozier, 
when they were pinned in for five days in September in 1903 ! 

“We can’t see a hundred feet anywhere. The rime is 
dripping down my neck and covering our bags. Drifts are 
slipping off the tent. Wind veering somewhat southerly from 
south-east. Now and again we peeped out of doors. No 
improvement. Couldn’t get into shore probably to camp, as 
water is evidently exceptionally far to east. No camping on 
slopes, I understand, and daren’t try to reach the Hut (eight 
miles or more round) in this damned young blizzard. Guess 
we'll shiver it out. Underpants make much warmer, but toes 
nearly as cold as ever. 5.30 p.m. Booming of lid of biscuit- 
tin outside is like Inchcape Bell.” 


* The other parties had all returned from the Barrier a fortnight before 
to Hut Point. 


FIRST WESTERN EXPEDITION 8s 


[N.B.—13th and 14th written later in Hut.] 

“ Monday, March 13.—Pretty miserable all day. Stayed 
in bags till ro or so. Tent flapping wildly. There had been 
a lull in the night ; slight shift to south-west at times set the 
door swinging. Couldn’t get going at all. Had lunch at 12 
(no breakfast). I didn’t like the idea of Barrier edge being 
only one mile away, and we are on a bad crack ; but as thirty 
feet cliff, probably ice is eighty feet thick. Couldn’t see the 
sun all day till late in the pm. Evans told yarns as usual. 
We had supper about 5 p.m., after trying a melancholy game 
of Rickety Kate, in which we couldn’t deal in mits, and got 
frost-bitten if we took them off. I managed to read a bit of 
“The Great Plot.” C. S. W. cursed baccy, and Deb lay 
low and felt cold. We turned into the bags very early, 
though the sun appeared about 5 p.m., and could get a sight 
of land above the drift. 

«< Evans said curious wind never to south-west, and so xot 
a real blizzard.* 

“ Tuesday, March 14,—Another night nearly as bad as the 
previous, with sore backache added, for everything damp. 
Used to put head and all inside bag for ten minutes and hot 
up bag. Then open nose hole to get oxygenated again ! 

“We got up at 7 a.m. and had early breakfast, but it 
came on very badly about ten, and as we knew directions we 
decided to make for Castle Rock anyway within half an hour. 
We dug out sledges and the tent flap. A long lee snow slope 
lay a hundred feet to north of sledges. Instrument boxes 
and tank full of drifts of snow, of course. 

“‘ Bags thrice proper weight. Mine worse split than ever, 
so I have no hood now. We marched on rather difficultly, 
but wind helped us considerably over small sastrugi and drifts. 
Helmets tight over head, but under chin (i.e. not coldest). 
All our duds on—a mistake as one gets so sweaty and it 1s 
tiring. Went onand on. Could see ice bluff on left, passed 
it and approaching slopes. Wondering if we'd have trouble 
at the tide cracks, which Evans described. All lost to sight in 
fog about 1.30. Plugged on steadily, had hallucination of 
hawthorn trees just behind one. (Why?) Told C.S. W. 


* His meteorology was incorrect. 


tT In the coldest weather the helmet covers the chin and a nose-nip 
protects the nose. 


186 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


we were ascending, and wondered where the tide crack was. 
We had steered for the cone all the way to reach the incline as 
used by Evans (day of Vince disaster, 1902). 

“Just about 2 p.m., I guessed we were over the tide crack, 
and the sun appeared and showed us we were one-third way 
up the mountain! So we joyfully had lunch in the strong 
wind. Then transferred all necessaries to the big sledge 
(including ski boots), and left about 3.30 for the climb to 
Castle Rock. Not half so bad as expected, steady pull up 
eight degrees (about four miles), only two stops. Reached 
the top at 5.30, without trouble except for some slipping on 
hard snow. We zig-zagged a bit. Castle Rock is composed 
of agglomerate with brownish outer zone, over a darker centre. 
Height about 150 feet (boss). We had a short rest. A very 
strong wind blowing across us now. Evans evidently had 
Vince in mind, and wouldn’t let us pull quickly, though on a 
broad platform. We saw here a team track, apparently a dog 
team with sledgemeter. We had arguments as to its meaning 
and decided only one unit back. C. S. W. reckoned all the 
ponies ‘gone under’ as no tracks. Plateau one and a half 
miles long and one thousand feet high. Then we saw four 
men over towards Crater Heights. A great sight, though 
comic, to see arms swinging and fat wind clothes. Not 
like Penguins! They came towards us. We guessed 
the names all wrong, except Birdie. (They were Dr. 
Bill, Atch, and Cherry.) We heard all were safe and 
back, that the queer tracks were due to rescue of Bowers, 
Crean, and Garrard. They took our sledge down Ski Slope. 
Dr. Bill said, ‘Go and see the Owner.’ They were just 
expecting us. I put on crampons and met Scott. He told me 
of loss of ponies. Of the eight, three died in blizzard, three 
lost on floe, so only two left. We got to the hut about 7 p.m. 
Found it all cleared out by Atch and Keohane ; very dark and 
sooty from the blubber stove. Only one lantern, we sat 
around ; and pots served out in fixed order. Owner arranged 
for us to sleep in the ‘Sanctuary,’ opposite window. We had 
one lantern over stove, and then turned in to wet bags and 
slept fairly. Gran gave us finnesko. Will get Gran and 
Garrard’s yarns after.” 


1V 


‘H IN THE OLD DISCOVERY HUT 


MarcH—ApriL, I9I1 


d 


ot) 


VW 


ALPH RIVER CUTTING THROUGH THE MORAINES AND 
ANCIENT ' ICE. [See p. 170. 


ae 


“DISCOVERY” HUT, Jan. 25, 1911. 


Showing the ice-slope above the bay leading from the Gap to the Hut. Note the 
eaves of the hut on left. 


A MONTH IN THE OLD DISCOVERY HUT 


Wuize we had been engaged on the western journey, Scott 
had made his depot at One-Ton Camp, and had returned 
north to Ross Island, a fortnight before we arrived. During 
February the sea-ice had broken away far to the south of 
Glacier Tongue—which marked the water’s edge in January 
—and it was now impossible to return to Cape Evans by the 
route they had marched south. 

Moreover, the icy slopes of Erebus were seamed with 
crevasses, and many ice-falls lay at the root of Glacier Tongue, 
so that an overland journey was out of the question also. 
Luckily the old Discovery Hut had been placed on the long 
rocky southern promontory of Ross Island named Cape Armi- 
tage, and even under present conditions, with the water reach- 
ing to Pram Point, it was possible to get to this hut from the 
Barrier surface—as, indeed, the last chapter has shown. 

A queer little hut indeed is this, compared with our palace 
on Cape Evans! It is square in plan, and rises to a central 
peak. All around is a sort of verandah, with outer walls 
reaching halfway to the ground. This was designed to hold 
stores and protect them from the blizzard snows. But the 
hut was hardly used at all by the 1902 expedition. When 
we first saw it in January, 1911, it was filled with snow and 
ice to within a few feet of the ceiling, and did not look by 
any means an attractive place of abode. 

During February, Dr. Atkinson and Crean had spent a 
large portion of their time excavating the hut, and had ulti- 
mately cleared it completely of ice. A great heap of ice blocks 
and chips marked the extent of their labours. They had piled 
up the boxes of captain biscuits into a barrier enclosing the 
north portion of the hut, and in this dark retreat the western 
party found the depdt party on the 15th March. 

We reached our refuge about 7 p.m. It was almost dark 

189 


190 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


outside and quite so inside. An acrid atmosphere of blubber, 
smoke, and soot enveloped us as we occupied the rough 
planks grouped around the heart of the hut. Here was built 
up a primitive blubber stove, crowned by a chimney whose 
vagaries formed the chief topic of conversation among the 


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the day could they give much light. 
As will be seen by the plan attached, our dining-room was 


A MONTH IN THE OLD DISCOVERY HUT 1g1 


at the north, furthest from the blizzard winds. There were 
two bedchambers. One on the west side, where six of our 
sleeping-bags were disposed like sardines in a tin; and another 
central boudoir, rigged up out of antique canvas left in 1902. 
This the occupants called—as it seemed to us west-enders on 
a lucus a non lucendo principle—Virtue Villa ! 

In the semi-gloom of the hut it took me some days to 
find out my direction, for inside one seemed to be twisting 


“ - » ' 
Virtwe Villa | 


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Meares, 
SEEPS SS nares) 


James Pig, 

EASA SSA AS 
Snow piled on Stable 

Plan of the rejuvenated Discovery Hut, March, 1911. 


as if one were in a maze. In fact, to reach Teddy Evans’ 
quarters one had to return practically to the door, having 
circumnavigated Virtue Villa. 

That first evening we sat round the reeking stove and 
thankfully ate seal hoosh out of the tin mugs, helped down— 
though little it needed it—by unlimited captain’s biscuit nearly 
ten years old. Captain Scott allotted the new-comers quarters 
in the west end, and we turned into our soaking bags and 


192 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


slept fairly well in spite of the drips from the roof. Each 
sleeper unconsciously rolled away from the drops, and many 
were the territorial arguments caused by the drips from the 
ice-covered roof. 

Next day at 6 a.m. the cooks (Meares and Keohane) 
turned out to prepare the breakfast. The others got up an 
hour later, to find a thick pemmican of seal-meat and curry 
awaiting their attack. Thereafter we each had a mug of 
cocoa. Work starts immediately, for we are literally living 
from hand to mouth. So Wilson and most of the men go 
off to Pram Point to kill our dinner. Teddy Evans with 
two mates puts in the morning cutting up seal-meat, while 
the western party set off to fetch in our second sledge from 
the slopes below Castle Rock. 

From the top of the promontory by Castle Rock we got 
a good view northwards to Cape Evans, distance about twelve 
miles. There was open water this side of the Tongue, but 
ice was forming on it. Further north it looked more solid, 
and I lugubriously wrote, “It will be a fortnight before we 
get off, I fear.” 

The worst feature about Hut Point was the approach 
thereto. It was about twenty-five feet above the water-line, 
which here was bounded by an ice cliff twelve feet high at the 
foot of a quite steep icy slope. This slippery route fringed 
the bay, and was of necessity traversed by any one approach- 
ing from the north or east. As there was usually a blizzard 
blowing directly down this slope to the water, it took us some 
days to traverse “ski slope” with equanimity. We put rope 
grommets (brakes) on the sledge-runners, or the whole outfit 
would have sidled over the edge into the water. By 5 p.m. 
we had brought all our specimens and instruments safely to 
Discovery Hut. 

The other party had killed eleven seals, and returned two 
hours later. We had a grand feed of seal-liver seasoned with 
peas. A box of dried peas was one of the relics of the 1902 
expedition, which was dug up from the snow; and though 
the outside was black and mouldy, the heart of the box fur- 
nished us with magnificent dishes of ‘ pea-doo.” 

The blubber-stove worked better every day. One “fid”’ 
(or slab) of seal-blubber would soon make the iron top red- 
hot. So we were actually able to wash the pannikins! Only 


A MONTH IN THE OLD DISCOVERY HUT § 193 


those who have drunk cocoa and tea for months out of mugs, 
used also for pemmican and blubber fry, can understand the 
luxury of a c/ean drink. 

Never shall I forget my feeling of comfort that night. 
We had managed to dry our bags in the midday sun, and I 
can still recall the springy warmth of the reindeer bags, 
after so many days of what at best was clammy discomfort. 

On the 16th Evans led a party to Corner Camp, about 


Chimney 


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The blubber stove in the old Discovery hut, March, 1911. 


thirty-five miles to the south, to get some fodder for our two 
ponies, and also some stores for the sixteen men in our little 
community. He asked Wright to join him, so that our mate 
was soon in the thick of the blizzards again. 

Just outside the door were the dog-lines. The dogs lay 
in “rifle-pits”” dug out of the icy slopes above the bay. Poor 
fellows, their fur was clogged with ice, and their short commons 
on the Barrier made them woefully thin. Very miserable did 

fo) 


194 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


they look for some days, for their hair is normally so thick 
that it lends them a fictitious size. I assisted Meares to dig 
the holes deeper, and build up barriers to the south. It was 
pleasant to see how the rest and abundance of seal-meat soon 
improved them out of all recognition. Many of them were 
loosed when we went for a walk. They would start out with 
us, and lend a touch of home to the dour landscape, but they 
were not very companionable, and, except for brown Tsigan, 
they always left us behind as too slow, and later bolted for 
the hut. 

In a day or two our party swung into routine in the old 
hut. We could not move more than a mile or so from Hut 
Point. We had nothing here but fragments left over from 
1902, and some sledging rations, and yet the time passed not 
unpleasantly, for there were a thousand and one jobs to be 
done. I will quote my diary fairly fully for 17th March, for 
it was typical of the next few weeks. 

“We got up rather late, so that I read the thermometer 
at g a.m. instead of 8 a.m. After that had breakfast of 
porridge and a ripping ‘hoosh’ of liver. Then a cup of 
cocoa, to which three pills of Gran’s saccharine gave a sweet 
inky taste. I next sewed up a six-inch tear in my sleeping- 
bag. I did not sleep well last night, nor did Scott, who was 
next ; I will try fur inside to-night. It is blizzing again, and 
I am glad I am not on the Barrier with Evans, Wright, and 
the rest. 

“Then I pared some seal-skin soles thin (the fresh skin 
is just like soft leather) and sewed them into the old finnesko 
presented to me by Gran. We played “shut-eye” for a tin 
of marmalade. [I ladled out a spoonful, and Scott, with shut 
eyes, said whose it was ; and so on.] We had two and a half 
spoons each, and as it was Keohane’s birthday I gave him the 
tin to scrape out. 

“At lunch we had a great discussion on Browning and 
Tennyson. My simile comparing them to a rough rare 
mineral and polished rubbish was not accepted! Scott pre- 
ferred Keats. Meares opened tins with my dagger in military 
fashion, as he had learnt in South Africa [#.e. he made a 
fulcrum of a bar of wood beneath the blade]. Scott tried to 
improve the lighting by smearing blubber on the windows, 
which at any rate made it easier to flake the fresh ice off each 


A MONTH IN THE OLD DISCOVERY HUT 195 


day. Dr. Bill is mending gloves with pared seal-skin. Gran 
is making a ski-stick from a piece of bamboo he’s found. 
Debenham is tidying the kitchen, and puts up racks to hold 
the ‘spirtles’ (i.e. porridge-stirrers), I rifled the 1902 mag- 
netic huts, and cut out lids for the porridge-pans from sheets 
of asbestos. Our literature consists of Contemporary Reviews, 
Eclectic Magazines, Girls’ Own, and the Family Herald.” 

We spent some time trying to make the hut snugger. 
We piled heaps of snow and ice against the walls to keep off 
the blizzards. Among the débris I found ancient dog biscuits 
which reverted to their original purpose, and an old bag of 
oatmeal which went into our menu. A great discovery was 
a torn copy of “‘ My Lady Rotha.” The first and last chapters 
were missing, but I gathered the loose pages and dried them, 
and enjoyed reading it again. Curiously no one else in the 
hut had read it, and as we had only about three books, every 
one read Weyman’s novel. I couldn’t remember quite how 
it ended, for the plot is very concentrated to the end ; the 
elderly hero not having found a son ora second wife ; and 
the lady debating between the ancient count and the lunatic 
lover. 1 am afraid I finished it off in several ways to 
various applicants, none of which would have pleased the 
author ! 

There was another book which Gran had taken sledging 
and had torn off the first few pages for pipe lights. This was 
“Springtime,” a romance of medieval Italy. A good yarn, 
and Scott guessed it was by Hewlett. I disagreed, but 
couldn’t remember the writer—who is H. C. Bailey, | 
believe. 

It was very curious how useful were the 1902 remains. 
That expedition wintered on the ship, but some articles had 
been left ashore, and the hut had only been used as a 
hospital. 

However, we found old awuings, which Taff Evans used 
as arras (or is it arrases ?) for our bed-chamber! There were 
asbestos sheets with which we levelled the floor, and made 
pan lids ; brass nails, also from the magnetic hut, which had 
not rusted of course; long stove pipes and asbestos cement, 
with which we ultimately made a smoke-free blubber stove. 
A dubious mass of brownish glue turned up under some 
snow. Bowers tested this, and ultimately we had bovril 


196 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


flavouring in all our hooshes! And there was of course the 
definite depét of captain’s biscuits left in 1903, and also a 
few wholemeal biscuits which Shackleton had depéted in 1908. 
The latter swelled like muffins on the red-hot stove, and 
we used to have one with butter as a special luxury. Those 
Shackleton biscuits were a dream ! 

On the 2oth seals were reported just under Hut Point, 
and of course were much handier than the rookery at Pram 
Point. So Scott and four of us went off to get them. We 
lowered Keohane and Evans down the steep cliff below 
Vince’s Cross on to a piece of fixed floe, and the two seals 
were killed with a few blows on the nose with a pick handle. 
Dr. Bill and Meares went down to help cut them up, and 
Scott and I hoisted the flesh up by the ropes. Just as we 
were finishing three more seals appeared, and one crawled 
right up to the shambles. He stayed there all the time, and 
only left when the carcases were thrown overboard. 

That night there was a wild storm. Spray was blown 
up over the cape and over the hut, where it instantly 
froze. It cemented the snow heaps, and would have 
encased some of the dogs if they had not been freed from 
their chains. Next morning I had to chip my way down to 
the shelf where I had left the thermometers. We had to cut 
out fresh holes for the dogs, during which operation one 
aggressive fellow got hold of another by the neck, and 
the combined efforts of the sapping party could not drag 
him off. 

When the weather permitted we went off to get seals or to 
have some exercise. A strong wind used to blow almost 
constantly towards the hut through the “‘ Gap.” 

Often when one was loaded with seal blubber, or camping 
material, the icy slope between the gap and the hut was 
dangerous work. By this time our crampons (spiked over- 
shoes) were useless, for the spikes had worn quite blunt. 
The wind would catch us, and irresistibly slant us down the ice 
slope to the sea. On several occasions, when one of the 
Western Party was wearing his iron steig-eisen, an unfortunate 
crampon-wearer would clutch hold of him and accept escort 
over this giant “slide.” 

What long discussions we had! Scott was interested in 
everything, and I note that one evening we discussed 


re 
PEN a Sine 


CRATER HEIGHTS, THE GAP AND OBSERVATION HILL AS 
VIEWED FROM THE OLD “DISCOVERY” HUT. 


Photo by H. G. Ponting. | 


The catenary curve of the Gap, due to glaciation, is well shown. In the foreground 
is the icy slope which ended (abruptly on the right) in open water. 


Photo by H. G, Ponting. | 
MOUNT EREBUS FROM THE OLD “DISCOVERY” HUT. 


The steam cloud is blowing to the south-east against the prevailing surface winds. 
The small craters of Cape Armitage are shown on the left as stumps of lava. 
A series of false moraines crosses the picture (due to rock fall). In the fore- 
ground are the “tesselations ” due to soil-creep. 


rt aw 


A MONTH IN THE OLD DISCOVERY HUT 107 


Mormonism, the medieval ramparts of Aigues Mortes, and 
the pronunciation of ancient Greek ! 

On the 23rd March the Barrier party returned. They 
had experienced temperatures of —42° F. Wright told me that 
it used to take three hours to get warm—after they had 
thawed the ice out of their bags. On leaving the tent in the 
morning in a clammy wet state, the instantaneous freezing of 
their clothes felt like an electric shock ! 

J made a tour to inspect the “moraines’’ on Crater 
Heights, accompanied by Dr. Wilson. I believe they are due 
to differential erosion of lavas of varying resistance, and have 
not been left there by an upward extension of the Barrier Ice 
Sheet. 

Dr. Bill told me of the loss of the ponies. He and 


SFeig-e1sen W201 


Meares with the dog teams made straight across to the hut 
over the sea ice from the Barrier camp. They noticed 
cracks every thirty feet or so, and so deviated sharply to the 
east, and reached serra firma at Pram Point. They then 
started cutting a track up the ice slope for the ponies. Mean- 
while Bowers, Garrard, and Crean had not noticed the dog 
teams swerving, but had turned back later. They had to 
camp on the sea ice, because the ponies were too “‘ done” to 
get back two miles to the Barrier ice. They woke in the 
small hours of 1st March to find that one pony had vanished, 
and they were adrift on a broken floe. They drifted about all 
night and next day, while Wilson could do nothing but 
watch them from the top of Observation Hill. Wilson went 
off and met Scott, who had come to the open water, and was 
able to tell him that there was a chance yet. 


198 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


The pony party spent four hours or more trying to get to 
a large piece of ice to the south, which seemed to be separated 
from the firm barrier by a narrow crevasse. They left the 
ponies and went off to prospect, and found the space was sixty 
feet wide and full of grinding floes! There was a big swell 
all around, but Bowers gave Crean permission to try to cross 
the gap. He managed to do so by some amazing jumps, and 
with the aid of two ice axes he climbed the edge of the Ice 
Barrier, and so informed Scott of their danger. 

Meanwhile Cherry and Birdie took things philosophically. 
I heard how Birdie took angles with the theodolite to 
determine the position of their floating island. A skua gull 
settled near them, and Cherry thought it well to annex this 
food supply, and did so. I was told that Crean made some 
stiff cocoa for them while they were trying to rescue the 
sledges. In the dark he mixed the food bags and a strong 
decoction of curry resulted. Nothing daunted, the Irish 
sailor declared it was as warming as the other, and drank 
it off. 

On the afternoon of the 1st the rescue party managed to 
communicate with them, and Bowers and Cherry and most 
of the sledge stores were saved. But the ponies had to be left 
that night with feed bags to comfort them. Next day the 
three ponies had drifted to a more favourable spot farther to 
the south-west. Here the rescue party busily set to work 
and cut out a path up the face of the Barrier. Nobby was 
jumped from floe to floe, and at length reached the firm ice of 
the Barrier. But the other two ponies were weaker. The 
second jumped short, and though he managed to scramble on 
to the floe again, he was too cold and weak to stand, and 
fell into the water again. So, too, the third pony. All 
round were eighteen killer whales waiting for the end. To 
save them from a worse death their owners pole-axed them as 
they feebly struggled in the icy waters of the Sound. 

[The tracks on the breaking edge of the Barrier were seen 
by us on the 11th March, just before the blizzard caught us 
and held us up two days.] 

There were now again sixteen men in the old hut, and 
sleeping quarters were arranged as follows. Scott, Evans, 
Taylor, Debenham, Wright, and Forde slept in the West 
End ; Wilson, Meares, Bowers, and Garrard in Virtue Villa ; 


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A MONTH IN THE OLD DISCOVERY HUT 199 


while Gran, Taff Evans, Keohane, and Crean lay around the 
stove. 

With so many human furnaces at work, the temperature 
inside the hut rose to 46° F. on one occasion. As a natural 
result, our ceiling dripped abominably. We laid hands on all 
the empty tins about, and tied them on strings to the ceiling 
under the more obnoxious drops! Very skilfully we each 
tried to lie between two small cataracts, with the result that 
boundary commissions were frequently necessary to decide on 
encroachment into foreign territory ! 

The activities of the geologists incited all the other officers 
to emulation. Bowers was the most indefatigable of these 
“ pseudo-scientists,” and was always bringing some huge 
specimen along to Debenham or myself. ‘ Here you are,” 
Birdie would say of a particularly uninteresting block, “ here’s 
a gabbroid nodule impaled in basalt with felspar and olivine 
rampant.” 

The sun was giving us his farewell before winter. Very 
beautiful were the sunset tints; and on the 25th I wrote: 
“ Over Mt. Discovery are bands of stratus, across a black 
sky, while in the foreground are pools in thin ice looking 
like bog lands. To the south the sky shows orange-yellow 
to white tints; to the north, beautiful lemon-green verging 
into grey and yellow on the east. To the west, grey-green, 
with a bright orange band against which stands the purple 
line of Mount Lister. DD—— fine, only I’d rather have two 
feet of solid sea-ice, and no lemon-green reflections in the 
pools !”’ 

Later in the day, Wilson gave Oates and myself a talk on 
tone-values, At 6 p.m. the landscape was rosy pink every- 
where where the sun glanced on the snow-fields, salmon to 
buff colour on the open water, and on the newly freezing sea 
iridescent like tar. The shadow of Brown Island was lemon- 
green, changing to purple on Mount Discovery—while for a 
few minutes our own shadows were the most vivid bright 
blue ! 

It is impossible to imagine how striking if evanescent 
these colours were, and as possibly some critics believe that 
Wilson’s sketches erred on the bright side, I have here copied 
my notes made on the spot, while Dr. Bill was drawing his 
sketches. 


200 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


Next morning I was cook with Wright and Titus Oates. 

I lit the blubber lamp and a candle while Oates set the fire 

oing. Some chips and a page or two of the Quiver 
rubbed in blubber started it that morning. It was then only 
necessary to put on a fid of fresh blubber from the tin 
alongside, about the size of a bath bun. The blubber sizzled 
merrily on the grid, a big hot flame sprang up and licked the 
blubber and melted fresh supplies, and soon the stove was 
going strong. The hoosh was a porridge-biscuit dish with a 
few bits of seal in for luck. After breakfast I washed up the 
pots and cleaned the cookers. 

Captain Oates apparently had a Spartan objection to our 
comfortable clothing. I shall have something to say about his 
canvas trousers, but his objection 
to our helmets resulted in a Dutch 
sackcloth affair which was designed 
and made in the old Discovery 


j Hut. 
She Sackekoth About this time Debenham was 
Helmet 29-3: discovered to be an expert cook, 


and thenceforward presided over 
the culinary mysteries. His speciality was a confection 
known as “chupatties.” These were a kind of unleavened 
currant scone, made of flour and biscuit-dust and some corn- 
flour. We used to have about four to a man, so that sixty- 
four of these took some making. 

Some of our fireside arguments were quite lengthy. 1 
raised the question of city design, advocating the cobweb 
pattern. I found that Wilson agreed with me, while Scott and 
Wright took the opposite view. Belfast and American cities, 
Paris, Melbourne, London, and even unborn Canberra (the 
Australian capital) were dragged into the debate. After it 
was well started we drew back and enjoyed the “cag” be- 
tween Dr. Bill and the Owner, each backing his own views 
with great pertinacity! On another evening we had the oft- 
arising problem as to whether Lord Kelvin was a Thompson 
or a Thomson, and I won a stick of chocolate through 
chancing on the right spelling. | 

Towards the end of March the ice in the bay by the hut 
commenced to freeze. On the 28th Wright was lowered on 
to the Bay and found the ice three to four inches thick, so 


A MONTH IN THE OLD DISCOVERY HUT 201 


that we began to have hopes of getting to our own head- 
quarters in a week. Dr. Bill and Birdie made a remarkable 
feast which they called seal-rissole. We indulged largely and 
—probably in consequence—vivid dreams were retailed next 
morning. 

There is nothing so boring as dreams, I am aware, but I 
am going to quote my diary! ‘I was back in a suburb of 
Sydney, and in the distance saw an acquaintance of mine 
(H——). He moved away hurriedly. I caught him up, 
and told him I was really in Antarctica, but wanted him to 
note the time when I astrally visited Sydney. I remembered 
his name was Rupert. Guess this was the effect of the 
rissoles,”’ 

Every evening before sleeping, Scott, Wilson, Debenham, 


meth Blubber 


leak! 


drip-fin M d 
Uw = 

eT 

FOVONTOOTOTTONOOOTATRUANTOTOQON OAV OUTNTIONN 


eC} 


on 


Bluober- Lamp made ‘ees mgeeyn 


and I had some sort of a scientific discussion, usually on a 
local geological problem—such as the origin of Castle Rock— 
for many such confronted us. 

For these evening occupations we used home-made 
blubber lamps. A favourite make was based on a tin match- 
box. Two ordinary wax matches served as wicks. As usual 
with blubber, the black oil leaked everywhere. 

On the 31st Wright and I found that Discovery Harbour 
had 7 inches of ice over its surface. The ice looked just like 
cocoanut ice and was no harder, but was very elastic and 
supported us safely. We walked across to Observation Hill, 
and saw a seal near the shore. I wrote, ‘“‘ Charles smiled at 
him, and as he fainted | poleaxed him. He wriggled twice or 
so and then died.” Weclimbed up and over the Gap, and got 
down on the east side. Then we walked two miles to Pram 


202 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


Point. Here the ice varied somewhat. In places huge 
splashes of slush had frozen; in others ribbons eight inches 
thick had overridden each other. All seemed bumped up by 
swinging against the fixed ice-foot. Black wedges of clear ice 
grew out into the water channels, and the edges of the latter 
were often warped and twisted. In Pram Bay there were 
numerous seals ; one barked or growled, another opened his 
jaws nearly 180°, and his tongue shivered at us. A third 
gurgled musically, but only on one note. Later I saw one 
menacing his neighbour and barking at him. 

About 200 yards inland was a cache where we had seven 
seal carcases ready for consumption. 

As we returned I found some small fish, about eight inches 
long (Notothenia), buried in the ice, and three smaller fry lying 
on the surface. The stakes left by Ferrar in the ice across 
the Gap still seemed to be in line, so that there had been no 
movement of the ice since 1903. On reaching the hut we 
reprimanded Dr. Bill and Bowers for collecting “ gabbroid 
nodules,” etc., when their zoological tastes should have sent 
them fishing. After which we exhibited the frozen sprats. 

I began the month of April by helping Bowers as cook. 
I write: “At 7.15 threw back sleeping-bag after uncoiling 
my jersey from my neck. Put on coat and finnesko, and was 
fully dressed. Curious that one feels no worse for lack of a 
wash, bath or change, for over two months.” 

We had a tasty bovril hoosh, flavoured by some of the 
treasure trove. Debenham and Wright dived deeply into 
their pots and brought up chaff. (Birdie’s joke for April rst !) 
The seal we had killed was declared to be suffering from liver 
complaint, and weak heart. Hence his susceptibility to 
sudden shock! Anyhow the dogs ate all but the flippers 
and seemed none the worse. 

Wright and I went further south on our next walk, right 
beyond Cape Armitage. I took to finnesko finally, for con- 
duction along a big nail in the leather boots had frost-bitten 
my toe, and for months afterwards I had little sensation in it. 

“‘ We saw an emperor penguin walking towards us with a 
rolling gait. He retreated as we individually surrounded him, 
then bolted on his belly with snaky neck vibrating amid 
squawks. He turned on Wright, who killed him with two 
whacks on the neck and two picks in the brain. I pithed him 


A MONTH IN THE OLD DISCOVERY HUT 203 


with my penknife. Unfortunately he bled muchly and 
spoiled his yellow tie, so we dug a little pit and laid his head 
therein, to save the plumage.” 

Off the end of the Cape were many open pools of water, 
but I crossed between easily enough. The water was washing 
across, and had perhaps thickened the band of ice. Here I 
found many of the fish on the ice surface. Probably they 
were chased into the mushy ice by seals, and froze fast. I 
proceeded round to the east, and then climbed Observation 
Hill, finding Dr. Bill on the top busily sketching. 

“As the sun sank below the stratus cloud the golden 
beams shone past the Hut and showed up beautifully on the 
snowy surface of the Sound. We saw this tawny area 
gradually advance to the fixed ice and give it a rose-pink 
flush. The deep purplish shadow from Hut Point enchanted 
Dr. Bill, who made a complete sketch in about ten minutes. 
The sun’s low shadows on the slight corrugations of the ice 
and the elongated shadows of Wright with the sledge were 
very striking. 

Later Scott returned and complimented us on getting 
round the Cape safely ; in fact, he said that he was glad there 
were pioneers ahead when he tackled it ! 

On the 2nd Scott reported the first aurora at 3 am. He 
said it extended to within ten degrees of the zenith from the 
south, was of a reddish hue and like a curtain with two folds. 
Birdie saw it later and said he thought it was a peculiar cirrus 
cloud! So I felt that the colours could not have been very 
brilliant. , 

Scott, Oates, and myself never aspired to be considered 
cooks, but it was pleasing to see the anxiety of the others to 
earn a cordon bleu! But I was quite willing to help if others 
shouldered the ensuing blame! For instance, at lunch on this 
particular day Wright and I made what he christened a 
‘cheese sponge.’”’ ‘‘ We stirred it about an hour in hopes of 
getting it to ‘jell,’ but it remained obdurately granular. 
However, by carving off lumps of our butter it went down 
O.K. But a quarter of a pound of butter for sixteen men is 
little enough |” 

Lieutenant Evans started to cut a road down to the bay 
ice through the twelve-foot ice cliff. We dumped the ice 
from the excavation on to the bay ice, hoping to build up a 


204 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


ramp. The ice was in layers alternating with snow, the former 
probably representing spray-cemented snow. Soon the sea 
ice cracked under the weight of our delta, and the latter sank 
more and more. It was like filling the ocean, and at 7 p.m. 
only a few jagged blocks showed where we had piled all our 
excavated material. 

We had some of our penguin for supper. He weighed 
g2 lbs., and was about a record. 

The “ pseudo-scientists”” were keen collectors. Some 
augite crystals being found on the side of Observation Hill— 
we geologists did not strain our consciences much by assuring 
them that they were gems! Asa matter of fact, I once wore 
an augite as a stud ; but it would only appeal to a geologist. 
However, Birdie and Cherry spent several hours crawling up 
the slopes of the hill. The augites took much finding, for 
they were rarely half an inch long. “ Dry-blowing” and 
scraping in the snow and ashy rock with frozen fingers and 
colder toes was the method of work. Some of the specimens 
picked out of a red tuff showed very pretty crystal faces. 
But the mineral is nearly black and rather brittle, so that their 
value is purely scientific. 

One morning we were promised a new dish of “ whales 
on toast” by the indefatigable chefs. These were biscuits 
fried in butter and crowned with two sardines. Unfortunately 
they all got burnt, and the many requests for biscuits 
au naturel disconcerted Birdie! In the evening Evans and 
Wright laboured long at a dish which they finally labelled 
“ olue’’ in disgust, though they had hoped it would turn out 
a stew. So Meares enlivened the gloom by a yarn. “A man 
went into a shop in our town and took off an article on 
approval. Unfortunately he left no name. The assistant 
said, ‘Whom shall we charge it to?’ The proprietor said, 
‘Put it down on every one’s bill, and we’ll soon find out who 
didn’t take it.’”” Meares stopped, and we asked, “ Well, how 
did it work?” Qh, the last I heard, forty of them had paid 
forutil 7} 

On the 7th, Scott asked if any one wanted a walk round 
the sea ice to Castle Rock. Atkinson and I volunteered, and 
we got on our crampons and sveig-eisen, and I took an ice-axe. 
We went down to the sea-ice over the ice cliff, using the old 
hawser left there in 1903. The ice was about four and a half 


A MONTH IN THE OLD DISCOVERY HUT 205 


inches thick, and Scott tested its bearing strength by the 
simple method of jumping on it hard. It bent considerably, 
and water gurgled up through the holes, but this new ice is 
fairly tough. 

The surface was mottled, due to its being largely com- 
posed of cemented pancake ice. The ice was mushy, and 
overriding was very common. Occasional retreats and breaks 
led to leads of open water. Scott pointed out to us where 
Vince was lost in 1903 on the icy slopes to the south of Castle 
Rock. We discussed what a man should do if he fell into 


So 


- = SS SKA as 


- a eS Sets < —aa 


Testing the sea ice off Castle Rock, April 7, 1911. Atkinson, Scott,] 
and Taylor. 


the sea and was rescued, and Scott said the only thing was 
to keep on the move. 

We crossed several “leads” of black ice, which I tested 
first with the ice-axe. ‘I chipped at the next and saw that 
the ice was more than an inch thick, so I boldly ambled 
across. I made a long step and one leg gaily went through 
and the other followed, but I hung by my arms fairly 
comfortably. Luckily I had an ice-axe. Atkinson stretched 
out his ski-stick, but I drove the pick in and pulled over to 
the further firm ice and managed to slide out, while Scott 
was getting over further to the north. The water was not 
cold, and I didn’t feel excited at all. I went in up to the 


206 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


armpits and was dripping, but only my toes were cold. Scott 
said he was just going to tell me not to try there ; and I told 
him the practical experience should balance the foolishness ! ” 
Cherry returned with me to the Hut about two miles south. 
Luckily there was no wind, or twenty-four degrees of frost 
would have been serious. My note-book was well inside my 
wind clothes, and the chronometer was not hurt at all. 

That evening there was a strong blizzard, and every 
vestige of ice blew out to the Ross Sea. It was lucky that 
the wind did not spring up six hours later, for Scott had 
decided to start off this very morning for Cape Evans via 
the seaice. As a result he determined to try a land route 
along the promontory to Hutton Cliffs, and so reach sea-ice 


fraea Gstle frock 
tf Cape Evans 


9-4-0 Gr 


where it was more land-locked and protected by Glacier 
Tongue. 

Gran and I went off to Castle Rock to see what the ice 
looked like in the bays to the north. We arrived at the base 
of this 200-feet crag about 1 p.m., and decided to climb it. 
Gran was wearing boots and so could get a grip, but I had 
on fur finnesko and found it a tough job. In fact, Gran had 
to spread-eagle himself on the face of the cliff, and I got up 
by climbing up him, like a human ladder. 

This old landmark is 1340 feet high, and is built up of 
volcanic agglomerate. There is an almost sheer drop of 
1200 feet on the west; but the top is nearly flat and offers 
a fine view. I could see a little patch of sea-ice in the bay 


4 
4 


= Yj i 
~ —> Y=, - a 
LS ££ a7 
J 


AZ 
=> 


Lz 


» 


 


A\ 
\ 


 
7 NY 
hd 
\ 
\ 
\ 


SOO 
SS 


S 


CLIFFS TO TEST THE 


SEA-ICE. 


OVER THE HUTTON 


From a drawing by D. Low. 


A MONTH IN THE OLD DISCOVERY HUT 207 


near Hutton Cliffs, but north of Glacier Tongue the sun 
was in our eyes and we could not see if ice or water lay 
between the Tongue and Cape Evans. 

On the 11th of April nine of us started for our own head- 
quarters, leaving Wilson in charge of a party to bring over 
the dogs and two ponies. [The track is shown on the map, 

. 88. 

i The ‘relics’ helped us up the two snow slopes. Birdie 
and Bill arranged signals with fireballs at 10 p.m. on the 
first clear night in the next three. Dr. Bill had an under- 
standing with Scott that he should not move with the ponies 
and dogs until the sea-ice had stood a blizzard. We passed 
Castle Rock and were going strong at noon. I had been 
leading, giving Scott my shoulder, but here he shortened my 
rope and I pulled just behind him. Beyond Castle Rock all 
the land is untraversed. We kept for one mile along a steep 
snow slope, seeing no crevasses, and easily reached the flat 
top of the promontory. After about four miles we ap- 
proached Hutton Cliffs and could see patches of blue ice on 
the slopes ahead. Soon we met some crevasses, and both of 
us fell into small ones. We got to a ridge of boulders 
which showed where we were to get down to the bay ice, 
if anywhere. 

“ Quite suddenly it began to drift heavily from the south, 
and we had to put up the tents and camp. We had some 
tea and then prospected for a route to the cliff edge. There 
were huge crevasses zigzagging across the blue ice below us, 
but when the drift stopped we found a good track and soon 
reached the cliff edge. Here it was thirty feet high with 
snow whirling over on to the bay ice. Further south it was 
a little lower, and here Scott lowered me on to some fallen 
blocks on the sea-ice. Then Evans, Wright, and Bowers 
followed, and we guided the sledge down, fully loaded, 
without difficulty. Two bamboos were stuck in and the rope 
passed round. Crean arranged this, and Scott came last, being 
lowered from below. 

“We left the Hutton Cliffs about 5 p.m. and pulled north 
over two miles of soft sea-ice to Glacier Tongue. We 
anticipated trouble climbing the Tongue, but found a spot 
where its edge was only ten feet high. Evans and I were 
lifted up, and in ten minutes both sledges and men were on 


208 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


the Tongue. It was good fun crossing the Tongue, for there 
were numerous crevasses to jump, none of which was 
particularly risky, though Evans fell into one. We camped 
on the north side about 6.45. It was pretty dark, but after 
some tea Scott decided to push on for the remaining five 
miles. 

‘““We had to steer across the bay ice by observing a star, 
for it began to grow thick near the surface. I tested the ice 
with my axe fairly frequently. We pulled all we knew, for 
occasionally our only beacon (the star) was almost obscured. 
About 10 p.m. a black patch showed up, which we guessed 
must be Little Razorback Island. Here Scott decided to 


open water 


The two tents on the ice-shelf at Little Razorback Isle, April 12, 1911 
(looking south). 


camp. We had a difficult job gathering mushy-ice to weigh 
the tent-flaps, but all turned in on the wet ice before 
midnight.” 

I don’t think many of us enjoyed the situation. We were 
camped on new ice and had not the faintest idea how far off 
the open water lay, and we had practically no food with us. 
Next morning, before it was properly light, a blizzard came 
up to add to our discomfort. We could not see Cape Evans 
or tell whether there was ice or sea in the intervening two 
miles. 

I climbed up the Razorback, cutting steps up the soft ashy 
rock with my bowie knife. Bowers and I explored an ice- 
ledge on the south side of this little islet. On reporting to 


A MONTH IN THE OLD DISCOVERY HUT 209 


Scott he inspected it, and in the afternoon we shifted camp 
up on to the ledge, whence we could not drift out to sea if 
the blizzard increased. 

“TI snoozed about an hour during the night, pulled the 
flaps of my bag tight, and apart from frozen toes—partly owing 
to my home-made sealskinjfinnesko being too tight—and shivers 
in the back, and the soppy nature of all my clothing, I was 
pretty comfortable ! 

“We roused at 7 a.m., and I had to wait half an hour 
before my fur mits thawed out enough to be wearable. We 
finished up our pemmican and biscuits. Birdie was cook, 
and as usual took too little for himself, and made a fuss about 
filling up his own pot. 

“We packed up at 8.15, and found that the wind helped 
us materially. The ice seemed firmer here, and near Inac- 
cessible Island we crossed tracks and a silk line, evidently due 
to Simpson’s balloon experiments. We rounded Cape Evans 
and saw the open water less than a mile off, so that we were 
pretty close to it at Razorback. 

“Another hundred yards and we saw the hut with two 
men moving about. We went on silently (by order), and 
saw Lashley stand up, look our way and stand rigid. Then 
he spoke to Anton (who phlegmatically took no notice) and 
bolted into the hut. Soon they came streaming out in all 
sorts of overcoats, etc., Demetri and Lashley leading, Day 
next, Ponting, Anton, Simpson, and Hooper !” 

Nelson was asleep, and Clissold too interested in some 
cooking ! 

We learnt that all had gone well except that one pony 
(Hackenschmidt) had died of inanition and a bullet ! 

We pulled on, and Birdie fell into the broad tide crack. 
I got across safely with the ice-axe and so to the hut. 

I noticed the fine door-knobs, and the wooden number 
)_ | on our front door. The kitchen looked O.K. with 

] bright tins and acetylene lighting, and all else was 
much about the same. 


Postscript (that evening). 


“Here am I in the hut, using my fountain-pen again 
after twelve weeks without refilling—only it’s made a blob! 
P 


210 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


It is midnight and I lie in my bunk. ‘ Marie’ Nelson is 
taking meteorological readings, and remarks that the Skua 
Gull (z.e. G.T.) has resumed his predatory habits. The others 
are sleeping except Ponting, from whom I got my candle. 
But everything feels too warm and clean for sleep! Clocks 
are ticking everywhere !”’ 


Moe eee | yam en 
iv) ; Ad t io  
We ~G, Wy lg he i 


ra 


ee sail pe, N 
vid G Meinl iN ) ' _> SS 


XY ms 


= wy 


Jhe wind-ridge on Inaccessible Isle , 
with racks 21-86-41 


sun shadows on Mount Lister, the first time for four months ! 
But we did not see the sun’s disc at all. 

The sun was due on August 22, so it was natural that 
a blizzard should spoil all chances of seeing him! We took 
him on trust to the extent of champagne at lunch, when Scott 
toasted Lieutenant Campbell’s birthday also. 

“‘ A snorting blizzard:; never saw such thick drift. It wet 
one, so that one’s hands froze in no time. None went out- 
side the hut.” 

The table resembled a grocer’s shop from now on, for 
Birdie started bagging provisions for the sledge journeys. 
Pemmican was taken out of the tins, broken up, and bagged 
first, and then cocoa, butter, sugar, in fact everything but 
biscuit, which was left in the 40-lb. tins as sent to us. 

“2.30 a.m. on the 24th.—It is now my night-watch, and 


IN WINTER QUARTERS WITH CAPTAIN SCOTT 295 


I have finished making the slides for my next lecture ; I have 
read M. Beaucaire, had two slices of toast, gone on the roof 
and cleaned out the blizzometer tubes, and washed my feet. 
The sooner 3.30 arrives (and Nelson with it) the better ! 

“Tn two months we shall be away on the veldt again. I 
have lots of prints to make, and must continue my German 
and physiography ; but I have done about as much as I 
intended, and found the winter a very pleasant and busy 
time. It is wonderful how exhilarating a fine day is, though 
the last few days have been the limit.” 

Next day it was still blizzing, with the temperature up to 
+11°! The drift was lower, and Nelson managed to get out 
to his igloo on the sea ice. 

Captain Scott asked Debenham and myself to map Cape 
Evans in considerable detail ; while Lieutenant Evans carried 
out the coast survey and Wright obtained heights and ice- 
cliff data. As a result Debenham and I were out with our 
plane tables fairly continuously in the next few weeks and got 
to know almost every rock upon our little promontory. 

Wright and I climbed the Ramp in our anxiety to see if 
the sun was still alive! but without avail. The clouds on 
Erebus were worthy of note. During the day huge billows 
collected to the south below the summit, and at 7 p.m. these 
disappeared, and the steam cloud (which had hardly showed 
before) shot up several thousand feet and then spread out as a 
banner to the zorth. This latter direction was unusual, as the 
upper air currents usually went due south. 

On our return we found that Simpson had seen the rim 
of the sun about 3 p.m. from Wind Vane Hill (at noon it 
was hidden by the Barne Glacier), so that the meteorologist was 
the first to welcome His Majesty’s return. 

On the 24th I gave a lantern lecture on Polar and Tem- 
perate Glaciation. As usual Ponting kindly made most of the 
lantern slides and operated the lantern. Afterwards he showed 
us some of his magnificent Swiss slides. 

On the 26th I managed to improvise a satisfactory plane 
table from a telescope tripod and my drawing board. We had 
a spare sight-ruler, and with this primitive instrument I 
successfully mapped my section of Cape Evans. 

We could always orient on far distant peaks, such as the 
Matterhorn, fifty miles north-west ; or Castle Rock, twelve 


296 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


miles south ; and this saved a lot of trouble with the usual 
“three-point resection” method. I climbed up the Ramp 
and read “ Bertram.” I could see the sun shining on Inacces- 
sible Isle, and even on Hut Point far to the south, but it 
would need to get considerably higher before it illumined the 
Ramp. Lieut. Evans was setting up signal flags on the 
prominent debris-cones, and we returned together vid 
the “ Slippery Slopes,” Evans justifying the name ! 

“ Just before I reached the Hut I felt exactly like Peter Pan, 
and saw that I had regained my shadow! I walked up to 
Wind Vane Hill, and there was the old sun showing half his 
disc over Cape Barne Glacier! About 2 p.m. I went out with 
the ‘ mousetrap’ camera, and took some photos to celebrate 
the event. I gave four seconds (with F. 45) on snow banks, 
etc., lit by the low-lying sun. This was too much, I believe, 
but the photos were fairly satisfactory and worth the trouble 
considering when they were taken.” 

Wilson reported some queer alge deposits above Gully 
Bay, so we went off to investigate them. There were two 
layers (about fifty feet above the glacieret) in the soft kenyte 
gravel. I had little doubt that they were lake alge which 
had grown when the water was held in by a larger ancestor of 
the present glacieret. Just to the west were beautiful ex- 
amples of these ice-dammed lakelets, with “ Glenroy terraces ”’ 
marking various contours on their shores, just as in the 
historic Glenroy region in Scotland. Only in these Antarctic 
specimens the ice dams are still evident, whereas their absence 
in Scotland made the origin of the Scotch terraces a puzzle for 
many years. 

I have made frequent mention of the debris-cones on the 
Ramp. Their origin was often discussed by Scott, Wilson, 
Debenham, Wright, and myself. Scott and Wilson believed 
they were dumped over at re-entrant angles in a bygone ice- 
barrier wall. Debenham compared them to the cones and 
hollows we had seen over in the western moraines and thought 
they were due to the melting of submarine ice. Wright 
and I believed them to be due to the weathering of huge 
erratics. 

On the 27th Gran and I made the rather obvious test of 
cutting one open. It was six feet high and lay just on the 
edge of the steep slope of the Ramp, whence all debris would 


“Jsam oy 0} sivadde dot-vas ay Ul Sieg foUUNT, aYJ, “3s9M pu ysva Ayaryo uns vary ayXuary Jo sdosoyno paSSni ayy, “purljoog ‘soovsia yp, Aoruapy jo 
Wonvutioy ay urefdxa surep aor asayy, (‘ya1ou ay} 0} uMOlq shee ore syyTIp oy.) *sAarpns [[eus ssosoe Surtu10y Mous pailip JO sjartaioer[s 0} ang 


"1161 “6z “1aag “SNVAA AdVO JO SLATANVI 


IN WINTER QUARTERS WITH CAPTAIN SCOTT 297 


slip down the Ramp and save cartage. The upper face was a 
friable dry gravel. We heaved out two huge blocks the size 
of a man’s body and found them fitting into other blocks of 
the same rock. We cleared away the top portion of one half, 
and then came to a huge block evidently extending to the foot 
of the cone and right through it. All this was frozen stiff 
into the kenyte soil of the Ramp, and it was beyond our 
powers to shift it. However, we had definitely proved that 
this symmetrical cone was solid, and was piled around a core 
of kenyte blocks. 

<<] met the ‘Owner ’ after lunch and introduced him to the 
‘dissected cone.’ He seemed to think it a strong argument 


The Dissected Debris-Cone, 288-1 


in favour of our long-held theory. Wilson basely hit back at 
me for upsetting his argument with a caricature in the South 
Polar Times, which is here reproduced. 

‘The difficulty in disposing of all the instruments needed 
by a geological surveyor is also hinted at in the gear encrusting 
the queer object on the debris cone.” 

“August 30.—A cold day, —33° with wind. Natheless, 
Deb and I went outabout noon plane-tabling. I had finished 
my stations and carted the table about, filling in details. But 
it was mostly a ‘cabman’s war dance,’ jumping and flapping 
one’s arms to keep warm. I found that a great deal of the ice 
sheet to the north was only six inches thick over gravel, the 
latter appearing in the eddy gutters to the south of every big 
boulder. 

“It got too cold to work, but I swore I would stay out as 
long as Debenham, Finally, at 1.15, 1 could stand it no 
longer, and made a beeline for the Hut, finding he had 
returned a minute or two earlier!” 

The next few days were similarly occupied. I made a 
pantograph (to reduce or enlarge drawings), and so obtained a 


298 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


fairly accurate plot of all the sections of our map. The result 
is given herewith. 

One can readily see some method now in the queer 
physiographic features of Cape Evans. It can be subdivided 
into several zones, which may be tabulated as follows, pro- 
ceeding inland (east) towards Erebus :— 

1. Kenyte cliffs and ridges, of rock in situ (about fifty feet 
above sea-level and chiefly to the south and west of the Cape). 

2. Low-lying plains with lakes about twenty feet above sea- 


A Peculiar Animal seated on the Top of a Debris-Cone. 


level, due to erosion and deposition from 1 (chiefly in the 
north-east of the cape). 

3. Glacierets and ice-dams running north and south, and 
due chiefly to drifts distributed by the southern blizzards. 
On the low cape and on the Ramp also. 

4. The continuous “Ramp” ; a steep slope (30°) extend- 
ing from “Low Cliff” practically to Land’s End Cliff, ie. 
about two miles. It varies in height from 100 to 150 feet 
above sea-level. Partly composed of rock im situ and partly 
of moraine just uncovered by the retreating glacier of Erebus. 


Barne 
Glacier 
High Cuff Low Cliff 
SS 
a 
VY 
Sea tce = 


ees | 
Feel Q 


° (000 2000 


Cape Evans 


Physiographic features of Cape Evans, due largely to the retreat of the Erebus 
Glacier. 


300 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


5. The boulder-strewn plateau parallel to and east of the 
latter, and about 150 to 200 feet high. It is largely ground- 
moraine, but contains some ancient ice masses, and is affected 
by soil-creep or solifluxion. 

6. A zone of large blocks (with ice between) which occurs 
chiefly in the north-east, and merges into the Erebus Glacier. 
Both 5 and 6 contain numerous debris cones, which are 
especially large in the south-east over Land’s End cliffs. 

7. The continuous Erebus Glacier which extends un- 
interruptedly from Cape Barne to Turk’s Head, and walls in 
Cape Evans to the east. There is not much movement in it 
just behind the cape, for there is no ice “ wall” but a gradual 
merging of rock and ice. 

My diary proceeds as follows :— 

“* September 1.—I fear I must give this a miss. Titus 
Oates says, ‘You were probably caulking and coughing, or 
blatting. But if the latter you’d remember!’ (These rude 
words refer to a slight cough that worried me at this time. 
‘Caulking’ is sleeping, and ‘blatting’ is arguing.) The 
Conservatives were evidently waking up, for I note one of 
Atkinson’s remarks. Colonials go to London and murmur 
ceaselessly, ‘Change and decay, in all around I see, Except 
in me, O Lord, except in me!’ This misquotation afforded 
the ‘ True-Blues’ (Cherry, Birdie, Titus, and Atch) great joy 
about twenty times a day. We Liberals scorned to use such 
feeble wit in upholding our principles.” 

The next lecture was one delivered by Birdie Bowers on 
the Evolution of Polar Clothing. I took fairly full notes of 
this lecture, which represented much reading on Birdie’s part 
in our extensive library of Polar journals. 


LECTURE ON “EVOLUTION OF POLAR CLOTHING” 
By Bowers. 
September 1, 1911. 


There are many fabrics which can be used, for instance, cotton is 
very satisfactory for some purposes, as we see in our windproof overalls. 
Fur was naturally first used, and Ross, on his magnetic pole expe- 
dition, was the first to employ fur sleeping-bags. Weddell found boots a 
great difficulty, and had to cut upall his gear to make new ones, Some 
Arctic explorers used blanket squares (sixteen inches across) instead of 


IN WINTER QUARTERS WITH CAPTAIN SCOTT 301 


socks. One must be careful not to have boot-soles too rigid, for this 
induces frostbite. It is curious that the Eskimo garments leave the 
skin completely bare at back and knee. , 

Bird-skin clothes are very warm and very light. In one expe- 
dition devices were painted on the backs of the white jackets to give the 


SSS 
fi 2 


SS 


TS 


TS 
eS 
(es 


E.P.froma sketch by G.T. 1913. 


A book-plate illustrating Polar clothing. 


men behind something dark to look at, and so minimize snow- 
blindness. 

With regard to mits, thumbless gloves are best for very cold 
weather. Greely had gloves with two thumbs, so that they could be 
used on either hand, 

It is foolish to rub frostbites with snow, for the skin is chafed ; 
flannel or a bare warm hand, etc., is better. Wool absorbs perspiration 
the best of all textures. White cotton does so to only half the amount. 
So the latter evaporates quicker, and soon feels chilly. Nansen says 


302 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


goat-hair socks attract the moisture. “Oh! as you were!” No, I 
don’t mean that! (G. T.—I find I’ve omitted the correction, how- 
ever!) Personally, I think that an old sock makes an excellent 
nose-nip ! 

Sverdrup used to use a double tent for warmth with good results. 
I think we might modify the tent opening, and make the tent floor- 
cloth wider. If the sleeping-bags were provided with a separate hood, 
they would not get so wet. On our midwinter trip we found that 
eiderdown inner bags were no use after fourteen days. It was best to 
change sides with the fur bags and scrape them. ‘The hair inside was 
warmer, but held the perspiration more. 

The wind helmet should certainly be made fast to the blouse ; and 
I think lanyards fasten the bag-flaps much better than toggles. These 
are the only improvements I can suggest in our clothing. 


The seamen played six-handed euchre most evenings, 
while the two Russians looked at illustrated papers and turned 
in somewhat early. The mess-deck used to read the books 
in the library, and especially Debenham’s paper-backs. When 
l ran short I raided their small private stock. I was assured 
by Taff Evans that one by Hichens “is no good, for no one 
in the mess-deck can read it!” Needless to say I did not 
always agree with this stalwart board of navy critics. 

On the 8th of September the second volume of S. P. T. 
appeared. Cherry wrote the Editorial in the best style of 
the Times. Some eighteen pages were devoted to a skit on 
life in the Hut, called the “Bipes.” Its redeeming feature is 
a series of coloured illustrations by Uncle Bill. In it I gave 
a somewhat garbled but recognizable view of various person- 
alities at headquarters. The tenants of the Diarist’s Den (i.e. 
our cubicle) as well as the Conservative party (the “ Bunder- 
lohg ’’) came in for their share of attention on the part of the 
inquisitive rabbit ; who is here supposed to observe the habits 
and customs of the so-called Bipes. 

Simpson contributed a gruesome account of the decline 
and fall of the human race in the last days of the earth’s 
habitation. The only panacea seemed to be certain elixirs 
to be obtained near Mount Erebus. There was a beautifully 
illustrated rhyme dealing with the midwinter party at Cape 
Crozier. I could never discover who was the writer unless 
it was the Owner himself. Simpson’s career was described in 
a semi-serious article, “Celebrities in Glass Houses.” There 
were two poems called into being by the return of the sun, 


IN WINTER QUARTERS WITH CAPTAIN SCOTT 303 


both due to Australians. Some one, I suspect Nelson, wove 
Uncle Bill and myself into a “nightmare interview.” There 
were some beautiful photo plates by Ponting and three of 
Wilson’s inimitable Egyptian tablets ; besides various cartoons 
and silhouettes by Wilson and Lillie. 

Guessing at the authors furnished considerable amuse- 
ment. Even the astute Nelson fell in! On p. 1g there is 
a plan of the hut showing inter a/ia the engine in one corner. 
Nelson made the rash statement that Uncle Bill had drawn 
it the wrong way round. I immediately bet him that Bill 
hadn’t. Nelson went over to the engine and came back ready 
to stake his life on it! Then I told him that I had drawn 
the plan; so that Bill couldn’t have made a mistake! He 
proceeded to say that he would have put me down as the 
author of the “ Bipes,” only I was so unmercifully described 
therein ; while Simpson amused me by assuring me that 
Scott wrote the poem, “The Errant Sun.” I gave the palm 
to Nelson’s poem on “ Uncle Bill,” “ You are old, Uncle 
William.” 

Captain Scott was now preparing for a fortnight’s sledge- 
trip over to the west. He proposed to Simpson that he 
should take this chance of some sledging, and so the meteor- 
ology was left in my hands. Simpson kindly coached me in the 
special minutiz, and I started the records on the 11th (before 
he left), so as to get into swing. 

Nelson gave us a particularly well-illustrated lecture on 
the 11th on Invertebrates generally. 

He told us of the pleasant habit of the Zydra which turns 
itself inside out, and converts its skin into a stomach lining, 
and vice versa! He discussed the huge arthropod, remarkably 
like a flea (but eight inches long), which Meares declared was 
found in a bunk in the hut, though Ponting said he obtained 
it on the beach. 

We envied the Pycnogonids (sea-spiders), which grow 
an extra pair of legs in Antarctica, though they have only 
eight in less strenuous latitudes. Two more limbs would 
help us so greatly in sledging! He called on me to lecture 
on the corals, and I gave a brief account of the biology 
of the forerunners of this family (the Archeocyathine), 
which occur fossil on the Beardmore Glacier. I discussed 
Darwin’s and Murray’s theories with special reference to my 


304 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


observations on the coral reefs of the Great Barrier. Debenham 
instanced Funafuti—that coral islet bored by Professor David 
to show the depth of a reef formation. Birdie wanted to 
know why a sea anemone wasn’t a plant? And some one 
thereupon asked Nelson if he could explain why a Birdie 
wasn’t a cabbage? But this problem proved too difficult for 
the lecturer. 

Wilson with his usual kindness was now copying some 
of my western sketches and turning them into splendid pen- 
and-ink drawings. He spent many hours coaching me in 
drawing, but indeed he would always help any one if it lay in 
his power. I think what touched some of us as much as 
anything was his willingness to take the last and longest hour 
of any one’s night-watch ! He used to say, “I don’t mind 
getting up at seven ; I’ll get on with my painting. Just put a 
kettle on to boil, and wake me, and then you can turn in!” 
I’m afraid I took advantage of this, when my watch lasted 
through to the morning, though usually I shared it with 
Nelson. 

About this time Scott and Bowers spent their leisure in 
photographic work. Ponting was untiring in coaching them, 
and the excellent results obtained by these absolute tyros on 
the southern journey speaks well for teacher and pupils. 
Bowers handed over the pony “‘ Chinaman” to Wright, who 
“sets run away with, with great regularity.” Cherry was 
typing out those sections from the “ Heart of the Antarctic” 
which would help Scott in his southern journey. 

On the 15th of September Captain Scott set out for a trip 
to the Ferrar Glacier and thereabouts. They carried about 
200 Ibs. of food for us to Butter Point, where we were to 
pick it up later. Nelson and I helped them along for three 
miles, though the party, consisting of Scott, Bowers, Simpson, 
and Taff Evans, needed us little. It was —4o° starting, but 
luckily there was no wind. A big shear-crack about two and 
a half miles out marked a permanent crack in the sea-ice 
extending between Inaccessible Isle and Cape Royds. It had 
developed into a fractured wall, as much as ten feet high in 
places, where the floes ground together, and gave us some 
trouble. However, Nelson and I were able to steady the 
sledge and guard the sledge meter, and so they soon nego- 
tiated it. 


IN WINTER QUARTERS WITH CAPTAIN SCOTT 305 


On the 17th of September we actually had a “fine bright 
sun, so that films of snow melt on the black rock.” This 
is an interesting date, for though the air temperature was 
only +7°—that is, twenty-five degrees below freezing !—yet 
the radiant heat from the black rock produced a little 
water. 

Let us accompany the meteorologist, and see how a first- 
class weather station is run at 774° S. lat. The weather man 
has to rise about an hour before the others. (It was pleasant 
to see Sunny Jim lying in his bunk till 8.30 on the 14th—as 
he pathetically put it—for the first time since he’d landed !) 
I find I am dressed five minutes too soon, so I hit Wright 
with a book to get him up in time to check the chronometers, 
which is his “ pigeon” ! 

1. When I hear the automatic signal I have to fly around 
and mark all the recording instruments to show exactly eight 
o'clock on their charts. 

2. I read the large standard barometer and its attached 
thermometer. 

3. Change the chronograph papers and put ink on the 
pens, for the blizzometer, thermograph, barograph, and wind 
velocity charts. (In all these chronograph drums the “clock”’ 
part (carrying the paper) revolves about the central axle— 
which is just the opposite of an ordinary clock ! 

4. Wind up the various chronograph clocks (once a week, 
on Monday). 

Then I muffle myself in wind-clothes and gloves, and 
collect the gear for the outdoor apparatus. 

A. A clock set to nearest half-minute. 

B. “ana paper for the record burnt by the glass 
all. 

C. Tablet and pencil. 

5. I stagger up to the top of Wind Vane Hill—a long 
operation and a cold one in September, for it is not far from 
August, the coldest and roughest month. At a definite 
minute I read the anemometer figures alongside the anemo- 
meter cups. 

6. Then I press four times on a button alongside, and this 
is electrically transmitted to the record in the hut, and so gives 
a datum each day on that record, 

7. | walk across to the screen and read the three 

Xx 


306 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


thermometers—present, maximum, and minimum. Then I 
readjust the two latter and read again. 

8. By this time three minutes have elapsed, and I return a 
few paces to the anemometer and read the latter figures again. 


; Push 


Maegan 
| RA 


Tae 


. 


ZA 
“Robinson cor 
Anememeter— 


(This gives the revolutions in three minutes, and therefore 
the velocity per hour at that time. This is another check on 
the automatic record.) 
g. Read the wind direction from the arrow on the hill, 
and note the steam-cloud direction on Erebus. 
10. Change the blue paper in the sunshine recorder and 
clean the glass sphere. 


¥, This is an awful job, 
fo for the frost crystals 
eee eee cling like glue to the 


five-inch glass __ ball, 
and have to be melted 
off by rubbing with 
the bare hands. A 
slow and painful job 
at —40°! 

11. Read the out- 

Sunshing Recovols 1, side thermometer at 

the south-east corner 
of the hut, just below the anemometer tubes. 

Each morning at 8.15 I used to predict the weather, as I 
went out to Wind Vane Hill. This was received with great 
joy by the mess deck. Crean was especially congratulatory. 
I have explained my method—z.e. “that after four days’ calm 


A FINE STEAM CLOUD BLOWING SOUTH FROM EREBUS, 
SEPT. 19, 1911: 


The illustration shows also the station on Wind Vane Hill. The thermometer 
screen on the left, the flagstaff and the wind instruments on the right. One 
anemometer is rotating ; the other is blocked (for the photo). 


5) 


A GLACIERET NEAR ISLAND LAKE (C. EVANS) DUE TO WIND- 
BLOWN SNOW, SEPT. 23, rg11. 


The blizzard builds and also prunes these small glaciers. In the distance are the 
debris cones on the ramp and the south-west slopes of Erebus. 


IN WINTER QUARTERS WITH CAPTAIN SCOTT 307 


’ 


it’s certain to blizz ;” and it worked as well as most weather 
rules. However, even when this standby failed, Crean was 
always consoling. At last the other seamen got nettled. 
“Go on, sir! he’s only kidding; he wants your long sea- 
boots when you return!” It was “cupboard love,” I 
fear ! , 

On Thursday (21st) I believe the wind was blowing seventy 
miles per hour when I reached the screen. The temperature 
was pretty high (— 7°), but a wind that nearly blew me away 
soon robbed one of one’s bodily heat. My fingers took about 
ten minutes to “come back,” and only by degrees lost their 
dead feeling, though they did not reach the dead-white colour 
of bad frostbites. 

The early morning sun was throwing fine earth shadows, 
which moved round quite rapidly. Thus on the 24th, at 
8 a.m., Erebus cast a shadow right over the western moun- 
tains, while at 9 a.m. the shadow could be seen to the south- 
west of Erebus itself. 

Debenham had been doing long-distance geology! He 
fixed up a telescope and trained it on the south slope of the 
crater of Erebus. He could see hundreds of snow structures 
on the side, each representing the vent of a “ fumarole” from 
which steam was issuing. This side of Erebus must resemble 
a gigantic pepper-box ! 

Inside the hut Day was doing some ingenious turning. 
His lathe was certainly unique! Many of the hardwood 
rollers for the motor sledges needed renewal. So he attached 
a block of hardwood to the flywheel shaft of the oil-engine, 
and he sat on the floor and, using a box as a tool-rest, he 
turned out rollers quite successfully, if not very rapidly. 

The morning of the 24th was quite clear, so 1 got my 
camera into working order, only to find the sky clouding over 
for a blizzard so soon as 1 ventured out, about noon. Ponting 
was lost for about two hours in the thick fog in the evening. 
We fired off guns, and it looked as if Atkinson’s mishap was 
to be repeated. However, luckily he had a compass, and so 
got back to the hut quite safely in the end. 

The weather was hopeless, and the coast survey party very 
sensibly returned to await better conditions. The following 
i eaae rhyme pinned to Gran’s diary affected them not a 
whit :— 


308 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


“Three bold explorers hied them forth 
For to explore the plain; 
Although so bold, 
They found it cold, 
So hied them home again !” 


Next day was again gloomy and cold. It took me ten 
minutes to rub the sunshine ball clean. The record for 
yesterday showed clearly the sudden cessation of sunshine 
about noon, just when I was ready to use my camera. 

Every one was now busy with sledging outfit. Bernard 


{by mnUeeyZ 


:) 


<i 


——— 
— 


Gu, = PA Y 
MUU, HM” png Uh G 
yy stil. 


My Contniliction, te teen Clothing f 


co — 


Tawloyy Patent Heel -iips 7 


Te ory 


Day and Cherry each gave me thin gloves for my forth- 
coming theodolite work ; Hooper washed some of my clothes, 
and kindly sewed a huge pocket on the jersey. One great 
improvement was to my socks. I sewed canvas heel-tips to 
most of them, cut out of my specimen bags, of which I had 
more than I required. 

Clissold had boiled Oates’ famous home-made canvas 
breeches, and scrubbed blubber out of them for an hour. 


IN WINTER QUARTERS WITH CAPTAIN SCOTT 309 


He donned them with joy, and they now hung in graceful 
folds in place of being as stiff as stove-piping. Every one 
laughed when he was caught solemnly dancing to the pianola 
in them ! 

The one great lack on our previous journey had been 
strong soles to our boots, ‘“ Titus electrified us by saying 
that he had a stock of hobnails. I offered him five pairs of 
socks for them, or anything he liked. He enjoyed this 
hugely, and finally said, ‘ Well, I’m interested in a military 
magazine. If you'll write a five-page article on “Physiography 
for Soldiers,” you can have them!’ I agreed willingly ; but 
my visions of a boxful were unfulfilled. There were barely 
enough for two soles. 

‘The western trippers returned early on the 29th. They 
had finished up with a stiff day, doing twenty miles in very 
bad weather. They had got across in two days and four 
hours. The depét on Butter Point was invisible, bar one 
tin! No staff or flag. They dumped our two cases on top. 
(Birdie counsels taking an extra tank for biscuits.) The 
Owner thinks the south tongue of the Ferrar is due to a 
tributary glacier, but they didn’t go near it. Then up to the 
Cathedral Rocks. Here they found an apparent movement 
of a foot in C. S. W.’s stakes. Of course the glacier must 
move to keep the end of the tongue stationary (7.2. ablation 
replaced), but this is an important amount of corroboration. 
Then they returned and coasted round to Dry Valley. There 
is a huge icefoot here, probably preserved by the sheltered 
position of these cliffs. They climbed up the Kukri Hills 
near where Evans and I put Station I., and saw the Taylor 
Glacier, etc., quite well. Then across to Cape Bernacchi. 
Here they got some kenyte and were much bucked, but we 
also got much of it further west in Dry Valley. They marched 
about twenty miles north and saw a huge berg. This had a 
stake on it, and ‘B. A. E. Expedition’ on a board. They 
found it was our glacier tongue, which had drifted across to 
this position, about seventy miles to the north-west! Beyond 
was Dunlop Island, sixty feet high and half a mile long. Many 
rolled pebbles on it and raised beaches. The Owner got a 
good specimen of granite, showing rounded erosion above 
and angular below, where it was bedded in the beach. 

“ Near here there was a cliff of schist-limestone with quartz 


310 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


veins, and here the Owner got a strong vein of copper pyrites. 
The adjacent limestone (or marble) they thought was quartz. 
This has a blackish mineral in it, perhaps copper glance. 
Then they returned to Marble Point and then in a beeline 
to the Hut. They were caught two days in a blizzard and 
had an awful time getting up the tent. Sunny Jim was 
nearly frostbitten holding up the poles. 

“The Owner didn’t think we could retreat over the shore, 
for it consisted of ice slopes with crevasses. But there are 
so many bergs there that he was sure that an ice margin would 
form there quickly; and he thought we could count on 
reaching Hut Point by April 1 .. .” (As will be seen later, 
the sea-ice broke up quite abnormally ; and we should not 
have got round till next spring if we had not retreated in 
February over the ice slopes. Atkinson tried this journey in 
April, just as Scott suggested, and found it impossible ! 
which is but one more illustration of the irrationality of 
Antarctic conditions.) 

Now that the sun was back again, it was very enjoyable to 
tramp round our headquarters and “ snap” pictures with the 
camera. I realized more than ever that a geologist is always 
in a position to enjoy nature. In civilized regions a botanist 
may run him close, but down south the former would have 
a poor time, whereas there are always rocks or ice, even in 
Antarctica. The snow ridges were most beautiful objects, 
all lying on the northern (lee) side of various projections. 
For instance, a great promontory of snow jutted out over the 
sea-ice from the Northern Glacieret, and clearly marked the 
origin of the latter, as consolidated snowdrift. A little further 
the sea-ice at low tide, evidently bumped on to a great 
boulder, and the ice was cracked and bent into a low dome, 
exactly as a granite boss is supposed by geologists to crack 
the earth’s crust. Beyond this the snow cornice due to 
blizzard drift was busy bridging the tide-crack, and this 
accretion from one side, gradually extending to the other, 
led to a theory of crevasse-bridges, which explains the greater 
thickness in the centre of such bridges. 

The sculpturing of the kenyte boulders was most re- 
markable. Just behind the hut was a quaint boulder, carved 
by wind and frost into something resembling a Galapagos 
turtle! This we called the Antarcticosaurus. On the Ramp 


ICE-QUAKES IN THE SEA-ICE, Serr. 23, 1911. 


The ice has settled down with the tide on a huge boulder and so formed radiating 


cracks, just as has happened in the earth’s crust. The ice is six feet thick. In 
the distance is the fallen “ Arch Berg” just west of Cape Evans. 


THE TIDE-CRACK AT THE NORTH-WEST CORNER OF CAPE 
EVANS, SEPT. 23, 1911. 


On the right is the moving sea-ice, on the left the fixed ice-foot, 
‘“bridges” the crack by cornices built from the south, 


fills crevasses similarly, and thus arises the wedge shape of the bridges—for 


The blizzard 
The overhanging snow 


these cornices are thickest in the middle, 


Behind is Inaccessible Island with its 
wind-blown sand ridges on the right. 


72 «@ 


IN WINTER QUARTERS WITH CAPTAIN SCOTT 311 


to the east of this was another block shaped like the power- 
shears used in machine shops for cutting iron plate. In the 
same region were great blocks several feet across split clean in 
half by the action of the frost. 

Small lakes, debris cones in all stages, solifluction furrows, 
ice dams, kenyte columns, wind-ridges, etc., etc., there was 
no end to the intesting photos one could obtain now the sun 
was with us again. Still it took a long time for him to 
illuminate the southern cliffs of the Cape, for he would dip 
behind the mountains to the west for several weeks to come, 
quite early in the afternoon. 

On the 29th of September I tramped across to Tent 
Island, which lay four miles south of Cape Evans. The 
island was approximately square and about 800 yards along 
each side. The west side was fairly steep and the island 
sloped gradually thence to the east. At the south was a well- 
marked ice-foot, just like the one on which we camped in the 
blizzard on Little Razorback. It is probably due to spray 
and snow blown on to the windward face by the southern 
blizzards. 

There were a number of small water-cut gullies furrowing 
the slopes. The surface was quite peculiar. The kenyte 
gravel was so small and uniform that it looked like a well- 
raked garden, and was like velvet to walk on! I found a 
few small granite erratics, just as Oates had prophesied. The 
latter had visited the isle a few days earlier, and was delighted 
to hear that Debenham had missed the granite boulders which 
Titus had seen! The geologist had been handicapped by 
a bad light and some snowfall ; but it may readily be imagined 
how little that affected the cavalryman’s pride in his dis- 
covery ! 

The evidence of water erosion in the Antarctic was im- 
portant. One gully was quite 25 feet deep with a steep 
grade and was about 30 yards wide. It ended in a fan 
which spread out over the ice-foot. I could not climb down 
the latter, and so reached the sea-ice where I had climbed up, 
further to the north. 

I had a long talk with the Owner about my plans for the 
forthcoming summer. He was much averse to our trying to re- 
turn by the Piedmont Glacier, probably because of the greatly 
increased risk of falling into crevasses if your path lies a/ong 


312 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


their length (instead of across them, as in traversing ordinary 
outlet glaciers). 1 think our party were the first to do any 
considerable distance over such a glacier, and I must confess 
that I would infinitely prefer to ascend a normal glacier for 
twice the distance. 

In one important respect the environment of our hut was 
scientifically more interesting than that of 1902 or 1907. 
We were only a few minutes’ walk from the huge face of 
an important glacier. This meant that many hours could be 
spent studying ice conditions, without being at a dangerous 
distance from safety if a blizzard suddenly sprang up. Al- 
most every day Wright and myself prowled around High 
Cliff and the vertical 150-foot face of the Barne Glacier. 

As one walked north from the cape on to the sea-ice, 
the ice-covered slopes of the Ramp (which we called Slippery 
Slopes) merged into the ice of the Barne glacier. Just at the 
northern “root” of Cape Evans was Low Cliff, a mass of 
kenyte iz situ. Further north every few hundred yards was 
a permanent snow ramp leading up to the glacier surface 
100 feet above. At High Cliff an outcrop of kenyte was 
exposed below the ice mass, and a little further north was 
another lower outcrop at sea-level. Between these two—and 
about a mile from the hut—Gran worked hard to convert 
a snow slope into a suitable ski-run. It looked a ferocious 
jump to the tyro, and ended in a jumble of sea-ice blocks 
which usually upset even our champion ski-er! (J did not 
tackle this particular spot, having a desire to keep sound 
limbs for the ensuing summer, but nothing ever harmed 
Gran, as far as we could see !) 

A stiff pull up the ski-slope brought one to the top of the 
glacier. Here the edge of the latter was closely corrugated 
by small thaw streams, while the sun had etched out the face 
of the ice and left great blocks of englacial kenyte projecting 
like the gargoyles of Notre Dame. The silt bands and 
texture of the glacier hereabouts, which was unusually rich 
in included debris, are well shown in the accompanying photo- 
graphs. 

The last volume of S.P.T. for 1911 was now in prepara- 
tion. The editor honoured me with an order for another skit 
on the lines of the Bipe research. So I wrote a second 
dealing with sledging trials, purporting to be love-letters 


“YO SoIW TI SI sNgaiq “Ys Jaaf OTI ynoqe a19y adv IO pur ARIS oT, “PIO Ys jo isi oy 
0} Ajavafo sMoYs ddI Aa1Ne[S ay} JO amNzLU papueq a4], “IYSI ayy uo [Jam dn Moys sauod sliqap ay J, “34a, Ay UO AaTOeLS ay 01 dn spray adojg 145 


1161 “1% “L090 ‘YAIOVIO ANUVA AHL JO GNA HLAOS AHL ANV ddITO HOIH 


*sngqaigq *sauoo ‘ado[s 
siaqeq v4 sits) 


et 


i oitenaiienmeiammnmeameell 


stseenue ay rncaomasnctir sation 


“THE BARRIER stun: 


ee nt ror ese 


wa enn eae 
# i =) 
a 


tut the fate-full- fell of cur fur-elad feet, =e 
virues mute like a ottent ams blow ; 


2 gaet 


And the glare from the ren 
Ae it scorched snd froze us tarough « 


Crh Me renaind: 
“With the drift ee it drifted 


iS Tha ovid n'y 


‘QTE .° i? your artést. cionld rise a 
ting the pucu (siec.)}, sith @ Bicdge 
of Barrier - picése get him ic Guesc. 


io "oi 


a ee ss 


This is an original copy (reduced) of Bill's poem showing the footnote he added 
(in imitation of my earlier directions), Also showing his corrections after 
Cherry’s criticism, thus giving the poem in its first and also its final form. 


IN WINTER QUARTERS WITH CAPTAIN SCOTT 313 


between a McCormick Skua and a Weddell Seal. This was 
illustrated in similar style by Uncle Bill. 

One day when I was typing this copy on Cherry’s type- 
writer, Bill came to me with a poem he had written. He 
asked me to type it so that Cherry should not recognize his 
writing. He wanted it to be perfectly anonymous, for he 
knew anything of Bill’s would go in from our admiration of 
the writer! I saw that he had copied my footnote (so as 
to puzzle Cherry further) asking that an illustration be ap- 
pended by the artist on the staff ! 

(This poem is that forming the introduction to the second 
volume of Scott’s Last Expedition.) A few days later Cherry 
brought me all the MS. and was graciously pleased to com- 
pliment me on the lot—especially the poem “ Barrier Silence” ! 
So I had to disclaim authorship—in spite of the footnote. 
After some time I think he believed me, but he wanted two 
lines cleared up a little and asked me to do it. I declined 
to alter it, but said that evidently the author expected Bill 
(as artist) to see the poem, and that I was sure that whatever 
he and Bill agreed to would satisfy the author! Whereat I 
heard Bill chuckle, and later it was returned to me emended as 
shown in the annexed facsimile. 

Two explanations are perhaps helpful. The surface of 
the Barrier over large areas often sinks suddenly to a slight 
degree when it is disturbed by a sledge party, and this 
“‘shudder”’ has a very eerie sound. The glare from the 
blinding surface affects the eyes much as does a hot substance, 
and this is independent of the temperature. Hence the 
remark, “Scorched and froze us through and through.” 

Evans, Gran, and Forde had done a rapid and useful 
dash south to see if the first depdts were in good order. 
They experienced awfully low temperatures (below —70° !), 
but managed to dig out the cases at the depét, and restore 
them to a more noticeable position. It must have been an 
awful job, and there was evidence of this after their return. 
Forde awoke next morning to find three of his fingers black, 
and one was soon attacked with gangrene! For months his 
right hand was bound up, and he was unable to use it fully 
right through our western journey next summer. 

The geologists had to be very active, and make the most 
of the next week or two to study the numerous problems 


314 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


confronting us in the vicinity of Cape Evans. The sun- 
light made it possible to go longer distances, and I examined 
Inaccessible Island, Turk’s Head, Tent Island, Glacier Tongue, 
and Cape Royds in greater detail than I had been able to do 
before. Thus on the 4th October I tramped six miles south 
to join the survey party at Turk’s Head. 

Captain Scott had brought down a bicycle—given by a 
New Zealand firm—on representations from Day and myself. 
I had ridden many miles over snow in France, and thought it 
would be useful for short trips round headquarters on the sea 
ice. I got it out this day, but could not find the pump, and 
so did not use the bicycle. 

I reached Turk’s Head about noon, and found the survey 
tent; but the party were four hundred feet up on top of 
Turk’s Head. I could just see Debenham on the summit, 
and got a photograph with his figure on the sky-line. 

It was tolerably easy to climb up the north-east gully, and 
so attain the cup-shaped hollow on the summit, which enclosed 
a small frozen tarn. Wonderful crags bounded the Bluff to 
the south. Great pinnacles and couloirs etched out of the 
basic lava cliffs, due to the biting breath of the southern 
blizzard. At the head of the bay, to the north, were steep 
ice-falls. These moulded themselves round slender jagged 
pinnacles of rock, which one would expect to have been eroded 
with great ease by almost any type of glacier. 

We marched back to the survey tent in a cove two miles 
north, and ate the currant cake which I had provided for lunch. 
Great ice-falls came into the cove, and a huge cave was formed 
where they shot over the cliff. It was thirty feet high, and 
went a long way into the glacier. The sea-ice near the tent 
was ridged into pressure waves eight feet high by the thrust 
of this glacier. I heard that they had altered in shape while 
the party had been there. It was amazing to me to find so 
little trace of polishing or planation under this huge glacier. 
We returned close to another low outcrop called the “ Slipper,” 
and closely examined it. There was practically no sign of 
glacial action on the rock surface just below the ice. Of 
course kenyte is somewhat friable, and we occasionally found 
coarse bruised grooves marked on the side of a boulder, but 
never any definite striz or polishing. 

Perhaps the most interesting event of the day was that we 


IN WINTER QUARTERS WITH CAPTAIN SCOTT 315 


heard a mysterious tinkle in the corner of the hut. This 
was Meares ringing up headquarters from the Old Discovery 
Hut some fifteen miles south! He took a roll of bare 
aluminum wire on the dog sledge, and just unrolled it as he 
sped off to Hut Point—surely the most primitive and simplest 
method of telephone-laying extant! I rang him up and asked 
him to keep a look-out for my geological hammer, and then 
proceeded to beat Wright at chess. 

On the 8th I had a very unpleasant experience, largely 
owing to my own foolhardiness. I obtained permission from 
Captain Scott to go off to Turk’s Head, and said I hoped to 
be back by 4 p.m. He said, “ Well, you must return by 
dinner-time.” It was a fine, clear day; I had found the 
bicycle pump, and was keen to make some use of the bicycle. 
I set off boldly “to the admiration of those engaged in 
mending the tide gauge. But it went stiffly, even through 
fairly hard snow, and I realised it was not going to be much 
of a help. I had to walk half of the first two miles, and 
seriously thought of leaving the bicycle at east base, but 
hoped that the surface would improve. It was so hard that 
my boots hardly sank in the snow, but the wheels cut a two- 
inch rut, while the freewheel was of the roller type, and 
slipped when 1 put on extra pressure. I pushed on to 
Glacier Tongue and had to walk half the eight miles, and 
found it very tiring.” 

The tongue was most interesting. In outline it some- 
what resembled an Aztec sword, where jagged bits of obsidian 
are inserted fairly close together along the edge. Here the 
ice edge consisted of alternate promontories and bays—owing 
to the sea-water occupying the troughs of the undulating 
glacier. I thankfully left the bicycle here, and climbed into 
the tongue. I was very stiff, and had apparently strained 
my leg with unwonted exercise. 

There seemed to be a very interesting cliff outcrop at the 
northern root of the tongue, and I decided to visit it. It 
looked about half a mile off, but the deceptive distances 
proved my undoing. After a rapid walk of half an hour I 
only arrived at the outer zone of pressure ice at the head of 
the bay. I could see that it was an interesting spot—where 
the glacier capped a rock outcrop—but I dared not go further. 
So I turned back, and was pretty done up when I reached the 


316 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


bicycle again. It was now 3.30, and I had had nothing to eat 
since 8.30, and had still seven miles to do. I rested for a few 
minutes and then began to feel anxious, for I got very cold. 
So I plugged on a mile or so till I couldn’t walk any further, 
and had to rest again. This time I felt myself chilling rapidly, 
and was ina quandary. I was too knocked up to walk, and 
it was too cold for me to stop. ‘‘ Then I saw some one trying 
to climb up Turk’s Head about two miles away. I couldn’t 
make him hear, and pushed on to try and intercept his return. 
I didn’t get a return signal for an awful time, till he was just 
passing me. It was Wright, without his glasses. He hadn’t 
heard me at first, but was finally attracted by the motions of 


The waved edge of Gla cer “Ton que 


S8-to-15 


an apparently crazy seal!’’ We plodded on slowly and got 
within a mile of the hut when | knocked out completely. 
He pushed on to bring out a sledge, and found the hut in a 
state of excitement; for Clissold had been brought in 
nearly unconscious only a short time before. 

After a short rest I managed to reach the hut unassisted, 
and food and sleep made me practically all right. Poor 
Clissold had fallen thirty feet off an iceberg, and was confined 
to his bunk for several weeks in consequence. 

I made a vow that the first bicycle ride in the Antarctic 
should be my last, and have every intention of keeping that 
vow 


On the 11th Debenham and I explored Tent Island again. 


IN WINTER QUARTERS WITH CAPTAIN SCOTT 317 


As I was taking a photograph at the south-east corner, I heard 
a queer noise which I traced to a seal hole about a yard long. 
Inside this was a big seal trying to get out, but with little 
success. I thought at first he was trying to rub away the ice 
with his snout bristles, but he was really rasping right and 
left with his upper teeth—making horizontal grooves in the 
ice, and gradually wearing it away. We watched him for a 
long time from a few feet distance, which did not seem to 


Dhe Sealis method. = iid oo saa See 


([-—10O-1[ 


worry him at all. It made my teeth ache to see the energetic 
way he dug into the ice; but after trying unsuccessfully to 
photo him I left without seeing that he had made much 
progress. These seals were now appearing in some numbers. 
We counted fourteen near Tent Island, and eight just north 
of Inaccessible Island, as we returned to the hut. 

On Sunday, 15th September, the third volume of S.P.T. 
was published. It was in the same style as the preceding 
copies. There was a dramatic account in blank verse of the 
Terra Nova’s visit to South Trinidad, which I attributed to 
Nelson (but was really by Mather). Meares wrote an ode 
to Ponting in which my new word “to pont” (i.e. to spend 
a deuce of a time posing in an uncomfortable position for a 
photograph) was freely used. The Eastern Party was 
enshrined in a “‘ Glass House” this time, while Bill recorded 
on his Egyptian tablets the wanderings of the Western trippers 
during September. 

Bill’s illustrations to ‘“ The Ladies’ Page,” a record of 
Antarctic fashions, were some of the best he had done; 
especially Madame Bowers and Miss Jessie Debenham, coyly 
proposing to Titus Oates ! 


318 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


I have given the history of Wilson’s pathetic poem 
previously. We used to talk a good deal about the advan- 
tages of “ wireless,” and I tried to embody the idea in a poem 
of sorts, which here follows, in which are mentioned scenes 
familiar to various members, such as Oxford (Cherry) ; 
Cambridge (Wilson, Wright, Nelson, Taylor); Ski-ing in 
Norway (Gran); the Canadian muskeg (Wright); Austra- 
lian Alps (Debenham, Taylor); Japan (Ponting, Meares) ; 
India (Simpson, Oates, Bowers). 


Wireless”™ 


I. 
When the southern blizzard surges from the white plains of the 
Barrier, 
Covering all with deadly snow-wreaths, blotting out both land 
and sea : 


Can it break the magic cables linking us to every region 
Where we spent our days of study, days of youth and revelry ? 
Half the world is our possession, nought can curb imagination, 
Though we’re wrapped in folds of deerskin, camped amid a field 
of ice 
By the blessed help of fancy, still we’re free to wander gaily 
Through the wooded lanes of England—true explorer’s paradise. 


IN WINTER QUARTERS WITH CAPTAIN SCOTT 319 


II, 


By the happy help of fancy we can leave the land of glaciers, 
Hear the tolling from Tom Tower, or the chimes from Cambridge 
arches, 
Sense the thrill of ski-ers’ prowess on the slopes of Holmens Kol ; 
Once again can feel the tump-line as we cross the Muskeg Marshes ; 
We can change the Slopes of Terror to the sward of Kosciusko, 
Where a thousand steers are grazing ’mid the tarns and green 
moraines ; 
See the land of Cherry Blossom and the maidens of Japan, 
Or the peaks of Himalaya hung above the Indian plains, 


iit 


Lightly fades the lonely igloo; merges in the college gray . . . 
In the firesides of Old England, thirteen thousand miles away. 
Thus from Lonelands to the Homelands all our thoughts are speeding 
forth, 
Faster far than wire or wireless—on “stretched wings towards the 
north,” * 
Cape Evans, 27.10.11. 


I had an interesting midnight walk early on the 15th 
October. “I had no gloves on, and it was light enough to 
photograph. There was a beautiful red sunset due south. 
To the north the bay ice was pea-green, while Erebus shone 
out with purple shadows. I laid boundary stones at the ice 
margins of both Skua and Island lakes, to determine how 
quickly the ice ablated in the spring. That evening I caused 
a sensation by having a shave, the first since leaving New 
Zealand. Birdie, Simpson, and Cherry behaved most foolishly 
asaresult. Day did the deed!” 

We found the Hut Point telephone useful for weather 
forecasting. For instance, on the 16th Meares rang up at 
II a.m. to say that it was blizzing (with force 9) from the 
south with a temperature of —16° F. At this time, though 
only fifteen miles away, we were experiencing a moderate 
north wind (force 3) with a temperature of —3°F. “As a 
result Titus bet Teddy Evans that the blizzard would arrive 
before noon. The wager was six cigarettes. No blizzard 
arrived at all, so that Teddy won, but as he had given up 
smoking for some months he only took one for Debenham !” 

On the 17th Debenham and I went over to Shackleton’s 


* Scott’s motto was, “ Stretched Wings towards the South.” 


320 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


hut to spend a few days geologizing. We took a small sledge 
with about 100 lbs. load. Soon we came to patches of bare 
sea-ice just leprous with blobs of salty snow. I was chagrined 
to find we could hardly drag our light sledge across, It 
augured badly for the 1200 lbs. we should have to pull in a 
week or so! We saw Emperor penguin tracks, but no 
birds, and reached the hut at 1 p.m. We ate some biscuits 
and then went out to photograph the vicinity. Here the 
Erebus glacier is about three miles to the east, so that 
Cape Royds is a very much larger area of exposed rock than 
Cape Evans. We walked along Black Sand Beach—almost 
the only beach I saw with rolled pebbles—and passed below 
quite a large glacier emerging from a gully. It had a 30-foot 
face of banded ice with fine snowcornices. I was surprised to 
see this, and climbed up to determine what was its source of 
supply. Then I found it was “all face” and no background. 
It was in fact merely a gigantic snowdrift plastered on the face 
of a 50-foot rock-cliff, and proved that many of our smaller 
glaciers were nothing but case-hardened snowdrifts which had 
solidified i” situ. 

We returned to Shackleton’s hut, and I had a varied lunch 
off mock turtle soup, mutton cutlets, and unlimited candied 
peel! We cleared up the hut, which was in an awful mess, 
Deb arranging the stores and mending the stove, while | swept 
up the floor. 

“We made up a bit of fire with some coal we found in one 
corner and turned into our bags. All next day it blew fright- 
fully hard. There was a huge iron boiler which we gradually 
thawed out and used for water, but we used an enamel jug as 
a kettle. We made porridge and ate it from huge wooden 
spoons. I read ‘ The Truants’ (Mason) and half the ‘ Botor 
Chaperon’ (Williamson). The hut groaned and creaked so 
that I thought it would blow in sunder, but we were com- 
fortable enough. We hunted up some hypo, a large lamp, 
and 50 lbs. of carbide. I found a useable pair of fingered 
gloves, which were just what I wanted for instrument 
work.” 

Next morning it was blowing hard, but there was less 
drift. We went out to try a photo, and the blizzard blew my 
camera down and smashed the frame. After lunch it “let 
up ” somewhat, and we set off for Cape Evans. We saw an 


IN WINTER QUARTERS WITH CAPTAIN SCOTT 321 


Emperor penguin crouched behind a snow-drift. It was the 
first of the season, and Debenham was anxious to get a photo. 
He stalked the penguin with great care, to my secret glee, for 
I had noticed before that it was stone dead ! 

Next day I packed my ditty-bag with personal gear for 
the summer journey. We were allowed 12 lbs. each, My 
choice was as follows :— 

3 pairs socks, with Taylor’s patent heel-tips ! 

1 hat. 

1 pair finger gloves. 

1 diary, 1 Browning, 1 German grammar. 
This totalled 7 lbs., and I decided to omit spare underclothing 
and take a small eiderdown weighing 43 lbs. It struck me 
that it would be as comforting as Debenham’s 3 lbs. of 
tobacco, and last longer ! 

‘In the afternoon we ‘ ponted’ for a game of football for 
the cinematograph. It was awfully good fun. The Owner 
was centre forward (running to the north), and he arranged 
that his side should win, to ensure an exciting picture ! 
Atkinson was given space for a fine run in. Unfortunately in 
trying to cleverly miss a collar I slipped, and he fell over my 
feet. Titus was a sight, waddling after a man and then falling 
flat. Half the people got confused with the Owner’s yells to 
‘ Keep the ball in the middle and up to the goal,’ so that many 
of our side kicked it to their own goal! Crean truculently 
swore no one should get a goal if he could help it, and spoilt 
all Atkinson’s efforts, so that they scored nothing! Un- 
fortunately Debenham strained his knee defending goal, and 
has been on his back since. We shall start west with Forde’s 
right arm useless and Debenham’s leg crocked !” 

On the 21st Scott gave me my sledging orders. The 
method of our relief by the ship seemed rather comic. We 
were first of all to find Granite Harbour and then recognize a 
500-foot bluff, photographed on page 154 in “The Voyage of 
the Discovery.” Here we were to await Captain Pennell in 
mid-January. No one on the ship had seen Granite Harbour 
either. As will be seen later, the harbour was a dozen miles 
wrong longitude, and the only bluff which at all resembled 
the picture was 1650 high! We rendezvoused there as 
required, but our letters and flag on the bluff remain un- 
disturbed to this day ! 


M4 


322 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


Gran accompanied me for a walk two miles west to the 
great shear crack, and there we spent some hours with pick 
and shovel cutting a path through the upturned blocks of sea- 
ice, here 5 feet high. 

Day started the motor sledges on the 23rd October. The 
motor party consisted of Evans and Lashley with one motor 
sledge, and Day and Hooper with the other. There was a 
fearful array of cameras carried by Scott, Gran, Wright, and 
myself, while Ponting had a regular battery (including a 
cinematograph) loaded on his “pantechnicon”! Two 
troubles hampered the motors. The “ pattens,” or wooden 
soles on the two tractor belts, would not grip the surface un- 
less it consisted of hard snow. Just off the Cape was a belt 
of smooth sea-ice with a thin layer of snow over it, and the 
belts churned rapidly over this without moving the sledge 
forward. They got them past this by laying down sacks, etc. 
Then the motors were air-cooled, and apparently this was not 
sufficient to keep the cylinders from overheating, especially 
as the sledges went much slower than the ordinary motor car, 
and so only a small current of cold air flowed past the two 
front cylinders and less past the two rear cylinders. More- 
over, the carburettor would not work satisfactorily when the 
engine was down to Antarctic temperatures, and it was 
necessary to warm it with a blow lamp! After some 
delays and readjustments they got the sledges well under 
weigh to Big Razorback Island. 

Nelson, Wright, and I decided to traverse the Barne 
Glacier (to the north) and align the stakes which Nelson had 
planted in the preceding February. We hoped to detect 
enough movement to give us the velocity of the glacier. 

The new canvas overshoes, with spiked aluminium soles, 
were a godsend for slippery ice work, and we found them a 
wonderful help. Wright went first, carrying a theodolite ; 
then Nelson, with the food, and I had my camera and an ice- 
axe. We were roped up, for we had to cross many small 
crevasses. The stakes were generally made of barrel staves, 
and only half of them had withstood the winter. 

We soon reached the “ nail-stake,” which showed the safe 
western route to Shackleton’s Hut. The stakes here turned 
to the north and crossed a wide gully, and then climbed up a 
steep shoulder with open crevasses, which we had to negotiate 


BERNARD DAY ON THE MOTOR SLEDGE JUST BEFORE HE 
SPARE DEELOR VHE, SOUMHOcrs 23, 19n1- 


The engine is enclosed in a box to keep it warm, and the blow lamp was to start the 
carburettor. 


THE START OF THE MOTOR SLEDGES, Ocr., 1911. 


Notice Evans swinging round the sledge and Day’s flag. To the left is Ponting 
being towed as he cinematographs. 


n 


IN WINTER QUARTERS WITH CAPTAIN SCOTT 323 


by jumping. We reached the fixed moraines, and while 
Wright set up the theodolite (and anathematized his frozen 
fingers !) we discussed hot cocoa from a Thermos flask, and 
biscuits and chocolate. The end stakes did not appear to 
have moved much, but as we marched back on their line we 
found very perceptible evidence of movement to the west. 
Fourteen inches at first, then 7, 12, 14, 15, 15, 22, and 
16 feet respectively, till we again reached the “ nail-stake.” 
It was rather difficult aligning the stakes, owing to the cre- 
vasses, but though some were ten feet wide they were all 
open and so perfectly ob- 
vious and safe. “ Nelson 
slipped in his felt boots, 
but we could have walked 
up an ice wall in our new 
spiked crampons !” 

The largest movement 
was in the ice valley, and 
though the maximum 22 
feet was not certain, yet 
there was no doubt about the record of 15 feet. This was 
not nearly so much as recorded elsewhere for other Antarctic 
glaciers ; but it must be remembered that only the ten coldest 
months were involved in this test. 

On the 26th Captain Scott took two parties to see if he 
could assist the motor party, who seemed to be held up near 
Glacier Tongue. We saw no trace of them till near the 
Tongue. Here we saw a black object, which, however, turned 
out to be a seal scratching himself, though I had felt able to 
recognize a motor and its driver ! 

We took a long time to catch them, which pleased us 
greatly, for it meant they were doing better than we had 
anticipated, but we caught them at Danger Cliffs. ‘“ They 
had just done six miles and were very bucked in consequence.” 

We were of some assistance in the next few miles. We 
would drag the three huge trailer-sledges forward so as to 
relieve the motor-sledge at its first plunge. Then “she'd 
start with a jerk, Day sitting for the moment in the chair of 
state and kicking up the floorboard to work the levers. Then 
she’d stop ; then we’d curse. He would light up the petrol 
lamp round the carburettor to warm her, and try various 


Ice crampons, devised in the winter 
IgIl. 


324 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


alterations to an undercurrent of our fervid remarks. Then 
she’d go harder than we could walk for seven minutes. We 
got hot again, and would then have to wait a quarter of an hour, 
stamping round and freezing off, till she was affable once more.” 

We slept at the 1902 Hut, and Meares and Bowers gave 
us a grand seal hoosh next morning, cooked on the greatly 
improved blubber stove. 

“ Lashley’s motor got under weigh after twenty minutes 
with the blow lamp on the carburettor, but Day’s was mulish. 
Gran, Evans, and I waited with him.” The huge loads 
dragged were mostly oil and tent gear, but their food-trans- 
porting power increases as the fuel load is used up. “ How- 
ever, as the day grew the motor took heart of grace and 
started, doing half-mile bursts, and at 12.45 we foregathered 
below the Barrier edge. Lashley would have been up an hour 
earlier, but he ran out of lubricant.’ Unfortunately being 
on different gears they couldn’t keep together readily. “1 
walked up on to the Barrier very near where we crossed the 
big crack on March 12th. There was a beautiful snow ramp 
up the twelve feet above the sea-ice. 

“ At 1 p.m. Day moved on to tackle this. We all pushed 
behind, though it was not a bit necessary. She went up in 
great style, though I think most of us had dreaded this test 
considerably. At 1.5 the first motor stood on the great 
Barrier. Lashley’s then ran up quite easily, and after cheering 
them we streaked back to the 1902 Hut for lunch. Scott 
and Wilson ran two miles of the distance ; Bowers and I 
walked on together until Crean and Evans passed us. 1 
joined them, but gave them best ultimately, for they were 
both powerful pacemakers.” 

We hit off for Cape Evans after lunch at a hot pace and 
didn’t stop for eight miles, when we had tea off Razorback. 
“‘ All around us were seals and their young. The latter are 
longer in proportion, and are lighter in colour and woollier. 
The mothers make a noise like a dyspeptic sheep, and one 
big beggar would nose around the sledges until the Owner 
drove her away. Baill went off to get a dead young one he 
espied, and found it alive, but frozen fast by its umbilical 
cord! He freed it and left it, but Nelson saw the little idiot 
frozen again two days later.” 

On the 28th Wilson examined the three Emperor penguin 


IN WINTER QUARTERS WITH CAPTAIN SCOTT 325 


eggs obtained at such peril in July. To his delight they 
showed three different stages in development, and were much 
more developed than he expected. The embryos were rather 
long, but very like fledgling sparrows. There were little tufts 
on the tail already, and their long, flapper-like wings were not 
a bit bird-like. The shells were very thick and about the 
diameter of a swan’s, but somewhat elongated. They were 
light buff outside and bluish inside. Bull said only about 
fifteen shells had been obtained, and no embryos. 

Household duties have been somewhat disorganized. I 
have laid and cleared the tables, while Atkinson has been chief 
cook, He succeeded splendidly for the most part. “ He 
made excellent coffee ; Deb tasted first cup, and nearly died, 
for it was pure cayenne! ” 

Erebus gave us a fine demonstration from 9 to 9.30 on 
the 30th of October. The steam cloud rose like a huge 
mushroom at first, then was branched like a yew-tree, and 
ultimately settled down into a huge pall. 

On the 31st October the pony parties started. Two weak 
ponies led by Atkinson and Crean were sent off first at 4.30, 
and I accompanied them for about a mile. Crean’s pony 
rejoiced in the name of “Jimmy Pig,” and he stepped out 
much better than his fleeter-named mate Jehu. We heard 
through the telephone of their safe arrival at Hut Point. 

Next morning the Southern Party finished their mail, 
posting it in the packing case on Atkinson’s bunk, and then 
at I1 a.m. the last party were ready for the Pole. They had 
packed the sledges overnight, and they took 20 lbs, personal 
baggage. The Owner had asked me what book he should 
take. He wanted something fairly “ filling.” I recommended 
Tyndall’s Glaciers—if he wouldn’t find it “coolish.” He 
didn’t fancy this! So then I said, “ Why not take Brown- 
ing, as I’m doing?” And I believe that he did so. 

Wright’s pony was the first harnessed to its sledge. 
“Chinaman ” is Jehu’s rival for last place, and as some com- 
pensation is easy to harness. Seaman Evans led “ Snatcher,” 
who used to rush ahead and take the lead as soon as he was 
harnessed. Cherry had “ Michael,” a steady goer, and Wilson 
led “ Nobby ”—the pony rescued from the killer whales in 
March. Scott led out “Snippets” to the sledges, and har- 
nessed him to the foremost, with little Anton’s help—only it 


326 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


turned out to be Bowers’ sledge! However he transferred 
in a few minutes and marched off rapidly to the south. 
“‘< Christopher,’ as usual, behaved like a demon. First they 
had to trice his front leg up tight under his shoulder, then it 
took five minutes to throw him. The sledge was brought up 
and he was harnessed in while his head was held down on the 
floe. Finally he rose up, still on three legs, and started off 
galloping as well as he was able. After several violent kicks 
his foreleg was released, and after more watch-spring flicks 
with his hind legs he set off fairly steadily. Titus can’t stop 
him when once he has started, and will have to do the fifteen 
miles in one lap probably !” 

Dear old Titus—that was my last memory of him. Im- 
perturbable as ever ; never hasty, never angry, but soothing 
that vicious animal, and determined to get the best out of 
most unpromising material in his endeavour to do his simple 
duty. 

meh was last to leave. His pony, Victor, nervous but 
not vicious, was soon in the traces. I ran to the end of the 
Cape and watched the little cavalcade—already strung out 
into remote units—rapidly fade into the lonely white waste to 
southward. 

That evening I had a chat with Wilson over the telephone 
from the Discovery Hut—my last communication with those 
five gallant spirits. 

We settled down in the Hut, a small and rather silent 
party. I was now awaiting Debenham’s recovery from the 
injury to his knee, for our start was already overdue. Nelson 
was cook, though Clissold was beginning to move about more 
easily. As lately, I continued to lay and clear the table, while 
Simpson was coal-whacker. The night-watch was now un- 
necessary—it was too light for aurore—and the ponies no 
longer inhabited the stable. Nelson used to take the 4 a.m. 
observations, and Simpson those at midnight. 

On the 2nd of November we had some stove trials in the 
deserted stables. Day’s last work had been to makes a blubber 
stove from sheet-iron, with a door grid and cover complete. 
We lengthened the chimney (by adding asparagus tins) and 
then tested it. The cooker was filled with snow, a “ fid” of 
blubber lit on the grid, and in twenty-seven minutes the 
water was boiling! There was very little smoke, and it 


IN WINTER QUARTERS WITH CAPTAIN SCOTT 327 


gave a pleasant heat all the time. Later we found that it did 
not work so well in a draught, and was a trouble in the open ; 
but we cooked most of our meals on it in December and 
‘January, as will appear. 

That evening I hada walk round High Cliff and found 
a regular “ Niagara” rushing down the face of the glacier 
in a tinkling stream as much as an inch deep! This was at 
midnight on the 2nd of November, and the temperature 
was seventeen degrees below freezing! It shows the strong 
radiant effect of the sun on black rocks even at midnight. 

This event—marking the oncoming of reasonable weather 
—closed our sojourn at winter quarters during 1911. 


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WILSON PACKING HIS PONY SLEDGE THE DAY BEFORE. THE 
START FOR THE POLE, Oct. 31, 1911. 


The tins of oil, Alpine rope, large biscuit tins, sleeping-bag and tent poles show up 
well. Behind is the outer door of the hut looking north to the Barne Glacier. 


THE HUT AFTER THE WINTER, Nov. 20, 1911. 


Great snowdrifts cover the porch and all the gravel before the hut. At the back is 
the Ramp, and low level stratus is enveloping the base of Erebus, [See p. 320. 


fee GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 
SECOND WESTERN EXPEDITION 


NoveMBER I91I—FEBRUARY I912 


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THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 
(Vide large folding map at end.) 


Durinc the winter the four members of the western party 
often used to gaze to the north-west across McMurdo Sound 
and wonder what adventures we should meet in the coming 
summer. We could make out the hills behind Cape Ber- 
nacchi fairly well, some fifty miles off; but beyond that was 
a greyish mass of land which, north of our horizon, was 
broken by the large inlet of Granite Harbour just about 
latitude 77°. We read up what little was known of it, and 
Wilson told us his memories—of a sort of bluff-ended pen- 
insula where we could reach serra firma, of ice-falls filled with 
crevasses, and not very promising as a route to the interior. 

We expected to get away by October 22nd, but Deben- 
ham, as has been told, injured his knee a day or two before, 
and spent most of the next three weeks in his bunk trying to 
reduce the inflammation sufficiently for him to walk. 

The western party were unfortunate in having another 
cripple. Forde’s right hand was still in bandages from his 
severe frostbites, but they were progressing favourably, and 
though he never was able to use it for delicate operations, it 
did not handicap him greatly. 

On the 5th of November we packed the sledges. Our 
delay had one advantage—we needed less food, and so our 
load was lighter. In fact, I don’t know how we could have 
managed much more than our “half ton.” I omitted 
three weeks’ supplies, but packed all the remainder on to the 
sledges. In the huge canvas bag—called a tank by the 
seamen—were put the weekly bags of stores. Here a little 
pile of butter, there smaller bags of tea, etc. A few small 
bags of pepper, salt, etc., were placed in the “ Ready-Bag.” 
This latter was a smaller canvas bag which held just a week’s 
food, and was kept separate from the main “tank,” so that 

331 


332 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


the latter was only opened once a week when the cooks 
changed duty. 

A document which was consulted more frequently than any 
other which we carried was Bowers’ list of our stores. It 
was headed, in a last flash of his humorous verbosity, “ The 
Western PHysiIPHOGEOPETROVULCANOLOGICAL Party,” and 
gave me careful notes as to the stores at Butter Point, 
and tips as to taking tin-openers, and bags for the cocoa 
and pemmican tins we should find there. It got very frayed 
with continual use, and this led to some anxiety later. All 
the items were entered like this :—. 

“Biscuit for 20 weeks at 24°5 lbs. =490 lbs.” The 
entry for tea | read as— 

“Tea for 20 weeks at 1°75 lbs.,” but it was nearly 
illegible, and later, after wondering why the tea was so 
rapidly diminishing, I saw that his note really read 1°75 for 
ten days (instead of “per week”). This was one of the 
most welcome discoveries on our journey, for I thought I 
had lost some bags of the precious beverage, and we soon 
evened matters by greater economy. 

On the Sunday afternoon (sth November) Gran, Forde, 
and I pulled the big sledge over the sea-ice to the west. We 
had very heavy work dragging it over the snow near Cape 
Evans, but owing to the track we had cut through the walls 
at the great shear crack we crossed this quite easily. We 
came on some mirror ice, where the runners positively flew 
along, but a film of snowdrift about a quarter of an inch deep 
made us nearly lie down in our traces. We took the sledge 
about three miles out and then returned to the hut. Ex route 
our collie bitch worried a seal almost to death, and though 
Gran gave her a tremendous beating, I doubt if that even 
made the dogs refrain from tormenting the helpless animals. 

Perhaps they felt that the seals were fair game, as they 
were so much bigger than themselves ! 

On Monday a blizzard came up, in which superstitious 
little Anton had a wild time reaching the hut. He had left 
Ponting encamped at Little Razorback, and much preferred 
to find his way back, rather than spend a night among the 
howling demons of the Antarctic ! 

We had a council in the hut with Simpson and Nelson. 
The latter very kindly volunteered to take Debenham’s place 


‘aploy pur ‘uvig ‘ureyuaqag “olde fT 


‘dIHS AHL AY dA GaANOld AWAM AAHL AVA AHL ALUVd NUALSAM CGNOOAS AHL 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 333 


and help my party across to Butter Point with most of our 
gear. Then we could rapidly return and pick up Debenham 
if the rest had sufficiently cured his disabled leg. 

On the 7th of November we started off on our first relay. 
We left about ten o'clock, taking a small sledge from the hut 
with our sledging gear. We soon picked up our main load 
on the big sledge, and then began really heavy work. One 
is always soft and out of condition after the winter, and it 
takes about a week to get into sledging trim again. It was 
not very cheering to find we could only get along at the rate 
of about one mile an hour, for a large part of the gear to be 
dragged to Granite Harbour, lay thirty miles west at Butter 
Point! In fact, even with this light load, the surfaces made 
us relay at times, and the effect on one’s body muscles seemed 
at first almost unbearable. By lunch-time we had only left 
the hut about four and a half miles behind. 

It was blowing strongly from the south-east, and I saw 
a snowdrift rushing along the ice. When we reached a patch 
of snow suitable for a camp site, I pitched our tent, and this 
halt for lunch unfortunately served for supper and breakfast 
also. It was blizzing hard in ten minutes, and we were only 
just able to get the tent up in time. Forde was able to help 
greatly, though his hand was still in a sling. 

We were now no longer new chums, and it was pleasant 
to find that sledging was so much more comfortable than on 
our first expedition. We now realized that if we could keep 
out the snow, we should help the human furnace enormously. 
For every snowflake in or on one’s garments, first melted and 
then turned to ice, and all this had to be thawed each night 
before one could get warm enough to sleep. So this trip we 
carried a shilling scrubbing brush, and every one was most 
assiduous in its use. 

It was amusing how little trouble we had in donning 
our frozen boots now. Some one had hung his on the peak 
of the tent, while the cooker was going for breakfast, and 
now they were almost too pliant when we needed to put them 
on. It was a greater comfort to have a wider floor-cloth. 
Now the outside men were not pushed into the snow, and 
our instruments and notes were kept much more securely 
than on the former journey. 

As the blizzard increased it drove snow on to the 


334 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


windward side of the tent, and the lee sides flapped violently 
so that the “stocking ” door vibrated incessantly. The snow 
piled higher and higher, and under the ventilator collected a 
great ball of ice. 

We were pretty comfortable very soon in spite of the 
snow, which covered the sledges a foot deep. A rapid 
journey to Butter Point was out of the question, and we 
turned in hoping for better weather in the morning. The 
temperature was +23° as I ascertained by swinging the sledge 
thermometer, My last camp in April on Little Razorback 
had been in —23°, some 45° lower ! 

Nelson read Poe for awhile in his bag ; I read Browning. 
We were rather jammed together in the drifted tent, and 
poor Forde next morning said he had been too crushed to 
sleep! For myself I had never before slept so well at the 
start of a trip. 

At 6 a.m. on the 8th it was still very thick to westward. 
However, at 7.30 we turned out for breakfast, and after 
digging up the sledges we got away about 9.40. It is 
curious how long it took to start off every morning. With 
no dressing or washing and a simple breakfast of two pots 
of food, one would have expected a party to be ready in an 
hour ; but two hours was by no means unusual after a blizzard. 

The heavy winds had compacted the snow, and also, I 
believe, covered some of the sticky salty surface. At any 
rate, we went along better than I had dared to hope, and 
could do more than a mile an hour. 

I soon learnt that it was better to go a long way round 
rather than cross new snow, and at lunch-time we had done 
over three miles. Very stiff it made us! The sky cleared, 
and seemingly a short way ahead lay Butter Point, a face 
of ice about 50 feet high in which small crevasses showed 
quite clearly. Yet it was still 20 milesaway ! To the south- 
west was a group of dark castles. These were the little 
volcanic Dailey Isles, which were miraged up into huge squat 
keeps, very different from their true conical shape. 

Far to the north we could see the locale of one of the 
wildest Antarctic exploits—the mighty crevasses near Mount 
Bird. Macintosh and a mate managed to cross these during 
Shackleton’s expedition in 1908, after abandoning their tent 
and losing their food in a crevasse. 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 335 


How anxiously we watched the little dial of the sledge- 
meter. Very slowly the miles rolled away, and when we had 
done four more stages 1 stopped for a cup of tea and some 
block chocolate. These short halts did not make one stiff 
like a longer wait. Finally, we halted at 8.30 after eleven 
hours on the move. We had sledged eight miles as the 
result of the day’s work, and were already feeling fitter and 
enjoying our pemmican. How greasy and thick it tastes at 
first ! and yet how soon it seems to vanish almost at sight ! 

The sun came out and there was a tremendous glare from 
the snow. Goggles were donned and were not an “unmixed 
blessing. The hot glare disappeared, but sweat rolled down 
one’s forehead and fogged the glasses so that it was impossible 
to see through them. 

On the 8th we continued our “trek” towards Butter 
Point. There is very little variety on these journeys; you 
pull till you are tired—not talking much, for that uses too 
much breath, but thinking of all sorts of topics. As long as 
one leans forward in the belt and keeps time there is not 
much else to engage one’s attention. Even the leader merely 
notes some object in his line of march and plugs steadily on 
until it is time to halt for the five minutes’ spell ! 

At 4 o’clock we were nearly 20 miles from the hut, and 
therefore, as we halted for tea, still ten miles from Butter 
Point. It was gloomy and soon started drifting again, always 
from the south-east and always giving but a short warning of 
low driving snow before the full blast struck us. 

This blizzard lasted thirty-six hours. We lay in our bags 
and slept most of the time. It is wonderful how one’s 
appetite decreases during these enforced waits. The normal 
amount of thirty-three ounces of dried food per day would be 
enormous in ordinary life ; when lying snug in one’s bag, no 
energy is used in work and little in heat, so that about twenty 
ounces seems sufficient, and one of the meals can be cut out 
with ease. 

On Saturday morning I turned out at 3 a.m., and a little 
later it was obviously clearing. The drift was deep over the 
sledges and nearly over the door. We had been delayed so 
much that I felt we must now turn back, so we packed the 
tent and one meal on the small sledge and left a large flag on 
a bamboo by the larger sledge. 


336 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


We had only about 100 lbs. to pull and yet the twenty 
miles (twenty-three statute) was a hard journey. I hoped 
to be in by noon, but the surface was very bad. We had tea 
and a biscuit at six and another short meal at noon. Wecould 
see the four isles off Cape Evans all the time, and I think our 
chief occupation while sledging was in watching them take up 
various angles in front of the Cape as we gradually got nearer 
the hut. We crossed some landmarks in the shape of the 
huge shear cracks. One at nine miles, one at four and a half, 
and a small one two and a half miles from the hut. The last 
six miles were awful, for the erstwhile mirror-like ice near 
the Cape was now covered with a sticky film of snow over 
which we could hardly pull the empty sledge. 

However we began to see dead penguins, and then we 
knew we were within a “ dog’s walk” of the hut—for these 
were relics of their occupation. Next we reached the 
triangular area to leeward (north) of the hut, which viewed 
from the Ramp was of a yellow tinge from the straw and other 
debris blown there by the blizzards. And so at 4.30 p.m., 
just twelve hours after starting we arrived. I immediately 
rushed Clissold the cook for tinned pears, and found none left. 
So I started on three rounds of toast. We then had soup, 
rissoles, and fruit tart. I had three helps of the former and 
two of the latter and still felt hungry. Debenham’s leg had 
not been going on very well, but was better than on Wednes- 
day. They had had no drift at the hut on Tuesday ! 

After another council I decided to take advantage of 
Nelson’s kind offer. He would accompany us with the little 
Russian groom Anton. If all went well they could return ; 
if Debenham were too lame to proceed they could bring him 
back, and Gran, Forde, and myself would push on to Granite 
Harbour as a three-man party. 

Sunday and Monday passed quietly in the hut though 
the weather was bad outside. On Tuesday it was very un- 
promising until 3 p.m., when we could just make out the 
Western Mountains. At 3.20 we made our final start with 
Nelson and Anton as a convoy. Debenham hobbled along- 
side, and as the surface was better than previously and the 
wind blew to the west we made fair progress. This time we 
took on our cameras and Day’s blubber stove. At six miles 
we pitched camp and were starting supper when I discovered 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 337 


that we had left the can of spirits behind. This fluid was 
necessary to start the primus stove in low temperatures, so 
Gran and I tramped back to the hut for it. It was a stiff 
walk, for we were afraid of thick black clouds to the south and 
the wind rose to sixty miles an hour, luckily without drift. 
After some supper I turned into my bunk for the last time 
that year. Gran slept in the bunk above, and as the result of 
some salmon and a recent perusal of Jules Verne’s “‘ Mysterious 
Island,” suffered from nightmare. He explained next morning 
that he thought Erebus had overwhelmed the Cape with red- 
hot lava, wherein Simpson had been engulfed, but the 
geologists had calmly climbed up to the crater! Was this 
a forecast of his own escape on the summit a year later, when 
Gran was nearly choked by the fumes ? 

We found the spirits where we had been packing the 
sledges, and trudged out to the tents to find the others having 
breakfast. However, we started at 10 a.m. and did nine 
miles by 5.30. I camped early to prevent Debenham over- 
straining his leg. 

On the 16th we awoke to find snow falling, though there 
was not much wind. We had been so much delayed that I 
determined to try marching through the thick weather lying 
ahead of us. Although we were fairly close to the magnetic 
pole, and the compass consequently had very little “ horizontal 
pull,” yet I determined to try steering by it, especially as we 
had a spare man to steer us. We wanted to go almost due 
west, but the compass direction, owing to the variation, was 
S. 65° E.!_ So Debenham marched some fifty yards behind 
us, and signalled to Nelson, who repeatedly turned to observe 
him. Meanwhile I tried to steer a course by any object which 
I could see looming up through the mist ahead. We ser- 
pentined considerably at first, but moved steadily westward. 
Our surprise and gratification may be imagined when we 
suddenly saw footprints ahead of us, and realized that we had 
exactly hit on our route of the week before. We had not 
seen any trace of our track since leaving the hut, and this 
encounter was as marvellous as finding a needle in the pro- 
verbial bottle of hay. On we went into the thick of it till 
1 p.m, My eyes soon tired with looking at huge crags, which 
turned out to be ice splinters twenty yards away. Finally the 
western hills appeared, and we were all on the gui vive to be 

Z 


338 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


the first to spot the depot flag. Nelson offered his raisins as 
a reward, and then won them himself! We reached our 
depét at 2 p.m. 

The sledge was not buried, though a great lee had been 
built by the blizzards. We had a merry lunch, all six sitting 
in one tent. Anton’s plans caused much amusement. We 
gathered that he was going back to Russia to marry a rich 
wife, and so long as she were wealthy we understood that he 
had no objection even to a wooden leg ! 

The clouds began to roll away en masse, leaving behind a 
magnificent Italian blue sky, as if the blizzard had purged it 
of all impurity. The resulting contrast with the dazzling 
white mountains had something of a Japanese effect, and the 
afternoon was one of the finest I saw in the Antarctic. 

We camped within seven miles of Butter Point. I was 
delighted to catch Debenham surreptitiously helping with the 
back sledge, for he found that his leg was certainly no worse 
for the rough work he was giving it. 

On the 17th we moved on with another sledge added. 
They pulled stiffly, and we met with soft snow every few 
yards. Moreover, we encountered some “‘ screw pack,’’ which 
is a very formidable obstacle, and of which we met more than 
enough in the next week or so. I suppose that here the sea- 
ice had been broken up and jammed together before finally 
freezing into a continuous sheet. However, by zig-zagging 
we made steady progress, and reached Butter Point about 
5pm. 

owe pitched the two tents first thing, on the thick snow- 
drifts near the tide crack. Then we walked up to the depét, 
where our boxes stood out boldly, some three hundred yards 
away. 

We dragged up the small sledge and loaded it with cocoa, 
sugar, pemmican, etc., and then a second time took down 
330 lbs. of biscuits. The floor on which the stores had been 
laid in January was now over two feet down. This gives 
some indication of the change in the surface of the piedmont 
ice in nine months. Probably drift accounted for most of the 
deposit. 

The two tents now resembled grocers’ shops. In one 
Nelson and Forde were bagging the cocoa, in the other Gran 
and I opened tins of pemmican and placed them in weekly 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 339 


bags also. Meanwhile Debenham prepared a fine hoosh, and 
Anton conducted a lively class in Russian. In the depdt were 
some soft captain’s biscuits left by Shackleton’s party. Forde 
and Debenham preferred them to our official ration of hard 
sledging biscuit, and so we made an exchange, for I knew we 
could always make up deficit by seal-meat. 

On the 18th we started off with six men to pull the three 
sledges ; but we found it impossible, and had to relay all the 
time. We were now crossing the mouth of New Harbour, 
making for Cape Bernacchi, at its north-east corner. 

At lunch we finished off Nelson’s contribution of Tru 
milk, and Debenham took a photo of the combined parties. 
Then the “Convoy Commando” left us, and we saw them 
for an hour or so plugging steadily towards Cape Royds. 
Here Nelson intended to get some penguin eggs before going 
to Cape Evans. 

Now we were left to our own resources, with 1350 lbs. to 
drag along, I distributed the weight more evenly on the two 
sledges, putting the heavy biscuit-boxes on one, and the tents 
and sledging gear on the other. 

After lunch we pulled off, Debenham and myself in front, 
and Forde and Gran near the sledge. The sun was hot, but 
as usual, when we anticipated trouble, it was not forthcoming, 
for Debenham was able to help us very materially, and the 
surface was rippled and harder than we had seen hitherto. 

Soon we were hotter than we liked, and our headgear 
was modified to suit the climate. Forde appeared in a huge 
panama. Debenham and Gran had felt hats with ear-flaps, 
and I wore an ordinary colonial felt, which I tied down like 
a coal-scuttle when the wind was too keen. This day it was 
warm enough to wear no hat at all, so I walked bareheaded 
with goggles, “and would have liked to pull off my vest 
also”! 

The screw-pack was low hereabouts, only projecting two 
or three feet; but the hollows were masked by snow, which 
made the walking difficult and even dangerous for Debenham. 
We took the “biscuit” sledge on first for about a mile and 
flagged it ; then trudged back for the “tent” sledge. Deben- 
ham met us soon, and pulled with us for the same weary mile. 
It took about forty minutes to do this, and about twenty to 
walk back, so that transporting the half-ton over a mile meant 


340 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


a hundred minutes of very hard labour, which with a light 
load we could cover in twenty-five minutes, 

Well, we had some weeks of it, and by the time five miles 
comes to be accounted a good day’s journey, progress does not 
seem so slow as it did at first. We used to leave Debenham 
ahead with the first sledge at our evening stage, and when we 
three brought up the biscuit sledge we would find that he 
had nearly got the “hoosh” ready. There was no mention 
of “too much pemmican”’ nowadays ! 

We were now crossing New Harbour. It was interesting 
to see so clearly the old landmarks of Dry Valley, and amusing 
to think of our bet with Taff Evans as to the identity of the 
valley we were now passing. He was convinced that we 
could not see Dry Valley from Butter Point, and we had had 
a hot discussion in the previous February on the point. 

From this point we saw a most wonderful array of cwm 
valleys. On the flanks of Mount Lister they were clustered 
thickly like thumbmarks in a piece of putty. On the slopes 
of the Kukri Hills we could see steep gullies, as it were, 
growing into “chimneys,” and these into deeper valleys, and 
so into veritable cwms or cirques. They illustrate an interest- 
ing scientific principle. It is naturally impossible to see the 
stages of valley erosion evolving before one’s eyes—as impos- 
sible as to see a barrier reef changing into a coral atoll—and 
yet one cannot doubt that this evolution occurs when we have 
all the intermediate stages confronting us. 

We intended to carry out a very complete survey on this 
journey. We had two separate instruments, a theodolite and 
a plane-table. With the former I was able to fix far-distant 
peaks with considerable accuracy, and also by observations on 
the sun to determine the latitude and longitude of the main 
stations of our survey. With the plane-table Debenham 
carried out a unique detailed survey of the coast-line, not 
only showing the outlines of the land but also all the physio- 
graphic features. By means of the theodolite we were also 
able to plot the elevations fairly accurately, and when these 
were added to the plane-table charts I think we brought back 
from our sledging trip an Antarctic survey unique for its 
completeness in the field. 

The surface for the next few miles was very bad. I wished 
Wright were with us, not only to lend us his sturdy muscles, 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 341 


but to study the queer morass we encountered. We were 
sinking nearly to the knee in snow crystals. These were not 
wet, but so incoherent that they clogged the sledge-meter, and 
for the remainder of our journey we had to remember the miles 
missed from our reckoning before reaching Cape Bernacchi. 

The yellow goggles gave rise to a queer illusion. It was 
just as if we were pulling through heavy sand at the mouth 
of ariver, and owing to some wind and water action, there 
were the same ripples and channels as are to be seen in an 
estuary. 

Captain Scott had ordered us to leave a week’s provisions 
at Cape Bernacchi, for we should need this if the bay ice 
went out, and we had to return overland. So we carried up 
a half-tin of biscuit, and filled it with butter, pemmican, and 
chocolate. This was reared on end, and protected by a cairn of 
granite. We surmounted it with one of our precious bamboos 
carrying a flag. I left a note informing the finder as to our 
progress, and immediate plans. This was the first of our 
post offices, of which we established four more during the 
summer. 

- Though all this took time, we also made a collection of 
rocks for Debenham. The loose snow had wrenched his 
knee badly, so that much as he would have liked to explore 
our first new land, he was unable to move many yards from 
the sledge. Marble, granite, tourmaline gneiss, basalts and 
schists, and a few mineral veins gave us quite a fine collection 
—though most of them were moraine specimens. 

I sketched the coast to northward, observing with great 
satisfaction that there was no open water in sight. Numerous 
seals were basking in the next bay, which augured well for 
our future food supply. Less welcome was the rugged area 
of screw pack which filled the bay, and which we should have 
to traverse on our next stage. 

Debenham had packed the sledge, and we moved off in 
the afternoon, winding in and out between jagged lumps of 
ice, sometimes eight feet high. There was interesting spoor 
here ; an Emperor penguin had evidently passed by, and his 
sturdy tread had hardened the snow somewhat. Ensuing 
blizzards swept away the softer snow, and left his imperial 
footprints standing in relief. 

We camped in the screw-pack, and passed a peaceful night. 


342 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


Next morning the narration of a dream caused some amuse- 
ment. “TI had invited Professor David to dine, and arrived 
two hours late ; as I had no money to pay for the meal I 
calmly decided to wake, and did so!” We often discussed 
dreams, especially after my repeating what I could remember 
of an article in a magazine I had read in the Old Discovery 
Hut. It pointed out that one’s own personality was often 
revealed in the clearest fashion. I hope the above sample was 
not of this type. 

We reached Marble Cape at noon, and from the top we 
could see our wandering friend from Ross Island—the three- 
mile fragment of Glacier Tongue. There was Oates’ depét 
as clear as ever, and the huge field of ice had almost filled 
the bay between this cape and one to the north. Its 
sides projected thirty feet above the sea ice, and we could 
see that it was largely built of snow, which was folded in a 
very complex manner, and probably originated largely as snow 
cornices, just as current-bedding in rocks is formed from steep 
delta deposits. 

To the west, behind the cape, was the sheer front of the 
Piedmont Glacier. It ended in a face about thirty feet high, 
and evidently was for the most part moulded over the hills, 
though a few xunakoller projected through it. 

We reached a high cape built of gneiss, and camped there 
for the night, among a colony of seals. We were doubtful 
as to whether this, or the previous headland, was David’s 
“‘ Marble Cape”’; in fact, as some one said, it was a “ nice 
point.” At any rate this pun led to the name Gnueiss Point, 
by which we knew it. 

Next morning it was a blow to our pride to drag the sledge 
through the numerous seals, and to find that they evidently 
despised us too much to move out of our way. It was a 
favourite basking ground, and many square yards of snow 
were rolled flat and hard by the sleeping seals, while canoe- 
shaped hollows showed where some unsociable beast had lain 
at a distance from his fellows. 

We started off relaying as usual, but as I was returning 
I felt this was just the time to test our outfit as an ice yacht ! 
A steady south.wind was blowing almost directly behind us, 
and the next few miles showed a reasonably good surface. 

The six heavy bamboo poles, on which the tent is hung, 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 343 


were so arranged that two could be taken out of the leather 
bucket uniting them at the top. The remaining two pairs 
were fixed vertically above the front sledge to form a double 
mast. We lashed them to the stanchions with lamp-wick. The 
other two bamboos were used as yards for the floor-cloth. 
This sail was held up by a rope—actually off Forde’s sleeping- 
bag—which passed over the top of the “ bucket” on the mast, 
and the pull of the wind kept it taut. Two “ main sheets”’ 
helped to secure things, and passed from the yards to the 
rear of the sledge. Forde was bo’sun, and made a good job 
of it. Meanwhile, the delay had frozen the sledges to the 
sea ice, but after “‘ breaking ” them out, we managed to start 
the yacht and its tender, and to our delight we could just 
move the half ton along! It was frightfully hard work, 
especially the start; but we could do a mile in forty-five 
minutes, whereas formerly relays and| halts made this a two- 
hour job. Luckily, Debenham’s leg was now much better, 
and the miles piled up splendidly. We did 64 geographic 
miles by 7 p.m., instead of 44 by 9 p.m. as heretofore. 

In gratitude we called this bay the Bay of Sails; a varia- 
tion from Shackleton’s famous inlet, the Bay of Whales. 
The coast was fringed by Piedmont Glacier, but a little rock 
showed at the water’s edge. We indulged in extra raisins for 
lunch, and camped at night near a large cape, which reminded 
Forde of Spike Island, near Cork. 

The ice was evidently affected by the summer breaks, for 
we had to cross a crack two feet wide, where the water was 
surging continuously. A young seal here caused us some 
amusement, its heart-rending ‘“baa-aas” and _ strenuous 
efforts to climb a gigantic ridge eight inches high being very 
comic, 

“ November 23, 10.15 p.m.—The sun is shining brightly 
for the first time to-day. The tent is flapping gaily, partly 
owing to the two poles being a bit loose, and partly to the 
keen southerly wind which is driving over the shore glacier. 
I am as snug as possible in my bag since I sewed the new left- 
hand flap thereon. I shall patent this! for a man can lie left 
or right, fur in or out now. The temperature is +14° F., 
and the barometer has risen rapidly to 30.14. This change 
probably means something unpleasant, but Erebus is very 
clear and the steam going south !” 


344 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


In spite of hurrying, putting the sail together inside the 
tent took time, so that it was 10.45 before we started with sail 
set and a fair wind for the next headland. This looked like a 
dented door-knob, and we reached it by lunch with the mast 
bending and the sail bulging in true nautical style. 

As we passed it I saw that we had reached Dunlop Island, 
which had been hidden from us by a line of icebergs. It is 
separated from Dunlop Cape by a strait about one-third of a 
mile wide. We hailed this with joy, for it seemed to be pure 
blue ice; but over this blizzards had blown low parallel 
ridges of snow which were about 20 feet apart. The snow 
was sticky with salt, and the alternation of clear ice with 
sticky snow was almost impassable. For we could not stand 
on the ice and the sledge would not move over the snow, and 
when we could pull from the snow, the sledges were on clear 
ice and the wind drove them along unassisted! 1 don’t know 
how Debenham managed, but I wrenched my leg, and for 
days afterwards had cause to remember Dunlop Strait. 

Dunlop Island is a mere ridge of shingle about 60 feet 
high. There was a fierce wind blowing which prevented my 
taking any photographs, but I managed to get a round of 
angles with the theodolite before my hands were numbed. 
There seemed to be four ancient beach-levels marked by well- 
rounded boulders which point to elevation in this region. 
Looking to the north we could see nothing but a great barrier 
wall of ice along the coast. The trend of the latter was 
almost continuous from Cape Bernacchi, and we could see no 
foundation for the sharp turn to the north-west charted on the 
existing maps. 

We pushed on for the north along this forbidding wall of 
ice. It was almost December now, and the sea-ice might 
break up any day, so that our next few days were anxious 
ones. We had great difficulty from the sticky surface, and 
the wind changed direction, nearly blowing the sledge over, 
so I decided to “ down sail” and steer nearer the land. We 
could only with difficulty pull one sledge, and had to relay 
till we reached the face of the glacier, where we camped. 
While Debenham cooked the hoosh—an excellent one, of 
which I had one and a half pots !—Gran and I managed to 
climb 200 feet up the glacier front. The ice was much broken 
and re-cemented with some deep crevasses and queer puckered 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 345 


ridges. After making a sketch and searching for signs of open 
water, luckily without result, we turned in and spent a 
comfortable night. 

We awoke to a comparatively hot day! I decided to try 
one sledge first, and if all went well to tack on the other. 
But to our chagrin we found that we could not manage one 
sledge. By one o’clock we had managed to struggle along for 
one mile, in the course of which Debenham had badly twisted 
his knee. 

“‘T decided to go in for night marching, and we pitched 
the tent, hung out our wet clothes in the hot sun, and had 
lunch. Then we turned in and tried to sleep without success, 
I read through one year of Horsfield’s German Grammar, and 
put a chinstrap on my hat, while Forde darned socks. It was 
too hot to keep in the sleeping-bags, and so I lay outside 
without a coat ! 

“ At 7 p.m. it is distinctly cooler, so that ice does not melt 
now if you touch it.” 

These abnormal conditions were due to the bright sun, for 
the air temperature was below freezing. But the solar rays 
striking the tent melted any snow thereon until there were 
pools on the flounce, while water inside the aluminium 
cooker remained unfrozen for hours. 

Night marching commenced about g p.m. The surface 
was much harder, and we just managed two sledges for a short 
distance, but we had to relay most of the way. 

To the west is the great Piedmont Glacier, thirty miles 
wide, and covering a ten-mile belt between the mountains 
and the sea. The nearer mountains were all rounded and 
smoothed by glacial erosion, while the higher peaks behind 
rose into jagged summits, pitted by numerous cwm valleys, 
which showed that they had never been beneath a thick ice 
mantle. 

To the east appeared a brown island about roo feet high 
and a quarter of a mile long. It had a well-defined ice-foot, 
and | hoped that we were to chart a new island. Gran and 
Forde were eager to examine this, and while we were surveying 
the coast they marched a mile or so towards it. But our 
“island” was merely a stranded berg coloured brown by the 
large amount of silt included in the ice. In some such way 
numerous “islands,” such as the Nimrod group, have crept 


346 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


on to the chart, for no one has been able to sight them since 
their discovery. 

We camped just after midnight for lunch, at which I 
presided. As usual, it consisted of tea, biscuits (hard 
sledging tack for Gran and me, and soft ‘ Shackleton” 
biscuits for Debenham and Forde), raisins, butter, and 
chocolate. 

The Discovery map was obviously quite incorrect here, 
and our chief guide was Professor David’s account. From 
the times of his daily marches we expected to reach Granite 
Harbour earlier than the rough chart indicated, for he speaks 
of the harbour as being twenty miles out of position! The 
only place for a bay “ five miles wide”’ seemed to be about 
ten miles ahead, so that I hoped that a few more days would 
settle the question. 

We got a fine view of Erebus, especially of the old crater 
whose wall sticks up like a gigantic black fang on the northern 
slope. Mount Terror was also visible now round the hump 
of Erebus. The steam banner from the latter was very 
striking, stretching far to the south, and then, at 8 p.m., 
shifting to the north after some big puffs. This usually 
indicated a strong change in the weather—which was the last 
thing we desired in our present position off the inhospitable 
face of the Piedmont Glacier ! 

We camped on rather thin snow and weighted the tent 
flounce with the biscuit boxes. It was very warm inside the 
tent, and though the outer air was 14° below freezing, small 
pools of water lay on the tent flounces in the full heat of the 
sun. ‘I made the dinner. The pemmican was not bad, 
though not so creamy as Deb’s, which has a reputation. It is 
a month to Christmas, and we have been sledging three weeks. 
I find it much more pleasant than last February, even with 
our abnormal loads. I plan out things while pulling auto- 
matically, and the miles pass along somehow. Camps are 
much more comfortable, and of course it is warmer now ! 

“Tt is very confusing having breakfast at 7.30 p.m., and 
sleeping or trying to sleep through the day. I find it rather hot, 
and generally only sleep four hours and think away the other 
four. However, there is no comparison between the surface by 
night and by day, for though the sun is bright at midnight 
he is not nearly so high or warm and does not melt the ice 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 347 


surface. We camped about half a mile from the huge Pied- 
mont, and set out next day for a remarkable line of icebergs. 
On our left was the great glacier, the cliff edge dropping to 
sea-level at a brownish boss which | thought might show some 
rock. But it was merely stained ice badly crevassed and 
stepped like a land-slip. I expected to reach this the same 
night, but luckily our sledge-meter is a better guide as to 
when we've done enough. Four and a half miles, if we have 
been relaying, takes eleven hours hard work (less lunch time). 
Anyhow, the brown boss was still three miles beyond our 
camp, as we found later. (I expect that the pseudo-island was 
derived from this breaking ice-cape, for there was a huge group 
of bergs just ahead of us.) 

“1 don’t take very full geological notes for obvious 
reasons. We see a piece of rock about every three days!” 

There was in fact no leisure for any scientific work. We 
were too dog-tired to stir far from the tent. Even the ice 
was unusually uninteresting from a scientific point of view. 
We watched it with very particular care nevertheless. Here- 
abouts a rather low screw-pack had been covered by recent 
snows, and the alternation of hard blocks and trenches filled 
with snow made a surface calculated to keep us all ‘on the 
gui vive. 1 took Gran abreast of me in the harness, and 
so we explored most of the pitfalls, thereby saving Deben- 
ham’s lame leg from the worst surfaces. 

We did some wonderful wriggles, and if the ice ridges 
were fairly frequent—say every five feet—the sledges revelled 
in the track. For the runners only touched at these points, 
and the weight was supported above the soft fields of snow. 

It was a wonderful field of bergs among which we now 
encamped. There were fifteen in all shapes and sizes. 
Several were low and tabular, while two were higher and 
cubic in shape. One was a dirty brown, and was possibly a 
brother of the pseudo-island. Two others were shaped 
like newts, with a sharp jagged crest. They were, I suppose, 
overturned bergs. 

At 9.30 on the evening of the 26th we left our camp 
among the bergs, and dodged in and out among them towards 
the low rocky cape just to the north of us. Huge granite 
tors crowned it, and great blocks of ice six feet across had 
been hurled many feet on to the cape by the gales of the 


348 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


preceding season. I halted to photograph these, and Deben- 
ham and Gran climbed on to the granite tors. To my 
amazement Gran called out that Granite Harbour was in 
sight. I hastily climbed up and found we were right at it! 
This small cape was actually the southern portal, and the 
entrance looked about ten miles across. 

As in New Harbour there seemed to be two chief arms, 
the larger southern portion receiving the Mackay Glacier, and 
the other being almost completely bounded by smaller in- 
flowing glaciers, 

On the cape were numerous skuas, looking very cold, 
and dancing about on chilly feet. They squawked loudly 
and flapped their wings at us, but had not laid any eggs as 
yet, for Forde gave this matter his particular attention! He 
reported a feasible track across the cape which would save a 
difficult journey through the screw-pack. I agreed to try the 
overland journey, and we got across the wide tide crack and 
up fifteen feet on to the icy col with much less trouble than 
I] had expected. ‘ This col rose to about thirty feet on the 
north side, and evidently water is driven on to it by gales, 
for the ice was quite glassy at first. We relayed across, to 
the astonishment of the skua gulls. We passed a fine little 
polished platform of granite, and then sharply descended to the 
sea ice, and by 1 a.m. were within the harbour.” 

This was very gratifying, and our early arrival was due to 
several pieces of good luck. Debenham’s leg had continued 
to improve in spite of the gallant way in which he insisted 
on doing as much work as any of us; we had met with 
splendid weather since leaving Butter Point; the two days’ 
sail had helped us materially, and finally we found that the 
harbour was twelve miles nearer than we had reason to 
expect. 

About 4 a.m. on the 27th November we trekked west 
up the harbour. Far away was a high dolerite cliff with a 
small glacier just notching its edge. To this we gave the 
name of “Spillover,” and we made for it as a prominent 
landmark. 

We were now naturally very anxious to identify the bluff 
which Captain Scott had arranged as our rendezvous with 
Pennell. We were told that it was about five hundred feet 
high, and Ferrar had described it as resembling a cabbage! 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 349 


We could see nothing remotely approaching this description, 
nor indeed anything very like a photograph of it, which 
appeared in the Discovery volume. 

We were so interested in this unexplored region that we 
pulled the front sledge along till the second sledge seemed a 
mere speck to the eastward. In fact, we failed to notice that 
the weather was growing very thick to southward, while a 
threatening tablecloth was covering Erebus. We hurried 
back. The stage was nearly three times the normal distance. 
I know it seemed such an interminable distance that I 
wondered if the sea ice were carrying the sledge away ! 

We got back to our first sledge just in time and pulled 
in to a little crag of granite which projected below the 
frowning cliffs of ice. This we called First View Point, for 
from it we could see a bold promontory which was possibly 
our rendezvous. Indeed, the error in the map had made 
me doubtful if we were in Granite Harbour at all ! 

View Point was not an ideal camp site. There was no 
snow, and really no room for the tent. But we managed to 
get it spread loosely in a little alcove, and though it flapped 
wildly all night, yet we were very thankful to be on ‘serra 
jirma in the blizzard, even if it were only a yard or two 
wide. 

Outside the drift blew in great sheets off the glacier sixty 
feet above us. The temperature was twenty below freezing, 
but we were very snug in the tent, and I slept for nine solid 
hours. 

We left View Point next day, as the blizzard was only 
a brief one, and pushed west. Soon we had to cross a giant 
shear crack some forty feet wide. Luckily the main 
channel was frozen in places, and we got across without 
difficulty, and then reached a small glacier tongue which 
drained the Piedmont. Very heavy clouds again obscured 
the south, and I felt it wise to take advantage of this 
good camping site and sit out the impending blizzard. So 
we pitched the tent off the end of the tongue near a splendid 
snowdrift which afforded us perfect blocks for securing the 
tent. Soon beautiful flakes of snow were falling. Some 
were delicate crystal bundles like a pine branch, others were 
like little cog-wheels with six teeth. It continued to snow 
most of the day, and as night-marching was not advisable 


350 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


for survey work, I felt that we could now take a little more 
time and return to day-sledging. We cut out breakfast and 
kept comfortably to our bags all the morning, having lunch at 
1.30. Our last meal had been lunch also! Gran caused 
some amusement by demanding two cakes of chocolate, as 
due from the missed meal. 

Cooking was a great responsibility, and one that I was 
never anxious to undertake. Still, even an indifferent cook 
like myself could not go far wrong with such simple foods 
as we had at our disposal. Debenham “had a light hand 
with the pastry,” as I have recorded previously, and I used to 
watch his methods closely. The only “variable factor” 
was the “thickers’’ in the hoosh. This ingredient varied a 
little, from peaflour to wheatmeal or crushed biscuit: but 
the pemmican was (like the butter at Cambridge) cut to 
measure! The cook would take out the greasy lumps from 
the weekly bag and loosely fill an aluminium mug with them. 
Then he would drop this measure in among the ice and half- 
melted snow in the cooker and leave it there to boil. Ap- 
parently the chief art with the thicker consisted in mixing it 
to a smooth paste first with a little water—laboriously ladled 
out of the outer cooker—and then pour it into the “ hoosh ” 
just as the mixture boiled up. 

It was good stuff! It had a rich taste, especially when 
solid with ground biscuit after Gran’s famous recipe. Months 
later, when tasting a rich Melton Mowbray pie, a memory of 
the Antarctic rose before me. There were the four of us; 
Forde phlegmatically breaking biscuit into his pot; Deben- 
ham blowing lustily into his, and finally spoiling it by cooling 
it in the snow-floor ; Gran swallowing it piping hot so that 
tears came to his eyes, and he fairly wriggled on his sleeping- 
bag ; and lastly, the anxious cook not daring to taste his, but 
manipulating pots and spoons in the effort to produce steam- 
ing cocoa before all the “‘ hoosh”’ was finished. 

I started sledging an ardent cocoa-drinker, but soon 
realized that there was much to be said for tea at midday. 
We had a belief that it refreshed one quicker than cocoa, and 
so we used to have it at breakfast also quite frequently. 
Upon this journey we did not bring cheese, and I certainly 
never missed it after the superfluity in the hut. Raisins were 
allotted to us, but I think “stoned dates” would have been 


Mount Marston 
Piedmont Glacier Kar Plateau Outer Granite Harbour 


Gran The Haystack Mount England 


= 


AVALANCHE CLIFFS ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF GRANITE HARBOUR. HERE THE PIEDMONT ICE COVERS A CWM ON THE LEFT, BUT IS DISCONTINUOUS OVER THE 
CLIFFS ON THE RIGHT, 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 351 


better, for one never seemed to have enough to taste in a 
spoonful of raisins! The butter was fine! Sometimes I 
would save some of the precious lumps of sugar; and an 
original sweetmeat resulted if one bit alternately into the 
frozen butter and the sugar! The chocolate we usually 
nibbled at the four-o’clock halt ; while any biscuit left over 
would be dumped into the hold-all pocket on one’s jersey and 
eaten at the same time. Debenham never could eat all his 
biscuit at the meals, and somehow often had a bit to spare 
which we couldn’t resist. 

I used to save some of my evening butter in my pot for 
the morning. Occasionally hoosh would be poured on it by 
a hasty cook, and then my biscuit had to be eaten dry; a 
small matter, for the hoosh was the richer. Once or twice on 
our trek we came to pools of water, and then Forde would 
polish up the pots; but thereafter queer mixtures would 
gradually swamp the true flavours of our foods. The 
beverage would be “co-tea,”’ or “ tea-co,” according to circum- 
stances, while suspicions of many of our past menus would 
persist until another scouring day arrived. 

There were some compensations, however, in Polar 
sledging. One could obtain water by merely digging a cup 
into the floor, and the absence of flies and of rain were 
blessings indeed. However, the air was not quite aseptic. 
Many of the carcases of sheep went bad, and one of our party 
was very sick from the butter before we finished our journey. 

The snow ceased about 4 p.m., and Gran and I walked to 
the root of the ice tongue to examine it. It was a mile and 
a half long and was fed by a well-defined overflow from the 
Wilson Piedmont, which had cut its way through granite 
cliffs some 200 feet high. There were several “ chimneys” 
offering tracks up the cliffs. One had a rough rock figure 
at its base, and led Gran to remark, “This is an ome.” I 
realized he meant “ good omen,” and accordingly we tackled 
the chimney indicated. Lichen and mosses welcomed us on 
the flat summit, where some hundred yards of granite-strewn 
platform marked where the piedmont had retreated from the 
edge. We investigated the gully between the tongue and 
the cliffs, here almost vertical. As usual there was no sign 
of grooves or striation, though the ice was much disturbed at 
the base of the cliff, and we had to cross many small crevasses. 


352 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


Early on the 29th I waked the others, hoping to make an 
early start. Unfortunately something went wrong with the 
primus ; I am afraid some spirit was mixed with the paraffin. 
At any rate we had an anxious hour testing the apparatus, 
which formed our only source of heat while sledging, but 
found nothing out of order except the fuel. 

We had been looking forward to sledging over the vast 
sheet of clear ice within Granite Harbour. But the late snow- 
fall had ruined our chances, and we had practically no easy 
sledging during the whole of the journey. Personally I was 
so pleased that we had safely reached the Harbour, that a day 
or two more or less now did not worry me. 

At the end of the second stage Forde discovered a cave in 
the granite cliffs. It was about fifty feet high and twenty 
feet wide. I think it was due to the sea tearing out the 
loosened blocks along a large fracture in the granite, though 
such an occurrence is necessarily rare on icebound coasts. 

I was very anxious to find a suitable spot for a head- 
quarters camp, and so far not a single spot was large enough 
to pitch the tent upon. In the bay just east of the huge bluff 
there seemed to be some rock slopes. Most picturesque at 
the head of the bay was a great granite cliff festooned with 
narrow glaciers hanging over like ribbons, We heard several 
avalanches here, and so called the place Avalanche Bay. In 
the corner was a steep slope of glacial debris—partly mud and 
partly gravel and boulders. We climbed up this for two 
hundred and fifty feet, and so could look down on a small 
glacier which occupied a bowl-shaped hollow in the coast-line. 
This would appear to be a cwm valley into which the Pied- 
mont Glacier has flowed. 

“ After supper it cooled somewhat, and we started out for 
some relay work. We could see the Bluff quite close, and 
after half a mile I judged we were halfway and went back for 
the second sledge. Then on again, and we never seemed to 
get any nearer. It was nearly two miles off and we were all 
tired on arrival. However, we plugged back for the second 
sledge, and it was a weary grind! As Debenham remarked : 
‘We were too tired to think!’ We got in about 11.30 and 
pitched camp on poor snow, fetching blocks of ice from the 
wide tide-crack to weight the flaps. 

“We were much amused by the laments of a young seal 


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‘e161 ‘9 ‘NYE “HNONOL AVMOVIW, dO * LOOM FHL LY CHOVMS) SASSVAUAOD AO ATAlA AHL 


“UDALK) Aq 040i 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 353 


(still in its woolly coat) for its mother. ‘ Baa-aa!’ he said, 
quite plainly, like a cross between a lamb and a vigorous 
young bull. This resounded from the five-hundred-foot 
granite cliff above, and occasionally the mother re-echoed 
it from the tide crack where she wisely kept! I was glad 
to see about eight seals here. I expect we shall kill most 
of them! Trigger caught the young one by the tail, and it 
bellowed and tried to get away. It took to water readily. 
There was a well-defined margin of level fixed ice, ten yards 
wide, following the coast all along. Weturned in at midnight 
tired out and not much worried by the baa-ing of the seals.” 

Before turning in we saw a most remarkable sight to the 
east. Sailing over the Ross Sea towards the south was a fleet 
of cloud galleons. The hulls appeared as bright white glares 
separated from each other by dark nimbus. The lower sails 
were sheets of stratus, and beautiful cumulus floated over 
each. At the front of each the advancing vapours were 
curved to form the galleon’s bows. 

On the 30th we relayed round the face of Discovery Bluff, 
leaving one sledge on the firm ice-foot beyond the seals’ pool 
while we marched on with the other to try and find our 
summer headquarters. The Bay ice was torn every half-mile 
by huge shear cracks, but luckily they were still narrow and 
we crossed them readily enough. 

We now opened up a small bay, and I could see a fine 
camp site just ahead. I made straight for a rough beach 
which was covered with granite blocks. I was glad to see 
that lichens and moss were growing here in some abundance, 
for it indicated that this was a sheltered, sunny spot. 

Behind the beach was a steep slope leading to a little plain 
about four hundred feet up. I climbed up to this while the 
others explored the beach and the small cape to westward. 
Soon I reached the further edge of the plain, and from here 
I had a magnificent view up the great Mackay Glacier. There 
was a well-defined glacier entering the bay in the south-west 
corner, which had a fairly gentle slope. Up this I hoped to 
find a route to the interior, for the other outlets of the glaciers 
were crevassed to a greater extent than in any of the other 
regions, In fact, the ice river resembled a great ploughed 
field where every furrow was a huge crevasse. Gran said 
such an area would be called Skauk in Norway. He said 

2A 


354 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


they used Icelandic terms for their new words, much as we do 
Greek. I think this term might be introduced into our 
nomenclature, at any rate we used it thereafter. 

Meanwhile Debenham had found an excellent spot for our 
permanent camp. We were very satisfied with the outlook. 
One reads of the advantage of a “gravel subsoil.” Here 
between some large boulders was a patch of gravel. To be 
sure it was full of irregular blocks of granite and half covered 
with snow; but by hand-picking it and raking it over and 
over we rid ourselves of the “ feathers in the bed,” and also 
got our tent-site ultimately fairly dry. The small elevated 


13-1-12 


plain was going to give us a bountiful water supply when the 
weather got warmer. In fact, Debenham entered into a 
disquisition on “hydraulic grades” and the “origin of 
springs,” to show that we should have water laid on past 
our tent! The snow never melted sufficiently for running 
water, but Forde evolved a fine reservoir in a few days. He 
cleaned out a hollow in a huge granite tor, and the sun’s 
heat acting on a snow dam at one side usually gave us a 
sufficient supply. Great blocks of bay-ice driven up in a 
previous summer formed our cool storage. Just off the 
Bluff was fuel and food in the shape of seals. Buttresses of 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 355 


granite crossed the beach, and between two of these was an area 
where our kitchen was almost half built. Surrounded on 
three sides by solid granite walls three feet high was an en- 
closure which we managed to roof in well enough to hold 
the blubber stove. Forde and Gran were especially keen 
on this edifice, which they called Granite House from Verne’s 
“‘ Mysterious Island.” | 

It was a day or two before the house was finished. 
Forde was master mason and Gran chief labourer. He used 
to delight in bringing to the site great cubes of granite which 
we others could hardly move. There was a most uncom- 
fortable block of granite projecting into the hut, but by the 
repeated dropping of huge blocks on to it, Gran finally 
managed to remove this excrescence. 

After lunch on the 30th Gran and I went off to obtain the 
wherewithal for our first seal-hoosh. Luckily there was a 
seal a quarter of a mile from the camp, and we soon slew him 
in the usual manner. Gran would attract the doomed animal’s 
attention, while I stole alongside from behind and stunned 
him with a blow on the nose. This was almost the chief use 
I made of the geological hammer, for Debenham was making 
the rock collections while 1 studied glacial topography chiefly. 

Forde gave us a lesson in butchering. Most people do 
not realize that a seal is not far removed from an otter. 
Anyhow, his anatomy is near enough to that of a sheep for 
one to know where the choicest meat lies. In fact, a seal’s 
skeleton is just like a sheep’s, in which the two hind legs 
have been folded together close to the tail and converted into 
swimming flappers. 

We cut off two wide strips of blubber first from the belly ; 
then rolled the seal over—an operation of great difficulty— 
and obtained two more from the back. Beneath these strips 
of blubber were the best portions of the flesh, except the liver, 
which needed especial anatomizing. Around the neck I cut off 
odd bits of blubber, and one of these served to cook a meal 
on the stove, so that there was plenty of fuel on a seal to 
cook the meat it provided. 

We staggered back laden with spoil, leaving the carcase to 
a multitude of skuas. How they quarrelled and fought over 
the pieces! Every skua seemed to prefer to grab a piece 
already selected by another. I suppose they were not used 


356 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


to tearing fragments off such a superfluity of carcase! We 
welcomed these visitors, for we had in mind future tasty 
dishes based on skua eggs. 

It snowed during the night, about one inch falling, chiefly 
as needles and fluff-balls. All this spoiled future sledging, 
but we watched it philosophically now that we had got our 
main supply to its destination. 

I turned in later than the others, and, on having a last look 
round, I noticed some dark specks floating on a little pool. 
With no organic matter in the 
air, this seemed unusual, and 
on closer examination I found 
that these were the long-desired 
insects! They were little bluish 
fellows shaped like a cigar, with 
six legs and no wings. I was 
very pleased, and rushed to 
inform my sleeping mates. I am sorry to record that they 
did not seem to think the discovery worth the loss of their 
first sleep! Each insect was about one millimetre long, so 
that twenty-five only measure an inch, and they clustered 
together like aphides. 

Next morning I received congratulations, as it was my 
birthday. The sledge flags were hoisted on a line between 
two depét poles. We hung up the red-and-black depét 
bunting also in honour of the occasion. Debenham said he 
had no present for me, but he could not allow me to cook 
my birthday dinner. I noticed that the others seemed over- 
joyed that I should be relieved of my cooking duties for one 
meal ! 

“© However, I did breakfast, and made a fine hoosh. The 
great secret is to mix the wheatmeal, pepper, salt, etc., well, 
and pour it in just before the pemmican boils, giving it only 
five minutes. It is much more slippery and soothing than if 
you cook the ‘ thickers’ longer. 1 shall be quite an accom- 
plished cook later on!” 

About 11 a.m. Gran, Forde, and I brought the other 
sledge in from the Bluff. After lunch we unloaded the stores, 
mustered them, and placed them under a big rock until the 
hut should be ready to receive them. 

“We seem to be especially rich in raisins. I fear 1 forgot 


Gomphocephalus : 


Antarctic “Springtat he 
1.t2ett 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 357 


to take out a bag at Cape Evans. Gran is going to sow 
sea-kale here, so that our vegetables and fruits should be 
plentiful ! 

“‘ About 5.30 a long streamer of smoke announced that the 
famous stove was going, and Debenham made a splendid liver- 
fry, followed by cocoa in very quick time. Gran produced a 
bottle of Savoy sauce, which he had carried as part of his 
personal gear, and presented it to me. No present could 
possibly have been more acceptable, as any one who has lived 
on one dish for a month will realize. I could have eaten two 
whacks of the fry easily! We decided to use the bottle at 
one meal instead of spinning it out, but (as Wendell Holmes 
remarked about the honeypot) you can’t pour out the last 
dregs from a sauce-bottle. Some one suggested we should 
draw lots for these precious dregs. (Privately I thought they 
belonged to me, but I nobly agreed!) So, in the way they 
have in the navy, I thought of a word of five letters, and I 
said that the last alphabetical letter should win the prize (as 
a matter of fact I had thought of ‘Savoy’). Gran gave me 
the third letter (v), and he took the first. Debenham took 
the fourth, and then I felt safe. But Forde took the last (y), 
and so won the sauce. A very sorrowful moment! This 
ingenuous game always entranced me; it trusted so implicitly 
in the leader’s lack of American ‘smartness,’ for the word was 
not divulged until the numbers were out ! 

The method bewildered me when I first heard it, but I 
hope the above account is lucid. 

The next day Gran became cook, and gave us a fine 
hoosh, after which I started trying to get the astronomical 
position of our headquarters. Gran explained the way the 
Norwegian fishermen obtain latitude and longitude by very 
simple yet sufficiently accurate methods. They observe the 
sun at I1.30, again near noon, and at 12.30. By this means 
they get the local time of noon by calculating halfway between 
the other two observations, which should be nearly the same 
‘reading. The noon reading is a check, 

Unfortunately in 77° S. the sun pursued a placid path 
which was nearly horizontal, and it was very difficult to find 
the “keystone” of such a flat “arch”’ as he described ! 

We had unloaded one sledge and converted it into the 
roof-tree of our granite hut. It was necessary to collect 


358 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


sealskins to cover our house, and as the walls were now high 
enough, Gran and I went off on a fur-hunting trip. About 
half a mile away was a big seal, and I determined to secure him. 

“It was extraordinary how long the muscular action 
lasted, for this animal was stabbed three times in the heart 
and pithed three times in the brain. We had great difficulty 
in turning him over; there is nothing so slimy, heavy, and 
sloppy as a huge sheet of blubber and skin. We managed to 
roll the heavy hide on to the sledge, but it would not stay 
there. Just like a slow-moving glacier it slipped off every- 
where. ‘Trigger’ took off his belt and lashed it on, and we 
managed to start by sticking the ice-axes in to keep some from 
dragging in the snow. We had to cross an ugly shear crack 
about four feet wide, regularly torn in the floe by the pressure 
of the glacier, but it was no trouble by using the interlocking 
promontories. We cooked tea on the blubber-stove, whose 
white smoke lends homeliness to our headquarters. . . . We 
named the latter Cape Geology, in memory of the chief object 
of our journey, though we had been able to do very little 
scientific work so far. 

“ After lunch Debenham and I proceeded to flense the 
blubber off, laying the hide on a rounded boss of ice. It was 
slow work, for the sun warmed the blubber so that it was as 
easy to cut as flannel two inches thick. We dug out a cache 
between two blocks of ice and put the meat and blubber 
therein, covering them with smaller blocks of ice, and this 
storehouse served well after we had taken the precaution to 
mark it with a bamboo, so that it was not lost in the snow. 

“I made a granite seat in the hut, and will have a fur 
carpet, for it is cold for the toes on the snowy floor. The 
stove smokes badly, but gives off enormous flames and heat, 
only burning 10” x 3” x 10" of blubber per meal. . . .”” Soon, 
however, the soot and oil filled the bottom of the stove, and 
then it ran out over the rocks and spread all over the snowy 
floor. We had to stand in this fearful mixture, which is 
dirtier than the grease in a foul motor engine, and much more 
ubiquitous. The smoke made one gasp as eddies drove it 
into the face, and we never managed a door for the hut to 
keep out the icy winds blowing down from Mount England. 

The sledge ran along the centre of the roof, and the 
chimney projected through it. Biscuit-boxes helped to form 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 359 


the roof, but sealskins enough to cover it were gradually 
collected. Forde said it was as good as many an Irish shebeen, 
which made me pity the Irish more than anything I had yet 
heard of them! However, it saved our fuel, and kept our 
field notes and sketches cleaner than if we were cooking in 
the tent, so that we feel that this sample of Antarctic archi- 
tecture fulfilled a worthy purpose. 

“TI cut up the seal meat and insisted on adding meat to the 
liver, for we should need to kill a seal every other day at 
the rate the cook wants liver! I’m bound to say that I am 
the biggest eater. Gran had a reputation that way, but 
he has not eaten as much, and Debenham and Forde are 
very poor eaters.” It was very cold in the granite hut. I 
sat in the doorway to try and keep out the draught, and was 
very glad to trot out and warm my toes after cocoa. ‘ The 
skuas don’t show any particular inclination to lay yet. Perhaps 
they see it won’t be worth their while. Nor do they seem at 
all anxious to clean the blubber from the sealskin we left for 
them.” 

Our tent was in the shadow of the Bluff all night, and so 
it was quite cold in spite of the midnight sun. Gran and I 
set out next day to put up the rendezvous flag, and to kill a 
seal, while Forde and Debenham finished the hut. 

We climbed up one of the chimneys or steep gullies 
which scored the front of the Bluff for several hundred feet, 
and then got out on to a knob, where we raised a red flag on 
a stout bamboo pole. I found a fine deep crack, and Gran 
wedged it in very solidly with blocks of granite. From this 
view point I made a great discovery, that there is an ice 
tongue about one mile wide and five miles long, projecting 
from the skauk of the Mackay Glacier. Bay ice fringes the 
cliffs beyond it, and as the map shows, the tongue extends 
almost down the middle of Granite Harbour. 

We had many arguments about thistongue. The Discovery 
must have been close to it in 1902. Debenham was inclined 
to think that it had grown since that date ; but later we saw a 
photo from the Discovery which showed that it was in existence 
then. 

I wrote a note to Pennell, and lashed it to the mast, telling 
him we were going inland till January the 8th. We then 
hurried down the screes, and went out on the bay ice to slay 


360 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


our seal. ‘‘ He died rapidly, thank goodness, and we plugged 
through our job till about 2°15, having an awful time tying 
the hide and blubber on the sledge, while the liver lobes ran 
all over it. Gran swears they worked their way uphill, and 
came out of the folds of skin! I threw some bits into the 
shear-crack, while washing the liver, and the hole was soon full 
of amphipods, which are cousins of the shrimps. Gran says 
he is going to fish hereabouts if he can get a hook.” 

On the 4th December we began to collect gear for our 
next trip. Forde spent a lot of time at the blubber stove, 
where he was the most expert cook. He cut up large lumps 
of seal, and fried enough for eight meals. This was mixed 
with pepper and salt, and about half cooked. He then filled 
a large tin with this rough substitute for pemmican, and lashed 
it on to the sledge. I used to enjoy a snack of this half- 
cooked seal between meals, for there was now no doubt that 
our appetites were of the true Antarctic variety. 

We had cleaned several skins now, and we fixed them 
over the roof-tree of our hut. I sewed up the flipper holes, 
and each skin was about eight feet by six. We lashed them 
to the sledge, in the middle, and then hung huge stones from 
the outer margins, which drew them taut, and held the skins 
close to the walls. They soon became very sooty, but were 
always translucent, for the hairs are large and coarse, and not 
at all closely set. We could just stand up under our sledge 
roof-tree. Forde spread gravel over the blubber-ice composi- 
tion on the floor, and I gathered some moss and tried to stuff 
up the crevices therewith. When the cold wind blew down 
the hills it invaded our hut, and made us glad as soon as the 
sooty meal was over, and we could take refuge in our snug 
little tent below. 

That evening Gran and I climbed up to the top of the bluff, 
above the flag. The sides were covered with granite debris ; 
some colossal blocks were twenty feet across. In the clay 
beneath them were mosses and lichens, one of the latter being 
of a fine frondose shape, with root-like attachments. I collected 
this specimen, and boxed it on my return ; but the skuas had 
scattered our specimens when the ship’s party finally arrived 
in 1913. 

We got up in about one hour, and I began to have my 
doubts about the five-hundred-feet height mentioned in the 1902 


GRANITE HUT, CAPE GEOLOGY. 


Forde and Gran are cooking at the blubber stove, whose chimney projects 
behind the “sledge ” roof-tree. 


FORDE COOKING SEAL-FRY ON THE BLUBBER STOVE AT 
CAPE ROBERTS, 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 361 


record! Luckily, I had an aneroid, and this showed it to be 
over fifteen hundred feet high. I got a magnificent view of 
Granite Harbour and the Mackay Glacier. The large ice 
tongue ended in three splay “fingers,” and was badly crevassed, 
except right at the end. Far to the east I could see Mount 
Erebus and Beaufort Isle. Below was a regular succession 
of shear-cracks, due to the irresistible pressure of the Mackay 
Tongue pushing out the bay ice. Great pressure ridges, six, 
ten, and fifteen feet high marked where the bay ice was being 
jammed on to the Bluff. These were very prominent near 


unch bow! 


Pressure-ridges in the sea ice, looking west from Cape Geology to the Punch 
Bowl cwm, January 13, 1912. 


Cape Geology also, and pools of water collected in the hollows 
between the ridges. 

On the afternoon of the sth we started to the north, to 
march around the end of the Mackay Tongue, which lay about 
five miles off. We were now crossing ice covered with nearly 
a foot of snow ; but with only one sledge and ten days’ food, 
we got along in fine style. We could easily see our signal flag 
flying on the Bluff, and the red showed quite clearly when the 
wind blew it out. We reached one of the “fingers” at the 
end of the ice tongue about 6.30, and here I decided to camp, 
so as not to lose sight of our survey stations. 

“There seems to be no large tide crack here, which means 


362 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


that the tongue is floating. It is broken into deep lateral 
bays, and consists of regular rolls and hollows. I don’t 
believe that storms affect this harbour much, or it would have 
gone out long ago. We pitched the tent on soft snow, just 
off the end. I got ice from the glacier for the cooker, which 
Forde declared was salty from old sea spray. Anyhow, the 
hoosh was very good.” 

Far to the west we could see a huge black mountain 
projecting 'through the Mackay Glacier. It was formed of 
black dolerite capping granite, and reminded me of a three- 
cornered Chinese junk. Debenham objected to this name as 
being unworthy bs such a fine nunatak, and proposed Gondola 
Mountain. We knew it by this name during our expedition, 
but on my return to Sydney I discovered that Professor 
David had seen it from the coast, and had cailed it Mount 
Suess. So Mount Suess displaces Debenham’s euphonious 
title. 

“ The sky looked very ugly—the sun dimly glaring through 
gloomy clouds—a low, thick, dark bank on the eastern horizon, 
and the barometer falling half an inch in the twelve hours. 
So far nothing has happened, but now (10.30 p.m.) snow has 
just begun, and may keep on some time; for I see, from the 
log, that we had similar conditions at Harbour Tongue on 
the 28th. The temperature is + 23°, and we are very com- 
fortable ; for though we are on sea-ice, yet we can reach the 
glacier in twenty yards, and there is twenty miles of ice 
between us and the open water.” 

I am going to copy my notes, for the next few days, 
verbatim, for they give a fairly complete account of a typical 
summer blizzard in Antarctica. If the language seems a trifle 
strong, the circumstances should be considered. 

“ Wednesday, December 6, 1911.—10 a.m. Weare held up 
in our first violent blizzard, and it is just a month since we 
started. We have had snow blizzards, but this has wind force 
about 7 as well, and the drift is thick and wetting. 

“We have a pretty snug camp on snow, one foot thick, 
which you can accommodate to your hip-bone, but which it 
is difficult to stand the Primus upon (especially as the cooker 
base, on which it usually rests, is full of fat, and is now our 
frying pan at the Aut). It started snowing about midnight, 
and clothed the tent by 3 am. I woke to hear the tent 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 363 


flapping, and shaking down young avalanches, and it has been 
going strong ever since. 

‘‘There is always a strong bulge zz on the windward 
(S.E.) side, and slighter bulges at the two lateral tent 
segments. Then the door, if properly placed, tends to blow 
out, and the laterals next to it do most of the flapping, and 
make a deuce of a row. 

“2 p.m. Still blizzing strongly ; there have been one or 
two lulls of a few minutes; but they don’t seem to mean 
much. It is snowing furiously, too; pattering on the tent 
like rain on wooden shingles. If you budge from the tent 
(Debenham had to get a note-book) you get very cold, because 
the drift melts and wets you at this temperature (+23° F.). 
We had a meal about 11 a.m., Gran cooking a good bovril- 
pemmican, with a large supply of broken biscuit therein. 
This strong south-east wind blows practically direct from Cape 
Roberts on to the tongue on our lee, and so I do not much 
fear it will shift out any ice. Anyhow, we can’t move, and I 
am learning to take these blizzes philosophically. Besides, 
the bags are dry and warm, and when I tire of writing the 
diary I snooze a bit, and then read Harker’s ‘Petrology’ 
(Deb’s), and then snooze, and then read ‘Poe’s Tales’ 
(too fantastic and oriental to please me are most of them), 
or ‘ Martin Chuzzlewit,’ or do some German grammar. 
Forde is actually reading something. He has tackled ‘The 
Mysterious Island’ which Gran has nearly finished at last. 
Deb started to work out a latitude, but is now wrapped 
in ‘ Morfus.’ Last night’s hoosh was an enormous success, 
24 pots of Forde’s concentrated seal hoosh, mixed with water 
and meal, made atop-hole hoosh—very tasty, and all indigenous. 

“6 p.m. The tent is beastly sloppy. We have just 
finished our /unch at 6 p.m., and if we can’t get away, that is 
our last meal to-day! To-day is a queer camp, the first down 
here where the tent has dripped on us, when no Primus is 
going. We have put the cooker under the tied-up door, and 
it is filling, I see! Forde is dressing his finger with a pen- 
knife, and Deb keeping warm very sensibly in his bag. 

“ December 7, 1911.—Slept pretty well. Dreams, as usual, 
furnished some conversation ’twixt Gran and me, and occa- 
sionally Deb. I had a very vivid one (or two) after two pots 
of seal fry the other night. 


364 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


““] was walking to Sheffield and got lost, and couldn’t get 
any one to tell me the way. I asked a man and couldn’t get 
any great satisfaction out of him. He saw some of my Ant- 
arctic gear in my bag, and said J looked as if I was going to 
the Pole, but would not believe me when I said I’d been 
there! I then told him my name (to impress him, no doubt!), 
and he was not a bit concerned, but said his name was Taylor 
also! Then I switched off home, where everybody was much 
concerned about the end of the world, or something equally 
cheerful. There was an awful red sky to the south which 
caused great perturbation, until finally some one called out, 
‘It’s the return of the mail-clad “ goater”-cars from the 
Pole!’ These were a sort of red motors assisted by goats, 
and were quite the latest thing in transport evidently, and I 
was much pitied because I didn’t know all about them. But 
a bad pun in a dream seems to denote too much fry ! 

“It is now noon, and we are still snowed up off the end 
of Mackay Tongue (43 ours now and we have not got away). 
It dripped most of the night, for the temperature was +27° 
outside and warmer inside. There was a puddle by the door, 
but Gran and my bags have absorbed most of that, and Deb’s 
is wetter. So far the inside of mine is still O.K., and I have 
fur inside always now. It is much warmer, and as soft and 
comfortable as anything I’ve slept in as far as I remember. 
We have been trekking over a month, and though we’ve had 
almost unique hard relaying for two weeks—330 per man— 
yet I enjoyed it much more than the Ferrar trip under better 
conditions. 

“We got up at 8, and Gran made a biscuit-bovril-pem- 
hoosh, which was very good. We had only two meals yester- 
day, so went a full whack this morning. I put on my boots 
and wind-coat and puttees, and dug out the thermometer. 
The sledge is buried two feet in snow. Deb’s big camera 
tripod shows above the snow, and a bamboo pole—also the 
top of the shovel,—but the rest is clean buried. The first fall 
of snow was consolidated by the blizzard ; the last fall, since 
2 p.m. yesterday, is fluffy light stuff and quite different in 
texture. I dug down to the biscuits and got Deb’s note-book, 
and then came in and scraped off the snow and had breakfast. 
I have finished ‘ Martin Chuzzlewit’ this morning and 
puzzled over German declensions, and still we can’t see more 


Sy 


“ 
ma 


HEAVY SLEDGING OFF MACKAY TONGUE, JUST WHERE 
WE TRIED TO PACK TO LAND, Dec. 8, 1911. 


Note the great furrows due to the sledge dragging bodily on the snow. 


THE “HALF-TON” AFTER NELSON LEFT US, OFF THE MOUTH 
OF DRY VALLEY, Nov. 18, ror. 


Notice the ice-free character of the valley and its faceted walls. Beneath the flag 
appears distant “Matterhorn.” The sledge-meter shows to the left of the 
tent. [See p. 339. 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 365 


than ahundred yards, and itis snowing still. We gota watery 
glimpse of the sun about 9; but he’s gone, though, as the 
north side of the tent is dripping most, I suppose he’s still 
about. There’s a constant rainy patter on the tent, but the 
snow is so slight it would not matter if we could see where to 
steer! However, it’s not hard work lying still here, and 
Scott did it seven days ; we’ve only had two. 

“ The barometer (29.45) is rising steadily, which denotes, 
I think, no more strong wind at present. Our short, sharp 
blizz was correlated with a very low barometer of 29.18, 
whereas 29.80 is about the mean hereabouts. 

“There is no tide-crack off the Tongue, which is five 
miles from its parent glacier, and therefore must be floating. 
Also, as it projects a hundred feet above sea-level, it must be 
500 feet thick, which is comforting. 

‘We had lunch about two and saw blue sky to the east, 
Erebus showing partly ; gradually the whole snow cloud blew 
over en masse to the west, leaving blue sky and a bright sun. 
We dug out the sledge, nothing of which showed, and got off 
after Deb had taken a photo. 

“We could hardly get a move out of the sledge and finally 
harnessed so as to beat out a bit of a track. The going was 
awful. Never had such hard work, and with only one fairly 
light sledge! It pulled me flat on my face in the soft mushy 
snow, and wet me half up to the waist tramping through it. 
We managed to get around to the end of the Tongue and one 
mile to the north, and then it was after 7 p.m., and I could 
not stick it, nor could the others. We pitched camp in the 
middle of North Bay. But our floorcloth and tent are dry, 
which is a great comfort, and we had a fine seal-hoosh. The 
trouble is that all our survey work will be blocked ; for two 
miles’ progress in three hours is deadly, and this snow is 
universal. However, I’d rather have it now than earlier, 
when we had two heavy sledges, for we couldn’t possibly have 
moved either! Perhaps it will cement by to-morrow a bit. 
The temperature is down to +134° (after 27° or so) and the 
barometer is still rising steadily. I feel a bit wet and will 
turn in early. 

“The Tongue is very imposing from this (north) side, 
being cut up by bays so deep that they seem to separate it 
into islands. We hope to make the end of the Kar Plateau— 


366 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


a long 800-foot flat-topped shelf—which seemed to show a bit 
of beach. We had to camp at what seems one and a half to 
two miles away in soft snow, which we kicked away and 
shovelled off so as to get a fair spread for the floorcloth. 

“ Friday, December 8, 1911.—I doffed some of my clothes 
and hung them up inside the tent, if so be they might dry a 
little. Result, like a board, for the temperature was only +13. 
However, I used my eiderdown, and was jolly snug and warm 
and slept quite well. 

“* My bag is wet outside and it wet the floorcloth. Trig- 
ger’s you can squeeze water out of. We must get a drying 
spot on the coast. It is a fair morning with a gusty, cold, 
plateau wind (W.). The sun is shining low down in the east 
through cirrus ; but it does not look snowy or blizzy. 

“(Written Saturday 8 a.m.) We were about two miles 
from the coast, the nearest being the end of the Kar Plateau. 
We loaded up the sledge and gaily proceeded in that direc- 
tion, anticipating arrival about noon. But we found we could 
not pull the sledge, though I doubt if there is 400 lbs. on it. 
It just stuck, with the prow covered with soft snow. Forde 
gave words to ‘ pull all together’ (for he could see better than 
I, being at the back), but it was no good. So we stuck up 
the flag pole and packed all we could carry on our backs. Gran 
went first with his very heavy bag (half water) and the tent 
poles. He plugged away in great style, but made rather a 
devious track as different parts of the coast appealed to him ! 
Deb followed with a rucksack on his back and his bag also 
(and the plane-table halfway). Forde took the tent and cloth, 
but didn’t wrap them up carefully, so that they rather impeded 
his movements. I came last with a proper swag—rucksack in 
front and bag behind, hung over my shoulders on my belt. 
There we were trekking for the land to dry our things a bit 
and do some geology. Gran got rather far ahead, and by the 
time we arrived near the rocks he was manceuvring with the 
tent poles near the tide-crack. 

“This was most unsatisfactory ; a high ice-foot about two 
feet or more, separated by one or two feet space of open water, 
was bad enough, but nearly forty feet of the floe was soft and 
mushy, and through the thick snow you could not tell which 
was hard ice and which was open water. 

‘“‘ There were seals all over this mushy stuff, and one came 


+4 
4 
YW, 
v 

Z A 
BSS 
CH 

(1 W 


by 


 


WW 
> yy 
 
\ 
s 


 
\ 


HT CORNER! CROSSING THE FORTY-FOOT TIDE CRACK OFF POINT DISAPPOINTMENT, 


A TIG 


GRANITE HARBOUR. 


From a drawing by D, Low, 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 367 


unexpectedly on their holes nearly buried in snow. Deb and 
Forde were looking down one to see the thickness of the 
mushy ice when one leaped out three feet and, as Forde said, 
‘It nearly frightened a life out of me!’ 

“Gran had laid the poles up against the floe and left his 
bag just behind, when the mush gave way and in he went to 
his waist. He rescued his bag clinging to the pole, and some- 
how managed to crawl up the ice-foot, but he was pretty wet 
and soon very cold. 

“Deb and Forde sat on their packs by the firmer ice, 
and I walked along the sea ice (while Gran went along the 
ice-foot) to the north. We found it all just the same. At 
every footstep water oozed up, and evidently the floe was 
melting top and bottom and had never been thick. ‘This 
doubtful area was forty feet wide. At the north, a quarter of 
a mile from our track, I managed to get on the ice-foot over 
three visible cracks, and I don’t know how many buried in 
snow. We returned to the others to find Deb had had one 
foot through. Having regard to the difficulty of the surface 
all the way to our camp—eight miles of two-foot soft snow, 
through which we could only pull the sledge at half a mile an 
hour with every muscle taut,—I decided it was not safe to 
stay over on this shore ; for a few days’ sun would probabl 
convert this mushy belt into open water, and we should have 
no ready line of retreat at all. So in view of the Owner’s 
lectures on caution and my sledging instructions, I abandoned 
the idea of camping two or three days on this north side, and 
we lugubriously determined to push back with our packs to 
the sledge two miles away. First, however, we had to get 
Trigger off the ice-foot. I went forward to pick up his bag, 
and suddenly went through halfway up to my thigh. Luckily 
the other foot kept firm, and I leant backwards and sat back 
on the less tricky mush. Then we lashed bag ropes and 
threw them towards him. He threw the tent poles on to the 
mush and then launched himself full length on the stuff, grip- 
ping the poles. The whole floe rocked up and down like 
jelly, but the poles kept him up, and he got across to us with- 
out further mishap. It would have been impossible to scramble 
out if we had gone through, for there was nothing firm to grip. 

“Forde also volunteered that he thought ‘You done a 
wise thing to give that place a miss.’ 


368 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


“On our way back Deb stopped to take some angles with 
the plane-table, but found that he’d forgotten his sight-rule, 
so that even shat weight was uselessly lugged forward. We 
camped for lunch at our night camp, and then the sun was so 
hot that it dried our bags nicely. My feet were very cold 
and wet, and so were Gran’s. I took a complete round of 
angles both vertical and horizontal, and with the necessary 
sketching this occupied about two hours. 

“Then about four we pulled off for Camp Blizzard and 
had a diabolical time over the two and a quarter miles of soft 
snow. The old track was nearly all filled up by a drift from 
the west, and, though the snow had compacted a little, it was 
frightfully heavy work. The marks of the bamboos on the 
sledge floor showed that the whole sledge was resting on the 
snow. Only off the point of the Tongue did a little of 
the old track show and helped us somewhat. My sledge belt 
began to feel as if it was being pulled out through my back, 
and I had to pull with my hands. We camped about 8 p.m, 
just near our old Blizzard Camp, where we had to sweep off a 
foot of soft snow. I went up the Glacier Tongue to get ice, 
but could not reach real ice and had to go over to a cornice 
to get air-filled ice. We had an excellent hoosh, four cups of 
‘Forde’s concentrated’ with water added. It made a sort 
of liver jelly when boiled a little more, and I had two cups 
and a glorious cup of cocoa, cooled so that you could get 
a good long drink ! 

«|. . And then I gave the diary a miss, hung socks 
and wet breeches outside the tent, and slept right through 
till 8 a.m. !” 

We pushed off for our headquarters next morning and 
found we could hardly move the sledge. After struggling a 
few hundred yards I decided to see how the runners looked. 
We unpacked everything, and found an irregular lamina of 
ice about a quarter of an inch thick had coated the runners. 
This we scraped off with a tin matchbox and then turned the 
sledge to face the sun, and in about half an hour they were 
clean and dry. The improvement was most marked, and 
made our light sledge now only as difficult as the two heavy 
sledges we had dragged to headquarters! We read in Arctic 
books that ice is purposely moulded on the sledges, but I 
expect the temperatures are lower, when that method is useful. 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 369 


At lunch we had dragged it about a mile and a half, and 
we dried the runners again. I noted that my amber-coloured 
glasses had a very pleasing effect; they turned the most 
gloomy clouds into a beautiful Italian sky. Everything in 
the heavens is turned into blue and white, which is a great 
change from the dismal views seen through the green goggles 
of last year! The relief through using them and the help 
they give in picking out hollows in the surface is enormous, 
but they fog up somewhat, of course, with perspiration after a 
short time. 

As we were nearing our headquarters we had a great 
discussion as to what had happened to the signal flag. Deben- 
ham has excellent sight, and with the aid of the glasses he 
swore that he could see the bamboo lying, broken down. 
This seemed impossible to me, and I bet him one of our 
usual 15. 3d. dinners that it had not broken! However, 
after a time I saw myself that the thick and solid bamboo 
pole had snapped. It was some consolation that his cairn and 
flag at headquarters had blown down also ! 

We had some difficulty crossing the shear cracks near the 
camp, for the snow had covered everything. I prodded 
cautiously ahead when we seemed near the largest, and, 
stepping on, went right in. I had been standing on the exact 
edge and tested too far off! However, I escaped with a 
slight wetting, which is the proud privilege of the leader, and 
we crossed without difficulty. 

We reached our front door at 6.30, finding that the ice 
had buckled in our absence, but had not cut us off from 
shore. Dodging between two pressure ridges we reached the 
ice-foot amid the huge storm-blocks of ice and unloaded with 
great joy. Everything was buried in snow. 

The 40-lb. biscuit tin was hurled six feet off a rock, and 
Granite Hut was half filled with snow. We cleared the 
gravel patch and soon pitched our tent, and had a good hoosh 
inside us. 

Shortly after we turned in it began to blow from the west, 
a most unusual quarter. This cold plateau wind increased 
very rapidly, and by 2 a.m. was blowing as hard as any wind 
I ever felt ina tent. It bent in the stout poles of the tent 
like whale-bone, and covered the sledge with a huge ridge of 
hard snow. The door flapped so violently that some of us 

ay 


370 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


could get no sleep. The wind died down about 5 a.m., and 
the 10th turned out to be a beautiful day. We spent an hour 
clearing the huge drifts off our sledges, which were completely 
lost to sight. 

As this was Sunday, I decided we would spend it in 
tidying up our camp. Gran and I planted his sea-kale seed 
in the evening. He said the Norwegians in Graham Land 
(West Antarctica) got large crops of this succulent vegetable ! 
I had my doubts, but it seemed worth trying. Behind our 
camp was a huge cluster of granite rocks enclosing a small 
cave. We collected some mossy soil and placed it in this 
hollow, facing the noon sun. It seemed a bit wet and soggy, 


Talpir eck. ? Me home sey: Sea- kale 
i ioe ee j 


but Gran swore the seedlings would be up in a week and 
edible in a month. 

“The skuas are squawking like fussy ducks all round us, 
‘sometimes cheeping like young chicks; but they don’t lay 
eggs, which is their main duty now.” 

All the moss, which formed a regular peaty layer an inch 
thick in some of the gulleys, implied plenty of soakage.- But 
it was a cold summer, ahd we never found any drainage when 
we dug into the hollows. Moreover, the blackened appear- 
ance of the moss made me sure that we were not seeing it 
under favourable or even normal conditions. 

A small discomfort, which was to bulk largely in the next 
few weeks, began to trouble me. During the seal-killing and 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION py 


flensing I managed to inflict eight cuts on my hands, all of 
which healed up in the pure Polar air, with one exception. It 
was on the forefinger of my right hand, and was beginning to 
fester badly. Gran was our self-constituted doctor, though 
I’m bound to say that the stories he told of deathbeds which 
he had attended on Norwegian ships were not at all reassuring. 
Gravely he felt my pulse and armpit, and then said, “ Do you 
feel pain here?” I truthfully said “No!” ‘No _ blood- 
poisoning in that finger,” said he. At any rate it rapidly 
became worse, and for days I could not write, sketch, 
or photograph, while the pain prevented my sleeping at night. 

The first duty before us was to replace the flag on the 
rendezvous. Gran decided it should be of a bolder pattern, 
and so he inserted a white specimen bag in the middle of a 
black depédt flag, which made a very showy standard indeed. 

After lunch we marched across the bay just east of our 
camp. This washed the beach where the moss grew, and in 
our exiled position it was natural that Debenham and myself 
felt that there could be no better name than Botany Bay for 
this inlet! The ice surface was in a peculiarly unpleasant 
condition. A frozen layer of snow over a foot of soft snow 
made walking exceptionally tiring. Flanking the Discovery 
Bluff—as we called our rendezvous—was a tumbled scree of 
granite blocks mingled with smaller talus and snow. Here, 
moreover, numerous little rivulets were rushing down the 
chimneys scored in the face of the bluff, so that there was 
plenty of variety about our walk. 

We reached our flag sooner than I expected ; in fact, we 
climbed up right above it to nine hundred feet ; and had to 
get down somewhat circuitously, when a hurtling granite 
block warned us of precipitous cliffs directly beneath. I 
found that our bamboo was as firm fixed as ever, but it had 
snapped through like matchwood just at the surface. The 
wind seemed to have blown down the face of the Bluff, which 
was a most unexpected direction. We mounted it again, 
after hacking off four feet waste at the bottom. This 
fragment was to prove very useful to us, for I carried it back 
to camp. 

From this height we could still see nothing but solid ice. 
By means of the formula— 


Distance in miles = “V/V Height in feet 


372 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


it was possible to get some idea of the distance of the horizon. 
In this case 


D = */ 500 = 23 miles, 


so that the break-up of the ice seemed far enough off. To 
the north by Point Disappointment I could see the ugly 
patch of snow-slush which had nearly engulfed Gran and 
myself. 

We had a merry meal that evening, at which we decided 
to have a sweepstake on the day of the arrival of the ship. 
But we could not decide on the prize. We wanted lots of 
things at the moment, but they would all be plentiful when 
we got aboard, and money was obviously of no value. 
Finally Gran had a brilliant idea, and suggested that the 
winner should have the first bath! Even this suggestion 
met with disapproval, for some one pointed out that we 
should have no clean things on board, and would be sledging 
for weeks after at Evans Coves, and so might as well not 
have a bath at all ! 

Debenham and I continued our discussions on Tennyson 
and Browning. We both preferred the latter, but Debenham 
used to try to prove that Tennyson was the better poet. 
Gran would join in occasionally, and was always ready to give 
an opinion on some debated stanza of Browning’s. ‘ What 
porridge had John Keats,” according to our Norwegian critic, 
contained an abstruse reference to the gentleman’s brains ! 
Poor Forde was out of it in these discussions, and we used 
to discuss naval matters as a change, for his benefit. But our 
Irish mate was essentially a man of action, and was as far 
removed from a facile speaker as any man I’ve met, “ The 
Bishop orders his Tomb” was a poem which had a fasci- 
nation for me. Many a weary mile has passed unnoticed, 
while I have memorized line after line of that somewhat 
lugubrious poem. 

On the 12th Gran found two skua eggs. The poor 
mothers seemed wet and miserable, and Gran affirmed that 
the second was sitting in a nest full of water, and seemed 
relieved to be free of her charge. We collected a few every 
day from now onward. They are smaller than a hen’s egg, 
and of a brown colour, with irregular black, tawny and buff 
flecks irregularly scattered over the shell. 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 373 


On this expedition we had more of the trouble with boots 
which we had experienced early in the year. My “iron- 
clads”’ had lasted splendidly. The steel spikes and bars had 
protected the leather completely, and only on the 14th did the 
first bar break off. For future work of this description I 
should certainly use the heaviest and largest Alpine boots, and 


Ironclad Boofs 
for Antarchc 
Geologisrs , IS*10-49. 


that is the most valuable advice as to equipment that | can 
offer to future Antarctic geologists. 

I had been busy planning how to measure the velocity of 
the Mackay Tongue. This flowed eastward between us and 
the Kar Plateau, so that by sighting from our granite cape to 
a fixed point on the Kar Plateau cliffs, I could fix very 
accurately a datum line. It only remained to plant a mark 
on the moving glacier somewhere on this line, and our inves- 
tigation would be well started. Unfortunately we had 
nothing for a mark. I thought of placing a seal carcase on 
the glacier ; for stones would sink into the ice in a very short 
time. Finally I used the butt end of the flag-pole from the 
Discovery Bluff. Here at last we found the blubber-soot 
useful, for I used it as a paint to increase the visibility of a 
swab of sealskin which I bound on the bamboo stake. Gran 
and I marched across to the Tongue carrying the stake and 
the theodolite. I never remember any hotter walk than that 
two miles. The sun simply made the perspiration pour off us ! 
However, one could always sit down and have glace au naturel 
to cool one. Personally, I never felt any ill result from 


eating snow in the Antarctic, and all our party quenched their 
thirst in this way. 


,wniep ,, a1UN13 oY) posojoua 
uLmoys Selina odes wos ysom-y}10U Bulyoory 


‘pornsvour sem onSuoy, Avyovyy oy) Jo JUoWoAou oy AqaroyM 
JV] oy, ‘aNe]op Aq paddvo (3995 COO) nvaiy[g avy ay) JO spr ayuvsd oy) a 


~~ 


TN Ww \ AAI Wr TIT N 

OC MT] y 

lt aly LL AO en uy BASIL  yp a)  
wae {ews ‘uses 


uvao yids 


HPQ sasury 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 375 


We climbed up the Tongue without difficulty, but soon 
entered into a region riddled with crevasses. They were 
parallel to the edge of the tongue, and looked like relics of 
old lateral pressure rather than crevasses due to present 
movement. They were difficult to cross, especially as Gran’s 
boots were so slippery. We had to make a big detour to 
get on to the transit line. Finally, I got the theodolite set 
up, and sighted “fore and back,” until I got the cape and a 
crack in the Kar Cliffs in transit with my station. Here we 
planted the stake, and then returned vid the maze of crevasses 
to the camp. 

At first I could hardly see the stake from Cape Geology. 
The cold air close to the ice surface is always flickering on 
a warm day and mirages all 
objects ; but soon I made it 
out at two miles through the 
telescope, and I could see 
that we could readily measure 
a movement of one foot a 
day. 

By this time we had col- 
lected enough eggs to have 
a feast. We took the pre- 
caution of frying them, and 
Forde and I tested them 
before cooking. The whites 
are translucent and faintly 
bluish, and have very little 
taste, but I don’t think we 
had much fault to find ‘with 
them. It was amusing to 
see Gran’s horror when a Gran’s BéteNoire 15-12-11 
twelve-day chicken appeared 
in one of the eggs. It was really an interesting discovery, 
for it showed that the skuas commenced laying about the 
4th of December. We could not preserve the specimen, 
but I knew Dr. “ Bill” would be interested, and so I made 
a sketch of Gran’s béte noire. We had a splendid seal-hoosh, 
tender, and flavoured with onion-powder, and on top of this 
was a fried egg for each of us. It was Forde’s chef d’euvre, 
and celebrated the close of his week of cooking. 


376 WITH SCOTT : THE SILVER LINING 


For the purpose of my survey I laid out a base-line about 
a mile long on the bay ice. From the known length of this, 
as measured by the sledge-meter, and angles from the two 
ends it was, of course, possible to determine the distance of 
any visible point. Each of these three points forms a station 
to which others may be linked ; and indeed, in exactly this 
manner is a “triangulation ” carried out. 

On the 16th we started off to examine and survey the 
western coast of the harbour. Here the Mackay Glacier 
entered the sea, chiefly by the great tongue, but also by huge 
ice cliffs to the south, and by the new glacier in the south- 


Sketch-map of region near the Devil’s Punch Bowl, December, 1911. 


west corner. We headed fora striking cape which projected 
from the glacier like a black hand stretched forth from a 
snowy cuff of glacier. We called this promontory Cuff Cape. 

My finger was very painful, and the swelling now extended 
right through my right hand. Luckily I could pull in 
harness as well as ever, but for many nights I had no sleep, 
and I could do little or nothing in the way of making records 
during the day. 

However, I became a fairly expert writer with my left 
hand in the course of time, but it was very galling to be 
incapacitated in almost the most interesting part of our 
journey. 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION ah 


We camped on the ice-foot at Cuff Cape and scrambled 
up to see the glacier behind. Like all the land hereabouts 
the rock was covered with a layer of jumbled blocks of granite 
mixed up with gravel and clay. The ice cliff was fifty feet 
high, and almost free from silt or rock. Hence the debris on 
the cape surely marks the condition of the land prior to the 
last advance of the glaciers. It is not rock crumbled iz situ, 
for I am sure that would be more in the form of a gravel— 
moreover, erratics were common. 

There was, of course, some moraine material, and a few 
perched blocks especially along the north shore. In the bay 
near the Tongue the latter had broken the bay ice into square 
cakes, evidently by the pressure of the glacier; and the 
movement of the Tongue along the stagnant ice of Cuff.Cape 
had piled a rampart of ice on top of the latter. 

The hot sun acting on the ebony front of my camera had 
actually split it! Luckily I discovered it in time, and no 
damage was done to my photographs. Gran was very pleased 
at finding an insect on this cape, and while we were examining 
this wild animal, he also discovered “gold.” This latter, 
however, was only golden mica, though it quite resembled the 
precious metal. 

On the 18th we moved across to the next cape. This 
stood out boldly with nearly vertical crags a thousand feet high 
bounding it on two sides. It closely resembled in shape the 
sky-scraper called the “ Flat Iron,” and as it also had a flat 
top we gave it that name. We camped on the south-east 
side at the foot of a chimney which led up to a pretty little 
tarn. The summit was 1200 feet above the sea and was 
covered with a wonderful variety of rocks. 

Looking up the glacier to the west we could see a plateau 
of dead ice. The moving glacier split on Mount Suess, and 
the greater part of the ice entered the sea as the Mackay 
Tongue. A small amount flowed down just south of the 
Flat Iron forming the “ New Glacier” (see map, p. 376). In 
my opinion there is a tendency for greater erosion at the edge 
of the ice, for here the sapping action in the “lateral moat” 
is very active. In the centre of a glacier the only erosion is 
that due to glacier planation, and as I have explained, very 
little of this is taking place in Antarctica at present. 

There was a marked descent from the top of the Flat 


378 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


Iron to the snow plateau, and then a steep drop into the 
“ Devil’s Punchbowl.” The latter was a fascinating spot, 
and on the 20th we shifted camp so as to examine it more 
closely. 

We were encamped on a small beach beneath the rocky 
wall of the new glacier, which we called the “ Devil’s Ridge.” 
Probably the state of my finger accounted for His Satanic 
Majesty’s frequent presence on the map hereabouts. The 
Punch Bowl was an empty cwm or bowl-valley, which had 
been eaten into the steep southern edge of the Flat Iron. Its 
floor was below sea-level, and it would thus appear to indicate 
subsidence, for we have no idea how the accepted methods of 
eroding cwms (by “thaw and freeze” chiefly) could act under 
water. The New Glacier had very lately ceased to fall over 
the Devil’s Ridge into the cwm. It is only six feet below the 
ridge, and there is a drop of five hundred feet to the floor 
of the latter. In fact, thaw waters still cross the ridge and 
flow through the debris and down into the cwm. It is 
perfectly obvious that very little power is exercised by the 
“ New Glacier,” or it would have swept the Punch Bowl out 
of existence. 

There was a little tarn held back by a large bank of snow 
near the top of the ridge, and here Gran celebrated midsummer 
by a bathe! TI envied him, but could not follow suit owing 
to my disabled hand. 

Across the bowl a small hanging glacier entered the cwm 
but did not reach the sea ice below. We called this the 
Dewdrop Glacier. It terminated in a rhomb-shaped face 
which was three hundred feet above the bay. In the bay 
itself was a great thickness of ice, and Debenham and myself 
had many arguments as to its origin. He believed it was 
an ancient relic of the Dewdrop Glacier; but I inclined to 
the belief that it represented old floe ice jammed up the 
narrow bowl by sea ice from without. Gran and I ran a 
line of levels across it with the theodolite, which showed that 
it was still afloat although in places it rose many feet above 
the bay level. 

We were running short of stores, so Gran and I marched 
back to our headquarters. While I collected the stores he 
looked around for skua eggs and soon found eight. The 
sea kale did not show that verdant growth which Gran had 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 379 


? 


anticipated. However, he dug up one corner of the “ garden ’ 
and proudly showed me that one of the seeds was sprouting ! 

Gran put the eggs in a tin to carry them to the Punch 
Bowl. For security he carefully packed them; but as the 
tin was black and the sun was hot his packing, consisting of 
snow, soon vanished! However, we got the eggs safely to 
the others. Unfortunately five were bad, but the others 
assisted the menu at our midsummer feast. 

On the 22nd Gran and I explored the ridge and examined 
the Devil’s Thumb. This knob is eight hundred feet above 
the bowl and is composed of granite stiffened by porphyry 
dykes. Next day we spent some time examining a huge 
enclosure of limestone caught up in the rocks forming the 
Flat Iron. The crumpling and heat had turned the limestone 
into marble, and along the junction with the granite many 
unusual minerals had been formed. ‘There were huge brown 
augites several inches long, and large masses of natrolite, 
tremolite, and other similar minerals, which filled Debenham’s 
petrological soul with joy. 

We returned to Cape Geology on the 23rd of December. 
In our absence the tide crack and pressure ridges had been 
torn wider by the pressure of the Mackay Tongue on the 
sea ice. However, we got ashore without much difficulty by 
zigzageing along the torn edges of the crack (see p. 369). 

We found the floor of the hut inches deep in ice, which 
Forde cleared out with the ice-axe. Meanwhile Gran was 
busy at the medical chest, where the long names rather con- 
fused him. However, he seemed to remember “aspirin” 
as a useful friend, and said it was suited to my case. I 
swallowed some of the tabloids. Then he came across 
“salicylate,” and apologetically remarked that the latter was 
what he had been thinking of. So I tried them also. I was 
of the opinion myself that my trouble was a combination of 
frostbite, blood-poisoning and rheumatism, due primarily to 
an infected cut, and later to cold and a diet of seal meat. 
However, on return to civilization I was assured that 1 ought 
to have had my finger cut off, and that the bone had been 
affected. Gran very willingly started operating on it with 
a lancet ; but I am thankful to say that I distrusted his powers 
as a surgeon, with the result that now all is well. 

On Christmas Day we roamed about Cape Geology 


380 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


collecting specimens and skua eggs. I was pleased to see signs 
of intellect in two of the skuas, for my observations of seals, 
penguins, and skuas left me convinced of their stupidity. 
However, in one nest the bird had dragged some moss from 
a patch a foot distant, and in another case some quill feathers 
were arranged around the nest. All the other birds nested 
anyhow and anywhere. A gully, where water often trickled 
down on a specially hot day, was a favoured spot ! 

For lunch we cracked twenty-seven eggs, of which eight 
were edible. Then we opened the Christmas bag and we 
found therein a small pudding ready cooked and some 
caramels and ginger. Forde had rigged up the flap again, 
and had raised the Irish flag on his own behalf. He cut out 
a white harp from a linen specimen bag and sewed it on to 
a piece of green burberry. The result was patriotic and 
striking. Gran’s sledge flag was a beautiful piece of em- 
broidery presented by Queen Maud, and contained the 
Norwegian arms. Debenham’s and mine bore the arms of 
our universities. 

I had carved a spoon out of a piece of bamboo from the 
broken end of our depét flag, and Debenham used this as 
a lever to photograph our group. This primitive arrange- 
ment took a lot of fixing, but he obtained quite a successful 
picture finally. 

A heavy sea fog rolled up that evening, and most of us 
suffered from rheumatic pains. As a rule, we never caught 
cold while sledging, though I remember a touch of influenza 
on one occasion. This freedom from some of the minor ills 
of life speaks well for the purity of the air in the Antarctic. 

Debenham’s birthday is the 26th of December, and Gran 
had remembered this fact and carried a packet of cigarettes 
from Cape Evans as a present to him. 

We walked along the flank of Mount England to explore 
the New Glacier and to find a track to the Upper Mackay. 
Numerous couloirs or chimneys grooved the steep face, and 
Gran and I climbed four hundred feet up one of them. The 
snow-line was about eight hundred feet up, and below this 
was a tumbled pile of debris and granite blocks with a little 
water running between. It was obvious that frost action was 
now leading to a great deal of erosion; while at the head 
of the couloir where the snow lay, less action was taking 


THE FIRST WESTERN PARTY IN A NATURAL ICE-TUNNEL 
AMID THE PINNACLES OF THE KOETTLITZ GLACIER. 


Edgar Evans standing. 


THE SECOND WESTERN PARTY AT CAPE GEOLOGY, GRANITE 
HARBOUR, ON CHRISTMAS DAY, 1911. 


Forde and Gran standing, Debenham and Taylor sitting. 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 381 


place. In short, true glacier erosion (planation) was absent, 
and yet all round were specimens of cwms in all stages of 
their evolution. Here a gully, there a couloir somewhat 
deeper, on the Kar Cliffs a couloir cut into a “ half funnel” 
(p. 374); at the “Spillover” near by, a small bowl at the 
back of the eroded notch, and along the mountain ridge 
(named later after Gonville and Caius College), a series of 
giant cwms which, in my opinion, originated in some small 
gully such as that I had just climbed. At the foot of each 
of these deep couloirs was a delta or debris fan. 

We climbed up the steep face of the New Glacier just 
where it joined the talus of the mountain slope. Higher up 
was a deep lateral gully which had been dammed by debris, 
and contained a lake about a quarter of a mile long. This 
was bounded by steep granite cliffs on the south, which 
showed no sign of grooving by the glacier, but was breaking 
off in “shells ” owing to frost action. 

We could see up the New Glacier, which was badly 
crevassed in many places. I came round to the opinion of 
Debenham and Gran, that it would be wiser to portage all our 
gear up the 1000-feet cliffs of the Flat Iron, and so gain the 
quiet area behind the latter. We returned to Cape Geology, 
and packed a fortnight’s provisions and gear for our journey 
up the Mackay Glacier. 

I caught many of the insects I had discovered on arriving 
at Cape Geology. Indeed, later Debenham found them under 
most of the stones, clustering among the whitish roots or 
hyphe of the moss. They would be frozen stiff in a thin 
film of ice until one turned the stone into the sun. Then 
the ice would melt, and they would move sluggishly about 
until the sun left them, when their damp habitation froze 
again! I cannot imagine a finer example of hibernation, for it 
looked as if they pursued an active life only when a beneficent 
explorer let ina little sunlight on them! Debenham detected 
a little red species which was much more nimble than the 
millimetre-long blue ones, and I had much trouble in catch- 
ing six of them; but the others were more easily managed. 
I smeared a piece of paper with seccotine, and then, taking 
a small brush from the medical outfit, I brushed them by 
hundreds on to the paper. ‘“‘Seccotine sticks everything,” 
and the aptera were no exception. In a few moments they 


382 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


were securely embalmed like the flies in amber, and so we 
safely carried a thousand of these unknown insects back to 
civilization. 

At noon on the 27th we arrived at the foot of the Flat 
Iron again, and started our big task. Like most premeditated 
ills, it was not so difficult as anticipated. First we had some 
tea on a little gravelly ledge about a hundred feet up, and 
then packed the gear for transport up the mile of angular 
granite blocks which lay between us and the top of the Flat 
Iron. Forde and Gran carried the sledge on their shoulders, 
and, as may be imagined, had a most uncomfortable journey 
with this “ old man of the ice” to handicap their scramble. 
Debenham and I carried food and gear, and in about a dozen 
journeys everything was perched high up on the Flat Iron’s 
summit. Open water was visible from five hundred feet, so 
that it was still about twenty-five miles away. Pennell had 
not much chance of reaching the rendezvous unless the ice 
went out at a mile a day. 

We left our snug gravel island next day, and knotted 
ourselves well to the sledge. We were now to journey for 
some days over the Mackay Glacier, and though we naturally 
chose the smoothest and least disturbed ice for our route, yet 
we had to pass near areas full of huge crevasses. I had less 
anxiety than ever to fall into one, for I could not use my 
right hand at all yet. However, the other three were almost 
too prompt to pull me out, as I realized a week or two later. 

We zigzagged down on the snow plateau. This is about 
ten miles wide, and seven miles from east to west. It is 
bounded by the New Glacier crevasses on the south, and by 
rock islands which we called Redcliff and Mount Suess on 
the west, by the chaos of the Mackay Skauk on the north, 
and by the Flat Iron and Cuff Cape Glaciers to the east, 
where there is a 1000-feet drop into Granite Harbour. 

“The surface was covered with deep snow; we don’t 
know what is beneath. There are many indications of east- 
west depressions in the snow into which we fell occasionally, 
but I am not sure if they were crevasses. The surface often 
fell in with a widespread sigh, which was eerie but harmless. 

“To the south is a wonderful series of peaks about five 
thousand feet high, forming a wall of giant cwms. Probably 
they form the divide from the next great valley (of the 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 383 


Debenham Glacier). Quite a number of these peaks show 
a recurved spine on the summit, which is probably due to the 
weathering of dolerite crags. To the north-west is a moun- 
tain approaching seven thousand feet, which is capped by 
dolerite lava.” (We called it Black-cap at first, but it is now 
officially known as Mount Tryggve Gran, after our ever- 
cheerful comrade.) “In the face of this mountain are faulted 
white bands which are probably Beacon Sandstone.” 

That evening we camped on Redcliff Nunakol. This latter 
term I invented with Gran’s assistance to describe a rock 
island resembling a xunatak, but rounded by previous glacial 
erosion. The nunatak has properly never been below the 
ice ; hence its name, from the Icelandic numa, lonely, and tak, 


South Col 4500 TheDeck North Col 
| 
Bulwark | 


Mount Suess Nunatak, looking west from Redcliff, December 29, 1912. 


a jagged peak. Nunakol is from una, lonely, and ho/, a 
rounded ridge. 

We placed the tent on a patch of gravel near to a little 
waterfall. I followed up this stream, and found that it rose 
in some swampy ground where a little moss was growing. 
Next morning we all explored the Nunakol, which was 1080 
feet above the glacier. The top was more or less flat, and 
as usual consisted of granite covered with much debris, | 
managed to do some sketching, and was especially interested 
in the numerous pot-holes cut out in granite by the wind. 
They were about a foot in diameter and eight inches deep, 
and each contained some pebbles by which they had been 
scoured out. 


384 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


To assist our survey we named many of the peaks and 
glaciers around us. The sharp peak to the north (which I 
usually made the datum for the theodolite angles) we called 
the “ Referring Facet.” A large tributary glacier to the east 
of this was named the Cleveland Glacier by Debenham. He 
explained that it was after a large family, and so required a 
correspondingly large natural feature! Red Ridge was to the 
south, and formed of red granite. Killer Ridge had the shape 
of an orca, Sperm Bluff was a black headland like the blunt 
head of the sperm whale. Pegtop and Dome nunataks are 
self-explanatory. We were quite close to Mount Suess, and 
obtained a fine view of this nunatak. Its three dolerite peaks, 
the armchair hollow, and the bulwark on the north-east, sup- 
ported by huge granite cliffs, made it a very striking object. 

On the 30th the day was overcast, and it snowed most of 
the time. We could not leave the tent, and lay snug in our 
bags and mended gear. I did some useful darning, using 
seaming twine to repair my socks. They were lasting splen- 
didly. ‘I mended them with my left hand; so far 1 am still 
wearing the same socks for eight weeks. If I could darn 
easily, I’d keep to them for our whole fourteen weeks. . . .” 
Such was the practical value of my patent canvas heel-tips ! 

Debenham and | made a set of chess pieces from card- 
board, and we played on his survey plane-table. It took a 
week or two to get used to the men, but we had many games 
later while we were marooned on Cape Roberts. 

On the last day of the year we pulled westward to Gondola 
Ridge. ‘‘ All was snow-covered, and we sank four inches into 
it, but the sledge pulled pretty well. There was no sun, but 
I got ina cold sweat with the work. Now and again our feet 
would sink a foot or two. There must be plenty of crevasses 
round this corner of the nunakol, but we trusted the fates and 
plugged on. The snow was so deep that we did not break 
through the bridges anywhere. The sun came out to cheer 
us, and soon we heard the old creaking due to ‘ bottle-glass’ 
ice and ‘glass-house’ ice. .. .” I knew this meant an ancient 
undisturbed glacier from our experience up the Koettlitz 
Glacier, and felt that we were safely past the crevasses. 

About noon we had approached close to Gondola Ridge, 
which extends northward from Mount Suess. Here we came 
to a sudden ice cliff, but the slope was not too steep for us to 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 385 


toboggan down it on to a lake surface fringing the moraines. 
I expect thaw waters had cut out the cliff. Here were fine 
debris cones just like those of Cape Evans, but larger, and 


° 
00° 


Piebald Cone 


ff 


[-Jie} 
6° 


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Ascent 


Gran's Pk 
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Summif 
4500° 


Sketch Mop 
mt Suess Nunatak 


and Gondcla Nunakol 
5-1-2 


formed not only of dolerite, but of granite and Beacon Sand- 
stone. 

“We pushed on for a whitish silt-bank, and then left the 
sledge near it among the black and white rocks composing 
the moraine. The silt-bank was a huge heap like a railway 
embankment. It was twenty feet high, and composed of 

2c 


386 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


Beacon Sandstone debris. A little lake lay at the foot, and 
its flat top made a splendid camp site. ‘ Here, on soil formed 
of real sand, like that near Sydney, we pitched our tent : ’— 
probably the first time such a thing had been done in Victoria 
Land. We found a bounteous water-supply by cutting 
through the ice of the little lake, for alongside a big black 
boulder the radiation of the sun’s heat had melted the ice. 
This was a great saving, for none of our precious oil was now 
wasted in melting the ice.” 

There was an extraordinary mixture of dolerite and sand- 
stone all over the Gondola Ridge. The sandstone was 
characterized by blebs, which in Germany would be called 
“Knoten.” We called it briefly “smallpoxy,” and it did not 
look hopeful for fossils. However, there was some shale near 
the tent, which looked more hopeful. We did not find much 
beyond worm-casts and ripple-marks at first. 

The discovery of fossils was of especial importance to 
Australia, because the central Antarctic area had served as a 
distributing base for Australian animals and plants. The 
marsupials are represented by a few forms in South America 
and New Guinea, and there seems little doubt that land ex- 
tended more or less continuously between these limits. Earlier 
still South Africa was joined to this Antarctic world, for land- 
worms allied to those in the other southern continents are 
now known from Cape Colony. 

When Gran and I returned from our first survey of the 
ridge we found that Debenham had already been successful in 
the shales. He had found some vesicular horny plates. I 
turned to, and soon obtained two large pieces like the red 
tiles capping a roof-ridge. They were nearly two inches 
long, and had a well-marked keel. There were also smaller 
complete plates. On our return to Europe these were iden- 
tified as the armour-plate of primitive fish, and probably of 
Devonian age. So that our find on Gondola Ridge added a 
new epoch to Antarctic fossils, for Cambrian limestones were 
known, and Permian coal-measures were indicated by Shackle- 
ton’s specimens. These fish plates identified another set of 
sediments midway between them. 

The moraines near our camp, though by no means so 
abundant as on a smaller European glacier, were the most 
important which I saw actually on a glacier in the Antarctic. 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 387 


To the north-east two medial moraines stretched out from the 
ridge and enclosed an area which we called the Harbour (see 
p- 391). In a warm summer this is probably a lake. One 
striking “ piebald ” debris cone was half white and half black. 
It was twenty-five feet high, and the eastern portion had 
resulted from the weathering of a huge “erratic” of sandstone, 
while a similar mass of dolerite had broken up to form the 
western half of the heap. 

Even so far up and away from the sea we found some 
lichens. These diminutive plants were busily etching the 
surface of the granite just as in more clement climes, 
Beautiful rounded and polished platforms were quite abundant 
on the ridge. Occasionally a hard band of porphyry would 


Oreake pircted om Si¥ smell slrnus, 
oe Gon dota Ridge. ufifi2 


project and show almost a glaze where the coarser granite had 
been weathered and dulled. 

We could now see uninterruptedly to the great ice 
plateau. Only one nunatak lay between us and the outlet ice- 
falls near Mount Gran. We saw many examples of perched 
blocks, some being deposited on top of polished faces of 
granite. One huge block, which I sketched, had been lowered 
gently by the ice on to four “legs,” at one corner composed 
of two small stones. Between Mount Suess and Gondola 
Ridge was a definite “col” or low pass containing small tarns 
and covered with debris. We returned to the camp by this 
route, and had no difficulty in clambering down its eastern 
outlet. 

The 2nd of January was a cold gloomy morning. The 
clouds settled down and swathed everything in a clammy 


388 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


mantle. I dared not move far from the tent, and so we broke 
up shales and collected more of what Evans called “ sarpent 
critters.” I found a few brilliant blue plates with a lustre 
like that on the elytre of beetles! I walked over the north 
end of the ridge where the solid granite was broken into 
large “bricks”’ separated by several inches. These blocks 
seemed to have moved to the east, and this movement may be 
due to glacier “plucking”; but I think it is merely the 
result of frost cleavage followed later by rock “creep.” At 
any rate it was very common on the “floors” left by the 
recession of the ice-sheet. 

Debenham in his prowl for specimens had discovered a 
coal-mine! In this case it was not a large one, and consisted 
of a fine lump of brown coal about four inches across. 

On the 3rd Gran and I determined to circumnavigate 
Mount Suess. This most striking mountain lay about one 
mile south of us. It towered 3000 feet above Gondola ridge 
and was a most impressive sight. The upper layer consisted 
of black dolerite, largely showing columnar structure. The 
main mass was formed of reddish granite. It stood out four- 
square like some gigantic castle keep (see Fig., p. 383). 
The centre was hollowed out and three cusps or peaks rose at 
the north, west, and south angles respectively. In fact, it 
resembled more than anything an ancient molar tooth, 
though this parallel libels its rugged grandeur. 

As we marched round its east face we came on more and 
more dolerite in the moraine. This had evidently been 
swept round the south of the mount, and as this moraine 
contained the sandstone fossils it was very important to see 
where the moraine originated. Between the mount and the 
glacier to the south was a low col of granite from which 
talus debris reached upwards almost to the dolerite cap. The 
mount itself looked yellow, but I found this was due to a 
yellow tint in the granite. 

The sky was clouding, and we had still a long way to go. 
So we hurried round to the west side of the mount, and here 
I saw what I had expected, that between the granite base and 
the dolerite capping there was a long “lenticle” of yellow 
sediments. It was, however, quite inaccessible from below, 
and after making a sketch we marched on the north. On this 
side there was very little talus. We clambered along over 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 389 


granite terraces some 300 feet above the glacier. We crossed 
the top of the north col without difficulty and proceeded 
over Gondola Ridge to the tent. Later, Debenham and Forde 
appeared. They had found an easy route to the central hollow 
of the mount, which we called “The Deck,” but had not had 
time to ascend one of the peaks. 

On the 4th the morning was clear, and | felt that we could 
not do better than get the theodolite on the top of Mount 
Suess, and so connect up many of the distant peaks with our 
survey. 

Debenham decided to stay below and continue his plane- 
table survey. Gran took his camera, and Forde and I carried 


0 
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Showing hy fe: tI beanng Beacon S anastone< 
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the theodolite, etc. We climbed up the gap at the north 
corner, and then scrambled along a slope full of snow-covered 
boulders which lay between the main peaks and the 1800-feet 
Rampart. This latter feature seemed as if pierced for guns 
also! Possibly the gap and the “ports” were due to the 
weathering away of volcanic dykes in the granite. They did 
not look as if ice had cut them out. Where the gap emerged 
on the “ Deck” were two little tarns at about 1200 feet above 
the tent. 

Gran proceeded to climb the central-west cusp of the 
mount, thinking it the highest. Forde and I attacked the 
south-west peak. The slope was very steep and covered at 
first with grey granite, black dolerite, and yellow sandstone 


390 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


blocks. At 2000 feet only the dolerite blocks were seen, so 
that I feel sure that the sandstone crops out inside the hollow 
of the mount (between the granite and dolerite) as well as on 
its western face. 

At 1.40 I reached the top and found that it was 3000 feet 
above the tent. I set up the theodolite and obtained a fine 
series of angles. Sighting on Gran’s peak, which he had just 
surmounted, I found it was two degrees lower, which I 
estimated at about a hundred feet, whereat he was somewhat 
crestfallen. However, he walked across after obtaining a 
splendid set of photos of the landscape spread out before us. 
The actual summit was fairly flat for a few yards, with a 
thousand-feet precipice on the south and west. Far out to 
sea we could see miles of open water, especially to the south, 
with floes drifting in it, but it did not seem much nearer than 
a month ago. 

To the south a deep fiord-like valley seemed to pierce 
right through the Gonville Range. It was of course filled 
with ice, and was, I think, what the Americans call a tran- 
section glacier. Probably it connected the Mackay Glacier 
with the Debenham Glacier. The cliffs at its west portal were 
cut into giant “ forts,” and bands of beacon sandstone showed 
clearly enough above the granite. 

To the south lay the Sperm nunakol. It was only a mile 
away, and we seemed to be right over it. It showed a flat 
surface covered with debris much like the Flat Iron. The 
Peg Top nunakol seemed to have lost its knob-like appear- 
ance. It was somewhat T-shaped, the front bar rising like a 
crocodile’s head from the covering of ice. To the south of 
this rock island there seemed an easy route up to the Plateau 
—good enough for ponies, if the first step up to the “ Flat 
Iron”’ could be negotiated. 

A very high mountain, possibly 10,000 feet, showed to 
the west. We could not estimate its distance properly, for all 
our survey angles to it were so acute. 

After spending two and a half hours on the summit we 
hurried back to the camp, and found that Debenham had 
passed a useful if uneventful day. 

On the 6th of January we took down the tent and trans- 
ported our gear across the rugged moraines to the sledge. 
While [ was packing the fish scales in cotton-wool, the other 


| 


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f —— 
— 


| | ZZ —U 
} j 


Z 
Le 


——: 
grown in the open air within the Bae 
Antarctic circle! They seemed thirsty, so I gave them some 
water. But, alas! the weather rapidly grew colder. Every 
day a few were blighted, and, finally, I carefully gathered the 
remnants and placed them in my pocket-book as a record 
of Gran’s well-meant experiment. 

I was much disappointed with the moss. It lay in peaty 
clods between the boulders, usually in lumps about the size 
of a large bath bun, and had formed a considerable amount of 
humus, But it remained almost black and dead all this 
summer. Usually January 15th is the warmest day, but this 
season December was much warmer than January, and | think 
the backward condition of the moss showed that it was an 
exceptionally severe summer. 

I was now cook again, and will copy some of my cooking 


RRL SR 
SOS RORT s, 


394 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


notes. ‘At 4.30 I dug up the seal-meat cache, and found a 
whole liver buried deep under a layer of ice. It all seemed 
fresh, and Forde helped me to cut it up on a board outside the 
hut. Then I got the stove lighted by blubbery paper pretty 
easily, and the cooker full of water. I heated this for cocoa till 
it began to sing, and then put on the frying-tray. This latter 
was the base of our cooker, but served excellently as a pan ; 
except that it was so large that one part of the meat would 
freeze while the rest was frying! I put in some fat, and 
tipped in four mugs of cut up seal and liver. It took about 
three-quarters of an hour to cook, being stirred continuously. 
I fear me I used my dagger as poker, cutter of blubber, as 
scraper of soot, stirrer and taster, all indiscriminately! How- 
ever, with onion powder and salt it doesn’t taste badly, though 
it makes my teeth ache chewing it. The cooker of warmed 
water boiled in no time, though it had been cooling for three- 
quarters of an hour, and we had hot cocoa to time. I had 
only one biscuit, so that it was a cheap indigenous meal.” 

The weather had been rather disagreeable during the last 
month, about four days fine alternating with five days over- 
cast. This is not usual in midsummer, but we chiefly required 
strong winds to blow away the sea ice, so that Pennell could 
reach us. With a sailor’s superstition Gran hung up his 
most dilapidated headgear “ for a favouring wind.” He said 
it always took effect in twenty-four hours. However, as was 
often the case with our sanguine prophet, nothing came of his 
forecast, and his stock was flat again. 

On the 11th Debenham swore that he saw the Terra Nova. 
Gran confirmed this, and said the sails were set. I got hold of 
the binoculars, and alas! I saw three Terra Novas. They were 
miraged bergs, I fear. I thought it would be a good plan to 
have a signal on top of Discovery Bluff, and so Gran and I 
carried paper, blubber, and dried moss, to the summit, and 
left them there in readiness for a flare, if the ship approached. 
I carried up the theodolite, but did not take many angles, for 
it began to snow. When I returned, I found that Forde had 
kindly done my cooking—or rather greatly improved on it. 
He made some excellent chupatties from “thickers” and 
raisins, of which we had a small surplus. 

That evening we had a great argument about the possi- 
bility of a German invasion, Gran versus Debenham, in 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 395 


which Forde and I took sides to keep things lively. ‘“ We 
agreed that Germany could not conquer a colony, even if it 
were handed over to them ; that the Kaiser’s aspirations ought 
to be humbled, and that the British officers were not so highly 
educated as the German.” Gran had many tales of the vast 
amount of linguistic and mathematical knowledge which they 
amassed. 

Friday the 12th.—No sign of the ship! This is the day 
I backed for our meeting. However, my cookery is over for 
a time. 

Gran and I walked over to the Tongue to measure the 
movement of the ice. On the 26th of December I had sighted 
on to the stake with the theodolite, and obtained a movement 
of thirty feet in twelve days. ‘She is fairly galloping to sea.” 
On this occasion we both wore spiked boots, and so had 
little difficulty on the glacier, though the recent snow had 
hidden all but the largest crevasses. On arrival at the stake 
—which had not suffered from the blizzards—Gran lay on 
the snow with the field glasses, and observed Debenham, who 
was posted with the theodolite at the camp station. Meanwhile 
I moved east or west, and Debenham signalled to Gran until 
I stood on the transit with the crack in the Kar Cliffs. Now I 
made a direct measurement from this line to the stake, and 
found a movement to the east of eighty-two feet. Therefore 
the glacier has a velocity of almost a yard a day. The sketch 
(Fig., p. 374) shows exactly how this determination—which I 
believe to be the most accurate in Victoria Land—was made. 

Gran suggested trying another route back, so we moved 
into one of the huge gullies (which nearly dissect the Tongue 
every half-mile) and we found it remarkably easy. There 
were three little lakelets between thirty-feet walls, showing 
there was no drainage into crevasses here, and we reached the 
bay ice with great ease. 

I discussed pushing off for Cape Roberts instead of waiting 
close to the Bluff. There was no possibility of the ship coming 
in to us, and we could meet them as easily from the entrance. 
On the other hand, there seemed no way out of the cul-de-sac 
at Cape Geology if the ship did not arrive, and the sea-ice 
broke away. So, after talking it over, I decided to leave our 
headquarters on the 14th. 

On the 13th Debenham and Gran went to the Bluff, and 


396 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


Gran climbed to the top to scan the ice in Ross Sea. Deben- 
ham visited the flag, and made a chart of the great shear-cracks 
in the bay ice, due to the Mackay Ice Tongue. 

Forde and I packed everything which we should need for 
sledging at Evans Coves on the good sledge. We packed the 
specimens, and some articles not now necessary on the “ roof- 
tree” sledge. This necessitated dismantling Granite Hut, 
and very woe-begone it looked, with the sealskins flapping 
dismally on its walls. They had turned into fine d/ack fur 
now, but were not beautiful enough to warrant transport 
on our heavily laden sledge. The skuas enjoyed our removal. 
They pounced eagerly on our specimen bags, and flew off some 
distance with several, in the hopes of finding a dainty morsel. 

I was much amazed at the unusual sight of two skua gulls 
amicably tearing a piece of blubber up between them, and 
bolting half each. I never saw another instance of so much 
sociability. 

“On Sunday, January 14, 1 woke the others at 6 a.m., 
having had to keep awake an hour or so to do it. We had 
food quickly, packed up, and were ready to start about twenty 
to eight. 1 should think our sledge had goo lbs. on it, which 
is about a record down here. We got over our ‘ Pressure 
Pier’ to the bay ice without much difficulty, though it is very 
narrow now. Later parties will have to find a new route. 

“‘ We found the sledge pretty hard to pull, and it took us 
over an hour to do the first mile. When you are going 
slowly it is always twice as hard, and lasts twice as long! 
This looked bad with nine miles to do. We got over the 
first tide crack, near the signal flag, by means of an island. 
Then we halted for a rest, and marched along the front of the 
Bluff towards the Piedmont Ice Tongue. The east was very 
gloomy now, and it started to snow. When you are pulling 
half a ton, and know that the ice you are on was breaking up 
in January, 1903, this is not cheerful. However, I turned in 
nearer the land, so as to reach Avalanche Bay, where it was 
possible to ascend the cliffs. The snow got no worse, and 
the surface improved slightly. We could see two seals far 
ahead on the next big crack, and we found thirty feet of wet, 
mushy snow at the first spot.” 

A little searching showed us a possible track. Debenham 
and I, tied together, crossed first, and then the others, and 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 397 


then we judged the sledge might do it. I expect it would 
have sunk like a stone if the ice had given way ; but we had 
to get over here, or nowhere. 

The snow came down thickly now, and we plugged ahead 
by compass for the small Piedmont Tongue, where we had 
been held up two days on our arrival. Suddenly we seemed 
to run into a snow slope, and by a mighty expenditure of 
energy we got the sledge up on to the tongue, and were safely 
on fixed ice for the time. 

We soon got the tent pitched, for there was not much 
wind, and had some tea. I will quote my diary. 

“We were all in a cold sweat, for the work is very hard, 
and yet you don’t keep warm. However, we got into our 
bags, and were soon warm, if damp. The blizzard was but 
temporary, and about 4 p.m. it blew over to the west. I 
crossed the Tongue to see the descent on the other side. It 
was about five feet down a steep snow slope. Beyond was a 
narrow shear crack with two seals; but the big crack at the 
end of the tongue went further east. We pulled over the 
glacier and down the slope past the seals without difficulty. 
Then on a little further, and saw a crack to our right. 

*‘It seemed only about a foot wide, and I was testing this 
weak spot with the ski stick, when the foot of soft snow on 
which I was standing collapsed, and I went into the water. 
Luckily I grabbed Deb’s hand, and Forde and Gran got my 
harness. 1 was jerked out like a cork from a bottle, and was 
never so near flying. None saw the others pull, and they 
thought I felt very light. We plugged on to the east, and 
came to the main wavy crack, an ugly thing, thirty feet across, 
of mushy water. Luckily this also narrowed at the bend, 
and after some searching we pulled over him also.” 

I was getting thoroughly tired here. However, we could 
see our destination at last, and so pushed on. A keen wind 
came up from the south-west, and swept over the one hundred 
feet glacier wall to the south, driving snow across our course. 
We crossed a little crack which Debenham thought was new 
since the snowfall. To our left were many birds, about a 
mile away, and black patches of ominous appearance were 
showing. Debenham climbed on the sledge, and was sure 
it was open water, and I agreed ; but we couldn’t do anything, 
and pushed on. “I got some relief for my tired legs by 


398 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


marching a longer stride, and we plugged on, hoping it would 
hold firm another hour. However, at long length we began 
to see details in the never-ending glacier wall on our left—icicles, 
crevasses, and snowdrifts,—and at last could make out a feasible 
slope up on to the Cape, and felt safe. I had cramp from the 
pulling, and couldn’t move for a time.” Then it was a 
distinct anticlimax, when we got to the top of the Cape, to 
see that we had been misled by some queer shadows, that there 
was firm ice for at least seven miles, and no sign of water 
anywhere! However, our experience at New Harbour made 
both Debenham and myself realize the risk we were running 
if the break-up of the ice, now long overdue, had eventuated. 

“Monday, the 15th January, 1912 ; the day on which we 
were to be relieved. ’Nary a relief, nor any sign of it, and 
skuas squawking round us ! 

“‘ We surveyed our cape expecting to find pools of water 
in plenty, but there is none anywhere. Everything is covered 
with snow except the big boulders and two or three patches 
of gravel, of which we have annexed the largest. When we 
arrived each gravel patch was inhabited by a pair of skua 
gulls, which we may call White, Black, and Gray respec- 
tively.” 

We dispossessed the Blacks, and I put young “ Blackie” 
in a new nest—just as well made as his own—a little distance 
away. Meanwhile Debenham set up the blubber stove on a 
rock ledge near by, to get to which he crossed the Grays’ nest 
rather frequently. 

The chronicle of these three families have been done 
into rhyme by the “Sledge Poet,” and will be found to be 
pathetic in the extreme. 


A TRUE ANTARCTIC TRAGEDY 


On the Cape by Granite Harbour, where the Glacier shrinks away, 
Happy dwelt three pairs of Skuas, fighting gaily night and day. 
Skua-/Vhite possessed but one egg. Young Skua-Black to walk begins ; 
Skua-Gray was just expecting the arrival of some Twins ! 


To that Cape by Granite Harbour stagger in at bright midnight, 
Blizzard-blown and Ice-tormented, Four exhausted men of might. 
Boulders carpeted their refuge, each within a snow-field set, 

pe A inviting tent-sites crowned the Cape . . . and they were 


rr — = 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 399 


Operates the law primeval, “ Shove the weaker to the floe.” 
Fix the tent there in the middle, Skua Black has got to go. 
With a shriek of rage and anguish fled the parents of S. B. 
Little cared the callous leader ; “‘ Hurry up, and boil the tea.” 


By the nest of Skuas grayish, quick was placed the Blubber Stove, 

And the incense thence proceeding made the skuas murmur “ Jove !” 

They had to seek another refuge. Bitter feelings filled their cup. 

It tore their hearts to leave their offspring, so they sighed—and ate 
them up. 


Very loudly yelled young Blackie, crawling round the tent all night, 
So that kind and humane leader took him off to Skua White. 


“Lo! a miracle hath happened,” said returning Skua White ; 

“ Here’s our nest just fu// of chicken, full of howling appetite.” 

Said Skua White, “ It would be best, for fear this should become a habit, 
To feed ourselves upon our egg. (Besides, you may be sure he’d grab it.) 


So little Blackie reigned supreme 
Until one day when he was fed 

(By that kind and humane leader 
Foster-father, foster-feeder) 

On rich and tasty lumps of blubber, 

His little tummy stretched like rubber, 
Stretched too much 


and now HE’s dead ! 


The skuas are the most quarrelsome birds I know. They 
would fight for hours over the carcase of a freshly-killed seal 
until they realized there was enough food for ten times as 
many skuas—and by this time the flesh would be frozen so 
hard they could make no impression on it. The penguins 
have their own peculiar propensities, while the seals used to 
amaze us by their callousness. The day after we reached 
Cape Roberts we killed a large seal and cut it up, while 
another twenty yards away watched us quite casually, and did 
not budge for hours. 

There was nothing much to do on the Cape. It was 
triangular in shape, rising about fifty feet above the sea ice. 
The broad base of the triangle was covered with snow, which 
gradually merged into the Piedmont Glacier. There was no 
ice-wall here, so that the glacier was presumably stagnant at 
this corner. The great granite tors of the Cape were all 
flattened, showing that they had been planed off by a former 


400 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


extension of the ice-sheet. Debenham spent some time 
making a detailed plane-table survey. 1 fixed several theo- 
dolite stations, but as the days went by our life settled into 
a monotonous round, 

I cut the meals down to two a day. We had plenty of 
seal meat and biscuit, but all the other stores were approaching 
their last week. 

We used to have a meal about 7 p.m. every other day, 
a half ration of pemmican ; for although seal meat is not so 
black as it’s painted (and it’s very black indeed), yet we had 
eaten little else for a month, and were all heartily sick of it. 
Then we turned in, and used to yarn or read till about 3 a.m., 
when we managed to get to sleep. We turned out at noon, 
and had a biscuit and seal lunch. During the afternoon we 
used to walk over the cape and inspect the cracks in the 
sea ice. One man was kept fairly busy cutting up seal meat, 
and the cook coaxed the stove to cook the fry. 

Debenham was our only smoker, and certainly found 
tobacco a great solace. I had brought socks instead of tobacco, 
and had looked forward to jeering at him when his tobacco 
and socks gave out. Unfortunately our socks lasted much 
better this trip, as our boots were stronger, and I never used 
my spare socks ! 

Gran started a drama—a great nature play full of storms 
and wrecks, with a strong substratum of melodrama. It was 
called “‘Tangholman Lighthouse,” and we used to urge him 
to fill it full of incident, and cut out the “nature”’ part of it. 
I read “ Martin Chuzzlewit” for the ninth time and found it, 
as always, very interesting; while Forde tackled “Incom- 
parable Bellairs’’—-a book which charmed Gran—but luckily 
Forde made it last a very long time. 

We played chess with our cardboard pieces. I think we 
were fairly even, though Debenham tried risky openings to 
my advantage. The place of Evans as Society Entertainer 
was taken by Gran. His varied adventures in Arctic seas, 
among the Andes, in Turkey, Venezuela, and others of the less- 
known regions of the earth interested us much. He was, I 
remember, very anxious to experience the delights of station 
life as pourtrayed by Debenham. 

The 20th of January was Gran’s birthday. I was sorry 
I couldn’t return his kindly present (of Savoy sauce, etc.), 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 401 


but I told him I would give him a ship during the day. The 
Sledge Poet contributed the following Birthday Ode, dealing 
with Gran’s Nietzschian principles ; which is here published 
with Gran’s gracious permission. 


ODE TO TRYGGVE 
ON His 23RD Birrupay, Cape Roserts. 
(Chanted at ye Full Pemmican Feast.) 


O Trygge Gran, O Trygge Gran, 
I would thou wert a moral man, 
And yet since we 
(The other three) 
Are just as moral as can be, 
A “soupgon de diablerie” 
Improves our. little company. 


O Tryggve Gran, a holy calm 
Is most essential in a psalm. 
But prose should be a thought less calmer 
When elevated into drama. 
And yet though we 
(The other three) 
Are critical to a degree, 
We wish success some future day 
To the first Polar “ Nature Play.” 


O Tryggve Gran, thou art a man 

Who hath compressed within a span 

Of three and twenty years, such deeds 

That hearing which, each man’s heart bleeds 
Among us three. 
And yet though we 

Are kind to every girl we see, 

I have no doubt each lovely creature 

Would rather help you follow Nietzsche ! 


Oh, Tryggve Gran, you should be dead 
A-many years ago—instead 
Of which, he saves you oft, 
That “ Little Cherub up Aloft.” 
And therefore we 
(The other three) 
In this new principle agree, 
(As with your luck no man can quarrel) 
Twill serve us best to be un-mora/! ! ! 


402 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


I was just writing the last line of the poem when Gran 
yelled out “Ship ho!” We had seen ships many times 
already, but he was certain of this, so we turned out, and 
there, under the fang of Erebus, we could see some topmasts. 
Later we could make out three masts and black smoke, so we 
knew it was the good old Zerra Nova, and not the Fram, 
which burned smokeless oil fuel. 

We set about elevating our flags further up the glacier. 
We took them up a long way, nearly to the top, as we thought. 
On our return we saw they were only one quarter of the way 
up, a good example of the trickiness of snow-slopes in this 
respect. I arranged night watches to observe any signals or 
sledge parties, and we turned in hoping to be aboard in 
twenty-four hours. 

[Nay, gentle reader, you are not at the end of my 
narrative ; it was just twenty-four days before we were 
relieved. | 

Next day she was in much the same position, about twenty 
miles away across the screw-pack and broken floes. About 
two miles away a great crack stretched from north and south. 
It was fully eight miles long, and seemed to presage the 
breaking up of the sea ice. 

On the 22nd we could not see the ship. A strong south 
wind sprang up, and the gradually clouding sky seemed to 
portend a blizzard. “The stronger the better,” I write, “if 
it will only drive out this blessed floe.” We took a few 
photographs. There were two Emperor penguins moulting 
on each side of our Cape, but Debenham reported that they 
were too frightful to photo! Forde and I had a day with my 
stereo-camera, taking various interesting details around the 
Cape—planed granite blocks, pressure ice in the bay, and 
then the Emperors, awful as they were, several seal and berg 
pictures, etc.; but sad to relate all these negatives were 
smashed when the sledge fell over the glacier cliff. However, 
I made sketches of the most interesting features ; for instance, 
one corner of a berg showed very well how flexible are large 
masses of ice. 

I did not entertain the idea of trying to reach Pennell 
across the screw-pack. We should get into more precarious 
regions each mile, and we could not communicate with the 
ship to ensure her awaiting us. Pennell could send a party 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 403 


with safety at either end if he desired. I was, however, very 
glad later to find that Pennell also considered the pack abso- 
lutely impossible for sledging from the ship. 

We saw her during the next few days, and then she never 
showed up again. 

On the 27th a blizzard started, which we hoped would 
move out the ice. It tore our sledge flags badly, so that we 
brought them down from our distress signal 350 feet up the 
glacier, leaving the big depot flag there. 

It was very trying work with the blubber stove, for there 
was no shelter on the Cape. When there was any wind the 
flames would blow out of the door and gave no heat at all. 
The water did not get tepid in half an hour, whereas on a 


OS ———e — 
; ——————— 
SS  ——— 
ee ———— 

—————— 


eS 


Flexure in So fr. Berg , Cape Roberts 20-112 


calm day it would boil in twenty minutes. I spent an hour 
trying to cook the fry, and barely succeeded in melting the 
fat. We decided that the stove could not be used in high 
winds, even though it was in a sort of ice cave and the cook 
sat in the door to keep the wind out ! 

Our rations had been cut down by half for a fortnight. 
We now had three or four biscuits a day ; butter, every other 
day ; chocolate, one stick ; pemmican, one-eighth ; sugar and 
tea, two-thirds a day. However, we had plenty of seal meat, 
and as we were not working we required much less food. 

So passed several days. The tide-crack was groaning all 
round the Cape, large pieces of floes floating loose in it, and 
jostling each other as the swell came in from the open water 


404 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


twenty miles away. Gran spent all one afternoon making 
chupatties. The lid of the camera box was his pudding- 
board. He used the wheat-meal thickers for dough, and 
commandeered our allowance of raisins. The cakes were cut 
out with the rim of a cup, and then fried in a mixture of 
butter, fat, blubber, and soot. Anyhow, the result was highly 
successful, though the inside was somewhat wet, and the 
whole, I should now consider, distinctly heavy. 

Each day we started the last bag of something precious. 
First the pemmican, then the chocolate, then the butter. Only 
one seal had been visible for some days, and I decreed his 
doom. He lay ona large piece of ice which was rising and 
falling with the swell. We reached this across an ice island, 
surging about in a large pool. In spite of all this move- 
ment no more of the ice moved north, as far as we could 
judge. 

On the evening of the 1st of February I held a council. 
Captain Scott’s instructions read, “1 am of the opinion that 
the retreat should not be commenced until the bays have re- 
frozen, probably towards the end of March. An attempt to 
retreat overland might involve you in difficulties, whereas you 
could build a stone hut, provision it with seal meat, and remain 
in safety in any convenient station on the coast.” 

However, he gave me permission to begin the retreat 
if we were not relieved in January, and | began to prepare for 
this event. 

Cracks seemed to be spreading in the sea-ice even while 
one was watching it. The surging ice in the tide-crack, now 
twenty feet wide, rose several feet. Now and again a huge 
shock-groan, like a big rock bumping on another, announced 
a new crack, while a constant roar, like that of a distant lion, 
announced the periods of maximum of the swell rolling in 
from twenty miles away. 

On the 3rd of February Debenham, Gran, and I climbed 
the glacier slope behind our camp to prospect for a path. We 
roped up and proceeded about three miles southward, keeping 
well behind the crevasses. These are numerous on the steep 
seaward slope, but we met with none on the fairly level 
ground, though we could see them just below us. The 
surface was fair, usually two inches deep in snow and occa- 
sionally a foot deep. This did not promise easy sledging ; 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 405 


but the snow was dry now, and I was going to cut down the 
weights to a minimum. 

We could see open water about twenty miles off, but a 
huge mass of ice-pack was apparent as far north as we could 
see. There seemed to be a broad belt at least sixty miles 
long, which was quite absent in January, 1902. 

Obviously our exploration of Terra Nova Bay was impos- 
sible now, and it looked as if the ship would never reach us at 
Cape Roberts. With good luck we might cross the Piedmont 
Glacier to Cape Bernacchi in a few days, and Pennell might 
find it easier to reach us there, while we should at any rate be 
nearer to Headquarters. There was also a week’s food there, 
and we had now only a fortnight’s sledging stores left. 

On February 4th Gran and I explored the sea ice below 
the Piedmont for about four miles to the southward. We 
passed through the fifteen bergs in the little bay and then got 
among the screw-pack. This was covered with snow and 
afforded extremely heavy going, as may be imagined. Near 
the shore was a perfect network of new cracks with the ice 
“‘ working” all the time. Below the glacier wall was a deep 
tide-crack four feet wide, but where the ice had fallen in we 
managed to get across to fixedice. Asa result of this journey 
I decided to march first along the sea ice and then climb up 
the Piedmont at this point. 

Next morning I wrote a long letter to Pennell, which we 
all signed. We made a depdt on the highest point of the 
Cape and fixed a flag alongside, with the letter in a little 
matchbox. The journal for Captain Scott I left in my ditty 
bag. I remorselessly weeded out every one’s gear. We took 
nothing but what we stood up in, and our notes and the in- 
struments. Luckily, most of Debenham’s and all Gran’s 
negatives were films, but I had to leave nearly all my plates 
and my cherished Browning. I knew we had some bad cre- 
vassed country to traverse—thirty miles of this, and then I 
expected thirty miles of coast work largely over moraine and 
rock, where we should have to portage the sledge and all our 
gear on our backs. With a light sledge it was just possible 
we might be able to raise it if it slipped down a crevasse ; and 
this was quite a probable event, for in traversing along a pied- 
mont glacier the party moves parallel to the crevasses, It thus 
reaches them imperceptibly, and the whole outfit may be over 


406 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


a crevasse together, whereas in crossing them at right angles 
this is rarely the case. 

We turned our backs finally on Cape Roberts at 11 a.m. 
on the 5th. Our flag waved bravely, and below was the cairn 
of stones covering the food left there by Scott’s orders. If we 
had to return it would give us a breathing space, but I never 
saw the Cape again. For many months the flag was left in 
solitude. The screw-pack never broke adrift that winter. In 
the next spring, six desperate men sledging southward, as they 
thought, to more endurable though no less solitary quarters, 
here found the first news of the main party. Our depdét pos- 
sibly saved Browning’s life. It certainly gave the Northern 
party their first bearable day for many months. Brave old 
flag! it hangs in Tewkesbury in Priestley’s home, and there 
my old Browning was restored to me after many months! 

So we marched on ; we were all stiff and out of training, 
and the sledge did not pull easily, but we reached the tide- 
crack and crossed it much more easily than I expected. After 
lunch we pulled up the steep slope of the glacier, and to our 
delight found the surface grow harder almost every hour. 
But other troubles were upon us. For three days I felt it 
would not benefit any one to write my diary. However, on 
the evening of the 8th I wrote up the sth, 6th, 7th, and 8th 
of February as follows :— 

“Then quite suddenly we came on huge crevasses all 
round ; some open, which I took care not to keep too close 
to, and others bridged. They seemed too wide to do anything 
with ; but after cautioning the others to tread quietly, I 
prodded across safely, though the ice-axe pushed in all its 
length easily. Then the others followed, and the sledge after. 
Gran fell in at the near edge and saw the straight wall. Several 
of these were over twenty feet wide, but we had to chance 
them, and tested them all before the sledge started. Then we 
marched along between two fairly visible ones, and luckily 
they didn’t join. The surface got flatter and they died out 
gradually so that we made fair progress. We came to another 
enclosed snow basin, and I felt sure the seaward slope would 
be safer. So it was, though Forde went down a small cre- 
vasse. We pulled along this up to a sort of col—about eight 
miles from Cape Roberts,-—and here, as we were well beyond 
the mouth of the Big Valley, we camped. 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION —§ 407 


“‘ My only fear now was that bad weather might cover the 
glacier with soft snow, for I felt that all the big crevasses 
would be lidded, and the little ones could hardly swallow the 
lot of us.” 

Next morning we made the harness traces longer, so that 
only one man at a time need cross even a wide crevasse. We 
had to traverse the mouth of another large valley glacier. 
Three of these debouched on the Piedmont Glacier from the 
western mountains, and the pressure from the northernmost 
(the Debenham Glacier) was responsible for the crevasses of 
the 5th of March. The second valley glacier was not so large, 
but we anticipated trouble. We had a stiff pull uphill for 
three-quarters of a mile, but some of the snow was so hard 
that the sledge-runners made no mark. This was an ideal 
surface, for one’s feet did not slip on it, though occasionally 
the sledge skidded. We were about seven hundred feet above 
the sea here, and entered a col just below a huge snow hill. 

“ Afterwards we were cutting around the hill aforesaid, 
when suddenly appeared many crevasses. So we deviated 
abruptly and ascended sharply. We encountered three, into 
one of which I fell, but they were not very wide. The moral 
of this is—Don’t go for the break of a hill facing and near 
the sea, but stick to humdrum grades if possible ; if not, still 
don’t go for the break of a hill!” 

The somewhat frivolous tone of the above note is evidence 
that it was written when we had traversed the worst of the 
Piedmont. It was always the case “down South.” One 
never got photographs or “instantaneous pen-pictures” of 
anything really exciting. It was always a case of “Get a 
move on, and get out of this good and quick,” so that one’s 
diary lost most where it would have been most interesting. 

We were now behind Dunlop Island, and about 1250 feet 
up the Piedmont. We were astonished to find that the floe 
had all broken up to south’ard. Long curved cracks parallel 
to the coast marked where pieces were continually floating off. 
We congratulated ourselves on our safe position on the Pied- 
mont, for we should have sledged into this without knowing 
it had we continued much further on the sea-ice. Small bergs 
looking just like white yachts dotted the open water, which 
seemed to extend south to Castle Rock. There was no sign 
of the Terra Nova, We began to think she had come to 


408 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


grief, for Pennell knew we were free to move off on the 1st of 
February. 

After supper Debenham got out his plane-table and con- 
tinued his survey. He was much puzzled by the position of 
his station on the stranded Glacier Tongue to the south-east. 
He realized soon, however, that it had twisted round, and 
was even now preparing to continue its journey to the Nirvana 
of warm northern waters. 

We had been blessed with sunshine the last few days. I 
don’t believe we should have managed to dodge the crevasses 
otherwise, for in dull weather you cannot tell any difference 
between a ten-foot hollow or a ten-foot hummock when it is 
only a yard or two away. However, as a result, Forde got a 
bad touch of snow-blindness. Debenham got out the medical 
chest. He ground up some ZnSO,, picked it up on a paint- 
brush, and dropped it in the corner of Forde’s eye. Later in 
the night 1 gave Forde another dose, for the pain is pretty 
considerable. 

The next day my right eye was sore and watering, in spite 
of the amber glasses, and I feared 1 was to become a patient 
also. We plugged along over an absolutely level snow-plain, 
when Debenham dropped into a crevasse, over which I had 
crossed without puncturing the lid. 

In the afternoon my eyes gave out, and I put on bandages 
on the right eye, and gave up the lead to Debenham. It was 
an astonishing relief to cease from staring at the glaring surface, 
and either pull along with shut eyes or keep one eye on the 
gratefully dirty back of Debenham’s jacket. 

Debenham led us safely past three huge crevasses, and 
we halted for a spell among a cluster of smaller ones. That 
evening we climbed up the snow hill behind Gneiss Point, 
about 1350 feet above the sea; and as we had now passed 
the third valley glacier, I felt we had finished with the cre- 
vasses for the time being. We camped on hard snow, and 
Debenham treated me for snow-blindness. The zinc sulphate 
may truthfully be described as an eye-opener, but later the 
cocaine in the mixture calms things down. You are advised 
“to keep your face cool.” But 1 had to keep my head in the 
bag to get warm. However, Forde was pretty right next day, 
and mine had stopped aching, though everything appeared 
double for many hours ! 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 409 


On the 8th we reached the land near Cape Bernacchi. 
There was a steep ice-slope two hundred feet high, at an angle 
of 30°. Luckily it was much honeycombed and sun-eaten. 
We put grummets (rope brakes) on the sledge, and managed 
to get it down about 130 feet. We had a very cheerful lunch, 
for we knew the depdt was only a few miles south. Then 
we found an ice-foot all the way along the edge of the rocks 
and moraine which led us right to the Bernacchi cairn. This 
was a regular ice pathway about twenty yards wide. It was 
due to sea-ice which had become cemented to the shore, the 
tide crack being further away from the rocks, and defining 
that part of the floe which had lately drifted away to sea. 

No one had visited our depot. New Harbour was full of 
new broken floe, but a fine ice-foot seemed to promise well for 
our next march. 

We stayed a day at Cape Bernacchi, for I wished to get a 
good station for the triangulation of this coast. Gran and | 
took the theodolite to the top of a hill 2900 feet high, at the 
north-east end of Dry Valley. We named this Hjort’s Hill, 
in honour of the maker of our trusty Primus lamp. As we 
were climbing this hill, Gran swore he could see the ship off 
Cape Evans through the binoculars. It seemed clear to me 
also—smoke, crosstrees, hull, and three masts; but after an 
hour or so we decided it was only a mirage crack in the Barne 
Glacier. The disappointment was rather keen, though I am 
now not so sure that we did not really see the ship, some forty 
miles away. We could see the forty-foot debris cones behind 
the hut quite easily on a clear day. 

I wrote the usual letter to Pennell. I had left two in 
Granite Harbour and two on the Piedmont now, and it did 
not look as if any would ever be read. 

All through the roth we skirted New Harbour, finding a 
fairly feasible ice-foot between the granite-strewn slopes and 
the open water. We came across a Spratt’s biscuit box here, 
which was evidently left by the 1902 expedition. We saved 
a considerable detour by crossing the head of the harbour on 
the sea-ice, and camped below the Kukri Hills, where I halted 
rather early to get a round of angles. We were held up 
here all next day by the snow, which we spent reading and 
sewing. 

On the 12th we rounded the Kukri Hills, and when the 


410 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


ice-foot petered out we were luckily able to continue on the 
sea-ice. We had lunch amid a colony of over forty seals, and 
then reached the southern side of the Ferrar Glacier, where 
we camped on a rather wet and muddy heap of “ road-metal” 
moraine. 

We were now safely round New Harbour, and, curiously 
enough, crossed the sea-ice at the mouth of the Ferrar on the 
same day of the year as when we nearly went out to sea on 
our first sledge journey. Henceforward we knew our route. 
We had plenty of food at the Butter Point depét, which we 
reached that evening, and knew we could reach the old Dis- 
covery hut before the end of the month. 

The depét had been blown over and wrecked generally. 
We took some pemmican, butter, and chocolate, and next day 
proceeded south along the Butter Point Piedmont. The 
surface was much better than the preceding year, but, curi- 
ously enough, we found quite a number of small crevasses. 
Debenham and Forde fell in together in one of these, and 
the burly Irishman jammed so tightly it was quite a business 
pulling him out of it. In the evening we reached the Strand 
Moraines. These are great piles of ancient silt, gravel, and 
erratic blocks, which were dropped here by the ancestor of the 
present Koettlitz Glacier. 

At the southern end of these moraines, which were several 
miles long, was quite a large lake. We tobogganed down to 
this and across to a nice little gravelly delta just made for the 
tent. We found that the open water reached just to this 
point, the sound still being frozen to south’ard, though 
obviously breaking away in great sheets. I wrote that night, 
“No Terra Nova. We should be picked up at Evans Coves 
(Terra Nova Bay) to-morrow!” We had the choice of two 
routes now: either to cross the snout of the Blue Glacier, 
or to take to the sea-ice and coast round the latter. We 
had done the former and knew it would only take a day. 
The latter might be quicker, though a great calved berg 
blocked the route about two miles ahead. Debenham pre- 
ferred the glacier, the other two the sea-ice. I considered it 
unsafe to march on the sea-ice if it could possibly be avoided. 
I made a bet with Gran that we couldn’t get the sledge 
between the calved berg and the glacier without unloading 
it. This had a rather interesting outcome. I decided to 


GE OF THE BLUE 


OVER THE ED 


GLACIER. 
From a drawing by D. Low. 


SAFETY : 


THE!RUSH TO 


THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 4Il 


keep to land ice, on the principle of the “Devil you know 
being preferable to the Devil you don’t.” 

It was annoying to find that the Blue Glacier had so 
completely changed its complexion in the twelve months. In 
place of clear blue ice where one could see every crevasse, it 
was one uniform sheet of smooth snow, and we soon began to 
fall into the crevasses. In a very short time we had all been 
in a couple of times, and it was evidently an unpropitious 
region for sledging. I deviated to the edge of the glacier 
to try and lower the sledge on to the sea-ice, for we were 
now abreast of the calved berg, where we halted a few minutes. 

Away to the south-east we could see a blizzard brewing, 
and I wanted to get a snug camp in the gullies south of the 
Blue Glacier. We had an argument as to who had won the 
bet, for there was a jumble of ice where the calf jammed 
the parent glacier. The other two decided in my favour, and 
so we pushed off on the top of the glacier-edge to the wished- 
for camp. Gran was dissatisfied with the court’s decision, and 
kept glancing back to the scene under discussion. Just as 
we were dipping down the slope he yelled out “Ship ho!” 
and there she was over the top of the black moraines. 

“¢ We turned back at full speed to retraverse the crevasses, 
for she was four miles off and we were afraid might miss us, 
as a snowstorm was brewing in the east. She steamed along 
past the berg and out along the floe. We pulled back hard, 
crossing crevasses carelessly, but not falling in much, and 
finally could make out that she had a flag on the gaff, ap- 
parently recognizing us. We kept ‘along the edge of the 
glacier till we could find a place to get down. Here was 
a drop of thirty feet almost vertical with a big tide crack and 
a tide-pool at the bottom! Gran went down first, and then 
I got down halfway. Unluckily as we were lowering the 
sledge Forde was pulled over by his harness and fell right 
on to Gran, who was pressed into the snow while the sledge 
came down on top of us. It nearly broke in the middle ; 
however, we lugged it over to the ice and set off hot-foot over 
the two miles of ice. The ship now anchored near the floe 
and four men came to meet us. They harnessed up and 
told us the news. We heard that the Southern party were 
going very well, that there were no signs of Amundsen, and 
that there had been no accidents of importance. Also that 


412 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


they had not been able to communicate with Cape Evans 
until a week before, and had been unloading stores every 
available moment before they came over to search for us. 
And then the world’s news made us feel safer in the Antarctic 
at first hearing : the disruption of China, the Franco-German- 
English trouble in Morocco, the Italians and Turks in Tripoli, 
and the great strikes in England. We had missed an event- 


ful year during our sojourn in the peaceful regions of the 
South, 


VII 
| ‘THE VOYAGE BACK 


_——- Fegpruary—Marcu, 1912 


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Return voyage of the Terra Nova in March, 1912, showing pack-ice off Evans 
Coves and Granite Harbour and the dominant winds determining the 


ship’s course. 


THE VOYAGE BACK 


Wuart does it feel like to be in touch with civilization after 
a year’s absence? Man is an ungrateful creature, and I can 
remember what we missed, better than what we gained on 
reaching the Terra Nova. However, the letters were there. 
They had been put ready for us in the wardroom. No small 
bag would suffice, our literary matter ran to pillow-slips. I 
had one well filled, and Debenham, lucky beggar, had two! 
Poor Gran’s home mail failed to reach him, and he had only 
a few bills, which he could have spared. I rapidly skimmed 
through all the news and then opened up the packets, One 
young soldier friend sent along a huge gift of pipes and 
tobacco. Said he, “I know you didn’t smoke, but 1 expect 
you've learnt to! Anyhow they'll be useful.” They truly 
were most acceptable, and were most prized by the party 
remaining. ‘To balance this gift he sent along “ The Geology 
of Nigeria.” 

After the first glance through, however, I turned to more 
pressing needs. Clean clothes and a bath seemed the greatest 
treat one could wish to enjoy. 

Two factors blocked us. All our clean clothes were on 
land, some in our own hut, some in the Old Discovery Hut ! 
Moreover, Ponting came along and after complimenting us 
on our villainous appearance, begged us to remain picturesque 
until the sun showed enough light for a photograph ! 
Luckily we had only to wait a few hours for this specimen 
of “ponting” ; and after four months a day’s more or less 
grime mattered little. 

One disappointment we met with. Our first cry was 
“ Letters,” and our second “Fruit.” Drake sympathized 
with us and said that all fruit except apples had been landed 
at the hut a week ago. However a box of apples had been 


415 


416 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


reserved for the Western Party. We rushed that box. The 
apples were icy cold and frozen solid. Eagerly we placed 
some on the top of the wardroom stove. We waited until 
they were well warmed and then voraciously bit into them, 
to encounter a stony iceberg in the middle! They took an 
incredible time to thaw, and then all the plant cells had burst, 
and the apple was a poor thing all brown and almost 
rotten ! 

In my cabin I found a small tin trunk with better fare : 
cakes, sweets and nuts of all descriptions, everything but 
chocolate. After hearing the yarns of some of Shackleton’s 
men, I expected to be surfeited with chocolate, and so warned 
my people not to send any down by the ship. However, 
the other luxuries were well-chosen and abundant. Every 
officer aboard had selections each day, and not till we reached 
the Circle nearly a month later was that tin box depleted. 
Indeed, one cake from Parramatta friends was so large that 
a half was sent to gratify the mess deck ! 

When I was free from Ponting I bolted into the engine 
room and was provided with a huge bucket of scalding water. 
Rennick and other officers had lent me some clothes, and I 
can still remember that bath. The only available space was 
over the boilers! I was jammed into a narrow passage next 
the ship’s timbers. If one bare foot slipped an inch too far 
it touched the boiler plates; if the ship gave a lurch I 
cannoned against huge baulks of oak. Still, I started as 
a toil-worn and wild-eyed refugee and finished a semi-respect- 
able roustabout ! 

Pennell soon gave up all hope of reaching Cape Evans. 
The blizzard which was brewing at noon, on the 14th, soon 
enveloped us, and we were driven far north. Under these 
circumstances he deemed it advisable to make the best of it, 
and proceed to Evans Coves to try and rescue Campbell's 
party. 

Among my mail I found a book sent by Professor David. 
This was “ Queed,” by Harrison, a writer new to me. This 
novel fairly gripped me, and I turned into my bunk all 
standing, and read until I had finished it. I hope all Mr. 
Harrison’s readers derived as much pleasure from it. 

“Jim” Dennistoun was a welcome addition to our mess. 
He had been eager to see Antarctica in any capacity, and so 


THE VOYAGE BACK 417 


came along as mule-overseer. His remuneration was “all 
found, and one shilling a month.” We often used to discuss 
what he would do with the treasure accruing to him when he 
was paid off! An ashtray, beaten out of the four-shilling 
piece, was the memento he favoured. 

But it was fairly uncomfortable on board. It was now 
very cold, and the sun rarely showed for long. Spray was 
driven over us, and froze where it fell, so that we spent hours 
chipping the decks free from some of the icy layer. The 
wardroom seemed all doors, and draughts assailed us every- 
where. As usual, on approaching civilization, the Antarctickers 
contracted influenza. Debenham was really quite ill, and 1 
had a fearful attack of neuralgia, which lasted a fortnight, due 
to a gaping tooth. We used to think of our snug little tent 
on terra firma, and after a week of storm at sea decided that 
we were sorry we had been picked up by the trusty whaler. 
Such is man’s ingratitude. 

“¢ February 23rd—We spent a most forlorn day. The ship 
absolutely jammed in zew ice, formed of pancakes only three 
or four inches thick, but gummy, not brittle (so that the ship 
couldn’t break through). These were formed of still smaller 
cakes, cemented together. I was sure they had grown in situ, 
perhaps in the lee of a huge piece of pack which had drifted off. 

This was very serious, for every hour increased the risk of 
our being frozen in, and this was obviously still more probable 
when we returned to Cape Evans than in our present position, 
so much further north. However, very suddenly the soggy 
ice was broken by long leads—lying rather far apart—and we 
managed to push and butt our way considerably to the east. 

I was down below when I heard the ominous “three 
whistles,” which signifies “all hands on deck.” However, 
in this case it was a call to “rock ship.” We all lined up at 
the port bulwarks, in the waist of the ship. Then Bruce 
gave the word, and we “set to partners” across the hatches, 
and through the narrow spaces to the starboard side. The 
ship swung very slightly in consequence. Bruce timed its 
swing, and then we all ran back in unison. This time the 
swing was a little larger. So by degrees the ship became a 
self-acting pendulum, and gradually rocked herself free from 
the close embrace of the ice. At the same time the propeller 
revolved about 14 times the normal speed, and the ship began 

2£E 


418 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


to give a little, and finally went astern. Then more butting, 
and a jam or two, and finally we got into looser pancake, 
where she could do four knots, 

Emperor penguins were interested spectators of our 
manceuvres, while the distant coast-line was really of great 
interest when we had time to observe it. Mount Melbourne 
was a finer sight than Erebus, for its cone was more sym- 
metrical, recalling that of Etna. Mount Nansen, further 
south-west, was a huge, flattened scarp, resembling Mount 
Lister. 

On the 24th we emerged again from the pack to be 
greeted with a pretty stiff wind. We steamed south to try 
and communicate with headquarters. Lillie told me of some 
of his results. He believed he could apply the teachings of 
Mendelism to the question of colour in half-caste Maoris. 
He had made some large collections of fossil plants in New 
Zealand, and had dredged up enough of the rare tunicate 
Cephalodiscus (a primitive sessile early vertebrate) to supply 
every museum in the world! I found out that my thousand 
insects were probably Gomphocephalus, of which previously 
only a few odd heads and legs had been collected in specimens 
of Antarctic moss, 

We got back to the Sound off Cape Evans about noon on 
the 25th. A howling gale was blowing so much frost smoke 
into our teeth that we could only just see Inaccessible Isle, 
now covered with a pall of snow. We manceuvred in North 
Bay with the 120-foot wall of the Barne Glacier looming very 
close. There was a touch of east in the blizzard, so that the 
glacier was not quite on our lee. Pennell dropped anchor 
when the soundings showed twenty-five fathoms, but we 
drifted back quickly, and when we reached fifty fathoms (three 
hundred feet) the anchor dragged. 

We had an awful job hauling up the anchor! Whenever 
I hear the phrase “ Merrily round the capstan, boys,” I think 
of that weary time in North Bay. Each capstan bar had 
two and sometimes three men pushing it round. The foc’sle 
deck was iced over, and even a layer of ashes afforded little 
grip, for the blizzard heeled the vessel over, till the deck 
sloped like a roof. ‘They tried to help the capstan by a 
chain to the steam winch, but the latter ‘took charge’ and 
nearly flung Bill Heald off the foc’sle! There was precious 


BERNARD DAY ON THE CAPSTAN. 


. 
- 
» 
. 
. 
. 


THE VOYAGE BACK 419 


little room between the capstan bars and the rails, and I got 
jammed, and received a nasty bruise on the leg. Awful stiff 
on one’s hands, and on the calf muscles—like pushing for 
hours in a football scrum! Pawls (or stops) prevented the 
capstan from releasing the chain. Clink... clank, clink... 
clank ; these pawls would sound every minute or so, and then 
we had to rest. Each clink meant only an inch or two of 
cable, and we had to haul in three hundred feet! When the 
ship twisted, and the cable lay along the side of the vessel, it 
was impossible to raise the anchor an inch. Finally the 
anchor caught a firm hold on the third attempt, about 7 p.m., 
and we lay steady with ninety fathoms out. The gale 
increased, and we all turned in to try and get some rest, and 
be ready to land if it lulled. At 11 p.m. Pennell roused us, 
and I got into the whaleboat. Bruce was in charge, and I 
rowed three. We were less than half a mile from the shore, 
and found the lee of the cape quite calm. So I reached the 
hut, after five months’ absence. It was eleven days since we 
had been picked up, all but a few hours, and this was the first 
opportunity of communicating with our headquarters. 

I stumbled up the shore, nearly waist-deep in snow, where 
in the preceding March there was hardly any! We found 
them all asleep, and by no means ready to come off. Simpson 
and Day were soon dressed. I had, luckily, left all my gear 
packed in November, and I hauled my boxes down to the ice- 
foot. Simpson, Day, Anton, and I returned, and after some 
bumping against the ice-ridged quarter of the Terra Nova we 
got safely aboard. 

The gale began again, and all access to the shore was 
blocked. Simpson and I yarned till 5 a.m. He told me 
that Hooper and Day had reached the Hut on December 21st 
from the Barrier, They had found their four-man sledge toc 
heavy, and having no suitable tool had burnt it in half with 
the Primus lamp! They had been caught in a blizzard, and 
had marched blindly north in the ensuing thick weather. 
Later, they saw their tracks led right between two parallel 
crevasses, either of which would have engulfed them ! 

“ Next day we could not bring off Meares, Clissold, and 
Forde. Archer had gone ashore, so that the ship was now 
without a cook! The wind was fairly shrieking, and at 
10 a.m, the anchor dragged. 


420 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


“We spent a most wretched day trying to get it up. Not 
a budge out of it, though you burst a blood-vessel! The 
seamen couldn’t say (as before) that this was due to work on 
a Sunday. We found that a cog had broken in the gears of 
the capstan ; but when they again tried the steam winch to 
aid the capstan it stripped off more teeth ! 

Another method was tried in the afternoon, which was 
very slow, but not so spendthrift of human energy. It was 
called “luff upon luff,” and depended purely on a series of 
pulleys ; whereby a small amount of force at one end of the 
rope can slowly move a great weight at the other. The 
capstan was now practically useless.) So the small steam 
winch was connected to a set of heavy pulleys (a “ five-ply 
purchase,” I believe, is the nautical term) to whicha claw-hook 


wesiZ= 
SSSSSO 
coe SSS = 


pe 


Diagram illustrating the way we managed to “raise anchor” by “ luff 
upon luff,” February 26, 1912. 


was attached. This was hooked into the anchor-chain, at the 
hawse hole, inside the dark foc’sle. I was halfway man, and 
it was my duty to yell to the engineer at the winch, as Bruce 
advised me he was ready. Another yell meant that the 
purchase had done its part, and then Rennick put the capstan 
brake on (which would still hold, luckily), and the claw hook 
was taken off, and attached some links nearer the anchor. By 
6 p.m. we had raised anchor. It came up as bright as silver, 
and with the crossbar (stock) broken clean off ! 

All this time we were drifting to the north-west, and had 
to keep up steam to hold her from yawing, and to try and 
keep the cable from “binding” on the side of the ship. 
Throughout the 27th we were nosing up against the fixed ice 
off Castle Rock, trying to shelter from the blizzard. By noon, 
on the 28th, the blizzard dropped enough for us to lie along- 


THE VOYAGE BACK 421 


side Glacier Tongue. At 3 p.m. the ice anchors held, and it 
was possible to get ashore, and start “icing ship,” for the 
tanks were nearly empty. We had to lie bow on, and get the 
ice in by a basket slung from the foreyard. A very slow and 
laborious business ; it took us six hours to get 44 tons of ice 
aboard. 

We then moved off to Hut Point, where we landed some 
stores and newspapers for the Pole Party if they should 
be isolated from Cape Evans, as we had been in April, 1911. 
Here I met Wright again. We learnt that Evans was very 
seriously ill with scurvy. They wrapped him up in his 
sleeping-bag and, dragging him to the ice edge, brought him 
aboard in the ship’s boat. We let down ropes to the seamen 
below, and they lashed him safely, and he was hauled up, 


Hole 18” deep 


nethod 2 fours ee, Ponchor 
Pee ares 


-/2 


looking more like a corpse than a live man. However, he 
could speak cheerfully enough, as usual ! 

We returned post haste to our hut to take advantage of 
the unusually calm weather. We unloaded more stores— 
chiefly fodder, coal, mutton, and dog biscuits, and then moved 
north immediately to make a second try for Campbell at 
Evans Coves (lat. 75° S.). Day, Dennistoun, and I spent 
the morning of the rst of March shifting cargo. Indeed, we 
seemed to spend a large part of our time during the ensuing 
month in that abode of gloom—the empty hold of the Terra 
Nova ! 

At 10 p.m. we were about fifteen miles from Cape Wash- 
ington, in very heavy pancake ice, with a slight swell. There 
was a thick ice-mush between the blocks, and this jammed the 


422 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


propeller. For about ten minutes the engine could not move 
the shaft. They managed to prise the ice away finally by 
poking rods down the rudder post. The grinding and 
bumping of the blades on the ice was physically painful. It 
jarred one’s whole system just like having a tooth out. The 
shock to the propeller, mainshaft, and engine must have 
been enormous. Luckily our propeller was four times the 
usual size for a ship of our tonnage; but Williams thinks the 
main shaft might go quite easily, and then we should be ina 
mess | 

‘2nd March.—During the morning we skirted the pack 
southward, doing a sort of ‘ blanket-stitch’’ course in a vain 
endeavour to find a passage through to Campbell.” 

Dr. Atkinson was on board attending to Evans, who was 
unable to move from his bunk until the day we reached New 
Zealand (2nd April). We had again to give up hope of 
rescuing Campbell, and turned south to land Atkinson. At 
9.30 p.m. we were about thirty miles S.E. of the Drygalski 
Tongue, and soon had to heave-to on account of bad weather. 
But in the afternoon of the 3rd the wind dropped, and in 
about ten minutes the sea was frozen over ! 

However, this time we reached the Cape fairly readily, 
and when I woke on the morning of the 4th I found that we 
were off the Hut and that a boat was going to fetch Keohane. 
He and Atkinson were then landed at Hut Point, and we had 
to ice ship again at Glacier Tongue. 

Every man was busily employed. Heald, McCarthy, 
Parsons, and Cheetham quarried the ice at the nearest spot 
where it seemed solid and free from snow. They filled baskets 
which Dennistoun, Leese, and myself pulled to the ice edge. 
Here Simpson and Rennick linked the baskets on to the rope, 
and Lillie, Drake, and Ponting hauled it aboard. Day and 
Mather carried it to the tanks, and Meares and Bruce tipped 
the baskets into the latter. It was hard work, and kept us 
going from 3 p.m. till 10 p.m. Still there was some fun at 
times. Leese harnessed the brown sledge dog Tsigan to help 
him with his sledge, and Tsigan occasionally bolted over the 
glacier. One basket fell into the sea, and Bill Heald lowered 
me on a rope till I could grab it; then (as usual) he hauled 
up too quickly, and I was dragged shrough the snow cornice 
and pretty well filled with soft snow ! 


THE VOYAGE BACK 423 


“ We shifted eleven tons, and now Pennell’s notice * can 
be withdrawn. We now have enough to get back. Thank 
goodness !”’ 

We had a fairly uncomfortable time on board. The stove 
below was faulty, and a change of wind filled the wardroom 
with smoke. With a huge skylight, various hatchways and 
companion ladders, and numerous portholes, it was hopeless 
to keep out of draughts. 

Early on the 7th I was awakened by the fiendish clamour 
which the propeller was making about a foot under my bunk ! 
“[ found that we were held up in a hole about twice the 
size of the ship in heavy fixed pancake. We were over two 
hours alternately advancing, sticking, putting on more steam, 
reversing, and getting out. All the time huge blocks of ice 
were being churned round and battered by the propeller. We 
had been heading about N.E. when the ship struck, and in 
next watch we had to turn round and retreat as we had come. 
We were now about forty miles east of Mount Mel- 
bourne. 

‘She would steam steady for about ten minutes and 
delude one into going on deck to see our progress, and we 
were still in the same ice-hole! Then we would reverse 
with more regular vibrations, then catch a huge bit of ice in 
the blades, and it would feel as if you were having three teeth 
out yourself !” 

At noon Pennell abandoned hope of getting near Camp- 
bell. At each attempt the ice was thicker and wider. Each 
time we got into worse positions and spent longer in extri- 
cating ourselves. ‘“ We are later than any former ship, not 
allowing for the extraordinary ice-bound conditions, this 
autumn.” So we turned homeward on the 7th March, and 
headed for Cape Adare. 

On this voyage the ship was in charge of Lieutenant 
Pennell, while Rennick and Bruce were the other officers, 
assisted by Cheetham and Engineer Williams. Lillie carried 
on his biological work, while Drake was busy as ever with 
secretarial duties, varied by readings of the meteorological 
instruments. 

We had left the rest of the Western Party at Cape Evans, 


* Until the ship is able to ice ship again no water is to be used for the 
purpose of washing clothes.—Harry Pernnett, Lieutenant. 


424 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


while Atkinson and Keohane were stationed at the Old 
Discovery Hut to receive the Pole Party. 

The members of the headquarters staff who returned to 
take up other duties were Simpson, Taylor, Ponting, Meares, 
and Day. With the addition of Lieutenant Evans, who was 
at first seriously affected by scurvy, and Jim Dennistoun (of 
New Zealand), we formed a very happy family during the 
month of “ wind-jamming ” which now awaited us. 

This was Jim Dennistoun’s birthday, and to celebrate it 
and our start for home, I brought out the huge cake sent 
down from home. Half went forward to the mess deck, and 
it was much appreciated. We had a sing-song with banjo 
accompaniment by Ponting and Bruce, both of whom could 
sing pleasantly. Alf Cheetham gave us some typical sailor 
chanties in his humorous falsetto voice. Neuralgia kept 
me from adding to the entertainment, and I listened from the 
after cabin. 

During the next few days the afterguard were glad to get 
warm either coal-trimming or hauling sails. We would be 
shivering in the wardroom when Pennell would come to the 
“balcony ”’ and yell, “ Any volunteers to trim coal?” Den- 
nistoun was shipped as mule-overseer for the voyage down, 
and there was apparently a moral obligation that he should 
earn his shilling a week on the return by trimming coal! So 
he always turned out and climbed into the bunkers. We 
followed suit after a few days’ rest, and worked away in 
the hold and in the warmer dusty “ bunkers ” next the boilers. 
Then another naval “tyrant ’’ would look down at the coal- 
trimmers and yell, “ All hands on deck to haul mainsail!” 
We were true sailormen in that a chorus of anathemas saluted 
our naval colleague! However, we'd go upon deck and get 
into oilskins and sou’westers, and then search out the special 
halyard in question, usually finding that the operation had 
been concluded some minutes previously ! 

With two Liberal Socialists like Simpson and myself, it is 
not to be supposed that this continued long! We went on 
strike and delivered our ultimatum— 

“Either coal-trimming or sail-hauling—but not both.” 
Pennell grinned cheerfully, and said we could do all the coal- 
trimming if we liked. Personally I felt this was more 
scientific, as touching the departments of statics and applied 


THE VOYAGE BACK 425 


mechanics as well as geology! So we decided to shift all the 
coal and so leave the engineers and stokers free to attend to 
the furnaces where they were somewhat shorthanded. 

Never was such an incongruous set of coal trimmers. 

Down in the hold a high official in the Indian Weather 
Service shovelled the coal into baskets, assisted by our motor 
expert (Day). A Cambridge M.A. (and the authority on 
whales) hoisted the basket with the help of a well-known New 
Zealand climber and stockowner. Ponting bent his artistic 
intellect to the work of unhooking the basket and throwing 
the coal through a door into the bunkers, and inside a 


Ta 
me 


Shoot fz } 0 aE 
Boilers, . . 


a 


Thibetan explorer and the Physiographer to the Common- 
wealth “‘ trimmed” the coal in the bunkers, packed it, and 
raked it level ! 

Simpson and I were busy comparing meteorological data 
before he took his notes back to India. I copied such 
memoranda as seemed to affect Australian weather. The 
“upper-air ’’ results were very interesting. The balloon 
ascents showed that there is a gradual decrease of temperature 
with elevation in summer, but that in winter it grows warmer. 
Thus there is a tendency to approach the same temperature 
in winter and summer at high elevations. He recovered one 
record which had ascended nearly twice as high as Erebus, or 
five miles. 


426 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


Priestley’s log for the Northern Party showed that we at 
Cape Evans had been having calms while they, at Cape Adare, 
had experienced a twelve-days’ hurricane ! 

One morning I visited the scene of the pump’s disaster of 
December, 1910. There is a wooden shaft enclosing the two 
pump tubes and just large enough to enable a man to climb 
down a ladder at one side. It reached the bilge, and here 
the pump tubes dipped into the latter. Before the gale it 
was only possible to get into the shaft by the main hatchway. 
We inspected it by a lighted matchbox, for the electric lamp 
was out of order. Under the main deck and at the side of 
the engine-room was the hole * cut through the iron bulk- 
head during the great gale February 12, 1910, and then the 
pump shaft was entered by tearing off the side boards at Y. 
For it was impossible to raise the hatches and enter in the 
ordinary way. Now the nozzles were made removable, and 
the entry from the engine-room was kept clear, so that the 
same danger could not recur. The sounding rod was let 
down a tube in one corner of this well also. 

On the 7th the temperature had been +7°, and now five 
days later we reached freezing-point (32°). Thus the weather 
was about 5° warmer for each day’s run north. 

“ 12th March.—I had a queer dream about the School of 
Geology at Sydney, which was quite consistent, and ended 
with some one going out and banging the door violently. . . . 
So violently that I awoke—to find the rudder nearly banging 
itself off with the heavy swell. It is funny how the sleeping 
mind adapts itself to real sounds ! 

“‘ There was no wind, but we had most awful rolling, 41° 
from the vertical, so that the swinging lamp in my cabin is 
nearly lying on its side. My books sling off the shelves, my 
boxes come adrift, I was tossed across the cabin, and all the 
plates, etc., on the tables jump right over the fiddles! When 
we turned in I couldn’t keep still, though jammed by my 
knees, toes, back, and head. I stuck in a drawing-board to 
prevent my being flung out, and got no sleep, but a stiff neck 
through using it as a strut.” 

Simpson amused us with some early recollections of 
Sunday schools. ‘“ How did Absalom die?” Loud chorus 
from the afterguard, “Caught by his hair and hanged.” 

* See sketch, p. 42. 


‘ATOUIO OLLOUVLNVY AHL SNISSOUO 
‘2061 ‘HOUVIN ‘NOSdINIS ‘OD ‘9 YOd GYOOIU AHL SCIOH OHM ‘INVHLAXHO “Ff ‘Vv 


THE VOYAGE BACK 427 


Simpson, “The Bible doesn’t say so!’’ ‘Who was the 
oldest man?” Frantic chorus by aforesaid, “ Methusaleh.” 
Simpson, “No, Enoch, his father, because Methusaleh died 
before he did!’’ Then Simpson quoted an essay by one 
school, ‘ Moses’ mother was very cruel, and she put him in 
the bulrushes, when she got sick of beating him.” Asked to 
explain this the boy said, “Well, isn’t that what the Bible 
says—when she could Aide him no longer ?” 

During the next few days we were busy writing the cables 
for the Associated Press, and I got Drake to type a report of 
the last western journey for Captain Scott (which he never 
saw). The hard-worked afterguard were now set to wash the 
wardroom! On the 15th I note— 

“ Day, Meares, and Dennistoun are doing a bit of charing. 
This morning Meares dropped a rag on me as I was working 
below and missed. Then Dennistoun asked me to pick it 
up, and as I looked up, got me in the eye. Sol went for him, 
and scrubbed his face muchly with soft soap, amid hilarity.” 

At noon on the 16th we passed the Balleny Isles. We 

could see Buckle Island about thirty miles to the south as a 
snow-covered mountain occasionally showing through the 
clouds. Only one or two ships have been so close to these 
islands since they were charted by Balleny. We crossed 
the circle that evening, and celebrated it by another sing-song. 
Most of us sang something, Ponting’s contribution with its 
refrain of “Boil—my mother” (a study in wrong punctu- 
ation) bringing down the house ! 
_ Very early on the 17th every one on deck was busy 
furling sail when MacCarthy suddenly spotted an iceberg 
dead ahead. Luckily we just had time to steer clear. We 
had been having “ iceberg-watch” for some time now. I 
had been on duty from 12 to 2a.m., though I could see 
nothing through the snow. The ship was going about five 
knots, and the white spume spreading from the bows was 
about all that was visible. A berg shows up merely as a 
greyish cloud under these circumstances. 

There were many visible during daytime. At noon, for 
instance, we passed another much weathered, and resembling 
a decayed molar tooth. Possibly this resemblance is based 
on similar causes—a hardened outer skin cemented by spray, 
etc., and a softer core weathering from above. 


428 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


I went on iceberg-watch again from 8 p.m. till 10. There 
was some snow again, and it was difficult to see anything. 
All this week we had been driving to the west, so as to pick 
up the constant west winds and sail on a slant up to New 
Zealand. We had only forty-seven tons of coal left now, 
and if we got blown past New Zealand with no coal—as was 
quite probable—it would take weeks for this bluff old whaler 
to beat back against head winds. 

Poor old Nigger has gone overboard, finally we fear. We 
were all proud of our black Tom. He fell overboard on the 
last voyage, and luckily was seen manfully (or catfully ?) 
swimming along in the wake of the ship. The crew got 
out a boat, saved him, and were back in twelve minutes ! 
But no one saw the last tragedy. In the hold we found two 
rabbits having a thin time, and fed them on carrots and bread 
and milk. I don’t know their ultimate fate. (There’s a 
black welcome for bunnies in Australia, which I thought 
extended to New Zealand also.) 

I can see the afterguard becoming regular sailor-men ! 
On the 20th we had another mutiny—about food this 
time. 

The Mutineers. “When are you going to give us a 
change from this everlasting mutton, Frankie ?”’ 

Store-keeper Drake. ‘“ Mutton’s very good food.” 

Mutineers. “ Why can’t we have ‘ True-egg’ omelettes ?” 

Drake. ‘Well, perhaps we could have that as an 
additional dish.” 

Mutineers. ‘ Why additional, Frankie ?” 

Drake. ‘“ Because Frankie doesn’t like True-egg!” And 
he added, “ If you want more mutton, just say so!” 

(A very finished “ cagger” is Frankie Drake.) 


We had very variable weather during the last week or so 
of our voyage, and I give herewith the record of the worst 
gale ever experienced by any man on the Terra Nova. My 
journal suffered in consequence, but I will copy my notes 
written just after the gale, verbatim, First of all, here is a 
copy of the ship’s log for the worst days of the gale. 


(‘19311 OY) 
‘aAOdIae# NO TIANNadd wNVANVGUS AUVNIGHUO, AYHA V 


THE VOYAGE BACK 429 


1912. Distance. Bey Course. | Wind. Force, Sea, |Barom.|Temp. 
March 22 

a.m. 50 5°9 at} N.30W.| Aleats 7 |28°99] 30°8 

p.m. Borg: 7 ata] IN. 7 W.. 3}8 — |37 
March 23 

ee sie WS), Seale | 8 [2879137 

p-m. 48 noon —- 9 9 | — |— 
March 24 

a.m. 52 5 N. 8 28°73] 40 

p.m. oF 7 p.m. N.N.w,}| S.W. rofeale Be ek 
March 25 

a.m. 49°5 4°8 | N. 22 gto II 9 |29°03| 37 

p.m. 48°3. |noon|. W. } Leake 8 jeale 8 | — 143 
March 26 : 

a.m. Ae | 34 | N. 50) | 7 7 |29°66| 42°2 

p-m. /|Becalmed.|7 a.m. } fi by. 2 5 | — |44°5 


“96th March.—It is now 12.40 p.m. We have had a 
satisfactory lunch of roast mutton and treacle duff (soujours 
mouton !). It is nearly calm, and we have all sail set, and are 
hurrooshing along at nearly two miles an hour ! 

©] am five days behind in my diary. We have had a pretty 
sudden gale—the worst ever felt by any one on board, I believe. 
It culminated about midnight on the 24th or 25th. For several 
days it had been blowing almost storm-force from the S.W., 
and so helped us along O.K., though rather too much 
westerly, and we could only drive along in front of it. With 
three stormsails (main lower topsail, fore lower topsail and 
inner jib) we went along for days at five miles an hour. 

“On the evening of the 24th Dayand I had First Watch. 
I was told off to assist Pennell from 10 to 11 p.m. I put 
on my paraphernalia and turned out ona wild stormy night, 
after prolonged bumping in my bunk for three or four hours. 
It was awful on deck, the ship mostly with her lee scuppers 
under water, and kept there at a constant heel, with only 
three small stormsails. We were running before the gale 
(an unusual experience nowadays, as Penelope cheerily pointed 
out !), luckily just on our course. To windward (in south- 


430 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


west) the sky was covered with gloomy clouds—several black 
bows, which always mean squall-storms, being hideously 
apparent! White horses raced past the bows, and were all 
one could see in the darkness. They looked just like 
detached floes! The whole time we had to clutch the bridge 
rails to prevent our rolling down to leeward. 

“Then the sky got darker all over, the stars disappeared. 
A sudden squall hit us, and then the shrouds started shrilling 
and booming. The canvas screen on the bridge bulged in; 
your nose nearly blew off your face if you looked over it, 
while the canvas made eddies which deflected the wind into 
your face. 

“The ship plunged forward into the black, sometimes 
partially righting, but mostly lying over at 30°. Then the 
black squall passed (in about ten minutes) and a patch of 
clear sky showed to windward. Another squall-bow appeared, 
and we were battered and driven over again. This lasted 
longer, about twenty minutes. Penelope asked me to go to 
the standard compass (near the foremast) to check the 
steersman. I got the electric torch and managed to crawl 
on to the ice house which supports the compass. Up a silly 
little ladder with no grip, and in flapping oilskins to find 
Rennick there before me. Then I had to crawl round and 
see that the helmsman was keeping his course. I clutched at 
his screen-posts and wondered if they would blow overboard 
next gust. (The screen went over next day!) About 10.40 
a thick black cloud enveloped the horizon to the west and 
gradually reached us. This accompanied a squall where 
nature fairly burst her bounds! The sea was blown flat, and 
the air filled with horizontal hurtling arrows of sleet and 
water. I didn’t know that wind could show such malig- 
nancy! Don’t know how the storm-sails stood it, | suppose 
because the rigging would do for a ship about twice this size ! 
It was a snorter. Couldn’t see more than a hundred feet, 
though there was no snow in the air. Just solidified wind, I 

uess. 

“Tf the sails had not held it would be called force r2— 
the maximum, as it is they are content with force 11. 
Penelope said he enjoyed this sort of thing, but I can’t say 
I was thrilled with enthusiasm, and I preferred to be where 
the hurricane force was not quite so obtrusively obvious! So 


THE VOYAGE BACK 431 


at 11 p.m.I unselfishly called Bernard Day for his share of the 
hell-broth, and went down below to try and forget it in sleep.” 

It culminated at 3 a.m., when the starboard whaler was 
torn from one davit. Just as they got a rope under the loose 
end the other broke loose. So they cut it adrift after it had 
been bumping on the ship’s side for some hours a few inches 
from Lieutenant Evans’ sick-bed ! 

Bernard Day was nursing Evans, who was progressing 
satisfactorily, though still very weak. However, by now he 
was nearly as cheerful as usual, and his cabin was chiefly 
noticeable from the amount of laughter emanating therefrom. 
He had onions, oranges, and beer in excess of our ration, and 
got up for a few moments just before the gale. 

“< Now that the engines are stopped (to save coal) we have 
to use the hand-pumps continuously—about a quarter of an 
hour each four hours. In the storm, owing to the rolling, it 
takes longer, for the well only fills slowly through its small 
holes, and most of the bilge lies on the lee side. 

“The pump-handles (across the waist) are left on all the 
time now, and with ‘life-lines’ they make something to grip 
as you sidle along the deck. Ponting didn’t see the handle, 
and running to dodge a big wave he was knocked silly by a 
blow on the brow. Result—two lovely black eyes, and a 
thankful heart that his nose wasn’t broken !”’ 

The same day a big sea pooped the ship and covered the 
steersman (MacCarthy) in fifteen feet of water! It broke 
down the canvas screen protecting him, but didn’t dismay 
MacCarthy. He had bad luck later, also. For climbing the 
ratlines to free some tackle his helmet was knocked off. It 
nearly came inboard on an incoming wave over the lee 
bulwarks, but not quite. However, all that cheery MacCarthy 
said was, “ Maybe ’twill make the gale lessen a bit !”’ 

There was naturally not much comfort anywhere on 
board, not even in the cabins. I think the following extract 
speaks for itself— 

“My bunk is just over the counter, where the waves 
bump every few minutes, just over the screw ; just under 
the chilled feet of the steersman who dances on the deck, 
which is like a sounding board ; and just next the rudder, 
which has two dozen squeaks and groans of its own. Add 
to this rolls varying from 30° to 50° each way. 


432 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


““T have made a fine hanging candlestick from a chain of 
safety-pins and a bent wire, and this swings out and bangs 
my head. I stick in my drawing-board at the side of the 
bunk, and so try to get some sleep in the fearful rolling. 


“ There I lay, throughout the day, 
Lying this and then that way, 
Pain and cramp from toe to shoulder ; 
Up and down the tempest rolled her. 
Pitch and toss, athwart across— 
Never worse befell old Ross. 
Waves belched round, above, right over 
Poor old storm-tossed Terra Nova.” 


On the 26th we had discussion of Amundsen’s chances, 
and I got Pennell to draw a map of his winter quarters. 
This has some interest, as we did not know anything of his 
movements for over a week yet. 


Q2 


Q 
oe 


@ 


a, 


oy, 
Q 


a Ee 


7s 
ae 


ee 


CX 
Kh 
LAO 
LLL 


LO 


ots ~ 


--~. 


Chart of Bay of Whales, 78° S. + 164° W., after Amundsen. 


“The Discovery in 1902 found several deep bays in the 
edge of the Ross Ice Barrier. Balloon Bight went in about 
ten miles. Shackleton in 1908 found that these had merged 
into one and he was stopped by sea ice at the head. 


THE VOYAGE BACK 433 


“ Pennell in the Terra Nova found Amundsen’s Hut (in 
February, 1911) to be about two miles from the water on 
a ridge of.old sea-ice about thirty feet high, but hidden from 
the ship by another ridge of the same nature. 

“To the west was an indifferent lane half a mile wide which 
reached behind the hut. Here the sea-ice was only a few feet 
above the water except where pressure occurred. The ice in 
the west of the lane was breaking out. Behind this about 
four miles off was an eighty-foot cliff of Ice Barrier with a 
path up in the south-east. I wouldn’t like his winter, though 
if he lasted through the autumn he might be O.K. afterwards. 
Anyhow, we'll know in about a week now. We had a great 
cag to-day. Some are still sure that Amundsen did nothing 
at the Pole. The arguments are : (2) Amundsen never liked 
sledging ; and (4) if he meant to go up another glacier than 
the Beardmore, he’d have acquired merit and said so ! 

“< Contrariwise (a) if he found going easy he might have 
prospected up an easy one, perhaps in 1911 ; and (8) if he'd 
gone astray, the Fram would have come to us to investigate 
this year.” 

“On the 27th we finished off the cable. It runs to 7,500 
words, of which the western party contributed goo. It is to 
be delivered to the agent at Akaroa on Monday (first of 
April). A funny day to send off a big cable, but it won’t be 
published till the 2nd in England, and ten hours later in 
Australia. Meanwhile we loaf about till Wednesday morning 
(minimum 36 hours), and then land at Lyttelton as soon as 
possible.” 

On the 30th the coal gang put in about six hours filling 
the bunkers, so as to rest on Sunday. We shifted seven tons. 
The gale had rounded the large lumps of coal, the impacts 
turning them into egg-shaped boulders. The coal-dust was 
packed into a hard layer which we could hardly break out 
with a pick! This is what clogged the pumps in 1910, 
and in that gale Teddy Evans was head and shoulders under 
the bilge water groping for the mud clogging the pump-roses. 

During Sunday we slowly cruised towards Akaroa. After 
lunch we sighted a school of eight sperm whales. We turned 
off and followed them. Mostly one saw their broad rounded 
brown backs. Then one would raise his head a little and 
blow off “steam,” not up straight but diagonally forward. 

2 F 


434 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


Sometimes their large triangular tail fins showed, and once 
or twice the huge torpedo head appeared above water. Our 
harpoon gun was out of order, but they were too shy to let 
us approach within striking distance. Each of these whales 
was worth £300, so that there was a small fortune in the 
whole school. 

Monday, April 1.—About 6 a.m. we approached Akaroa. 
It was a bright morning as we entered the very fine harbour, 
the Heads reminding me of those of Sydney. We could see 
the friendly light of the lighthouse twinkling a greeting to us. 
Then we saw ragged clumps of the first trees—two on the 
skyline resembling a pair of roosters fighting, and sheep, like 
rabbits, browsing on the steep hillsides. We lay about a mile 
off the little town, while Pennell and Drake went off in the 
cutter and were met by a launch. All communication was 
forbidden with the shore, but later two men in a small launch 
hovered around us. As they pushed off they called out— 

“Why didn’t you get back sooner? Amundsen got the 
Pole in a sardine tin on the 14th December.” 

“Pennell returned about 11 a.m. and confirmed it. 
Amundsen has done wonderfully. His risky hut-site was 
not so bad as we expected. In place of howling blizzards 
four days in each week, he seems to have had calm weather ! 
But his bold dash up another glacier, his getting five men 
there, and his nice behaviour after returning with regard to 
Scott and his work have changed our opinion of him in soto. 

“Scott will have reached the Pole about January 16. 
When he sees the tent and flag there he will get a most 
unpleasant shock. Amundsen started eleven days before 
Scott and was eighty miles nearer. He got there only thirty 
days sooner, so that he didn’t march much quicker. 

“In the west Gran and J agreed that he had a very good 
chance, and Gran has written down in my sledge diary the 
day he (Amundsen) would get there. I haven’t looked at it, 
but believe he was at the Pole at the day Gran said !” 

This prophecy has aroused some interest among psycho- 
logists at home! So I will explain the circumstances. Gran 
woke up on December 20, 1911, when we were camped 
in the Punch Bowl and had been sledging over a month. He 
declared that he knew that Amundsen was turning back. As 
natural we ‘pooh-poohed this. He said, ‘‘ Well, I'll write it 


| z 
>= - rs 
‘ 
' ; fi ey 
; iB 
t i ; re 
: iN 
- wa . 4) 
= Zs s 
[: et 
1 i] 7 i i aN tr 
~  , va a 
i . © 7 14 ~  uy 
€ i J! ui ind 
; io 9 
so Fs h , ; A is @ 7: J 
~~ v 7 y . ‘ 
‘ , J : 
é 
hy 3 


at 
~ igi 


Sa 
aS ee SRA 


PONTING IS HERE ARRANGING THE CREW FOR A PHOTO 
OFF AKAROA. PROBABLY 


HIS LAST EFFORT AT 
“PONTING” ANY OF US. 


The dog Tsignan in the foreground. 


THE VOYAGE BACK Aas 


down in Grif’s book here.” He did so ; but in my Browning 
and not in the diary (as I say above). 

This copy of Browning was left on Cape Roberts with all 
other non-essentials on February 5. It remained there until 
picked up by Priestley, six months after I had reached Aus- 
tralia. It was restored to me in Priestley’s home at Tewkes- 
bury in 1913, nearly two years after Gran’s inscription. I 
looked through it and came on Gran’s note, which I here 
reproduce. This is one of the most extraordinary coinci- 
dences I know of, and owing to Gran’s isolation from a// 
outside information is perhaps unique. 

I am personally of opinion that coincidence and not tele- 
pathy is involved ; though it is a fact that Gran never made 
any other attempt to get an undoubted record of a dream, and 
he certainly believed this to be something supernatural at 
the time ! 

During Monday we idled off Akaroa. Some fish were 
caught, Day hauling in a huge barracouta and Evans a rock 
cod, which he caught as he was sitting in a deck chair, and so 
celebrated his first day out of the cabin. They tasted good 
at lunch! We trimmed eight tons of coal during the day, 
so that only five were left! Then I had a huge bath, borrowed 
a shirt, and got into clean clothes ready for civilization ! 

On Tuesday I packed all my gear, which was lucky, for 
I only had half an hour to catch the Sydney boat finally. On 
Wednesday morning we entered Lyttelton Harbour early in 
the morning. A tug came to meet us, carrying Mrs. Wilson 
and Mrs. Evans. Pennell asked me to steer the ship into 
harbour—why, I know not; unless he thought I looked too 
respectable and might look more natural after a trick at the 
wheel. However, one of the seamen did all the heavy brain 
work, and I merely assisted at the tricky corners ! 

Simpson, Meares, and I hurried for the first train to 
Lyttelton. Simpson was not specially noticeable except for 
his ski-boots, I had on his shirt and Evans’ cap. Meares was 
clothed in a suit lent by Jim Dennistoun, who said it was an 
old one of his father’s, I think Meares’ departure was hastened 
by the advance of Mr. Dennistoun senior to greet his son ! 

I spent only one day in Christchurch, for finding that a 
ship left for Sydney that evening, I transhipped all my gear to 
the mailboat and was back in Australia on the 7th April, rg12. 


” 


Vill 
gn END OF THE EXPEDITION 


—s 


~ 


THE END OF THE EXPEDITION 


I nave brought the story of the Expedition up to April, 1912, 
so far as my own part in it is concerned. But it will be of 
interest to give a brief 


résumé of the much more Soy 
arduous journeys of the | 
other divisions of the Ex- 
pedition. 

Let us consider the 
distribution of the personnel 
in the middle of December. 
In the far north at Cape 
Adare, Campbell and his 
five mates were awaiting 
the arrival of the Terra 
Nova to take them to fresh 
fields of work. The sea-  / 
ice had blown out early in 4 
spring, and they had been Drs Meores 
cooped up on the rocky eos WP» | 
promontory unable to ex- Mee i 
plore the hinterland, just 
as had Borchgrevinck ten 


Ross Seo 


‘ Day rept" 


years earlier. The ship was 
not due until early in 
January, but Levick’s pen- rae 
guin studies and Priestley’s i 
ice-notes testify to the in- Chart of parties, December 14, 1911 
dustry of the scientific staff (Amundsen reaches the Pole). 
during their imprisonment. 

Further south my own party was preparing to climb the 
Mackay Glacier, as recorded previously. We were to be 
taken north on the ship to Evans Coves (to spend five weeks 


439 


440 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


there during January and February) as soon as the Terra Nova 
could reach us. 

At Headquarters Simpson was completing his meteoro- 
logical log—certainly the most valuable record of Antarctic 
weather which has yet been obtained by any of the numerous 
expeditions to the southern continent. Ponting was living 
at Cape Royds, and obtaining many of his most successful 
studies of animal life. 

To the south stretches the Great Ice Barrier, and some- 
where off White Island a party of two men are doggedly 
pursuing their homeward path. They are dragging a queer 
contraption—a sledge burnt in half—and each night have 
great difficulty in erecting their four-man tent. Neither Day 
nor Hooper understands navigation, and their plight, if they 
miss one of the old pony shelters, will be pitiable. They lie 
up during a heavy blizzard, and then start off, desperate, 
through the drifting snow. They arrive safely, and a few 
days later, returning on their path, see their blindfold tracks 
passing along the narrow ridge between two huge crevasses ! 

Another stage of some two hundred miles shows us, at 
the foot of the Beardmore Glacier, a second supporting party, 
which has just bidden farewell to Captain Scott. Meares, 
with Demetri and the dog-teams, is proceeding north again 
for his last journey on the Great Ice Barrier. For three 
months he has been forwarding stores ahead of the pony 
parties, and now the Pole party pushes on, unsupported by 
ponies or dogs, on the two hardest stages to the Pole. 

Scott has just finished the hardest day’s work he expe- 
rienced on the ascent of the Beardmore. ‘ A most damnably 
dismal day,” he calls it. Next day, the 14th—which is that 
on which all the positions in the preceding figure have been 
charted—they begin to reach better surfaces, and the three 
parties, under Evans, Bowers, and the leader, swing along at 
an encouraging rate. 

Far to the south—indeed, at the uttermost south—five 
Norwegians have reached their goal: Amundsen, Bjaaland, 
Hanssen, Hassel, and Wisting. After a few days’ rest they 
have verified their position, and made sure of the Pole by a 
circular journey round the apparent site. And now they are 
preparing to return to Framheim and the north. 

Prestrud, Amundsen’s lieutenant, has just carried out his 


THE END OF THE EXPEDITION 441 


trip to King Edward VII. Land. There, beyond the Barrier, 
he reached high land. Rocky cliffs appeared in a few nuna- 
takker above the snow mantle. To these they gave Scott’s 
name. 

The next chart shows the position of the parties on the 
18th of January, 1912. Cape Adare is now deserted. Camp- 
bell has been picked up 
by the Terra Nova, and 
safely landed at Evans 
Coves for five weeks’ 
exploration between 
Mount Nansen and 
Mount Melbourne. 
Then the ship _ sails 
south to pick up the 
western party at Granite 
Harbour, and to com- 
municate with Head- ry 
quarters. The pack-ice hy Makinson 
is still solid in Mac- b : 
Murdo Sound; the ship /,  : 
can do nothing till well Cys h 
into February. The le Evans TE ' 


western party are wait- Lay Ly, 
ing on Cape Roberts nS j 
oh 


? Amundsen 
; 


some twenty miles from 
the ship. As narrated 
previously, they realize 
that there is no hope 
of relief in that quarter, » 
and later march over- Chart of parties, January 18, 1912 
land to the hut. (Scott reaches the Pole). 

Day and Meares 
have reached the hut, and Atkinson is now halfway home across 
the Great Barrier. They have had an anxious rush to keep the 
balance between food and time. Only one day—Christmas— 
has been different from the many weary days of sledge-hauling. 
Among the moraines near the “Cloud-maker,” Wright dis- 
covered a piece of marble containing the first large Archzo- 
cyathine fossil from Antarctica. Although vastly larger than 
Shackleton’s specimens, this is only a centimetre long ! 


442 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


Lieutenant Evans has now also turned northward, and, 
with Lashley and Crean, is nearing the foot of the Beardmore. 
For him worse troubles are approaching. Worn out by con- 
stant sledging and unsuitable food, he is attacked by scurvy, 
and only saved by the gallant devotion of his naval mates. 

Captain Scott has accomplished his task, and within the 
time he had allotted to it. Realizing that if Amundsen came 
successfully through the winter his methods must be speedier 
than those of the English party, Scott proceeded steadily along 
the lines he had decided upon when he left England. It was 
a bitter disappointment. Since Amundsen had reached the 
Pole the year 1911 had passed away; and so the record 
stands: “The South Pole: Amundsen 1911, Scott 1912.” 
How few will realize that but a few weeks intervened between 
the two achievements ! 

Meanwhile the Norwegian is speeding back to the Fram, 
and already the hardest part of his journey is over. In mid- 

. January the conditions of the 

Pnee fe Barrier bear no remote resem- 

blance to those in mid-March. 

No one who has not experi- 

t enced it can picture the enor- 

Cian aay mous difference due to the 
4 lapse of those two months. ; 

The third chart shows the 
scene of the last tragedy. Far 
to the north the ship is nearing 
civilization. Campbell’s party 
is isolated at “ Hell’s Gate,” 
their cheerless home at Evans 
Zs Coves. Here ina hole in the 

Chart of parties on March 21, 1911 SROW they wear out a weary 

(the last camp). existence for eight never-ending 

months. No other Antarctic 

party has ever experienced such a test of courage and endur- 

ance. Even Mawson’s three weeks alone gave less opportunity 

for utter despair than the life of these six men from March 
to October, 1912. 

All communication is now cut off between Cape Evans 
and the Barrier. At the 1910 Hut are Nelson, Debenham, 
Wright, and Gran with some of the men, and fourteen miles 


¢ 


THE END OF THE EXPEDITION 443 


south in the old Discovery Hut are Atkinson, Cherry-Garrard, 
Keohane, and Demetri. But two of these are invalids—worn 
out by wild weather on the Barrier when they carried further 
supplies to One Ton Depot. 

Eleven miles south of this depot—and just beyond where 
Bowers and Gran reached in the depét trip of February, 1911 
—is the last camp of the Pole party. All the world has 
been moved by Scott’s messages from this formless yet 
historic site. It would be presumption in me to try and 
describe it. 

Why did the tragedy occur? I am convinced that no 
reason beyond that of Seaman Evans’ illness is required. 
When Wilson was coaching us as to how we should meet 
the hazards of Antarctic sledging, he told us of frostbites, 
chills, blizzards, and so forth. I said that these seemed sur- 
mountable, but I added, “‘ What are we to do if one of the 
party breaks his leg ?” which seemed by no means impossible 
in the rough rocky region before us. Dr. Bill replied, “ Well, 
you will have to make a more or less permanent camp, kill 
plenty of seals, and wait there until you are relieved, or until 
the leg is usable again.” Two factors were vital—rest for 
the invalid, and seal-meat for the party’s sustenance. When 
Evans met with his accident, there could be no rest for any, 
sick or well. It was a race with famine, in which only strong 
men had any chance. There was no need for a severe acci- 
dent to handicap the party hopelessly, as in the case of Dr. 
Mertz. A slight ailment rapidly becomes mortal. A sick 
man must be kept warm, and in the Antarctic the only warm- 
ing agent is the human one. Very literally a man “keeps 
himself warm” with the most wonderful furnace in nature— 
fed with fuel in the form of biscuits and pemmican. And so, 
I believe, that, short of abandonment, the party had no hope 
with a sick man on their hands. Scott and. Wilson would 
remember, however, that they had managed to bring back 
Shackleton to safety in 1903, and would hope to do the same 
again, even though the distance was four hundred miles instead 
of a hundred and fifty. 

With each hour’s delay each man grew weaker. Each day 
the weather grew worse than the preceding. The sun now 
sank below the horizon at night and the Antarctic cold, un- 
opposed by his warm beams, spread resistless through both 


444 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


animate and inanimate nature. Each night was longer, each 
march a harder fight against the blizzard drift. 

I used to wonder how Shackleton managed his wonderful 
feat with an unsupported party. He told me that he would 
never have got through if it had been calm, nor if the wind 
had been but a trifle different. For days, on their return 
Barrier journey, they were marching through drift which did 
not rise to their eyes and so block their view ; but was due to 
a southern blizzard wind just strong enough to fill their sail 
and push them to the north. Captain Scott met with no such 
fortune. He was a month later than Shackleton, and when 
Oates fell sick their chance had gone. 

I do not believe that unaided the three men would have 
survived even if they had reached One Ton Depot. There 
was no chance of thorough rest there, and nothing else could 
have saved them. At their slow rate of marching they were 
still ten days from Discovery Hut, and such a period of 
exposure would have been too much for them. 
Their journey was a supreme struggle against 
all the powers of Nature, and when all human 
effort had been expended they succumbed, win- 
ning a deathless renown which has aroused the 
envy of all brave men and the admiration of the 
world. 

On their last few marches, when everything 
was fighting against them, they kept the speci- 
mens gathered by Wilson at the head of the 
Beardmore Glacier. Scott writes, “The geo- 
logical specimens carried at Wilson’s request 
will be found with us or on our sledge.” It 
is pleasant to think that these specimens, which 
must have a greater sentimental value than any 
others of their kind, have also a greater scientific 
value than any hitherto obtained in the Antarctic. 
Glossopteris, At the Australian meetings of the British Asso- 
‘ Permo-Car- ciation Professor Seward gave two lectures deal- 

oniferous fern . : : ° ; 
from the Upper 128 With the fossil leaves which they contained. 
Beardmore Perfect examples of the fern-like plant Glossopteris 
Glacier. were preserved—closely related to those occurring 
in India, Australia, South Africa, and South 
America. In fact, this plant is the emblem of the ancient 


THE END OF THE EXPEDITION 445 


continent of Gondwanaland ; and the Polar specimens give 
positive and invaluable evidence of the condition of the world 
in Permo-Carboniferous times, of a sort which can truly be 
called epoch-making. 

I can here give no account of the doings of the small band 
during the last months spent by the expedition in Antarctica. 
The record of the survey of Erebus by Priestley and Deben- 
ham and of the search for the Polar party can be read in other 
volumes. 


However the world knew nothing of this disaster until the _ 
ship returned in February, 1913. Remembering the pleasure 
I had felt from Professor David’s gift of “ Queed,” I sent 
down a few books by the ship in the preceding December. 
In each case I tried to’ suit the recipient’s taste. Thus Nelson 
received ‘‘ Queed ” (Harrison) ; to Wright I sent “ Marriage”’ 
(Wells) ; to Cherry “ The Dreadnought on the Darling,” in 
memory of his Australian travels. To Debenham and Uncle 
Bill I sent books in the writing of which I had had a part. 
To Bowers (in the character of “Farmer Hayseed”) I sent 
Bean’s fine book “On the Wooltrack’’; and to Priestley, 
“We of the Never Never” (Gunn). Atkinson, I hope, had 
a fellow-feeling for pugilist “‘ Shorty McCabe”; while Oates 

' would have been carried back to Africa by “ The Dop Doctor.” 
I knew Rex Beach would attract Gran—so he was furnished 
with “ The Silver Horde.” 

I was carrying out a geological survey at the Federal 
capital, and in the solitary evenings I managed to pile up a 
huge budget of letters for my returning mates. Some of them, 
alas! were returned unopened. 

In February Bernard Day reached Australia and was in 
Sydney with me when we heard the sad news. 1 had never 
anticipated any serious accident to the Pole party—chiefly, I 
expect, because Shackleton had managed to pull through safely. 
But I should not have been surprised to hear of disaster in 
Campbell’s northern party, for no one had lived through a 
winter in such fashion before. 

A solemn service was held in the Cathedral at Sydney, and 
later at a meeting to initiate a memorial fund, Professor David 
gave an eloquent justification of Antarctic exploration and 
paid a touching tribute to the characters of the lost men. Asa 


446 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


result of similar appeals in this and other states, the Empire 
contributed most generously to the Captain Scott Fund. 

The Federal Government kindly granted me leave to 
collaborate with the scientific members in London; and 
Priestley and I returned home in the Mongolia. We arrived 
in London in time for the Albert Hall meeting in May. 
Commander Evans here described to the large and deeply 
interested audience the chief features of the 1910 Antarctic 
Expedition. 

The office in Victoria Street was the rendezvous of the 
surviving members of the Expedition, who were nearly all 
reunited within the next month ortwo. Simpson was too busy 
in India to visit England, Day was in Sydney ; but with these 
exceptions we were all present at Buckingham Palace when 
the King’s medal was presented in July. The men under 
Lieutenant Rennick marched from Victoria Street, and joined 
the officers in the Palace. Here we were marshalled in three 
lines—naval officers, scientific and other officers, and seamen. 
Lady Scott and Mrs. Wilson, Mrs. Bowers, Mrs. Evans, and 
Mrs. Brissenden,* were received first by His Majesty. The 
others were presented by Prince Louis of Battenberg, and as 
each advanced the King shook hands, gave him the medal, 
and said a word or two. 

We returned to the Caxton Hall, and after drinking some 
farewell healths, the expedition, as a whole, was disbanded. 

But the scientific work will take several years to complete, 
and thanks to the generosity of the public, the means for 
carrying this out are adequate. No less than £75,000 was 
placed at the disposal of the Committee, while in addition to 
this the Government is paying out various sums from the 
Pension Fund. 

Some £34,000 was allocated from the Public Fund to the 
widows and dependants of the lost explorers. A bonus was 
paid to the officers and men; the debt of the Expedition was 
paid, and £17,500 was set apart for the publication of the 
scientific results. 

Some £18,000 remains for a memorial to the men who 
died. Of this amount half will be expended on a suitable 
monument, which will probably be placed in Hyde Park, and 
on a tablet in Saint Paul’s. The balance will be devoted to 


* Brissenden, one of the seamen, was drowned in New Zealand. 


THE END OF THE EXPEDITION 447 


an endowment fund in aid of future Polar research. ‘ This 
is an object which it is believed would have commended itself 
greatly to the late Captain Scott.” So concludes the report of 
the Mansion House Committee. 

This narrative began amid the Colleges of Cambridge, and 
may very fittingly close there. Dear Uncle Bill will never 
return to his rooms in Caius College ; but on the old arch- 
way through which he reached his quarters, are blazoned the 
names of Wright and Debenham. For Debenham has joined 
Caius, and “ keeps” just below his sledge-mate, between the 
the Gates of Wisdom and Honour. 

In a spacious room in the Old Court of John’s, Lillie 
ponders over problems of Antarctic Biology. Priestley is a 
Fellow Commoner of Christ’s, and for a time I had diggings 
in the Hostel at Emmanuel. Priestley and I “‘ kept” almost 
next door to each other, and almost always had our meals 
together ; and during the day Debenham joined us in the 
huge “ Antarctic Room” in the Sedgwick Museum. Here 
the specimens from the South were labelled, sectioned, and 
described. Here often appeared Wright and sometimes Lillie, 
while Pennell, Nelson, Atkinson, and others visited us not 
infrequently. 

The various researches are being carried out under the 
supervision of the British Museum authorities, while Captain 
H. G. Lyons is acting as general editor of the scientific 
publications. 

I have finished. In this account I have tried to show that 
a Polar expedition is a microcosm in its own peculiar way. 
Here are labours of a strenuous type, but not insuperable in 
the main. Here are dangers which the city dweller never 
meets, but which lose half their terrors with familiarity. Here 
are pleasures—like the labours and the danger—more con- 
centrated than those met with in times of ease. Here, lastly, 
is fellowship, which is the chiefest charm of exploration. 

It is a truism to declare that friends of the sledge-trace 
and sleeping-bag are friends for aye. My mates, in the 1910 
Expedition, have forged yet a closer bond for our future 
sledge journeys. When this cruel war is past, we trust that 
Priestley will join forces with a relative of Debenham’s, while 
Wright and I have started anew on life’s journey with Priestley’s 
sisters to help us in the traces ! 


448 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


I shall, in all probability, never again see the Antarctic ; 
but my advice to any volunteer, who has that opportunity 
offered him, is to take it. Especially is this the case if he be 
a scientist or writer, for the present tendencies of modern 
life are all opposed to the multiplication of such experiences. 
Only in Polar lands is to be found the joy of a “real return 
to the primitive,” in association with the best types of strenuous 
youth. There, if anywhere, is life worth while, and effort 
sure of recognition. To few explorers is it given to serve 
under a leader with Scott’s kindly sympathy for every detail of 
his work ; but after each and every expedition, the hea 
cloud of discomforts, dangers, and disaster gradually fades from 
memory, and nought remains but the brightness of the silver 
lining. 


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TRAVERSED ON THE 


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FROM SURVEYS BY 


GRIFFITH TAYLOR, B.S0., B.B., B.A., P.C.S., PRANK DEBBNHAM, B.A., B.Sc., & CHARLES WRIGHT, B.A. 


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APPENDIX 
RECENT AND FUTURE EXPLORATION 


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APPENDIX 


RECENT AND FUTURE EXPLORATION 


Hucu Rosert Mitt has given a masterly account of Antarctic Explo- 
ration in his work “ The Siege of the South Pole.” He deals fully 
with the voyages which took place before Shackleton’s great exploit. I 
have found it so difficult myself to get a comprehensive idea of the later 
expeditions that I have drawn the two charts shown herewith. If we 
divide Antarctica into four quadrants (as shown in Fig. A) we see that 
no expedition among the eleven charted has attacked the African quad- 
rant, and only two (Amundsen and Charcot) have explored the Pacific 
quadrant. A survey of these maps shows that two great problems as 
regards the sixth continent are still unsolved. First, Is there a low- 
level, ice-covered strait connecting the floating Barrier seen by Filchner 
in the Weddell Sea with that crossed by Amundsen south of the Ross 
Sea? 

In a paper published by the Royal Geographical Society in October, 
1914, I have advanced arguments in support of this possibility. We 
hope that Shackleton, in his forthcoming journey between Filchner’s 
and Scott’s bases, will answer the question. 

The other problem deals with the character of Antarctica to the 
west of Enderby Land, for the whole coast-line south of Africa is 
unknown. One can only hope that some future leader following 
Mawson’s example will set aside all idea of transcontinental journeys, 
and devote his energies to detailed coastal surveys, which are infinitely 
more profitable from the purely scientific standpoint. However, under 
present political conditions there is little chance of any extensive work 
succeeding Shackleton’s present enterprise until several years have 
elapsed. 

I have, however, felt that it would be useful to collect the results 
of my experiences in the Antarctic in so far as they touch details of 
scientific equipment. These may be grouped under the following 
heads: (1) Personnel; (2) Tents and Sledging Stoves; (3) Note- 
books ; (4) Instruments ; (5) Cameras; (6) Clothing ; (7) Food. 

Personnel.—It may be that I am prejudiced by training, but to my 
mind these coastal parties should consist essentially of geologists, who 
must be capable of using theodolite and plane-table. The refined 
knowledge of an expert navigator or surveyor is wasted in such a 


451 25 Ge2 


452 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


journey, where only the lunch hour or evening halt is available for a 
hurried “round of angles.” The recognition of topographic forms 
should be a specialty of modern geologists, if they have had an adequate 
physiographic training, and (again, me judice) this is more probably 
found in the geologist than in the naval officer or professional surveyor. 

It is unnecessary to point out that a biologist—whether botanist or 
zoologist-—would be wasted on such a journey. Most geologists, how- 
ever, have studied some botany and zoology, and are capable of collect- 
ing such mosses and lichens, etc., as they may come across, and with a 
little advice can make useful notes on the types and habits of the fauna 
encountered. 

(I am not here referring to the Plateau or Inland journeys, where the 
main essentials in an explorer are a knowledge of navigation on track- 
less plains, such as naval men obviously possess to a high degree, coupled 
with indomitable pluck and endurance, in which they also have an 
unrivalled record.) - 

Too little stress has been laid on ability to take successful photo- 
graphs and to make numerous sketches. ‘The latter is all-important. 
With practice quite valuable sketches can be made in quarter of an 
hour, which are far ahead of any verbal description. 

Outside these qualifications nothing is so essential as a cheery 
temperament. It is worth more than strong biceps, for the latter 
develops en route, while humour has a tendency to become diluted after 
four months’ stiff sledging. Certainly the latter is not an ideal environ- 
ment for its birth and growth. 

Equipment for Scientific Coastal Exploration.—So far as the sledging 
outfit is concerned, it would be difficult to improve on that provided 
on Captain Scott’s Expedition. But I am sure that a dog team would 
have enabled us to do twice as much work while along the coast. They 
could, I feel sure, be left tethered at the coast for a week or so, while 
inland journeys were made, with some provision of seal meat. Pro- 
bably they would eat all the food in the first few days, but in the 
warmer summer months they could (and have been known to) exist 
without food for many days after suchagorge. Seals are very abundant 
in December, January, and February. For instance, in New Harbour 
we saw two herds totalling about a hundred individuals. 

Iron Runners were undoubtedly of immense assistance to the 
Northern party on sticky sea ice. We tried them on rugged glacier ice 
and they were useless, for they had no “grip” at all, and on any sort 
of slope would not follow the traces, but simply slid down the “dip” 
of the ice. 

Tents—The larger floorcloth was much preferable where many 
instruments were carried. I should make it the full size of the tent- 
floor and shut out all snow. In the ordinary pattern there was over a 
foot margin inside the tent. A small tomahawk would be very useful 
for cutting up seal meat. We had none. Also one of Priestley’s small 
ice-picks would be well worth carrying if there were the slightest risk 


APPENDIX 453 


of being abandoned, even fora month. ‘The ice-axes were not often 
used for their legitimate purpose of chipping steps. ‘They were cer- 
tainly valuable as supports on the slippery glaciers, but should have been 
stronger, even if it added a few pounds to the load. 

The Blubber Stove was worth its weight in gold, It was made by 
Day, of sheet iron, and was simply a rectangular box, 18 inches long, 
and about 10 by 10 inches in cross-section. A round hole (about 8 
inches in diameter) was cut in the top. A chimney of sheet iron, 
about 3 inches diameter, was riveted in one end, and was about 4 feet 
high; but we found that the length was not essential, as there was 
always sufficient wind to make about 18 inches of chimney act. 

The only objection to Day’s pattern was the door, which occupied 
the other end of the oven and was hinged at the top. It would have 
been better if the opening had been stiffened and the door also, so 
that it would shut readily, even when the oven was warped and 
dinted. ; 

More important still, there should have been a “sill” at least one 
inch high to keep the blubber oil from all escaping from the floor of the 
oven. We took a grid to carry the “fids”’ of blubber and asbestos 
wicks, but they were unnecessary ; the ashes from the burnt skin or 
bits of bone acted as a suitable burning surface. We never needed to 
“render” the blubber, but just fed it in its native state. This stove 
must be completely sheltered from strong winds, and we built a granite 
hut for its use. It cannot be used in the tent, for in spite of all pre- 
cautions it evolves the filthiest oily soot that ever disfigured scientific 
note-books, 

Note-Books.— Plain good paper with linen-covered cardboard backs, 
opening sideways, with a loop and pencil and rubber tied on with 
string. “Take four thin books (8 X 5 or so) rather than one thick one. 

For long panoramic sketches, fold down one inch of the right-hand 
page and sketch over this fold, then the panorama can be sketched 
continuously and to scale on the next pair of pages, and so on. 

An ordinary geological hammer of medium weight, a small cold 
chisel (wrapped in canvas to prevent it sticking to you), and a stout 
ruck-sack are essential. 

Instruments.—The prismatic compass is almost useless for accurate 
work in the magnetic area. Wright and I used two independently, 
and found we differed about three or four degrees. This would not 
perhaps matter for a very small area. ‘The needle is extremely 
sluggish ; but we found them useful for route marching with thick 
snow falling, and one should certainly be taken. 

The plane-table is the instrument par excellence. Debenham 
deserves great credit for taking one south, for Captain Scott was 
extremely sceptical as to their value on sledge journeys. In open 
country with a prominent peak (as a referring object) in the line of 
traverse—conditions such as one always gets in coastal work—the plane- 
table was extremely rapid and enabled Debenham to do excellent work 


454 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 


each day. For details of the geology of a cape or cliff area the plane- 
table is simply magnificent. 

A light theodolite (4-inch) was carried, of course, to tie on to 
prominent distant peaks and for elevation and base-line measurements. 
Latitude and longitude and sun azimuths were taken as checks on the 
triangulation, which later in our journeys was tied on to Mount 
Erebus. 

Cameras.—We had large experience with these, Debenham taking 
Ponting’s place when the latter returned. We carried Zeiss and 
Goerz panorama-stereoscope cameras. ‘They had two grave faults for 
southern work. ‘The rubber focal plane shutters froze stiff, and used 
to crawl down and then stop halfway, when one wished to give =}, 
of a second ! 

Secondly, they were arranged for glass plates. In spite of advice 
given me by Mawson and other photographers in the South, I am 
convinced that a hundred films would give one ten times as many good 
photos as ten plates, for plates get scratched and broken, and the weight 
(the only important factor) is the same. When we went a long side- 
tramp we always relied on the two fi/m cameras, and they succeeded in 
producing many splendid photos, while the trouble of changing plates at 
—20° F. (with your head inside a moulting fur sleeping-bag) can be 
imagined by any one. For geologists I would recommend the Goerz 
outfit with front shutters and a film-pack attachment. As it was, my 
exposures in a very expensive camera of this type (guaranteed to give 
+slyo Of a second) were made by means of a red cotton handkerchief 
presented to me by Charles Wright ! 

For physiographic details, a stereoscopic camera is sine gua non; for 
topographic work a panorama camera is essential ; for lantern slides a 
1 plate is advisable. The two cameras I have specified fulfil all these 
conditions, and both have, of course, magnificent lenses. 

Clothing.—No one altered the regulation rig very materially. The 
geologists had to wear the strong corduroy trousers, which were hot 
for sledging, because the rocks tore wind-proof to pieces, As it was, 
mine were darned in fifty places with strong twine, and even so were 
disintegrating when we were picked up. I did not carry my note-books 
ina case as Wilson preferred, for they slipped easily into the huge 
pockets on the Wolsey knitted jacket. Aesthetics are perhaps out of 
place when sledging, but some grey or brown colour would have been 
an improvement on the white of these otherwise excellent jackets. 
The white jackets soon gave us an even more filthy appearance than 
necessary, and one sees too much snow and ice to appreciate white 
clothing. A neutral colour would really have been a welcome object 
in the view when sledging over the Barrier. 

Boots were, however, the one article in which the expedition was 
weak. We had all sorts of ski-boots made of fine supple leather, 
but nothing shod with nails to resist the granite moraines of the 
western area. When damp, the nails which we inserted soon pulled 


APPENDIX 455 


out of the soft leather. Real workmen’s Bluchers—size 12 to accom- 
modate four pairs of socks—are advisable. The uppers might be made 
less stiff; but one’s legs are swathed in putties, so that matters little. 
Perhaps professional Alpine boots of the right size might suffice ; but 
plenty of spare spikes and nails should be taken. 

Socks—We took spare socks in our personal gear, but on the first 
journey, owing to bad boots, we were always darning. On the second 
I reinforced the heels of my outer socks with an oval patch of 
canvas (about three inches long), and I never had to darn a pair, 

These trivialities bulk extremely large on a sledging trip, so that 
I make no apology for mentioning them. 

Crampons are illustrated in “ Scott’s Last Expedition,” The canvas 
tops acted admirably over the fur “finnesko.” I should prefer the 
steel spikes to be even longer, and I should think they might be 
screwed into the aluminium sole so that new spikes could be inserted. 
They did not make the feet cold to any marked degree. 

For use with the leather boots I liked the 1902 type of Steigeisen. 
These were strapped under the instep, and enabled me to walk with 
great ease on slippery glacier ice, though some of the men found 
they hurt the feet considerably, and so preferred to risk numerous 
tumbles. 

Food.—The regular ration of pemmican, biscuit and butter was 
grand, and suited all our party. Chocolate, some flour for “ thickers,” 
sugar, tea and cocoa cannot be surpassed as the less important staples. 
I should be inclined to issue a regular ration of simple condiments or 
flavourings, especially if the party is going to live largely on seal meat. 
Onion powder was worth its weight in gold, for we became very 
tired of seal meat after several months. The latter is practically 
tasteless (if it is not fishy !), but with onion powder, one did not 
need a strong imagination to conjure up “steak and onions.” The 
meal is often the only comfort when sledging, and these condiments 
weigh so little that I think they might be issued. 

The Primus and cookers worked very well indeed. We had no 
trouble in six months, part of which consisted of extremely rough 
glacier work, which was calculated to jolt to pieces the anatomy of 
anything less staunchly built than a Hjorth primus, 


INDEX 


ApaRE, Cape, Borchgrevinck’s winter 
quarters, 79 ; Campbell’s party at, 439 

Air, ionization of registered, 279 

Alcove Camp, described, 133-134; 
Evans’ “ whisker stones,” 137 ; return 
to, 145 

Algz deposits, 136, 155, 296 

Alph Avenue, 173 

Alph River, 170, 172, 173 

Alps, glacial erosion in, 8, 9 

Amphipods, 360 

Amundsen, chances discussed, 432-433 ; 
news of his success, 434 ; Gran’s pro- 
phecy, 434-435; charts of his and 
Scott’s parties, 439, 441 

Anchor, ice, 60; method of fixing 
(sketch), 421 

“ Ancient cups” (sketch), 256 

Anemometer, described, 220, 222 (sketch), 
306 

Antarctica, attraction of, 14 ; ice erosion 
in, 14; map showing recent expedi- 
tions , 37 ; charts of recent and future 
exploration, 450 ; personnel of coastal 
parties, 451 ; notes on outfit, 452 seq. 

Anton, ignorance of English, 107 ; ac- 
companies Granite Harbour expedi- 
tion, 332, 336, 339 

Appetite when sledging, 124 

Aptera, 381 

Arch berg (sketch), 227 ; photographed, 


250 

Archeocyathina, 256, 303 ; Wright's dis- 
covery of, 441 

Arguments, in hut, 273-274 

Armadillo Camp, 163 

Armitage, Cape, Discovery hut at, 189, 
visited, 202-203 

Arthropod, found, 303 

Astronomy for travellers, 50-52 

Atkinson, Dr. E. L., 4, 13 ; his blubber 
stove, 63; excavates Discovery hut, 
18g ; institutes physical measurements, 
225 ; successes with fish-trap, 240 241 ; 
tests for scurvy, 245 ; lecture on, 292- 
293; meteor seen, 247; lost in bliz- 
zard, 275 seg.; (sketch), 276 ; landed 
at Hut Point, 422 : 

Augites, on Observation Hill, 204; at 
Flat Iron Rocks, 379 


Aurora Australis, first seen, 203 ; watch 
instituted, 226 ; observation of, 231- 


232 

Australian harbours, geology of, 23 ; 
maps, 24 

Avalanche Bay, 352 


BauueEny Isles, 427 

Balloon Meteorograph, described, 234 ; 
(sketch), 7b. ; results obtained, 425 

Barne, Cape, 85 

Barne Glacier, cliff-like edge of, 88; 
first crossing, 103 seg.; features of, 
220 ; movement noted, 322-323 

Barrier, first sighted, 81 ; height_of, 82 

Barrier shudder, 151, 313 

Bath, on board Terra Nova, 45 ; hot, 
75, 416 

Beacon Sandstone, 131 ; worm burrows 
in, 148; not of desert origin, 7b. ; 
debris, 385 

Beardmore Glacier, fossils from, 10, 
(sketches) 255, 256, 257,444; Tay- 
lor’s lecture on, 255; sponge corals 
from, 256; Glossopteris from, 444 

Beaufort Island, 85 

Beaumont, Sir Lewis, gift of books, 283 

Bernacchi, Cape, depot, 341; minerals 
found, 341 ; camp at, 409 

Bets, currency used, 163, 369 

Bicycling, in Alps in winter, 4; in 
Antarctica, 315, 316 

Biological station at South Bay, 262 

Bird, Mt., 334 

Birds, catching, 55 ; shooting, 64 

Black Sand Beach, rolled pebbles on, 320 

Blizzards, signs of, 157 ; snow in, 158; 
wind velocity, 251, 279, 2933 ex- 
plorer in (sketch), 263; higher tem- 
peratures during, 293, 295, 363 seg. ; 
thick drift of, 294 ; local nature of, 


319 

“ Blizzometer,”” 220, 222 

Blubber, as food, 158, 176, 455; fork 
for (sketch), 176 

Blubber-lamp (sketch), 201 

Blubber-stove, Dr. Atkinson’s, 63; in 
Discovery hut (sketch), 193 ; at Cape 
Geology, 358; difficulties of, 403; 
value of, 453 


456 


INDEX 


Blue Glacier, snout examined, 153 ; 
surroundings of, 154; dangerous sur- 
face of, 411 

Bonney, Lake, 8, 134, 136, 139, 145 

Bonney, Professor, 8, 134 

Bonney Riegel, 134, 136 

Books, discussed, 50 ; stock of, in hut, 
282 

Boots, damaged, 117, 128, 153 ; sketch 
of worn, 154; “ browning” the, zd, ; 
sealskin “ brogans ” for (sketch), 159 ; 
cause sore heel, 169 ; method of cob- 
bling; 253; Oates’ hobnails, 309 ; 
crampons for, 322-323 ; thawed, 333 ; 
“jronclads,” 373 ; (sketch), 2b, ; best 
type for Antarctica, 455 

Borchgrevinck, winter at Cape Adare, 79 

Botany Bay, 371 

Bowers, Lieut. H. R., first meeting with, 
9; adrift on sea-ice, 197-198; as 
geologist, 199 ; lectures by, 250, 300; 
Christmas tree, 268 seg. ; Cape Crozier 
expedition, 270, 285 seq. ; Polar books 
read, 283; provisions bagged, 294 ; 
list of stores for Granite Harbour ex- 
pedition, 332 

Breadmaker, Clissold’s electrical (sketch), 
216 

Bruce, Lieut. Wilfrid, 76 

Buckle Island, 427 

Burdens, various methods of carrying, 
138 

Butter Point, name and description, 117 ; 
depot, 120; ice breaks up, 152 ; Tay- 
lor’s camp at, 338 ; depot damaged by 
weather, 410 


CaMERA,“mousetrap,”’ 121, 289; (sketch), 
ib,, 296 ; damaged by sun, 377. See 
also under Photography 

Campbell, V. L. A., independent com- 
mand of, 6 ; stores for Eastern Party, 
66; attempted relief of, 421, 423; 
winter at Evans Coves, 442 

Castle Rock, composition of, 186; de- 
scribed, 206 

Cathedral Rocks, appearance of, 1273 
depot at, 150 

Catspaw Glacier, 132 

Cavendish Icefalls, 148-149 

Cephalodiscus, 418 

“ Chad,” Lake, 145 

Chanties, 48 

Charcot, Dr., 264, 451 

Cheetham, 75 

Cherry-Garrard, A., gifts to comrades, 
13 5 penguin skinning, 66 ; adrift on 
sea-ice, 197-198 ; editor of South Polar 


457 


Times, 231, 233, 265 seg. ; hut build- 
ing by, 262 ; Cape Crozier expedition, 
270, 285 seq. 

Chess, 271, 384, 400 

Christchurch, N.Z,, Expedition offices 
at, 23 

Christmas on Terra Nova, 73-74 

Cinematograph, tabular berg recorded, 
59; subjects for, 89 ; football played 
for, 321 

Cleveland Glacier, 334 

Clissold, T., his electrical breadmaker 
(sketch), 216 ; fall from iceberg, 316 

Clothing, Antarctic, 6; on Terra Nova, 
36-37 ; windproof, 120; Wilson’s 
nose-guard, 262 ; Bowers’ lecture on 
300 seq. 3; Taylor’s notes on, 454. See 
also under Boots, Socks, Goggles 

Clove hitch, with one hand (sketch), 163 

Coal, loading of, 39-40 ; found in Ant- 
arctica, 388, 392 

“Cold Feet” stalactites, 287 

Commonwealth Glacier, 143 

Cook, Mt., and the Matterhorn, 25 seq. 

Cook, his duties on sledge journey, 121 ; 
methods, 350-351 

Copepods, in Polar seas, 74 

Copper pyrites found, 309 

Coral, sponge, from Beardmore Glacier 
(sketch), 256 

Coral-reef surface, 121, 128 

Corethron, staining of floes by, 74 

Corner Camp, Evans’ journey to, 193 

Course, the, 233 

Crater Heights, origin of moraines on, 
197 

Crampons, 322-323, 455 

Crevasses, 152, 353) 375, 406 

Crow’s nest, 35-36 

Crozier, Cape, desired as headquarters, 
80; visited by boat, 83; midwinter 
expedition to, 271-272, 285 seq. 

Cuff Cape, 376 

Current meter, 68 

Cwms (armchair valleys), 127 ; forma- 
tion of, 136; on Davis Glacier, 161 ; 
on Mt. Lister, 167, 340; theory of, 
174 seg. ; diagrams, 175 

Cycle of life in Polar seas, 74-75, 83-84 ; 
rhyme, 84 


Daitey Island, 177, 178 

Danger Slope, 113, 186 

David, Protessor F. W. E., work under, 
73; advice by, 10; letter by, found, 
105 3 120, 142, 257, 346, 416, 445 

Davis Bay, 158 

Davis Glacier, 161 ; (sketch), zd. 


458 


Davis, Professor W. M., 8, 160 

Day, B. C., 9, 66, 85; binding for 
South Polar Times, 254, 265; lecture 
on motor sledges, 264; ingenious 
turning, 307; difficulties with motor 
sledges, 322 seq. ; dangerous journey 
of, 440-441 

Debenham, Frank, 11, 66; visits Inac- 
cessible Island, 95; geological and 
photographic work, 119; black lava 
found, 134 ; as cook, 176, 350 ; frost- 
bitten, 179 ; painting, 248 ; collection 
of sixpenny novels, 283 ; Cape Evans 
mapped, 295 ; long distance geology, 
307 ; Tent Island explored, 311, 316 ; 
trip to Shackleton’s hut, 319 seq. ; 
knee strained, 321 ; excellent sight of, 
369 ; coal found, 388 ; value of plane- 
table, 453 

Debris cones, 296, 297, 385 

Demetri, 91 

Dennistoun, Mr. J., 416, 424 

Descent Pass, 127, 130, 151 

Devil’s Punch Bowl, and Thumb, sketch 
map of region, 376 : features of, 378 

Dewdrop Glacier, 378 

Diatoms, 74 

Discovery, pack crossed, 78 

Discovery Bluff, 371 

Discovery Hut, condition of, 106 ; com- 
pared with Shackleton’s hut, 113 ; de- 
scribed, 189 seg. ; environs of (sketch), 
190; plan of (sketch), 191 ; difficult 
approach to, 192; blubber stove at 
(sketch), 193 ; routine at, 194; litera- 
ture at, 195 ; storm at, 196; sleeping 
quarters, 198 ; sunsets at, 199 ; Scott's 
visit to, 216, 223. See also under Hut 
Point 

Distances deceptive, 150 

Dogs, Antarctic born, recognise water, 
10; put on board Terra Nova, 30; 
hangar for on ship, 46 ; character of, 
52, 281, 290; exercised on floes, 69 ; 
and penguins, 69, 88, 91 ; and seals, 
116, 332; “rifle pits” for, at Hut 
Point, 193 ; “ Macaca” found, 260; 
puppies born, 290 

Dog-sledging, 91 ; Scott, 106; Taylor, 
115 

Dog-teams, Peary’s use of, 
voice, 69, 91, 116 

Dolerite sills, 131 

Double-Curtain Glacier, 125-126 

Drake, F. R. H., 66, 428 

Dry Valley, 9, 130, 132, 142 seg.; Lt. 
Evans’ chart of, 280 

Dun Glacier, 131 


3 guided by 


| 
| 
| 


INDEX 


Dunlop Island, minerals found on, 309 ; 
features of, 344 


EarTH, shape deduced, 272, 279 

England, Mt., 380 

Erebus, Mt., compared to Vesuvius, 85 ; 
appearance of steam cloud on, 88, 218, 
281 (sketch), 7b., 295, 325, 3465 cre- 
vasses on, 189; signs of heat from, 
217 3 activity of, 288 

Erosion : frost, 380: glacial, study of in 
Alps, 8-9, 14 ; problem in Antarctica, 
14-15; in New Zealand Alps, 23-29, 
120, 132 ; stages of, 133 ; wind action, 
134, 145; on Taylor Glacier, 136; 
nolateral in Antarctica,148; on Mackay 
Glacier, 377: water, 138, 159; at 
Tent Island, 311 

Erratic (sketch), 387 

Euchre, 302 

Euphausia, 63, 65, 75 

Evans, Cape, named, 86 ; site described, 
87,215; sketch of, 90; landing at, 89 
seq. ; lakes at, 87, 215 ; planof hut at, 
212; music at, 223; magnetic varia- 
tion at, 261; pull of gravity at, 279 ; 
physiographic features of, 298 seg. ; 
map of, 299; ice-forms at, 310-311 ; 
Terra Nova’s return to, 418 

Evans Coves, 439, 441 

Evans, Lieut. E. R. G. R., 6, 9 ; journey 
to Corner Camp, 193; chart of Dry 
Valley, 280 ; coast survey by, 295 ; trip 
to first depots, 313 ; attacked by scurvy, 
421, 442 

Evans, Edgar, P.O., 5, 137; “Football 
Fields” named, 139 ; straw hat, 145 ; 
a fall, 148; former expedition, 151 ; 
and literature, 151, 284, 302 ; on Blue 
Glacier, 153; humour of, 153, 157; 
one-handed clove hitch, 163 ; as steers- 
man, 165; losesabet, 171 ; imaginary 
frostbite, 182 ; on blizzards, 185 ; pru- 
dence of, on Danger Slope, 186 ; lessons 
in cobbling given, 253, (sketch), 7. ; 
as bezique player, 259 

Eyes, effect of Antarctica on, 49 


Fexspar, from Erebus, sketch of, 145 

Fern, sketch of fossil, from Beardmore 
Glacier, 444 

Ferrar Glacier, former accident on, 75 ; 
explored, 121-131; surface altered 
since 1902..129 ; movement of, 151, 


202, 309; shape of ice at mouth of, 
257-258 ; Scott's trip to, 304, 309 
Ferrar, Mr. H. T., on ice slabs, 162 
| First View Point, 349 


INDEX 


“First Western Expedition,” 113 seq. 

Fish, caught by floe, 70 ; Notothenia, 97 ; 
in ice, 180, 202 ; remains of, on glacier, 
164, 165 ; trap for, 240-241; parasites 
in Notothenia, 241 ; caught, 251; fos- 
sils of, found, 386 

Flagellata, at Cape Evans, 215 

Flat Iron, 377; unusual minerals on, 
379; survey of, and composition, 392 

Flea, primitive, 125 

Food, biscuit packing, 119 ; allowance 
on sledge journeys, 335 ; cooking of, 
350-351 3 suggestions for, 455 

Football in Antarctica, 236,:238, 247 ; 
for cinematograph, 321 

“ Football Fields,” 139 

Forde, R., P.O., attacked by gangrene, 
313,331 5 cave discovered, 352 ; reser- 
voir constructed, 354, (sketch), 7b, ; as 
seal butcher, 355; as cook, 360; and 
literature, 363 ; snow-blindness, 408 

Foraminifera (Orbulina), 68, 74 

Fossils, from Beardmore Glacier, 10, 255 
seq, ; sketches of, 255-257; on Gon- 
dola Ridge, 386 

Frostbite, pain of, 116; Taylor’s toe, 
202 ; Forde’s hand, 313, 331 

Games in Antarctica, 271. See also 
Football, Euchre, Chess 

Geology, Cape, blubber-stove at, 358 ; 
view from (sketch), 374 

George, Lake, rain gauge in, 240 

Glacial erosion, See Erosion 

Glacier Tongue, nature of, 113 ; bulbous 
icicles on, 117; sea-ice broken away 
from, 189; broken fragments from, 
309, 342; features of, 315; waved 
edge of (sketch), 316 

Glaciers, of New Zealand visited, 25 
seq. ; map, 27; of Antarctica, organic 
remains on, 127, 177; tables, 132; 
twin, 130, 149; in Luzern valley 
(sketch), 26. ; movement measured, 151, 
202, 309 

Glasson, 7 

Glenroy, parallel roads of, 160, 296 

Globigerina ooze, 75 

Glossopteris from Beardmore 
(sketch), 444 

Gneiss Point, 342 

Goggles, fogging of, 335; benefit of 
amber glasses, 369 

Gold, washing for, 145 

“Golden Stairs,” 233 

Gomphocephalus, found at Granite Har- 
bour, 356 (sketch), 7b. ; Lillie’s catch 
of, 418 


Glacier 


459 


Gondola Ridge, 384; fish fossils on, 
386; sketch of, 391 

Gramophone records, at Cape Evans, 
265 

Gran, Lieut. Tryggve, former  ex- 
periences, 13; as ski expert, 68, 69; 
and white magic, 76; ice caves dis- 
covered, 230; guesses at South Polar 
Times authors, 278; debris cones 
dissected, 297; ski slope constructed, 
312; birthday present to Taylor, 357 ; 
as cook, 357; latitude and longitude, 
simple method of calculating, 357 ; 
sea-kale planted, 370; golden mica 
found, 377 ; midsummer bathe in open 
air, 378; as surgeon, 379; Mt. Suess 
circumnavigated, 388; birthday ode, 
401 ; prophecy of Amundsen’s success, 
434-435 

Granite, on Dunlop Island, 309 

Granite Harbour, expedition to 321, 331 
seq. ; Bowers’ list of stores for 332 ; 
reached, 348; seals at, 3533 pressure 
ridges in sea-ice (sketch), 361 

Gravity, pull of, at Cape Evans, 279 

Grummets, 409 

Gully Bay, algz deposits above, 296 


Harr clipping, 38 

Harbours, Australian, geology of, 23 ; 
maps, 24 

Hat, straw, 146 

Heald Island, 167-169 

Hedley Glacier, 131 

Hjort’s Hill, 409 

Hobbs Glacier, 158-159 

Hooker Glacier, 28} 

Horses, Oates’ lectures on, 246-247. See 
also under Ponies 

Hut, building of, 98 seq.; map of 
locality, 107; life at, 26.; interior 
arrangement of, 108 

Hut Point, geological sketch of, 114- 
1153 arrival at, 186; seals killed at, 
192; wind at, 196; difficult approach 
to, 192; telephone to, 319. See also 
under Discovery Hut, 


Ick, pack : met, 58 ; scene in, 60 ; width 
of, 76, 78; pressure blocks, 77 ; map 
of course through, 77 

Ice problems, Wright’s lecture on, 248 

Ice-age, future (sketch), 281 

Ice-anchor, 60 ; method of fixing (sketch), 
421 

Icebergs : the first, 56 ; origin of various 
kinds, 56, 59; watch for, 57, 64, 75, 
427; effect of wind on, 59; sketches 


460 


of, 64; a white-back, 70, 71 ; Tunnel 
berg, 96, (sketch), 97; mistaken for 
islands, 345 ; various shapes of, 347 ; 
flexure of (sketch), 403 

Ice-forms: pancake, 58, 60, 77; sun- 
holes, 93 (sketch), 7b., 121 ; coral-reef 
surface, 121, 128 ; topsy-turvy icicles, 
124; fan crystals, 124, 128; arabes- 
ques, 126, 132, 2913; ploughshare, 


128, 148, 162; thumb marks, 148; | 


icefalls, 148, 149; slabs, 155, 162; 
bottle-glass, 156, 384; glasshouse, 
156, 157, 162, 3843 various, 163; 
armadillo, 163; frozen park, 164 ; 
honeycomb, 165; Stonehenge, 168 ; 
stalactites, 170; caves formed by 
crevasses, 230; at Cape Evans, 310- 
311; crystals, 288-289; screw-pack, 
338-339 

Ice-houses, 101, (sketch), 102 

Inaccessible Island, visited, 95, 287 ; 
direction of blizzards on, 294 ; wind- 
ridge on (sketch), 294 

Infusoria, 74 

Instruments, value of various, 453-454 

Invertebrates, Nelson's lecture on, 303 

Ionization of the air, registered, 279 

Island Lake, 233 


“ JAM-JAR,” 128 

Jeannette, 283 

Kar Plateau, cliffs 
(sketch), 375 

Kea Point, 28 

Keerweer Camp, 179 

Kenyte, 87; felspar in, 145; on Land’s 
End moraine, 291 ; at Cape Bernacchi, 


365; granite 


309 
Killer-whales, attacks on men, 75, 95, 
1525 ON ponies, 198 
Knob Head Mountain, features of, 149 ; 
magnetic variation at, 261 
Koettlitz Glacier, moraine deposit from, 


160 ; explored, 167-173 ; stream from, | 


168 
Kukri Hills, 127; coaly debris, 134 ; 
Wales Glacier named, 143; age of 
rocks, 146-147 ; cwm valleys on, 340 ; 
camp below, 409 


Lacroix Glacier, 140, (sketch), 7b., 162 
Lakes, at Cape Evans, 87 ; Flagellata in, 


215 
Land’s End, features of, 230; named, 


233 
Lashley, W., former experiences, 75 ; 
Polar journey, 442 


: 


INDEX 


Lateral moats. See Moats 

Latitude and longitude, simple method 
of calculating, 357 

Lectures, list of winter, 229 

Levick, Dr. G. M., 49 ; and seal killing, 
120; penguin studies, 439 

Lichens, at Cape Geology, 360, 387 

Lillie, D. G., former adventures, 7 ; 
caricatures by, 65; collections made, 
418 

Lister, Mt., 127 

Literature, on sledge journeys, 151. 
also under Books 

Lots, novel method of drawing, 357 


See 


| Luzern, Lake, formed by twin glaciers, 


130, 149 
Lyons, Capt. H. G., 447 
Lyttelton, reached, 11, 21; geology of, 
233 experiences at, 23 ; return to, 435 


Mackay Glacier, 348, 353; ice-tongue, 
359, 365 ; tongue movement measured, 
373» 375, 3955 erosion on, 377; 
journey over, 382 seq. 

Mackellar, Mr., gift of books, 283 

McMurdo Sound, 85 

Magic, white, 76 

Magnetic needle, dip calculated, 261 

Magnetic variation, See Variation 

Marble Cape, 342 ' 

Marine animals in sea ice, 177 

Markham, Sir Clements, gift of books, 
283 

Marr, Dr., 3 

Matterhorn, 25 seg. ; the Antarctic, 25 ; 
described, 145 

Mawson, Dr., 5, 7, 9 

Meares, C. H., dogs and ponies collected, 
11; and dog sledges, 69; penguin- 
charmer, 72 ; return from Hut Point, 
245; Barrier journey, 440-441 

Melbourne, Mt., 418 

Meteorograph, balloon. See Balloon 

Meteorology, Simpson’s lecture on, 288 ; 
station routine, 305 

Mica, golden, found, 377 

Microscopic life, 74 

Midnight sun, See Sun 

Midwinter Day celebrations, 264 seg. 

Mill, Hugh Robert, 451 ' 

Mirabilite, 155 ; evidence of upheaval, id. 

Moats, lateral, 126, 134, 147, 3773 
measured, 147-148 

Monteagle, Mt., 79 

Moraines, medial, 146, 3873; silt, 155, 
156; crater lakes in, 156; on Crater 
Heights, origin of, 197; Gondola 
Ridge, 386-387 ; “road metal,” 410; 


INDEX 


Strand, 410 ; Archzocyathine fossil in, 
441 
Morning, voyage of, 58 ; pack crossed, 78 
Morse Code, keywords, 35 
Mosses, at Cape Geology, 360, 393 
Motor-sledges, See under Sledges 
Mueller Glacier, 28 
Murchison Glacier, 26 
Music, on Terra Nova, 48; 
Evans, 223, 254 


at Cape 


NANSEN, Mt, 418 

Natrolite, found, 379 

Nelson, E. W., 7 ; tow-net captures, 65 ; 
soundings at Cape Evans, 249 ; bio- 
logical station, 262 ; “star performer” 
at games of skill, 271 3 propensity to 
argument, 273 ; sounding tackle frozen 
in, 293 ; lecture on invertebrates, 303 ; 
accompanies Granite Harbour expedi- 
tion, 332, 336, 339 

New Glacier, 377 ; erosion on, 380-381 

New Harbour, crossed, 340; signs of 
1902 expedition, 409 

New Year's Day on Terra Nova, 79 

New Zealand Alps, ice conditions in, 
23-29 

Nicknames of the officers, 213 

Nimrod, 21 

North Bay, 233 

Notothenia, in ice, 97, 180, 202, 203; 
eye lens, 98 ; parasites in, 241 

“Nursery,” the, 46, 66 

Nussbaum, Dr., 9 

Nussbaum, Mt., 143 


Oates, Capt. L. E. G., 13, 66; sack- 
cloth helmet (sketch), 200; bunk built 
by, 227; lectures on horses, 246-247 ; 
taste in literature, 283, 284 ; departure 
on Southern Journey, 326 

Observation Hill, telephone to, ror ; 
Scott’s cross on, 113; augite crystals 
on, 204 

Ocean soundings. See Soundings 

Officers, travels of, 242, maps, 12 ; list 


of, 15 seq. 3 nicknames of, 21 33 
musical abilities, PE physical 
measurements of, 225, 248; occupa- 


tions in the hut, 248-249; list of 
returning, 4243; presented to King 
George, 446 
Orca gladiator, See Killer-whales 
Organic remains on glacier, 127 
Overflow Glacier, 127, 128 


Pack ice. See under Ice 
“ Paddock,” the, 233 


461 


Palimpsest theory of glacial valleys, 174 
seq. ; diagrams, 175 

Parasites in Notothenia, 241 

Park Lane Camp, 164 

Parties, list of, 15 seq. 

Paton, 75, 85 

Peary, Commander, lecture by, 9 

Pendulums, ice grotto for, 278-279; 
show pull of gravity, 279 

Penguins; Adeélie, first seen, tricks of, 
AE Emperor, first seen, 71 ; contents 
of stomach, 71; frozen in, 82; on 
Ferrar Glacier, 127-128 ; hardness of 
bones, 128 ; swimming, 154; at Cape 
Crozier, 271, 286; eggs examined, 
325: hunting on floes, 72 ; appearance 
of swimming, 85 ; spoor ‘of (sketch), 
943 Wilson’s lecture on, 244-245 

Pennell, Lieut. H. L. L. 34, 66, 76, 423 

Perched Block (sketch), 387 

Pets on Terra Nova, 53, 428 

Photography, in field work, 119; 
Taylor’s outfit, 224; Antarctic, 224, 
452. See also under Camera 

Physical measurements of officers, 225, 
248 

Piedmont Glacier, 152 seq., 342, 345, 405 

Ponies, landing of, 89; ‘Hacken- 
schmidt,” 89, 100; “ Blucher,” ror ; 
“Guts,” 101; “ Weary Willy,” ror; 
lost on sea-ice, 197-198 ; Oates’ lec- 
tures on, 246-247; verminous, 278 ; 
arrangement of on Southern Journey 
325 

Ponting, H. G., 11, 703 and killer- 
whales, 95; and Tunnel berg, 96; 
work at Cape Evans, 214, 215, 2505 
lecture on Burmah, 242; cinemato- 
graph films exhibited, 282 ; lantern 
slides exhibited, 295; coaches Scott 
and Bowers in photography, 304 ; 
successful studies obtained, 440 

Port Chalmers, 35 

Potholes, 282, 383 

Pram (Norwegian dinghy), 61, 62, 72 

Pram Point, 202 

Prestrud (Amundsen’s lieutenant), 440 

Priestley, R. E., 10, 85; old footprints 
of, found, 286 ; ice notes, 439 

Pulpit Rock (sketch), 370 

Pumps, choked in storm, 42 ; plan of, id. 

Quartz found, 309 

“ Quick runs,” in magnetic work, 261 


Ramp, the, named, 233 ; origin of debris 
cones on, 296; cones dissected, 297, 
(sketch), 74. ; composition of, 298 


462 


Range-finder for icebergs, 46, 57 

Referring Facet, 384 

Rennick, Lieut. H. E.de P., 4, 34, 66, 76 

Riegels, 134, 136, 141, 143 

Roberts, Cape, features of, 399 ; camp at, 
400 seq. ; depot left at, 406 

Rocks, age of (sketch), 147 ; sedimentary, 
near Taylor Glacier, 141; solitary, 
132-133, 147 

Ross Island, sketch-map, 81 ; survey of, 
85; Discovery hut on, 189 

Round Valley, 144-145 

Royal Society Range, 127 

Royds, Cape, Shackleton’s hut at, 105- 
106 ; Taylor’s visit to, 260 


SaBINE, Mt., 79 

Sails, Bay of, 343 

Salmon Peak, 160 

Schizopods, 75 

Science men as seamen, 35, 424 

Scotia, 46 

Scott, Captain R. F., 4; first impressions 
of, 5 ; old adventure on Ferrar Glacier, 
753 visits Hut Point, 106 ; geological 
sketch of Hut Point, 114; facsimile 
of sledging orders, 122-123 ; One Ton 
depot laid, 189 ; variety of interests, 
196; journey to Cape Evans, 207 5¢q.; 
takes party to Discovery hut, 216, 223 ; 
Sunday services at Cape Evans, 225 ; 
institutes aurora watch, 226; main 
features of winter quarters named, 233 ; 
lecture on Plans of the Expedition, 
241-242; belief in discussions, 248 ; 
discussion on Ferrar Glacier, 257-258 ; 
speech at Midwinter Day dinner, 268 ; 
Taylor Glacier named, 280; taste in 
literature, 283, 325; trip to Ferrar 
Glacier, 304, 309; Taylor's summer 
plans discussed, 311 ; Taylor’s sledg- 
ing orders, 321; departure on Southern 
Journey, 325; charts of his and 
Amundsen’s parties, 439, 441, 442 5 
hardest day’s work, 440; reason of 
disaster to, 443-444 

Scurvy, Atkinson's tests for, 245; his 
lecture on, 292-293; Lt. Evans at- 
tacked by, 421, 442 

Sea, winter temperature of, 262 

Seal Rock, 233 

Seals, crab-eater, 62-63, 65 ; flensing, 63, 
358; killing, first experiences, 116, 
120; twenty miles up glacier, 141, 
167-168 ; lassoed, 155; killed at 
Hut Point, 192, 196; method of en- 
larging ice-holes, 317, (sketch), i. ; 
and dogs, 116, 332; at Gneiss Point, 


| 


INDEX 


342; at Granite Harbour, 353; me- 
thod of butchering, 355; meat as 
substitute for pemmican, 360 

Sedimentary Rocks. See Rocks 

Seward, Professor, 3, 444 

Shell, found on Ferrar Glacier, 125 

Simpson, Dr. G. C., 5, 13, 66; meteoro- 
logical instruments, 221 ; balloons sent 
up, 234 (sketch), 2b. ; lectures by, 236, 
288 ; magnetic work, 261; return 
sun first seen, 295 ; value of weather 
records, 440 

Siphonophora, 262 

Sketching, Wilson’s lecture on, 251-253 ; 
value of, in Antarctica, 452; note- 
books for, 453 

Ski, 68, 293 

Ski-ing, learning on the floes, 69; on 
Erebus slopes, 103 

Skua gulls, mode of killing, 11, 100; 
young learning to fly, 179; quarrel- 
some nature of, 355, 399; eggs ob- 
tained, 372, 378; sketch of embryo, 
373 signs of intellect in, 380 

Skua Lake, 233 

Sledge diary, 181 seq. 

Sledge-flags, 49, 73 

Sledge foods, Bowers’ lecture on, 250 

Sledges, loads of, on First Journey, 117- 
119; stee] runners for, 119,452; motor, 
91; loss of, 99 seg.; Day’s lecture on, 
264; difficulties with, 322 seq. 

Sledging, stores, how calculated, 53; 
weights carried, 54 ; literature carried, 
151; facsimile of orders, 122-123 ; 
food allowance, 335; cooking, 350-351 

Slippery Slope, 233, 296 

Smith, Mr, Reginald J., gift of books, 
50, 283 

Snow, as thirst quencher, 373 

Snow-blindness, 408 

Snow Valley, 116, 169, 173 

Socks, patent heel-tip (sketch), 308, 455 

Soil-creep (solifluxion), 115, 300, 388 

Sollas Glacier, 139, 162 

Solitary Rocks. See Rocks 

Soundings, depth of ocean, 61, 79; 
apparatus (sketch), 67; off glacier 
mouths, 120 ; off Cape Evans, 249 

South American Glacier, 131 

South Bay, named, 233 ; biological station 
at, 262 

South Polar Times, Wilson’s sketches, 
156 ; resumed, 231 ; Day’s binding for, 
2543 volumes produced, 265 seg., 302- 
303, 317 guesses at authors, 270, 303 

Spiders, sea-, 303 

“Sponge-coral ” (sketch), 256 


INDEX 463 


Sponges, in the ice, 177, 180 

Springtail, Antarctic, See Gomphoce- 
halus 

Stalactites, how formed, 287 

Stamps, surcharged, 80 

Steig-eisen (sketch), 197 

Stocking Glacier, 28, 132 

Storm, on outward voyage, 40-44; on 
homeward voyage, 428-432 

Strand moraines, 410 

Straw hat, 146 

Suess Glacier, and sketch, 141-142 

Suess, Mt., 362 ; nunatak (sketch), 383 ; 
map, 3853 circumnavigated, 388, 
(sketch), 389 

Sun, midnight, 59 ; lowest point of, cal- 
culated, 269, (sketch), i6.; return of, 
celebrated, 294 ; first seen, 295 

Sunholes, 93, 121 

Sunshine recorder, sketch of, 306 

Swinging ship. See Terra Nova 


Tasman Glacier, 26 ; sketch of, 2 

Taylor, Griffith: official position, 7; a 
walker, 7, 103; visit to Alps, 8, 9; 
survey work in Australia, 10; his 
problem in Antarctica, 14; bowie- 
knife disturbs compass, 34 ; midnight 
watch, 59; retrieves fish from floe, 70; 
sledge work on landing, 92; visits 
Inaccessible Island, 95 

First WESTERN JOURNEY, 111 Seq. 5 
a geologist’s equipment, 144; washes 
for gold, 145 ; fall into “ moat,” 147 ; 
dreams, 150, 182; adventure among 
crevasses, 1523; lassoes a seal, 155; a 
week’s cooking, 165-166 ; flooded out, 
174 3 unfulfilled prophecy, 177; sledge 
diary, 181 seg. ; hallucination, 185 

A Monru 1n Discovery Hut, 189 
Seq. ; visits Crater Heights, 197; cook, 
200, 202 ; dreams, 201 ; frostbite, 202; 
fall into sea-ice, 205 ; journey to Cape 
Evans, 207 seq. 

In WINTER QUARTERS, 211 Seq. ; 
plan of hut, 212; first aurora seen, 
218 ; report on Western Journey, 219; 
musical abilities, 223; photography, 
224, 296; ice caves visited, 230; 
night watchman, 231, 243, 264; main 
features of winter quarters named, 233 ; 
lectures by—on principles: of physio- 
graphy, 238-239 ; on Beardmore Gla- 
cier, 255 ; on physiography of Western 
Mountains, 270; on glaciation, 295 ; 
on corals, 303 ; list of officers’ travels, 
242-243 3 physical measurements, 225, 
248; articles for South Polar Times, 


2A, 2435) 287. 288 .3¥25 GrS5 hut 
routine, 247-249 ; chart of mean tem- 
peratures, 255; visit to Cape Royds, 
260; speech at Midwinter Day dinner, 
268; sun’s lowest point calculated, 269 ; 
competition with Gran, 270; chess, 
271; hut arguments, 273-274; dreams, 
277-278, 2873; night watch supper 
(sketch), 274 ; “ jam day,” 279; Tay- 
lor Glacier named, 280 ; Erebus steam 
cloud sketched, 281; books read, 283- 
2843; book-binding, 293 ; Cape Evans 
mapped, 295, 298 seq.; plane-table 
improvised, 295; debris cones dis- 
sected, 297; Wilson’s caricature of, 
301 3 meteorological work under- 
taken, 303, 305; ‘“‘ patent heel-tips,” 
308 ; Tent Island visited, 311, 317 3 
summer plans discussed with Scott, 
311; bicycling to Turk’s Head, 314- 
315 3 trip to Shackleton’s hut, 319 seq. 5 
sledging orders for Granite Harbour 
expedition, 321; Barne Glacier tra- 
versed, 322-3233 last impressions of 
Oates and Wilson, 326-327 

GRANITE Harpour EXPEDITION, 
329 seq.; sledges packed, 331; Bowers’ 
list of stores, 332 ; blizzards met, 333, 
335, 362 seq.; magnetic variation, 
3373 steering on the march, 337 ; 
Butter Point reached, 338; relaying, 
339 3 Survey, 340 ; ice-yacht, 342-343 5 
dreams, 342, 364; night marching, 
345 ; Granite Harbour reached, 348 ; 
View Point camp, 349; foods on sledge 
journey, 350-351; cave discovered, 
352 ; cloud effects, 353 ; water supply, 
354; seal hoosh, 355; Gomphocephalus 
found, 356 ; birthday of, 356 ; adven- 
tures on sea-ice, 366; benefit of 
goggles, 369; finger cut, 371, 376, 
379 3 Snow as thirst-quencher, 373 ; 
value of “ironclad” boots, 373; 
Mackay Tongue movement measured 
373> 3753 unusual minerals found, 379 ; 
Christmas Day celebrations, 380 ; in- 
sects embalmed, 3813; journey over 
Mackay Glacier, 382 seg. ; peaks and 
glaciers named, 384 ; fish fossils found, 
386 ; Mt. Suess circumnavigated, 388 ; 
Mackay Glacier movement measured, 
3953 return journey begun, 396 ; fall 
into sea, 397; as “sledge poet,” 398, 
401 ; Cape Roberts camp, 400 seq. ; 
Terra Nova seen, 402 ; crevasses met, 
406 seg. ; snow-blindness, 408 ; picked 
up by Terra Nova, 411 

Tue VoyacE Back, 413 seq. ; gifts 


464 INDEX 


from home, 415-416; gale off Cape 
Evans, 418-419; “luff upon luff” 
(sketch), 420; coal-trimming, 424- 
425, 433 ; cables for Associated Press 
prepared and despatched, 427, 4333 
“iceberg watch,” 427, 4283; record 
gale, 428-432; sperm whales seen, 
4335 Akaroa reached, 434 

THE END oF THE EXPEDITION, 437 
seq. ; résumé of journeys of other par- 
ties, 439 seg. ; books sent to remaining 
members of Expedition, 445; presented 
to King George, 446; allocation of 
funds, 446 

APPENDIX, 449 seg.; paper pub- 
lished by Royal Ceoprshicd Sottety, 
4515 lessons of Antarctic experiences, 
451 Seq. 

Taylor Glacier, 132-138 ; sketch of mo- 
raine on, 135; wind action on, 136; 
crater near, 136, (sketch), 137; previous 
visit to, 139 ; and valley, 141 ; named 
by Scott, 150, 280 

Telephones, 101, 103, 294, 315, 319, 326 

Temperature, of sea in winter, 262; 0 
hut, 263, (sketch), ib.; high during 
blizzards, 293, 295, 363 seg.; snow 
melted, 305 ; heat of solar rays, 345 

Tent, advantage of wider floorcloth for, 
333. 452 

Tent Island, 286 ; features of, 311; seals 
at, 317 

Terra Nova, 6, 21; voyage to New 
Zealand, 11; plans of, 22, 393 leak 
stopped, 30 ; arrangement of, 30 seq. ; 
swinging ship, 34, 46, 80; storms, 40 
Seq., 428 seqg.; dinner on, 46; icing 
ship, for fresh water, 61, 421, 422; 
Pennell’s notice, 423 7. ; Christmas on, 
73-743 returning officers, 76 ; sketch 
of course through pack, 77; landing 
at Cape Evans, 87 seq.; stranded, 108 ; 
picks up Taylor's party, 411; return 
voyage of March, 1912; map, 414; 
“rocking ship,” 417; gale off Cape 
Evans, 418-419; anchor raised by 
“luff upon luff” (sketch), 420; coal 
trimming, 424-425, 433; Akaroa 
reached, 434 

Terror, Mt., 346 

Tesselations, 158, 160 

Thermometer screens, erected, 272 ; 
names for, id, 

Thomson, Alan, 10 


Travels of the officers. See Officers 
Tremolite found, 379 

Turk’s Head, 113 ; features of, 314, 315 
Twin Glaciers, sketch of, 280 


Universitas Antarctica, 228 


VaRIATION, magnetic, 80, 337 ; at Cape 
Evans and Knob Head Mountain, 261 

Vegetation, three types found, 125 ; algz, 
136, 155,296 3 mosses, 125, 360, 393 ; 
lichens, 360, 387 

Vince's Cross, 113 

“ Virtue Villa,” 191 


Watcorrt Glacier, 169 

Wales Glacier, 143 

Ward Glacier, 169, 171-172 

Weather, local types of, 426; value of 
Simpson’s records, 440. See also 
Blizzards, Temperature, Wind 

Whales, 69, 433. See also Killer-whales 

Whales, Bay of, chart, 432 

“ Whisker-stone,” 137 

Wilson, Dr. E. A., 3, 13,65, 66; penguin 
hunting, 72; on tone values, 199; 
truth of his sketches, 199, 203 ; lectures 
by, 235, 244-245, 251-253; sketch of 
nose-guard, 262 ; Cape Crozier expe- 
dition, 270, 285 seg.; caricature of 
Taylor(sketch), 298 ; hiskindness, 304 ; 
“Barrier Silence” poem written, 313 ; 
Emperor penguin eggs examined, 325 ; 
departure on Southern Journey, 325 

Wind, tolerable without snow, 144; at 
Hut Point, 196 ; changes in direction 
(sketch), 217 ; record velocity, 279 ; 
maximum velocity of winter, 293 

Windproof clothing. See Clothing 

Wind Vane Hill, 233 

Winter Quarters, main features named, 
2 

Worn burrows in sandstone, 148 

Wright, C. S., 3, 7, 663 work on ice 
crystals, 119, 134; Kukri Hills visited, 
147 ; judging distances, 150 ; fall into 
crevasse, 152; Davis Glacier examined, 
161 ; and seals, 173 ; journey to Corner 
Camp, 193; lecture on ice problems, 
248; time observations, 272 ; pendu- 
lums, 278-279 ; ice-section “rubbings,” 
282; diary entries, 289; Archeocyathine 
fossil] found, 441 

Wyatt, Mr. G. F., 31 


THE END 


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