The British Antarctic Expedition, 1910-13 E. R. G. R. Evans The
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The British Antarctic Expedition, 1910-13 E. R. G. R. Evans The Geographical Journal, Vol. 42, No. 1 (Jul., 1913), 11-28. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0016-7398%28191307%2942%3Al%3Cll%3ATBAEl%3E2.0.CO%3B2-M The Geographical Journal is currently published by The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers). Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://uk.jstor.org/about/terms.html. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://uk.jstor.org/joumals/rgs.html. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is an independent not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating and preserving a digital archive of scholarly journals. For more information regarding JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. http://uk.jstor.org/ Wed Feb 23 15:03:37 2005 '1'IIE BRITISH ANTAKCTIC EXPEDITION. THE BltITISH ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION, 1910-I:{. By Commander E. R. G.R. EVANS. C.B., R.N. So much has been published concerning the British Antarctic Expedi- tion, the tragic loss of its gallant leader and his four brave companions, whose names we know so well, that there is no need to preface the story by telling you at length how Captain Scott made his preparations. His organization was complete, his equipment splendid, and no expedition ever left our shores with a better outfit or a more enthusiastic and deter- mined personnel. Thanks to Captain Scott's fine organization our expedi- tion remains self-contained, even after his death. On June 1, 1910, the Tirra Xoui left London with most of the members of the expedition. She finally left Xew Zealand on Xovernber 2:). Captain Scott had with him fifty-nine officers, scientists and. seamen. The T<'rrnNova left New Zealand a very full ship ; besides four hundred. tons of coal she carried provisions for three years, two huts, forty sledges, fur sleeping bags, bales of clothing, all kinds of instruments, and the hundreds of little items of equipment necessary to a Polar expedi- tion with an ambitious scientific programme. Besides these things which filled our ship's holds and the between deck spaces, we carried nineteen Siberian ponies, thirty-four dogs, three motor sledges, 2:)00 gallons of petrol, and our paraffin on the upper deck. The animals were under the charge of Sir. Cecil Meares, who with Lieut. Bruce had brought them down from Siberia. The ponies after we left New Zealand were taken charge of by Captain Gates, of the Innisliilliug Dragoons. The first exciting incident on the southward voyage occurred on December 2, when we encountered a gale which, in the deeply laden condition of the ship, nearly caused the loss of the expedition. First the engine-room choked, and then the hand pumps. Heavy seas washed over the vessel, and fires had to be extinguished as the engine room vas feet deep in water. While the pump suctions were being cleared the after- guard formed a bucket discharge party and baled the ship out continuously for twenty-four hours. At the end of this time the gale abated, and we proceeded southward, having come through with no loss save two ponies, and one dog which was drowned. Proceeding south on the meridian of 179' W., the first ice was seen in lat. 64'. The ship passed all kinds of icebergs, from huge tabular to little weathered water-worn bergs. The Antarctic pack was reached on December 9, in lat. 65' S.. and the ship boldly pushed through for some 200 miles under stoam and sail, when her progress was retarded to such an extent that, to save coal, engines were stopped, sail was furled, and the ship lay under banked fires for some days. We spent three weeks in the pack, and emerged on December 30, after pushing through 380 miles of ice. The time was not wasted : magnetic observations, deep-sea soundings, 12 THE BItITISH ANTARCTIC' EXPEDITION. and serial sea-temperatures were obtained. The zoologists and marine biologists secured valuable specimens. Oncc in open water we pro- ceeded full speed to Cape Crozier, as Dr. Wilson wished to study the embryology of the Emperor penguins during the winter season. Captain Scott was quite prepared to make Cape Crozier our base, if a suitable landing-place was to be found. As no good place was to be seen, we rounded Cape Bird at midnight and, entered NcMurdo Sound. It was remarkably clear of ice. We passed Shackleton's winter quarters, and noticed his hut at (.'ape Eoyds looking quite new and fresh. Six miles farther south the ship brought up against the fast ice, which extended right across the Sound. On January 4, 1911, thirty-six days out from New Zealand, Captain Scott, Wilson, and myself went across the ice and visited a little cape which looked, and subsequently proved to be, an ideal spot for wintering. This place Captain Scott named Cape Evans. Immediately the winter quarters were selected, out came the stores and transport. Lieut. Pennell took charge of the ship, Lieut. Campbell the transport, over the mile and a half of sea-ice ; the charge of the base was given to me, while Captain Scott supervised, planned, and improved. Meares' dogs, Oates' ponies, and Day's motors supplemented by man- hauling parties bustled between ship and shore, transporting stores over the frozen sea. At the cape, Davis, the carpenter, with his willing crew, put up the tent. In less than a week the main party had their equipment ashore. We will now follow Captain Scott and his companions at the principal base. The weather was so hot when first we lauded, that the ice melted and we could wash in fresh water, and even draw our drinking-water from a cascade. We built ice-caves to stow our fresh mutton in, and for magnetic observations. Outside the hut we soon had fine stables. Directly the construction of the base station was assured, away went every available man to lay a depot. We said good-bye to the ship, and on January 24, 1911, Captain Scott and eleven companions left with two dog teams and eight ponies to lay out a depot of foodstuffs before the Antarctic winter set in. Nearly one ton of provisions was taken out to a point 144 miles from our base. This spot was named One Ton DepGt. The party for the return journey was split up into three detachments. Captain Scott with Meares, Wilson, and Cherry Garrard, came home with the dogs. Scott and Meares had the misfortune to run along the snow bridge of a crevasse. The bridge gave way, and all the dogs but Osman, the leader, and the two rear animals, disappeared down a yawning chasm. With the greatest difficulty the dogs were rescued, Scott and Meares were lowered by Wilson and Cherry Garrard into the crevasse. They found the dogs twisting round suspended by the harness, fighting, howling, and snapping. One by one they were freed from the trace and hauled up on to solid ice ; as each animal regained safety he lay down and slept. It was an anxious THE TfflITISH ANTAROTIC' EXPEDITION. 13 period for all concerned. Captain Scott spoke most highly of Wilson, Meares, and Cherry Garrard's behaviour and resource on this occasion, One party, consisting of the second in command and two seamen, returned from the depot journey with the three oldest and weakest ponies -Blossom, Blucher, and James Pig. The ponies were in very poor con- dition, and Gates, their master, expected all three to give out on their return march. They were christened by the seamen " The Baltic Fleet.'' Two of them died owing to the severe weather conditions that obtained at the end of February, but the third pony, James Pig, was a plucky little animal, and he survived. Lieut. Bowers, in charge of the detachment which built up IL One Ton Depot," returned after the other two parties. He had with him Cherry Garrard and Crean, when on March 1 he was sent across the sea-ice to reach Hut Point. The ponies were tired and listless after their hard journey and in bad condition, and they had to be frequently rested. As they advanced towards Hut Point cracks in the ice became apparent, and when the party reached a crack which showed the ice to be actually on the move, they turned and hastened back-but the ice was drifting out to sea! The ponies behaved splendidly, jumping 14 THE IiRITISII ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION the ever-widening cracks with extraordinary sagacity. Bowers, Cherry Garrard, and Crean launched the sledges back over the cracks in order not to risk the ponies' legs. Eventually they reached what looked like a safe place. Men and ponies were thoroughly exhausted. Camp was pitched, and the weary party soon fell asleep. Bowers soon awoke, hearing a strange noise. He found the party in a dreadful plight-the ice had again commenced to break up, and they were surrounded by water. One of their four ponies had disappeared in the sea.