The Heart of the Antarctic

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Contents

CHAPTER XII

THE CONQUEST OF MOUNT EREBUS 170 CHAPTER XIII

RESULTS OF THE EREBUS JOURNEY 104 CHAPTER XIV

Chapter I The Inception And Preparation Of The Expedition

N EN go out into the void spaces of the world for

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

I A 1 direction from Cape Adare to latitude 82° 17’ South, but whether this range turned to the south-east or eastward for any considerable distance was not known, and therefore the southern limits of the Great Ice Barrier plain had not been defined. The glimpses gained of King Edward VII Land from the deck of the Discovery had not enabled us to determine either its nature or its extent, and the mystery of the Barrier remained unsolved. It was a matter of importance to the scientific world that information should be gained regarding the movement of the ice-sheet that forms the Barrier. Then I wanted to find out what lay beyond the mountains to the south of latitude 82° 17’ and whether the Antarctic continent rose to a plateau similar to the one found by Captain Scott beyond the western mountains, There was much to be done in the field of meteorology, and this work was of particular importance to Australia and New Zealand, for these countries are affected by weather conditions that have their origin in the Antarctic. Antarctic zoology, though somewhat limited, as regarded the range of species, had very interesting aspects, and I wanted to devote some attention to mineralogy, apart from general geology. The Aurora Australis, atmospheric electricity, tidal movements, hydrography, currents of the air, ice formations and movements, biology and geology, offered an unlimited field for research, and the despatch of an expedition seemed to be justified on scientific quite apart from the desire to gain a high latitude. The difficulty that confronts most men who wish to undertake exploration work is that of finance, and in this respect I was rather more than ordinarily handicapped. The equipment and despatch of an Antarctic expedition means the expenditure of very many thousands of pounds, without the prospect of any speedy 9

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

In the Geographical Journal for March 1907 I outlined my plan of campaign, but this had to be changed in several respects at a later date owing to the exigencies of circumstances. My intention was that the expedition should leave New Zealand at the beginning of 1908, and proceed to winter quarters on the Antarctic continent, the ship to land the men and stores and then return. By avoiding having the ship frozen in, I would render the use of a relief ship unnecessary, as the same vessel could come south again the following summer and take us off. ‘* The shore-party of nine or twelve men will winter with sufficient equipment to enable three separate parties to start out in the spring,” I announced, ‘ One party will go east, and, if possible, across the Barrier to the new land known as King Edward VII Land, follow the coast-line there south, if the coast trends south, or north if north, returning when it is considered necessary to do so. The second party will proceed south over the same route as that of the southern sledge-party of the Discovery ; this party will keep from fifteen to twenty miles from the coast, so as to avoid any rough ice. The third party will possibly proceed westward over the mountains, and, instead of crossing in a line due west, will strike towards the magnetic pole. The main changes in equipment will be that Siberian ponies will be taken for the sledge journeys both east and south, and also a specially designed motor-car for the southern journey. ... I do not intend to sacrifice the scientific utility of the expedition to a mere record-breaking journey, but say frankly, all the same, that one of my great efforts will be to reach the southern geographical pole. I shall in no way neglect to continue the biological, meteorological, geological and magnetic work of the Discovery.” I added that I would endeavour to sail along the coast of Wilkes Land, and secure definite information regarding that coast-line. :

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

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

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

The equipping of a polar expedition is a task demanding experience as well as the greatest attention to points of detail. When the expedition has left civilisation, there is no opportunity to repair any omission or to secure any article that may have been forgotten. It is true that the explorer is expected to be a handy man, able to contrive dexterously with what materials he may have at hand, but makeshift appliances mean increased difficulty and added danger. The aim of 5 one who undertakes to organise such an expedition must be to provide for every contingency, and in dealing with this work I was fortunate in being able to secure the assistance of Mr. Alfred Reid, who had already gained considerable experience in connection with previous polar ventures. I appointed Mr. Reid manager of the expedition, and I found him an invaluable assistant. I was fortunate, too, in not being hampered by committees of any sort. I kept the control of all the arrangements in my own hands, and thus avoided the delays that are inevitable when a group of men have to arrive at a decision on points of detail.

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

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

EFFICIENCY OF FOODS

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

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

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

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

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

MAIN FOOD SUPPLIES

Foob-suPPLigs FOR THE SHORE-PARTY FOR Two YEARS

6720 lb. Colman’s wheaten flour.

6000 lb. various tinned meats.

600 Ib. ox and lunch tongues.

800 Ib. roast and boiled fowl, roast turkey, curried fowl, chicken and ham paté, &c.

1000 lb. York hams.

1400 lb. Wiltshire bacon.

1400 lb. Danish butter.

1000 Ib. milk.

1000 Ib. “ Glaxo” milk powder.

1700 lb. lard, beef suet and beef marrow.

1000 Ib. moist sugar.

700 lb. Demerara sugar.

500 Ib. granulated sugar.

260 Ib. lump sugar.

500 lb. Rowntree’s elect cocoa.

350 lb. Lipton’s tea.

1000 lb. cheese, mainly Cheddar.

70 lb. coffee.

1900 Ib. assorted jams and marmalade.

336 Ib. golden syrup.

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

3400 lb. assorted soups in tins.

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

1150 bottles bottled fruit.

500 Ib. salt.

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

120 lb. plum puddings.

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

The best pemmican was that supplied by J. D. Beauvais, of Copenhagen,

2240 Ib. of wholemeal biscuits with 25 per cent. of plaxmon added.

12 doz. tins beef plasmon.

6 doz. tins plasmon powder,

6 doz. tins plasmoa cocoa.

448 |b. wholemeal biscuits.

448 lb. Garibaldi biscuits.

224 lb. ginger nuts.

150 lb. whole-egg powder,

20 lb. albumen.

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

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

It was arranged that supplies for thirty-eight men for

* The following firms presented us with food-stuffs, all of which proved entirely satisfactory :—Messrs. J. and J. Colman, Ltd., of Norwich ; 9 tons wheat flour, 4 ton self-raising flour, } ton wheat meal, 1 owt. cornflour, 84 Ib. best mustard, 1} gross mixed mustard. Messrs, Rowntree and Co., Ltd., York: 1700 Ib, elect cocoa (28 per cent. of fat), 200 Ib. Queen’s chocolate, Messrs, Alfred Bird and Sona, Ltd., Birmingham : 120 doz. custard, baking, egg, crystal jelly, and blanomange powders, Liebig's Extract of Meat Co., Ltd., London: “ Oxo,” “ Service oxo emergency food,” “ Lemco,” and Fray Bentos ox tongues, Evans, Sons, Lescher and Webb, Ltd., London: 27 cases Montserrat lime-juice, Mossrs, Lipton, Ltd. : 350 Ib. Ceylon tea,

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

Rewrer Foop-supriies, Tarrty-E1GHT Men ror ONE YEAR

3800 lb. assorted New Zealand tinned meats. 1300 lb. New Zealand butter.

50 |b. coffee.

1000 lb. Rowntree’s elect cocoa.

60 doz. bottles bottled fruit.

16 doz. jars jam.

220 lb. assorted tinned fish.

540 Ib. sardines.

280. lb. New Zealand cheese.

1440 fresh New Zealand eggs packed in salt. 250 lb. dried figs.

11,200 lb. Colman’s wheat flour.

560 lb. Colman’s wheat meal.

28 lb. Colman’s mustard.

1 gross Colman’s mixed mustard.

800 lb. assorted meats.

1600 lb. York hams.

2600 lb. bacon.

560 lb. beef suet

1600 Ib. milk.

2300 Ib. sugar.

2800 lb. assorted tinned fish.

450 tins baked beans and tomato sauce. 3000 lb. assorted jams and marmalade.

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

Lt

1050 lb. assorted tinned soups.

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

1500 Ib. dried fruits.

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

240 lb. plum puddings.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

At this time I had not finally decided to buy the Nimrod, though the vessel was under offer to me, and before I left Norway I paid a visit to Sandyfjord in order to see whether I could come to terms with Mr. C. Christiansen, the owner of the Bjorn. This ship was specially built for polar work, and would have suited my purposes most admirably. She was a new vessel of about 700 tons burthen and with powerful triple-expansion engines, better equipped in every way than the forty- 15 year-old Nimrod, but I found that I could not afford to buy ber, much as I would have wished to do so, Finally, I placed orders with some of the Norwegian food-preserving companies for special tinned foods such as fish balls, roast reindeer and roast ptarmigan, which were very attractive luxuries during the winter night in the south.

When I returned to London I purchased the Nimrod, which was then engaged on a sealing venture, and was expected to return to Newfoundland within a short time. The ship was small and old, and her maximum speed under steam was hardly more than six knots, but on the other hand, she was strongly built, and quite able to face rough treatment in the ice. Indeed, she had already received a good many hard knocks in the course of a varied career. The Nimrod did not return to Newfoundland as soon as I had hoped, and when she did arrive she proved to be somewhat damaged from contact with the ice, which had overrun her and damaged her bulwarks. She was inspected on my behalf and pronounced sound, and, making a fairly rapid passage, arrived in the Thames on June 15. I must confess that I was disappointed when I first examined the little ship, to which I was about to commit the hopes and aspiration of many years. She was very dilapidated and smelt strongly of seal-oil, and an inspection in dock showed that she required caulking and that her masts would have to be renewed. She was rigged only as a schooner and her masts were decayed, and I wanted to be able to sail her in the event of the engine breaking down or the supply of coal running short. There was only a few weeks to elapse before the date fixed for our departure, and it was obvious that we would have to push the work ahead very quickly if she was to be ready in time, 16

THE NIMROD

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

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