SOUTH!
THE STORY OF
SHACKLETON'S LAST EXPEDITION
1914-1917
BY SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON C.V.O.
TO
MY COMRADES
WHO FELL IN THE WHITE WARFARE OF THE SOUTH AND ON THE
RED FIELDS OF FRANCE AND FLANDERS
CONTENTS
I. INTO THE WEDDELL SEA II. NEW LAND
III. WINTER MONTHS
IV. LOSS OF THE ENDURANCE V. OCEAN CAMP
VI. THE MARCH BETWEEN VII. PATIENCE CAMP
VIII. ESCAPE FROM THE ICE IX. THE BOAT JOURNEY
X. ACROSS SOUTH GEORGIA XI. THE RESCUE
XII. ELEPHANT ISLAND XIII. THE ROSS SEA PARTY
XIV. WINTERING IN McMURDO SOUND XV. LAYING THE DEPOTS
XVI. THE AURORA'S DRIFT XVII. THE LAST RELIEF XVIII. THE FINAL PHASE
APPENDIX I: SCIENTIFIC WORK
SEA-ICE NOMENCLATURE METEOROLOGY
PHYSICS
SOUTH ATLANTIC WHALES AND WHALING
APPENDIX II:
THE EXPEDITION HUTS AT McMURDO SOUND
INDEX
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
1
IN THE PRIDE OF HER YOUTH. Colour Photograph by F. Hurley
The Leader
The Weddell Sea Party
Young Emperor Penguins
A Huge Floe of Consolidated Pack
Samson
Ice-Flowers
Midnight off the New Land New Land: Caird Coast Close Under the Barrier
Trying to cut a way for the Ship through the Ice to a Lead ahead (February 14, 1915) The Night Watchman's Story
The Dying Sun: The Endurance firmly frozen in
The Rampart Berg
A Bi-Weekly Performance: Scrubbing out the "Ritz"
Pylon Avenue
The Long, Long Night
The Pups
Ice-Pressure Approaching the Ship
Ice-Rafting
The Returning Sun
Wild and Shackleton in the Heavy Pressure
Exercising the Dogs
Crabeater Seals
The Beginning of the End
"Within a few Seconds she heeled over until she had a List of Thirty Degrees to Port"
Almost Overwhelmed
[Attack of the floes]
"The Driving Floe, moving laterally across the Stern, split the Rudder and tore out the Rudder-Post and SternPost"
The End
A Week Later
"The Wreckage lies around in Dismal Confusion" The First Attempt to reach the Land 346 Miles Away Ocean Camp
The Look-out at Ocean Camp
The Emergency Sledges being packed in case of a sudden break up of the Ice
The Sledges packed and ready Relaying the James Caird Potash and Perlmutter "Loneliness": Patience Camp The Kitchen at Patience Camp
The Stove at Patience Camp constructed out of old Oil-drums
Worsley taking Observations of the Sun to determine our Position
"We cut Steps in this Twenty-five Foot Slab and it makes a fine Look-out" "There was no Sleep for us that Night, so we lit the Blubber Stove" Hauling up the Boats for the Night
The Reeling Berg
Sailing South Again
The First Landing ever made on Elephant Island, April 15, 1916
"We Pulled the Three Boats a little Higher on the Beach"
Rough sketch map of landing place and first camp at C. Valentine, Elephant Island
The First Drink and Hot Food for Three-and-a-Half Days
Mount Frank Houlder, Elephant Island
Launching the James Caird
The Stancomb Wills
In Sight of our Goal: Nearing South Georgia
2
Landing on South Georgia [Cave Cove on South Georgia] [Surroundings of King Haakon Bay] [Plan of Sleeping Berths in Cave]
Sea Elephants on South Georgia
The Cliffs we descended whilst crossing the Island
One of the Glaciers we Crossed
A Typical View in South Georgia
[Rough Memory Map of Route Across South Georgia]
Panorama of South Georgia
The Yelcho
Arrival at Punta Arenas with the Rescued Men
Frank Wild, Second in Command of the Expedition
Our Dugout
The Hut on Elephant Island
View of Interior of Hut on Elephant Island
Marooned on Elephant Island
Elephant Island
The Rescue Ship Sighted
"All Safe! All Well!"
View through a Cave on Elephant Island
The Aurora
Ice Stalactites at the Entrance to a Cave on Elephant Island
A Newly-frozen Lead
The Ross Sea Party
Mackintosh and Spencer-Smith being dragged on the sledge "The Rudder was bent over to Starboard and Smashed" "Next Morning the Jury-Rudder was Shipped"
Ice Nomenclature: 1. Young Ice (Bay Ice of Scoresby) in the Middle Distance
2. Light Pack
3. Heavy Hummocked Pack
4. Hummocky Pack and Frozen Lead of Young-Ice
5. Close Pack
6. Open Pack
7. Very Open Pack, approximating to Drift-ice
8. Drift-Ice
"The Rookery"
The Anemometer covered with Rime
Map [section 1]: The Voyage of the Endurance Map [section 2]: The Voyage of the Endurance Map [section 3]: The Voyage of the Endurance PREFACE
After the conquest of the South Pole by Amundsen, who, by a narrow margin of days only, was in advance of the British Expedition under Scott, there remained but one great main object of Antarctic journeyings--the crossing of the South Polar continent from sea to sea.
When I returned from the Nimrod Expedition on which we had to turn back from our attempt to plant the British flag on the South Pole, being beaten by stress of circumstances within ninety-seven miles of our goal, my mind turned to the crossing of the continent, for I was morally certain that either Amundsen or Scott would reach the Pole on our own route or a parallel one. After hearing of the Norwegian success I began to make preparations to start a last great journey--so that the first crossing of the last continent should be achieved by a British Expedition.
We failed in this object, but the story of our attempt is the subject for the following pages, and I think that though failure in the actual accomplishment must be recorded, there are chapters in this book of high adventure, strenuous days,