Shackleton's Heroes (13 page)
Read Shackleton's Heroes Online
Authors: Wilson McOrist
A few days after laying the Cope No. 1 depot, they put down another, named Cope No. 2, less than 10 miles further south.
The men found it took time to become accustomed to sleeping with their head inside their sleeping bag, without any fresh air to speak of. It was impossible to sleep with their head exposed with the temperatures always below zero.
59
Hayward:
Had a very funny experience during the night, being so cold I put fur mitts on & did all the toggles of my bag up, somehow or other I dreamt during the night, woke up suddenly I could not imagine where I was, only that I was absolutely helpless & suffocating.
Of course I lashed out pretty freely & having fur mitts on I could feel nothing.
However very soon Richards & Ninnis undid the toggles & I sprang out like a Jack in the Box, they say the awful language & the struggle going on inside my bag
had been too much for them in spite of their being so utterly tired. I can tell you I was glad to get some fresh air as it was a most uncanny feeling inside that bag.
60
After laying the second depot, Cope, Hayward, and Jack continued on south to lay a third depot while Richards, Ninnis and Hooke returned to Hut Point.
Hayward:
Naturally, Richards & myself are quite cut up on our separation, as on a trip of the sort we have been engaged on, one makes fast friends (or otherwise) of one's companions. We have been jolly good comrades all through never having a difference of any sort & always showing a most unselfish spirit towards one another.
To-night I have been most touched by the good fellowship they have shown to me, Ninnis with the best spirit in the world, giving me his last & treasured 40 cigarettes which of course I only accepted after much insistence on his part.
Richards too pressed a supply of tobacco on me with equally warm & friendly feelings & although we have been together for only 3 weeks I am feeling quite hurt at the prospect of our parting in the morning with positive regret & although I should feel honoured at being chosen to go on, I cannot feel the slightest joy about it, although of course I cannot help feeling some satisfaction, in doing so.
I honestly feel very sorry for them. In any case they will not have to undergo the hardships we shall have to face completing our journey as it is getting colder daily & we shall be out very nearly a month yet, whereas they should reach the Hut inside 10 days.
61
Hayward, now with Cope and Jack, set off south to lay their last depot, called Cope No. 3, less than 10 more miles onto the Great Ice Barrier but any âfun' of sledging appears to have disappeared.
Hayward:
Last night I had an extra long & lingering look at your dear picture & I feel quite homesick & rotten this morning. More so than I have felt for some time, as I have
purposely refrained from looking too long for some time, as the last time I did it, I experienced the same feelings.
I wish I could tell you here what I should like, but you will realise that I must be content with thinking things only & of course I am satisfied, especially as I believe you will understand what I should write if I expressed my thoughts, if you do not I will explain in detail & with the pleasure, as far as this instance is concerned, and the many instances where I have omitted similar explanations for similar reasons previously & so frequently.
62
Hayward may have been unhappy to part with Richards but he enjoyed his new tent-mates: âTent companions & I are all very comfortable & jolly together & comprise a happy little party. Jack is an exceedingly nice chap. We have spent the day more or less in our bags, talking of things past, present & future, reading & smoking.'
63
Hayward:
8 o/c pm. We have been lying here all day, the snowstorm which held us up this morning having developed into a bad blizzard, & it is very disheartening in view of the delays we have already had to contend with & the good going we were making of it this morning.
In any case I have managed to get nice & warm in my bag & have plenty of nice things about you to think of. I must say that I am very glad, that there is so much to occupy ones energies & attention, that so far the time has not seemed to drag; it would be unbearable if this was not the case. We have been able to start again to-day & are just about to have some grub & make ourselves comfortable for the night, as we are quite resigned to the fact that it will be some time before the weather clears sufficiently to make further progress possible.
64
Hayward:
Lying in my bag with just one toggle undone to enable me to come up for air when necessary.
I cannot help thinking what extraordinary things take place in the course of a man's otherwise ordinary existence, here am I at the uttermost ends of the earth, parted from you, for whom I would give my life, working for the furtherance of an undertaking with an object of Worlds interest from a Scientific Point of view for its goal, lying in a fur bag, inside a little tent, with 2 other chaps, with a wind at 40 miles an hour & a temperature of 50 below outside, when I ought to be sitting in front of the fire at home & keeping warm & yet in spite of all this can look upon my present occupation with utter fortitude & âmatter of factness' & I know that it is only my hopes & thoughts of you which make this possible, you will understand I know what I mean even if I fail to put it down as clearly as might be.
Before turning in proposed & carried unan.
||||
the old Antarctic toast Sweethearts & Wives done in brandy from the Medical Comforts.
65
Hayward, after a freezing night (-62°F):
God I hope we have a better night when we camp to-day (might mention temperature 94° below freezing last night).
Funny thing I laughed with a sort of feeling of insult when on getting out of my bag at 5 o/c to get breakfast, I found I had âpins & needles' in my arm, think of it a damn paltry little thing like âpins & needles' in the morning, after the agony I had endured all night.
66
On 6 March, after laying the Cope No. 3 depot, approximately 40 miles from Hut Point, Hayward, Cope and Jack turned around and headed back north. Hayward mentioned their major concern: âWe are all absolutely stumped for tobacco this is the worst blow of all.'
67
Conditions were now deteriorating for these three men.
Hayward:
Now very tired indeed but unfortunately cannot look forward to turning in bag with any degree of pleasure as the lateness of the season & the suddenness with which the cold weather has set in renders them practically uninhabitable, it is as much as we can do to get into them, as they are absolutely frozen hard.
After having succeeded in forcing an entrance the frost naturally thaws out & the result is best left to the imagination, anyhow I begin to dread the time for turning in & however tired I may feel would prefer to keep going.
68
By early March, Richards (with Ninnis and Hooke) had already arrived back at Hut Point. Spencer-Smith (with Stevens and Gaze) was already there and these six men would soon be picked up by the
Aurora
and taken to Cape Evans. Hayward (with Cope and Jack) was on his way back to Hut Point but still out on Barrier. Mackintosh, Joyce and Wild were further out, also heading for Hut Point.
1.
Mackintosh diary, 24 February 1915
2.
Ibid., 25 February 1915
3.
Ibid.
4.
Joyce field diary, 25â26 February 1915
5.
Ibid.
6.
Ibid., 25 February 1915
7.
E. Wilson,
Antarctic Notebooks
(Cheltenham: Reardon, 2011)
8.
Mackintosh diary, 27 February 1915
9.
Joyce field diary, 1 March 1915
10.
Mackintosh diary, 1 March 1915
11.
Joyce field diary, 2 March 1915
12.
Wild diary, 28 February 1915
13.
Ibid., 2 March 1915
14.
Mackintosh diary, 2 March 1915 Wild diary, 3 March 1915
15.
Mackintosh diary, 2 March 1915
16.
Ibid., 6 March 1915
17.
Joyce field diary, 6 March 1915
18.
Wilson,
Antarctic Notebooks
19.
Debenham,
In the Antarctic
20.
Mackintosh diary, 10 March 1915
21.
Ibid., 12 March 1915
22.
Ibid., 13 March 1915
23.
Ibid., 14 March 1915
24.
Joyce field diary, 12 March 1915
25.
Ibid., 14 March 1915
26.
Ibid., 8â12 March 1915
27.
Mackintosh diary, 15 March 1915
28.
Joyce field diary, 8â12 March 1915
29.
Ibid., 15 March 1915
30.
Mackintosh diary, 15 March 1915
31.
Ibid., 18 March 1915
32.
Ibid.
33.
Ibid., 22 March 1915
34.
Priestley,
Antarctic Adventure
35.
Mackintosh diary, 23 March 1915
36.
Joyce field diary, 22, 23 March 1915
37.
Mackintosh diary, 24 March 1915
38.
Joyce field diary, 24 March 1915
39.
Mackintosh diary, 24 March 1915
40.
Joyce field diary, 24 March 1915
41.
Richards letter to L. B. Quartermain, 25 November 1961
42.
Hayward diary, 9 February 1915
43.
Ibid., 10 February 1915
44.
Richards diary, 11 February 1915
45.
Hayward diary, 10 February 1915
46.
Ibid., 12 February 1915
47.
Richards diary, 12 February 1915
48.
Ibid.
49.
Hayward diary, 12 February 1915
50.
Ibid., 14 February 1915
51.
Ibid., 15 February 1915
52.
Richards diary, 15 February 1915
53.
Hayward diary, 17 February 1915
54.
Ibid., 18 February 1915
55.
Ibid., 19 February 1915
56.
Richards diary, 19 February 1915
57.
Hayward diary, 21 February 1915
58.
Priestley,
Antarctic Adventure
59.
Hayward diary, 23 February, 1915
60.
Ibid.
61.
Ibid., 24 February 1915
62.
Ibid., 25 February 1915
63.
Ibid., 26 February 1915
64.
Ibid., 28 February 1915
65.
Ibid., 3 March 1915
66.
Ibid., 6 March 1915
67.
Ibid., 7 March 1915
*
âGone' was a term used to describe a part of their body that was completely frozen.
â
âevolution' â a Navy term used for an event.
â¡
âdeg of frost' means the degree of temperature below the freezing point of water. 82 deg of frost meant the air temperature was -50°F.
§
Ane: Aneroid barometer â an instrument for measuring atmospheric pressure. 29.62 meant the air pressure, measured in âinches of mercury'.
¶
Ther (sling): is the temperature using a sling thermometer. Before it was read the thermometer was briskly swung round at the end of a string about half a yard long. The swinging brought the thermometer in contact with a great volume of air, and it therefore gave the real temperature of the air. The reading that day of +2 meant thirty degrees below freezing; freezing being 32° Fahrenheit.
||
Castle Rock is located close to Hut Point.
**
Cape Crozier is on the north side of Ross Island.
â â
Abbreviations were commonly used â Cum for cumulus clouds, Cir for cirrus clouds.
â¡â¡
Is it worth the candle? â is it worth the effort?
§§
âProvi', that is âProvidence', was a word Joyce used at times, as did Scott and others on expeditions of that era. There is no indication that Joyce was a religious man, and his references to Providence indicate that it was possibly a term he used for luck, or good fortune, rather than calling on God.
¶¶
50 degrees below freezing point is -28°F, or -33°C.
||||
âunan.' â unanimously
O
N 12 MARCH
the
Aurora
picked up Spencer-Smith, Richards, Stevens, Gaze, Ninnis and Hooke from Hut Point and the ship went north to Cape Evans.
The day before Hayward, Cope and Jack had arrived at Safety Camp, on the edge of the Barrier, only 20 miles from Hut Point. The sea-ice between the Barrier and Hut Point was not firm so Hayward's party had to trek 5 miles through the hills, and he wrote a full description of their four-day march. Their trek, in bitterly cold conditions, was difficult and dangerous, and included camping one night on a ledge, on a steep slope of Observation Hill.
Hayward:
On our arrival here we have found that all the sea-ice has gone out & we are unable therefore to get round to the Hut by that route. Jack & I skied 4 miles along Barrier Edge roped together hoping to find track across the Hills, but snow-storm coming up we were forced to return hurriedly.
1
Hayward:
Have decided when weather permits to travel parallel to the Barrier Edge to the foot of Observation Hill where Scott's cross is erected & work south making the ascent at the first available point.
I have been 3 hours collecting every scrap of tobacco I could find amongst my personal gear, the net result after removing bits of biscuit, sleeping bag hairs &c &c was just about enough for one cigarette, however I enjoyed it more than any gold tipped, jewelled in every hole sort of thing, I ever smoked.
2
Hayward:
To-day has been a day crowded with incident not to mention danger & writing this now camped for the night I cannot help feeling thankful that we are safe.
We carried out the plan agreed upon yesterday but when within ¼ a mile of Observation Hill we came upon enormous crevasses running parallel to the land (as opposite) & certain death to anybody attempting to cross them, this was a sad disappointment as of course it meant working inland out to get round them and eventually we had to travel 5 miles off our course for this purpose.
Close here we passed an enormous bunch of seals, thousands of them & I have no doubt this must have been their breeding ground.
After safely crossing 2 small cracks we pulled our sledge just up the incline & camped for lunch. Immediately after lunch we resumed operations re-stowed & loaded the sledge, putting our skis on it, the first effort hauled us 100 yards, when we were all blown, by sticking to it we reached a point ½ a mile up the gradient to this point being 1 foot in 5 think of it dragging a 410 lb sledge with us.
Anyway here it was absolutely impossible to proceed further in this way & relaying had to be resorted to, so having dumped half our stuff which by the way we had to stick firmly into the snow to prevent it rolling down the incline and had another shot & how we succeeded in getting the sledge up to the first ledge I do not know, this ledge was ¼ mile further off. Returning with the empty sledge for our remaining load, we had the utmost difficulty in controlling it, we were all very pleased when at last we succeeded in getting the 2nd half of our load safely up & camped for the night.
It might be interesting to give you some idea as to the temperature we have been experiencing, immediately on taking off my Burberry
*
blouse it freezes so hard that I can within ½ a minute hold it out by one (wristband) then if one touches metal with bare fingers all the skin is taken off & left attached to it.
3
On 14 March the three men reached Hut Point, but they found nobody there. A letter from Stenhouse told them the
Aurora
had picked up the others two days ago. For ten days Hayward, Cope and Jack were at Hut Point on their own, before being joined by Mackintosh, Joyce and Wild. They found
Discovery
hut a reasonable place to live, compared to sledging on the Barrier.
Hayward:
14 Mar: We set out after breakfast this morning roped after Alpine fashion & after looking round realised that the ascent was too steep to even consider attempting to haul up the sledge, we therefore decided to continue in the direction of Hut Point with all speed & after 5 hours precarious going we were rewarded by making the Hut safely, which I can honestly say I at times hardly expected, as without exaggeration we were several times as near to fatal accident as it is comfortable to be, & I am exceedingly thankful at our safety.
We have missed her by just 2 days.
We must now prepare ourselves for a sojourn here until the sea is sufficiently frozen to enable us to sledge to Cape Evans where the ship will winter, this will probably be 3 months.
4
Hayward:
15 Mar: By Jingo, what a joy to sleep in something dry. I feel quite young again. Had a busy day straightening things up, a sort of Spring clean without the nuisance of soap & water, a shovel pick-axe & broom & a little effort has made the Hut far more comfortable than it was.
5
Hayward: â21 Mar: Weather as usual rotten, heavy drift & driving wind. Temperatures these days average somewhere about 70° below, somewhat parky I tell you & makes the Hut seem very nice although it isn't really.'
6
Hayward:
22 Mar: Weather continues bad. Pottered about Hut making candlesticks out of Syrup tins & spoons out of wire, as although the ship so kindly left us any amount of Corned Beef & sardines, they very kindly omitted to leave us anything to tackle them with, we would use our fingers, only the tips are so badly sore through frost-bite.
7
After an uncomfortable night in the hills near Hut Point on 24 March, Mackintosh, Joyce and Wild left their sledge (with their sleeping bags) and
risked sliding down the hills; a gamble which paid off as they landed safely, only a short distance from Hut Point. Hayward and Jack were out walking and were surprised when they heard their voices from inside the hut.
Cope, although a biologist, was the party's doctor and he attended to Mackintosh, Joyce and Wild's sores and injuries. Wild made no mention of his frostbite ailments, or the amputation of his toe.
Before long Mackintosh started to compare living in
Discovery
hut to being on the march, and then after only a few days at the hut his thoughts turned to the 13-mile trek north, to Cape Evans. They found a small quantity of meat at the hut, and Hayward had an unusual interpretation of âfresh'.
Joyce:
25 Mar: A woe begotten night. Feet + hands throbbing through the blisters. Made breakfast + proceeded towards the hut. We are on the trail of a sledge track. Expect it was the one made by the Padre + his party. It leads us to a comfortable down trail on to the sea-ice.
On inspection the ice was thin therefore treacherous. We decided to climb the hills. Proceeded to an easy slope. Before ascending same we thought it advisable to lunch, in case of accidents.
After satisfying the inner man we packed + abandoned the sledge, carrying ice axes we assisted Wild up the gradual slope. His feet still very painful. Reached the summit of the hills which leads down to a plateau between Cape Armitage + Hut Point.
I remarked, let us play chances? Slide down + see where we land. We let ourselves go, in 2 minutes we found ourselves at the bottom + about 10 yds from the edge of a drop of about 30 feet. Our breath exhausted.
In ½ an hour we were at Hut Point.
8
Hayward:
25 Mar: I suddenly heard voices apparently coming from the Hut, & of course knowing that we had left Cope, who is no better, by himself, could not make it out, but needless to say lost no time in making investigations. It turned out to be the Skipper, Joyce & Wild, who having left their sledge on the Barrier Edge, had made their way over the fresh sea-ice barely one inch thick & on foot to the Hut.
I cannot describe their ghastly appearance, the Skipper looked dazed, Wild had an ear completely frost bitten, his nose & one foot. Joyce had his hands & nose & feet gone, they looked awful.
Of course we were all pleased to see each other & Jack & I set to work to make our visitors as comfortable as we could. We sat yarning nearly all night & I will not say too much as to what it meant.
9
Mackintosh:
25 Mar: Having our breakfast and have the luxury of sitting in front of the primus while it goes full. Here we are at last, our troubles of sledging and sleep at least over!
We found here even a blubber-fire, luxurious, but what a state of dirt and grease! However, warmth and food are at present our principal objects. As there are only three bags here,
â
we take it in turns to use them. Our party have the privilege.
10
Joyce:
26 Mar: After dinner we had a medical examination. Wild is in the worst condition his feet are raw + his big toe will have to be amputated. His face is a picture and one ear is a big blister. Hands badly blistered. I do not think he could have travelled another day.
Mac seems to have got off the best. His feet slightly blistered hands slightly, face cheeks + nose blistered, hands slightly.
My feet and hands badly gone but not serious. Nose I am afraid of. It is a big black blister from cheek bones across. Anyway we are in a hut + we have a doc, so that is something. Cope started on his doctoring right away.
11
Wild's big toe had to be amputated, a part of his ear came off, it was a couple of weeks before our faces straightened out again. It was painful to laugh but with the good management of Cope who was working under extreme difficulties, we were soon about again.
12
Mackintosh:
26 Mar: This is indeed comfort â the trials & tribulations of the past (months) week can make us appreciate them.
Yet to see our habitation, this room (a space in the hut divisioned off) is full of smoke, we are sitting over a stove that has been made to use blubber â our clean faces which were so when we arrived are black with soot, this does not worry us, we are warm, we can turn in sleep, real sleep, no dreary shivers.
13
Â
27 Mar: The change in scene from a few days ago is remarkable. Here we are now leading a life of a primitive people, black now with grime and soot from the impoverished stove, all this so in contrast to the fresh air open life.
Although we have not been here yet long enough to wish to be back to sleepless nights and frozen fingers.
Today we have cleaned out some of the debris littered about, also the blubber which has overflowed from the stove laying all over the place, so that one is walking in it, we have now cleared this up and made an overflow ledge to receive the blubber and made a platform round the stove to walk over, the part we are living in has also been screened round, so we can retain more of the heat given out by the stove it has certainly made the place more habitable.
14
Our clothes are rapidly becoming begrimed with blubber, as are our faces. We have not quite got used to the method of using the stove so perhaps this accounts for the smoke that issues from it. Washing is a thing we are unable to do, for one thing we have nothing to wash in, also the trouble of getting the water melted is all against us, as well as the room when we can do so.
Joyce's and Wild's frost bites are very bad, my principal damage is my nose and a couple of fingers â lanoline is our principal medicine.
Â
28 Mar: The sea is freezing all round, but open water to the north, still.
15
Â
30 Mar: Now we have the shelter here and have been comforted I feel myself wishing to be back at Cape Evans (
Aurora
). I hate this idleness, besides the clothes we have are getting in a sad way. A bath would be just glorious. The ice all round is freezing fast tonight.
Joyce's nose is not a pretty sight being a resemblance of what one sees of Aly Soper.
â¡
16
Hayward:
30 Mar: Late last evening I watched Killer Whales in the Bay here, sporting about & breaking up the sea-ice which we are relying on to get to the ship as soon as possible. This was 8 inches thick & these whales simply made great lanes through it with the utmost ease, it is not nice however to see ones ground as it were, broken up under ones feet, & especially under ones very eyes.
We are endeavouring to thaw out a leg of mutton which we have discovered here, it was left in 1901, Scott's first Expedn so is nearly 15 years old, still fresh meat is always acceptable what!
Enjoyed mutton immensely.
17
Joyce describes their life inside
Discovery
hut. He was wondering why the ship has not come down to Hut Point and picked them up. He blamed Mackintosh for failing to direct Stenhouse, the acting captain of the
Aurora
.
Joyce:
It is impossible to wash, there being no utensils, soap or towels.
The Blubber stove is a peach. Every time a piece of blubber is placed on it, it throws out black smoke + the fumes are very disagreeable.
The sun went North on 22 April until 22 Aug. The darkness gradually coming over the Antarctic until there is no daylight at all.
So one can hardly realise what it is to be in a hut that was built for 45 people two thirds full of snow one corner blocked off with provision cases, no windows, table, chairs or bunks.
3 men in sleeping bags, 3 men sitting around the blubber stove. 2 out of the 3 bandaged up, no lighting except an improvised blubber lamp, which was an old tin full of blubber, a piece of canvas as a wick floating about which gives out plenty of fumes and very little light.
The food which is seal meat cooked in blubber oil, biscuits + now + again dried veges but in spite of all this everyone seems to have a good appetite.
The position here is there are only 3 sleeping bags so we will have to keep watch + wait until the others are brought from the bay. They will take about a week to dry as they are full of ice, the weight of a bag is 10 lbs + when brought in + weighed they were over 30 lbs. This shows the quantity of ice that accumulated through the heat of the body.
There is an assortment of stores. No clean clothing. One can exist here for some months. It is remarkable how one overcomes difficulties â what with the blubber + grease + our frostbites, which gave us a terrible time.
18