The Home of the Blizzard / Being the Story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914

nd beyond their pale was a wilderness of hanging clothes, boots, finnesko, mitts and what not, bounded by tiers o

thicken: books orderly and disorderly, on bracketed shelves, cameras great and small in motley confusion, guns and a gramophone-horn, serpentine yards of g

o that it often became a bear-garden in which

y on the table. At 7.50 A.M. came the stentorian: "Rise and shine!" of the night-watchman, and a curious assortment of cat-calls, beating on pots and pans and fragmentary chaff. At the background, s

ment in his mountain of blankets until 7.59 A.M., unless the jocular night-watchman chose to make a heap of them on the floor. To calls like "Breakfast all ready! Porridge on the table getting cold!" seventeen persons in va

e latest escapade among the dogs, spoke of the fitful gleams of the aurora between 1.30 and 2 A.M., of his many adventures on the way to the meteorological screen and so forth; until from being a mere night-watchman he had raised himself to the status of a public hero. For a time he was most objectionable, but under the solid influence of porridge, tinned fruit, fresh bread, butter and tea and

ially proceeded to scrape the plates, the master-cook presiding over a tub of boiling water in which he vigorously scoured knives, forks and spoons, transferring them in dripping handfuls to the cleanest

men included the ice-carrier, the magnetician, the two wardens of the dogs, the snow-shoveller and coal-carrier and the storeman. The rest s

ocks, stockings and helmets, which had passed from icy rigidity through sodden limpness to a state of parchment dryness. The problem was

olloquy, the former, like a Cingalese vendor, having previously made up his mind. The argument finally crystallized down t

inary to more serious business;

ve wheedled from the storeman a few more ounces of "glaxo," another tin of peas or an extra ration of penguin meat. All this chaffering took place in the open market-place, so to speak, and there was no lack of frank criticism from bystanders, onlookers and dista

mped on to the kitchen table. The cook in a swift survey notes the absence of penguin meat. "That'll take two hours to dig out!" is the storeman's rejoinder, and to make good his word, proceeds to pull off blouse and helmet.

ton. The storeman rummages in the snow and discloses a pile of penguins, crusted hard together in a homogeneous lump. Dislodging a couple of penguins appears an easy proposition, but we are soon disillusioned. The

to mention the exhaustion of all invective. A crowbar decides the question. One part of the channel is unde

ing the dough of wholemeal scones, and the messman is feeding the fire with seal-blubber to ensure a "quick" oven. Eve

rook Cooks" and "Unconventional Cooks" by the eating public. Such flattering titles as "Assistant Grand Past Master of the Crook Cooks' Association" or "Associate of the Society of Muddling Messmen" were not empty inanities; they were founded on s

of Hut life. The fall of a dozen plates from the shelf to the floor, the fracture of a table-knife in frozen honey, the burning of the porridge or th

ked beans was shattered in the "port" oven, and fragments of dried beans were visible on the walls and d

lost in the straggling rubbish which tailed away to the north. Even the prowling dogs in their wolfish hunger could not overcome a certain prejudice. Of course some one found it, and the public hailed it with delight. A searching inquiry was made, but the perpetrator was never discovered. That loaf, however, like the proverbial bad penny,

s its scientific name. And the muddling messman could never be surpassed who lo

le by the meteorologist descriptive of an occasion when two mem

PTION An 'Orrible Affair

tis P

| Crook Co

pedition

chen, Wint

5.30

just bring me a nic

bunk]. Go on, do s

done everything that has

you ought to fe

mpty and I'm not going to fill them.

's going cr

ice. ERROR attempts to extricate a pot fr

Champ-

oor!" Enter TEREBUS with box of ic

an, you've filled up t

. Never mind, they won't wa

I believe it is considered that a square tin is more suitable for ordinary o

re'll be less surface e

floor? I thought my feet seemed cold

on. Never mind, there's plenty more ice

-covered burberrys, mitts, etc., crowd kitchen a

e kitchen. This isn't th

away, please, old man. The

it some flav

clears the kitchen. ERROR continues stirring Soup and

rly joyful chorus]

all right. It will taste all ri

burberrys burning

rush to t

ll right, I've

uch sotto voce discussion

e spinach on to thaw and

nd put it on the tabl

nst the regulations. Put it i

rrific explosion, followed

the matter? Ter

face]. Nothing wrong. Only a tin

ed all over the ove

it will be served up w

e of TEREBUS and ERROR, whic

Have you made the tea, old b

the tea-boiler, peers inside

on't do that.

s all right,

? We'll never keep them quiet

now. It will be warmed

nfusers in the pot

. Tas

e with a d

es like your

wrong with the soup.

ffee and I'll put that in and bring it to the b

u make it stro

.30 P.M. arrives, and the soup is put on the table. Interval

from the table]. How

table period]. Any o

it, Governor. TEREBUS

way and baked pengui

ve got their pe

otonous chant goes up, preceded by a soft "One, tw

nto dogs' bucket. ERROR takes tapi

for us and don't forget to put that dish in front

helpings out and puts r

not remember the

want to, if I

Put on the Algerian sweets

l handfuls]. We'll put

EREBUS and ERROR retire to

pudding? It's only

d further eruption is prevented b

spiration of Mrs. Bee

we leave

tudy Mrs

ry, steam-puddings, jellies and blancmanges, original potages and consommes, seal curried and spiced, penguin delica

with each other in lavish hospitality, the Hut was ornate with flags, every man was spruce in his snowiest cardigan and neck-cloth, the gramophone sang of music-hall days, t

into rhyme. From there, behind the scenes, the comedian in full dress could step before the footlights into salvoes of savage applause. "A

aped plates or rinsed out mugs and bowls. Soon, everything had passed through the cauldron of water, soap and soda to the drying-towels and on to the shelves. The main crowd then repaired with

k bottles, and Russian stout, abounded with titbits of pie crust, blancmange, jelly, Vienna rusks, preserved figs, and other "perk

ade to the almanac. During one featureless interval, the anniversary of t

stributed by the storeman every Saturday night, and for purposes of betting, games of chance, "Ca

other side. Numbers ranging from "low field" and forty-five to sixty-five and "high field" were sold by auction to

everal cases of bankruptcy, which was redeemed in

squares, and, when accused of rapacity, invented a scheme for the common good known as "Huntoylette." This was a game of chance similar to roulette, and for a while it completely gulfed

ted the weary cook and went to bed. The MacKellar Library, so called after the donor, was a boon to all, and the literature of polar exploration was keenly followed and discussed. Taste in literature varied, but amo

he somewhat grim attractions of an Antarctic winter was too much for every one. Lady Betty, in the realm of bright images, had a host of devoted admirers. Her influence spread beyond the Hut to the plateau itself. Three men went sled

re those who thought that John Ridd was a fool, a slow, obtuse rust

permanent impression on the thinking community. Mostly, the story was voted delightfully funn

acter of the hero was torn in the shreds of debate. There was general agreement on two points: that th

Walker, the bowline-and-a-bite and a crowd of kindred knots, had a warm spot for any yarn by Jacobs. Night aft

st in 'Virginibus Puerisque', 'Marcus Aurelius', 'The U

clothes, kept the fire going, observed and made notes on the aurora every fifteen minutes and the wea

e night-watchman and his pipe are at peace with all men. He has discarded a heavy folio for a light romance, while the hours scud by, broken only by the obs

h-east through the lessening d