The Voyages of Captain Scott : Retold from the Voyage of the Discovery and Scott's Last Expedition

here, the ic

was al

growled, and ro

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any from some eight thousand volunteers was both a difficult and a delicate task, but the fact that the applications were so numerous was at once a convincing pr

rrived, on October 28, at Lyttelton. There an enormous amount of work had to be done before she could

ton, and after calling at Port Chalmers set out on Tuesday, the 29th, upon the last stage of

altogether cheerful sigh

the forecastle fifteen ponies close side by side, seven one side, eight the other, heads

dge stood across the break of the poop in the space hitherto occupied by the after winch, and all these cases were so heavily lashed with heavy chain and rope lashings that they were thought to be quite s

d upon and between the motor sledges, and upon the ice-house were the thirty-three dogs. Perforce they had to be chained up, and although they were given as much protection as

odily by the seas and swung against the lashed cases. These bags acted like battering rams, no lashings could possibly have withstood them, and so the only remedy was to set to work and heave coal sacks overboard and re-lash the cases. During this difficult and dangerous task seas continu

ship to plunge more and more. 'We shortened sail to main topsail

to keep the ponies on their legs. But worse news was to follow, for in the early morning news ca

up to their necks in rushing water, stuck gamely to the work of clearing suctions, and for a time, with donkey engine and bilge pump sucking, it looked a

ing more than a dribble and its suction could not be reached, for as the water crept higher it got in contact with the boiler and eventually became so hot that no

rk carried clean away. The bilge pump is dependent on the main engine. To use the pump it was necessary to go ahead. It was at such times that the heaviest seas swept in over the lee rail; over and over a

nd-pumps, which practically amounted to an attempt to bale out the ship! For a day and a night the string of buckets was passed up a line fro

, found his way to the pump shaft and down it, and cleared the suction of the coal balls (a mixture of coal and oil) which were choking it. Soon afterwards a good stream of water came from the pump, a

is chain broke and he disappeared, but the next wave miraculously washed him back on board. In a few hours everyone was hopeful again, but anxiety on account of the ponies remained. With the ship pitching heavily to a south-westerly swell, at least two of these long-suffering animals looked sadly in n

e gales. 'Another day,' Scott wrote on Tuesday, December 6, 'ought to put us beyond the reach of westerly gales'; but two days later the ship was once more plunging against a stiff breeze and moderate sea,

nced, and on either side of them fields of pack began to appear. Yet, after the rough weather they had been having, the calm sea was a blessing even if the ice had arrived before it was expected. 'One ca

idian which they might have chosen. But as very little was known about the movements of the pack the difficulties of making a choice may very easily be imagined, and, in spite of disappointments, Scott's opinion that the 178 W. was the best meridian did not change. 'The situation of the main bodies of pack,' he says, 'and the closeness with which the floes are packed depend almost entirely on the prevailing winds. One cannot tell what winds have prevailed before one's arrival; therefore one cannot know much about the situation or density. Within

cise. 'I have never thought of anything as good as this life. The novelty, interest, colour, animal life, and good fellowship go to make up an almost id

lowing day they were again firmly and tightly wedged in the pack. To most of them, however, the novelty of the experience prevented any sense

o constantly taken, while Wilson painted some delightful pictures and Ponting took a number of beautiful photographs of the pack and bergs. But as day followed day and hopes of progress were not real

most difficult decisions. If the fires were let out it meant a dead loss of two tons of coal when the boilers were again heated. But these two tons only covered a day under banked

ing was spent. For five hours the officers sat round the table and sang lustily, each one of them having to contribute two songs to th

xert himself to the utmost, quite regardless of the results of his labours. But on Wednesday, December 28, the ponies, despite the unremitting care and attention

n, and even the heavier ice appeared to be breakable. So, after a consultation with Wilson

dered that under the exceptional conditions they might easily have been worse. For the ship herself he had nothing but praise to give. 'No other ship, not even the Discovery, would have come through so well.... As a result I have grown strangely attached to the Terra

Nova left Lyttelton she ha

aint or anger has been heard on board. The inner life of our small community is very pleasant to think upon, and very wonderful considering the extremely small space in which we are confined. The attitude of the men is equally worthy of admiration. In the forecastle as in the wardroom there is a rush to be first when work is to be done, and the same desire

fe course would have been to go about and stand to the east, but on this occasion Scott was prepared to run the risk of trouble if he could get the ponies into smoother water. Soon they passed a stream of ice over which the sea was breaking heavily, and the danger of being among loose floes in such a sea was acute

he clouds lifted to the west a distant but splendid view of the great mountains was obtained. All were in sunshine; Sabine and Whewell were most conspicuous-the latter from this view is a beautiful sharp peak, as re

hip reached the Barrier five miles east of Cape Crozier. During the voyage they had often discussed the idea of making th

wered and Scott, Wilson, Griffith Taylor, Priestley, and E. R. Evans had been pulled

rozier with all its att

A landing was out of the question.... But I assure you it was tantalizing to me, for there, about 6 feet above us on a small dirty piece of the old bay ice about ten feet square, one living Emperor penguin chick was standing disconsolately stranded, and close by stood one faithful old Emperor paren

ring party. There were comfortable quarters for the hut, ice for water snow for the animals, good slopes for skiing, proximity to the Barrier and to the rookeries of two types of pengu

isons between what was before their eyes and old photographs showed that no change at all seeme

employed in making a running su

ly checking spe

tudes of objects a

noting

ge plate bearings

rard notin

verge plate b

noting

distances abeam

noting

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Crozier cliffs; to the eye it seems scarcely to have changed since D

ing to see such a familiar scene.' Scott's great wish now was to find a place for winter quarters that would not easily be cut off from the Barrier, and a cape, which in the Discovery days had been called 'the Skuary,' was chosen. 'It was

rthwest and well protected behind by numerous small hills; but the most favorable circumstance of all in connection with this cape, which was re-christened Cape Evans, was the strong chanc

land, 12 miles further, on one of whose minor

ies appeared to be in perfect condition. Then came the turn of the ponies, and although it was difficult to make some of them enter the horse box, Oates rose to the occasion and got most of them in by persuasion, while the ones which refused to be persuaded were simpl

proceedings and a total disregard for their own safety, with the result that a number of them were killed in spite of innumerable efforts to teach the penguins to keep out of reach, they only squawked and ducked as much as to say, 'What's it got to

tainly extremely promising.' Before night the site for the hut was leveled, and the erecting party was encamped on shore in a large tent with

ay's labour, all hands were u

ater's edge lay the wire stern rope of the ship, and our two Esquimaux dogs were tethered to this. I did not think of connecting the movements of the whales with this fact, and seeing them so close I shouted to Ponting, who was standing abreast of the ship. He seized his camera and ran towards the floe edge to get a close picture of the beasts, which had momentarily disappeared. The next moment the whole floe under him and the dogs heaved up and split into fragments. One could hear the "booming" noise as the whales rose under the ice and struck it

into the water; but the facts that they could display such deliberate cunning, that they were able to break ice of such thickness (at least 2-1/2 feet), and that they cou

tors were the outcome of experiments made at Lantaret in France and at Lillehammer and Fefor in Norway, with sledges built by the Wolseley Motor Company from suggestions offered principally by B. T. Hamilton, R. W. Skelton, and

as beginning to get thin in the cracks and on some of the floes. Under these circumstances the necessity for wasting no time was evident, and so on the Sunday the

son suddenly went through; and while he was being hauled out the ice under the motor was seen to give, and slowly the machine went right through and disappeared. The men made strenuous efforts to keep hold of the rope, but it cu

evening Scott went to the ice-edge farther to the north, and found a place where the ship could come and be near ice heavy enough for sledding.

est energy. In this Bowers proved 'a perfect treasure,' there was not a single case he did not know nor a sing

ursday a message was sent from the ship that nothing remained on board except mutton, books, pictures, and the pianola. 'So at la