Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton
FOUR
On March 24, 1909, all the world was thrilled by the news that on the ninth of January a point had been reached nearer the South Pole than had ever before been attained. Shackleton and three companions had penetrated the white waste of the Antarctic regions to within 111 miles of the Pole. The British Union Jack was flying at “farthest south.” Shackleton started for the South Pole from Lyttelton, New Zealand, on New Year’s Day, 1908, in the Nimrod. A new idea was introduced into polar exploration when the commander decided to depend on Manchurian ponies instead of dogs for transportation. A motorcar was also used to carry supplies. But both the ponies and the automobile were found wanting when it came to the test, as the ponies gave out, and the car could make no progress over the rough ice.
The first important thing that the Shackleton expedition accomplished was the ascent for the first time of Mt. Erebus, the southernmost volcano in the world, 13,120 feet high. The summit of this great peak was reached on March 10, 1908. An active crater was discovered half a mile in diameter and 8,000 feet deep. It was belching vast volumes of steam and sulphurous gas to a height of 2,000 feet.
Part of this expedition also reached the South Magnetic Pole; that is, where the south end of the compass needle points. This had never before been done.
Shackleton’s dash for the South Pole is a record of hardships bravely borne and difficulties overcome. He and three others started from Cape Boyd on October 29, 1908. By November 30 they had been forced to shoot three of the ponies. Two days later an enormous glacier, 120 miles long and 40 miles wide, was discovered. Another pony was lost through a crevasse in the ice on December 7, and from then on each man had to haul 250 pounds.
Finally, on January 4, 1909, they decided to push on with only one tent. Then a fierce sixty-hour blizzard swooped down upon them, and held the party powerless for two days. They realized that they must turn back without reaching the Pole. It was a bitter disappointment to Shackleton to fail when they were within such a short distance of success. But, as he says, “We had honestly and truly shot our bolt at last,” and if they were ever to return, it must be now.
On the morning of January 9, without the sledge, they made one last dash south, and planted at latitude 88° 23´ a flag given Shackleton by the queen, and the Union Jack. The journey back was then begun, and the ship reached on March 4.
Ernest Henry Shackleton was born in Ireland in 1874. His education was never completed, as he followed a natural inclination to go to sea before graduating from college. He sailed round the world four times, and during the Boer War took part in the transportation of troops. In 1901 he was a member of Scott’s expedition, which reached “farthest south” at that time. After running for Parliament in 1906 and failing to be elected, he organized the expedition of 1908–09.
He was knighted by the British government for his services as an explorer, and has received many medals and other high honors.