There are many questions which ought to be studied. The effect upon men of going from heat to cold, such as Bowers coming to us from the Persian Gulf: or vice versa of Simpson returning from the Antarctic to India; differences of dry and damp cold; what is a comfortable temperature in the Antarctic and what is it compared to a comfortable temperature in England, the question of women in these temperatures...? The man with the nerves goes farthest. What is the ratio between nervous and physical energy? What is vitality? Why do some things terrify you at one time and not at others? What is this early morning courage? What is the influence of imagination? How far can a man draw on his capital? Whence came Bowers' great heat supply? And my own white beard? and X's blue eyes: for he started from England with brown ones and his mother refused to own him when he came back? Growth and colour change in hair and skin?
There are many reasons which send men to the Poles, and the Intellectual Force uses them all. But the desire for knowledge for its own sake is the one which really counts and there is no field for the collection of knowledge which at the present time can be compared to the Antarctic.
Exploration is the physical expression of the Intellectual Passion.
And I tell you, if you have the desire for knowledge and the power to give it physical expression, go out and explore. If you are a brave man you will do nothing: if you are fearful you may do much, for none but cowards have need to prove their bravery. Some will tell you that you are mad, and nearly all will say, "What is the use?" For we are a nation of shopkeepers, and no shopkeeper will look at research which does not promise him a financial return within a year. And so you will sledge nearly alone, but those with whom you sledge will not be shopkeepers: that is worth a good deal. If you march your Winter Journeys you will have your reward, so long as all you want is a penguin's egg.
FOOTNOTES:
[349] Scott, Voyage of the Discovery, vol. i. p. 449.
[350] Amundsen, The South Pole, vol. ii. p. 19.
[351] Lashly's diary records that the Second Return Party found a shortage of oil at the Middle Barrier Depôt (see p. 395).
[352] Scott, "Message to the Public."
[353] A full discussion of these and other Antarctic temperatures is to be found in the scientific reports of the British Antarctic Expedition, 1910-13, "Meteorology," vol. i. chap. ii., by G. C. Simpson.
[354] Modern research suggests that the presence or absence of certain vitamines makes a difference, and it may be a very great difference, in the ability of any individual to profit by the food supplied to him. If this be so this factor must have had great influence upon the fate of the Polar Party, whose diet was seriously deficient in, if not absolutely free from, vitamines. The importance of this deficiency to the future explorer can hardly be exaggerated, and I suggest that no future Antarctic sledge party can ever set out to travel inland again without food which contains these vitamines. It is to be noticed that, although the Medical Research Council's authoritative publication on the true value of these accessory substances was not available when we went South in 1910, yet Atkinson insisted that fresh onions, which had been brought down by the ship, be added to our ration for the Search Journey. Compare recent work of Professor Leonard Hill on the value of ultra-violet rays in compensating for lack of vitamines.—A. C.-G.
[355] Scott's Last Expedition, vol. ii. p. 356.
[356] My own diary.
[357] See p. 234.
[358] Wilson, Nat. Ant. Exp., 1901-1904, "Zoology," Part ii. pp. 44-45.
[359] My own diary.
[360] Ibid.
[361] My own diary.
[362] My own diary.
[363] My own diary.
[364] Ibid.
GLOSSARY
Blizzard.
An Antarctic blizzard is a high southerly wind generally accompanied by clouds of drifting snow, partly falling from above, partly picked up from the surface. In the daylight of summer a tent cannot be seen a few yards off: in the darkness of winter it is easy to be lost within a few feet of a hut. There is no doubt that a blizzard has a bewildering and numbing effect upon the brain of any one exposed to it.
Brash.
Small ice fragments from a floe which is breaking up.
Cloud.
The commonest form of cloud, and also that typical of blizzard conditions, was a uniform pall stretching all over the sky without distinction. This was logged by us as stratus. Cumulus clouds are the woolly billows, flat below and rounded on top, which are formed by local ascending currents of air. They were rare in the south and only formed over open water or mountains. Cirrus are the "mare's tails" and similar wispy clouds which float high in the atmosphere. These and their allied forms were common. Generally speaking, the clouds were due to stratification of the air into layers rather than to ascending currents.
Crusts.
Layers of snow in a snow-field with air space between them.
Finnesko.
Boots made entirely of fur, soles and all.
Frost Smoke.
Condensed water vapour which forms a mist over open sea in cold weather.
Ice-Foot.
Fringes of ice which skirt many parts of the Antarctic shores: many of them have been formed by sea-spray.
Nunatak.
An island of land in a snow-field. Buckley Island is the top of a mountain sticking out of the top of the Beardmore Glacier.
Piedmont.
Stretches of ancient ice which remain along the Antarctic coasts.
Pram.
A Norwegian skiff, with a spoon bow.
Saennegrass.
A kind of Norwegian hay used as packing in finnesko.
Sastrugi
are the furrows or irregularities formed on a snow plain by the wind. They may be a foot or more deep and as hard and as slippery as ice: they may be quite soft: they may appear as great inverted pudding bowls: they may be hard knots covered with soft powdery snow.
Sledging Distances.
All miles are geographical miles unless otherwise stated, 1 statute or English mile = 0.87 geographical mile: 1 geographical mile = 1.15 statute miles.
Tank.
A canvas "hold-all" strapped to the sledge to contain food bags.
Tide Crack.
A working crack between the land ice and the sea ice which rises and falls with the tide.
Wind.
Wind forces are logged according to the Beaufort scale, which is as follows:
| No. | Description. | Mean velocity in |
|---|---|---|
| miles per hour. | ||
| 0. | Calm | 0 |
| 1. | Light air | 1 |
| 2. | Light breeze | 4 |
| 3. | Gentle breeze | 9 |
| 4. | Moderate breeze | 14 |
| 5. | Fresh breeze | 20 |
| 6. | Strong breeze | 26 |
| 7. | Moderate gale | 33 |
| 8. | Fresh gale | 42 |
| 9. | Strong gale | 51 |
| 10. | Whole gale | 62 |
| 11. | Storm | 75 |
| 12. | Hurricane | 92 |
INDEX
- Abbott, George P., lv, lvii, 558
- Adam Mountains, 361
- Adare, Cape, xxiii, xxix, xxxiv, 409, 570
- Adélie Land, xxii
- Adélie penguins. See Penguins, Adélie
- Adventure, the, xviii
- Albatross, capture of, 39
- Alexander Land, xxi
- Alexandra, Queen, 507
- Amundsen, Roald,
- 'Antarctic Adventures' (Priestley), lxi
- Antarctic Continent, theories of, xxi
- 'Antarctic Penguins' (Levick), lxi
- Antarctic regions,
- Anton (pony boy), 224, 429
- Aptenodytes forsteri. See Penguin, Emperor
- Archer, W. W., 429, 438, 472
- Arctic regions, exploration in, xxix-xxxiii
- Arethusa. See Portuguese man-of-war
- Armitage, Cape, 108, 566
- Arrival Bay, xlvi
- Arrival Heights, 98, 185
- Atkinson, Edward L.,
- his responsibilities, 1
- on the Terra Nova, 3
- character, 4
- on South Trinidad, 19
- accident to foot, 111
- lecture on scurvy, 215
- lost in blizzard, 303
- Barrier Journey, 324
- in command of First Return Party, 381
- meets Lashly and Evans, 404
- difficulties during Scott's absence, 411
- attempts to find Scott, 426
- in command of Main Party, 427
- journey to Hutton Cliffs, 428
- sledge journey, 429
- fish-trap, 444
- spring journey, 467
- reads Burial Service over Scott, 481
- lands in New Zealand, 572
- Atmosphere, observations on, 35
- Aurora borealis, 244
- Balloon Bight, xxxiv, 130
- Barne Glacier, 184, 307, 459
- Barrie, Sir J. M., Scott's letter to, 540
- Barrier, the,
- Beardmore Glacier, journey across, 350-367
- Beaufort Island, 557
- Bellingshausen, xxi
- Bernacchi, Cape, 425
- Biology, marine,
- Bird, Cape, xxiv
- Bird, Mt., 558
- Bird Peninsula, 409
- Biscuit Depôt, 473
- Black Island, xxv
- Blacksand Beach, 100
- Blizzards, 112, 447
- Blubber, uses of, lvi
- Bluff Depôt, 114, 119, 418
- Borchgrevink, xxviii
- Bowers, Lieut. H. R.,
- on Terra Nova, 3
- character and personality, 4, 208
- at South Trinidad, 16
- on Depôt Journey, 105
- on Winter Journey, 234
- trip to Western Mountains, 306
- commencement of Polar Journey, 325
- passage of the Beardmore Glacier, 351
- seq. Plateau Journey, 368 seq.
- body discovered, 480
- journey to Pole, 496
- seq. return from Pole, 511 seq.
- Bowers, Mrs., Scott's letter to, 539
- Browning, Frank V., lv, lvi, lvii, lviii
- Brown Island, xxv
- Bruce, Wilfred M., 565
- Buckley Island, 362
- Butter Point, 425
- Campbell, Victor,
- Cardiff, Wales, 1
- Castle Rock, xxxv, 152, 185, 434
- Cephalodiscus rarus, 569
- Challenger Expedition, xxviii, 568
- Cherry-Garrard, Apsley,
- Christmas Day celebration, 1911, 373
- Clissold, Thomas, 309, 383, 429
- Cloudmaker, 356, 359, 382
- Colbeck, Cape, 129
- Cook, Captain James, Antarctic explorations, xviii, xix, xx, xxi
- Corner Camp, 112, 122, 135, 166, 306, 468, 473
- Crater Heights, 98, 162
- Crean, Thomas,
- Crozier, Capt., xxix
- Crozier, Cape, discovery, xxiii, xl, 252, 558
- Darwin, Mt., 366, 388
- David, Professor, xlvii
- Davies, Francis, 92
- Day, Bernard C., 310, 383, 429
- Debenham, Frank, 217, 309, 437, 438, 465, 472, 557
- Dellbridge Islands, 169
- De Long, G. W., xxix
- Derrick Point, 98
- Dickason, Harry, liv, lviii, 557
- Diet,
- Dimitri (dog boy), 104, 310, 323, 404, 419, 420, 428, 467
- Disaster Camp, 160
- Discovery, Mt., 151, 186
- Discovery Expedition, 1901-1904, xxxiii seq., 456
- Discovery hut, 97, 185
- Dogs,
- Dolphins, observations on, 37
- Dominion Range, 362, 370
- Drake, Frank, 3, 97, 565
- Drygalski Ice Tongue, lviii
- Dunedin, N.Z., 48
- Dunlop Island, 307
- D'Urville, Dumont, xxii
- Emperor Penguin. See Penguin, Emperor
- Enderby, Messrs., xxi
- Equator, crossing of, 10
- Erebus, Mt.,
- Erebus, the, xxii, xxix
- Eskers, the, 432
- Evans, Lieut. Edward,
- Evans, Seaman Edgar,
- Evans, Cape, xlviii, 86, 96, 181, 317, 434, 444, 447, 493, 502
- Evans Coves, l, liii, 409, 569
- Fahrt, 458
- Ferrar Glacier, xxxviii
- Fire, outbreaks of, 462
- Fodder Depôt, 109
- Forde, Robert, 104, 306, 429
- Forster, Mr., xx
- Fram, the, xxix seq., xlviii, 46, 133
- Franklin, Sir John, xxix
- Franklin Island, 557, 570
- Franz Josef Land, xxxii
- Funchal, Madeira, 3.
- Gap, the, 98
- Gateway, the, 339, 351
- Geelmuyden, Professor, xxxi
- Glacier Tongue, 152, 185, 430, 449
- Gran, Tryggve, 4, 104 seq., 429, 434, 438, 447, 472, 558, 567
- Granite Harbour, lviii, 409, 567
- Granite Pillars, 393
- Great Razorback Island, 169, 186
- Greely, A. W., xxix, xxx
- Haig, Sir Douglas, Scott's letter to, 410
- Halley, Edmund, 11
- Hare, xxxv
- Hell's Gate, 570
- Helminthology, 17
- High Peak, 183
- Hobart, Tasmania, xxii
- Hooker, Sir Joseph D., xxv
- Hooker, Mt., 186
- Hooper, F. J., 15, 28, 310, 383, 438, 472, 477, 558
- Hooper, Mt. See Upper Barrier Depôt
- Hope, Mt., 343, 393
- Hope Island, xlvii
- Horses. See Ponies, Manchurian
- Horseshoe Bay, 98
- Hut Point, lix, 97, 157, 461, 566
- Hut Point Peninsula, xxiv, xxxiv, 185
- Hutton Cliffs, 169, 185, 428
- Hyperoodon rostrata. See Whale, bottle-nosed
- Ice,
- Ice cap, Antarctic, xxxviii
- Icebergs, 61, 570
- "Igloo back," lvii
- Inaccessible Island, 186, 434
- Inexpressible Island, conditions on, liii
- Island Lake, 182
- Jackson-Harmsworth Expedition, xxxii, 216
- Jeannette, the, xxix
- Johansen, Lieut., xxx, 132
- Jones, Cape, 557
- Kayaks, Nansen's use of, xxxi
- Keltie Glacier, 358
- Keohane, Patrick, 104 seq., 353, 382, 426, 428, 434, 438, 473
- Killer whale. See Whale, killer
- King Edward VII.'s Land, xxxiv, xlviii
- Kinsey, Mr. J. J., 48
- Knight, E. F., 12, 18
- Knoll, the, xl, 252, 260
- Kyffin, Mt., 352
- Land crabs, at South Trinidad, 14, 18
- Lashly, W.,
- Levick, G. Murray, liii, 3
- Lillie, Denis G., 4, 565, 569
- Lister, Mt., 186
- Little Razorback Island, 171, 186, 449
- Lower Glacier Depôt, 352
- Lyttelton, N.Z., 2, 44, 573
- M'Clintock, Sir F. L., xxix
- McMurdo Sound, xxiv, xxxiv, 409
- Magnetic Pole, South, xxii, xxv
- Markham, Sir Clements, xxix
- Markham, Mt., 337
- Marshall Mountains, 362
- Meares, Cecil H., 97, 104, 213, 310, 323, 347, 353, 382, 429
- Melbourne, Mt., l, 557
- Middle Barrier Depôt, 338
- Mill Glacier, 362
- Milne, A. A., on Scott's character, lx
- Minna Bluff, xxiv, 186
- Mirage, 118, 386, 423
- Morning, Mt., 186
- Morning, the, xxxvii
- Mules, use of, 410, 450, 462, 473, 475, 478, 490
- Nansen, Fridtjof,
- Nansen, Mt., 570
- Nares, Sir G. S., xxix
- Neale, W. H., 28
- Nelson, Edward W., 4, 215, 383, 438, 445, 472, 477
- North Bay, 172, 438, 444, 445
- Oamaru, N.Z., 572
- Oates, Capt. L. E. G.,
- Observation Hill, 98, 565
- Œstrelata arminjoniana. See Petrel, black-breasted
- Œstrelata trinitatis. See Petrel, white-breasted
- Oil, shortage of, 550
- Oil fuel, its advantages, 46
- One and a Half Degree Depôt, 502
- One Ton Depôt, 116, 314, 326, 383, 398, 413, 418
- Orca gladiator. See Whale, killer
- Pagoda Cairn, 117
- Parry, Sir W. E., xxix
- Peary, R. E., xlviii
- Penguin, Adélie,
- Penguin, Emperor,
- Pennell, Harry L. L., liii, 3, 4, 8, 565, 572
- Petrel, Antarctic, 63
- Petrel, black-breasted, 13
- Petrel, giant, 50
- Petrel, snowy, xix, 50
- Petrel, white-breasted, 13
- Plankton, 6, 69
- Pole, South,
- Polheim (camp), 507
- Polychaete worms, 568
- Ponies, Manchurian,
- Ponting, Herbert G., 90, 173, 213, 320, 429
- Portuguese man-of-war, 7
- Pram, 17, 19
- Pram Point, 98, 162, 466, 566
- Priestley, Raymond E., liii, 130, 558
- Ptomaine poisoning, lvii
- Pulleyn, Lieut. George, 410
- Ramp, the, 168
- Rennick, H. E. de P., 3, 565
- Resolution, the, xviii
- Roberts, Cape, lviii, 425
- Ross, Sir James C., xxii, 11, 12
- Ross Island, xxiii
- Ross Sea, xxiii, xxviii, xlii
- Royal Society Range, 493
- Royds, Cape, xlv, xlvii, 98, 183, 461, 559
- Sabine, Mt., xxiii, 80
- Safety Camp, 110, 122, 136, 306
- St. Paul, island, 33
- Scott, Capt. R. F.,
- on early explorations, xx
- on Ross, xxvii
- first expedition, 1901-1904, xxxiii
- excellence of equipment, lxii
- commencement of second expedition, 1
- visits South Trinidad, 1901, 12
- joins Terra Nova, 31
- Depôt Journey, 104
- character and achievements, 200, 573
- paper on Barrier, 214
- trip to Western Mountains, 306
- Barrier stage of Polar Journey, 319 seq.
- Beardmore Glacier Journey, 350 seq.
- Plateau Journey, 368
- strength of team, 377
- alteration in units, 379
- tries new sledge runners, 457
- body discovered, 480
- burial, 483
- his account of journey to Pole, 496 seq.
- return from Pole, 511 seq.
- message to the public, 541
- drawbacks of his plan, 545
- 'Scott's Last Expedition,' lix
- Scurvy, lvii, 215, 393
- Sea, freezing of, 448
- Sea-cucumber, 568
- Sea-leopard, 65, 66
- Sea-urchins, 567
- Seal, 66, 67, 162
- Seal, crab-eating, 67, 68
- Seal, Ross, 66
- Seal, Weddell, 66, 67, 161, 464, 466
- Shackleton, Sir Ernest, xxxvii, xlvii
- Shambles Camp, 349, 502
- Simon's Bay, 31
- Simpson, G. C., 4, 215, 306 seq., 429, 502, 504
- Ski, use of, 355, 458, 498
- Ski Slope, 152
- Skua gulls, 464, 499
- Skua Lake, 95, 182
- Sledge meters, 385, 417, 461
- Sledge runners, Nansen on, 456, 457
- Sledges,
- Smoking, limitations on, 195
- Snow-blindness, 353
- South Bay, 447
- 'South Polar Times,' 437, 445
- South Trinidad,
- Southern Barrier Depôt, 338
- Sverdrup, O. N., xxx
- Taylor, Griffith, lxi, 215, 307, 308, 317, 429
- Temperature,
- Tent Island, 186, 439, 566
- Terra Australis, belief in existence of, xviii
- Terra Nova Bay, 493
- Terra Nova, the,
- on Scott's first expedition, xlv
- commencement of voyage, 1910, 1
- crew, 2
- arrangement of cabins, 3
- defects in pumps, 5, 28
- plankton nets, 6
- fire on board, 6
- biological observations, 7
- lack of fresh water, 8
- refits at Lyttelton, 44
- overloading, 50
- suitability for ice work, 73
- anchorage, 101
- arrival with mails, 409
- defects, 548
- expedition finally relieved, 564
- trawling, 567
- Terror, Mt., xxiii, xxiv, xli, 252, 558
- Terror, the, xxii, xxix
- Terror Point, 253
- Tersio peronii, 37
- Three Degree Depôt, 502
- Tremasome, parasitic growth on, 444
- Turk's Head, 185
- Turtleback Island, 434
- Waves, height of, 58
- Weddell, James, xxv
- Western Mountains, 151, 306, 567
- Whale, 37
- Whale, blue, 70, 71
- Whale, bottle-nosed, 156
- Whale, killer, 69, 90, 142, 154
- Whale, piked, 70
- Whales, Bay of, xlviii, 128, 130
- White Island, xxiv, 111, 493
- Wild, Frank, xxxv
- Wild Mountains, 362
- Wilkes, Charles, xxii
- Williamson, Thomas S., 429, 438, 472
- Wilson, Dr. E. A.,
- Wilson, Mrs., Scott's letter to, 539
- Wind Vane Hill, 95, 182
- Wright, Charles S., 4, 215, 319, 351, 381, 382, 429, 434, 438, 447, 455, 472, 481, 489
- X Cairn, 120