Shackleton's Last Voyage: The Story of the Quest

by Frank Wild; A. H. Macklin

The roofs are composed of wooden beams, and are thatched over with tussock grass, which is made into bundles and lashed securely to the beams so that they overlap from above downwards. A layer of turf is placed to cover the apex where the two sides meet. The ceilings and floors are made of wood—odd pieces begged from ships, taken from packing cases or found along the seashore—collected only with much patience over a period of months or years before enough is accumulated for the purpose. Much of the planking in the older houses has been derived from ships wrecked on one or other of the islands. In the house of Mrs. Repetto there is a piece from the stern of a small vessel bearing the name Mabel Clarke which had gone ashore forty years previously. The insides of the stone walls are faced with wood in the same way. The space left between thatch and ceiling is used universally as a store room. Windows, except in the case of one of the houses, are on one side only, and face the sea to enable a good look out to be kept for passing ships. The exception is in the house just mentioned, that of Mrs. Repetto, whose husband (deceased), an Italian sailor, survivor of a ship wrecked on the island, must have been a man of much ingenuity and practical ability, for the house is much better equipped and furnished in every way than any other in the settlement.

Taken on the whole, the houses keep remarkably dry and are durable, though the tussock thatch often requires renewing in patches and the turf is often lifted away in the fiercer gales. They are divided, in the majority of cases, by a single wall into living-room and bedroom, but a few have an additional room. There is a fireplace at one end of the living-room made of stone, with two or three pieces of iron let in. In some of the houses the cooking is done in these fireplaces, but in others, especially where the family is a large one, an annexe is built on to the end of the house to act as a kitchen. In one or two of the better houses a separate kitchen is included in the main building. Each house boasts a table and some chairs, often very rickety, and most of them have also a wooden settee, or “sofa,” as it is generally called. Some possess tablecloths and sofa covers and have a few bright pictures on the walls. Others are lacking in these luxuries, the walls being bare or adorned only with one or two tracts. As a rule the houses are kept clean, but in this they vary very much, depending upon the occupants. One must understand some of the difficulties they have in this respect. Brushes and brooms are a rarity; they use whisks made from the “island tree,” which answer only moderately well. They are often without soap, and when there is any on the island it has to be used with the greatest economy. Taking everything into consideration, I think they are to be congratulated upon what they achieve in this way.

Rats came ashore from a ship called the Henry B. Paul, wrecked on the back of the island. They increased and multiplied so rapidly that they have overrun the place and are found in the lofts of every house. To combat them a few cats are kept, but whilst I was living ashore I preferred the company of the rats to that of the cats, which are most unpleasant brutes and more than half wild.

Fleas swarm all over the settlement, and none of the houses seem to be wholly free from them. As a doctor, I had occasion to examine many of the people. Nearly all of them were extensively flea-bitten, but some seemed to have escaped their ravages. I found no trace of other body parasites.

Any man starting to build a house here sets himself a difficult task. The stone is fairly easily obtained and set up. Boulders carried down from the mountain strew the lower slopes, and there are plenty in the neighbourhood of the settlement. They are brought in by securing them with chains to which bullocks are attached, the number of animals varying with the size of the boulder. They are dragged bodily over the ground, the work, however, being the easier in that most of the distance is down hill. Soft boulders are selected, and are cut to shape with small axes. A number of men sit or kneel about the boulder to be cut, chipping away little pieces in turn with rapid strokes of the axe.

Wood presents to the prospective builder a much harder problem, and many a young man anxious to marry or a young married couple eager for their own home have to spend long weary months, or even years, in accumulating the wood necessary to make the roof, the ceiling or the floor. The shores, not only of Tristan da Cunha, but also of Inaccessible and Nightingale Islands, are eagerly searched for driftwood. Especially is it difficult to collect the crossbeams, those in existence having come from wrecked ships. The islanders regard it as a regrettable fact that “wracks” are becoming more and more scarce. Many of the occupied houses are only partially ceilinged over, and have holes in the floor which their occupants are unable to complete or repair for lack of the necessary wood. The holes in the floor, if not too large, are covered by boxes in which belongings, the lares et penates, are kept.

When completed, the houses make snug little dwellings and adequately meet the needs of the islanders.

As Commander Wild was not leaving for Inaccessible Island till next day, I slept that night on the Quest, but told Mrs. Glass that I should come ashore the next day to stay. I felt that my board might be a bit of a burden to her, and was anxious to bring with me sufficient stores amply to cover my stay.

The next day (May 20th) was beautifully fine, with bright sunshine. Commander Wild sent ashore the scientific staff, with assistants, to carry on their special work. Jeffrey verified the position of the settlement and took bearings of all the more salient points on the northern side of the island. Wilkins took his cameras and cinematograph machine, and had a busy day photographing the people in the various stages of their work, family groups, cottages and, indeed, anything of interest. Carr made observations of the flat land to the west of the settlement with regard to its future usefulness as a landing-place for aircraft. Douglas made an ascent to the peak of the mountain for geological purposes, whilst McIlroy seized the opportunity of discussing with Mr. Rogers, the missionary, meteorological work and observations.

The most interesting event of the day was a parade of the Tristan troop of Boy Scouts, which was turned out for Commander Wild’s inspection. The troop was instituted by Mr. Rogers on his arrival, and was, of course, still very raw. It was surprising to note how well these boys looked and how altered in appearance they were after changing from their nondescript garments to the smart new uniforms. After considerable manœuvring, they were finally drawn up on parade, when Marr, in full Scout uniform with kilt, formally presented a Scout flag specially sent out by Sir Robert Baden-Powell for this purpose. The boys felt a little bit overcome by the occasion and responded indifferently to the words of command, but under the circumstances any but the most friendly criticism would be unfair. The boys appeared to be keen, Mr. Rogers was keen, and it is probable that the next people to hold an inspection will see a very different turnout. Everyone on the island witnessed the ceremony, and all the women donned their best clothes for the occasion. I had thought that they would have taken a greater interest in the kilt, but they seemed hardly to notice it—unlike the women of France and Italy, who during the war were so fascinated by the Highland uniforms. Mr. Rogers and Marr had quite a lengthy talk on Scout matters.