Shackleton's Last Voyage: The Story of the Quest

by Frank Wild; A. H. Macklin

Vegetation appeared to be very luxuriant, tussock grass growing in large clumps covered the flat ground. Close to the beach and along the side of the stream there were numerous wallows, which from their shape and from the smell which emanated from them showed that sea elephants frequented the island in large numbers during certain seasons. I discovered two young bulls lying in the stream close to the sea. Ferns of many kinds grew everywhere. The slopes were covered with masses of tree fern, and amongst the smaller varieties was a very pretty maidenhair. There were several clumps of wild celery. The only trees on the island were island trees, which apparently never grow to great size, but many of which were larger and thicker than any I saw on Tristan da Cunha.

Birds resembling thrushes but of a yellowish-green colour flew down and hopped about close to us. They seemed to be quite unafraid, and were so tame that if one kept still for a few minutes they would perch on one’s feet and could be easily caught by dropping a hat over them. Sea-hens flew about overhead showing a marked interest in the invaders, or, perched on some near point of vantage, regarded proceedings with a watchful eye. They did not allow anyone to approach very close, but Argles, with a well-aimed geological hammer, succeeded in knocking over two of them, which proved a useful addition to the cooking-pot. Every now and then I heard coming from the slopes the occasional “chuck-chuck” of landrail, but the birds remained hidden in the vegetation.

I went for a walk up the glen, following the course of the stream. Foothold was bad owing to the rocks being covered by a slimy deposit brought from rotting vegetation on the slopes. The water was coloured slightly green by the products of decomposition, but was used by the shore party for drinking and cooking purposes, apparently with no ill effect.

In spite of the luxuriance of growth there is a great deal of dampness and dank rottenness of the vegetation which takes away much of its attractiveness. It is possible that this is most marked at this time of the year, i.e. June, mid-winter in the southern hemisphere, and that in summer things are drier, fresher and more pleasant. As I went along I caught an occasional glimpse of the landrails with their bright red combs, shiny black bodies and yellow legs. These flightless birds have little runways amongst the grass where it would be almost impossible to catch them alive. To draw them out I tried a trick which I had often carried out with success on Macquarie Island, imitating their “chuck-chuck” by knocking two smooth stones sharply together, but though I heard their answering calls drawing nearer they showed a great reluctance to venture into the open.

This is an island where a marooned or shipwrecked party might live in comparative comfort. Instinctively, whilst taking in all its possibilities, my mind reverted to Elephant Island, the grim and barren spot where I wintered with my party during the last Antarctic expedition, short of food and fuel, bitterly cold and devoid of everything that makes life endurable. Here there is abundance of food and plenty of wood to burn, drift wood from the beach and the island tree wood. In addition to the animal life we saw about us, the sea swarms with fish of excellent quality, and crayfish can be easily caught from the rocks. There are also large rookeries of rockhopper penguins (as we saw later) which provide good meat and in the season abundance of eggs. Small weather-proof dwellings of the type used on Tristan da Cunha could be built from the numerous small boulders on the beach and roofed over with tussock grass. True, too long a sojourn might produce some of the disquietude of Alexander Selkirk, but there would at least be no fear of starvation, and compared with Elephant Island the place is a perfect paradise. I returned to the landing-place, and with McIlroy and Kerr put off in the boat and rowed into the belt of kelp where I was anxious to see what kinds of fish could be caught about the island. It was unnecessary to bait the hooks, a spinner bait or bright piece of tin was sufficient. The fish bit readily and we quickly collected all we required for food. The variety found in the kelp and about the shore is a reddish-coloured fish with strong horny spines. It is excellent to eat. From the ship with strong lines and hooks we caught “blue-fish” weighing up to forty pounds, which also make good eating. Watts and Green, who are tireless disciples of Izaak Walton, were responsible for many of these catches. Crayfish were obtained by lowering a weighted net baited with fish. Usually we hauled this up full of them with others clinging to the outside. They were to us a great delicacy.

In the afternoon Worsley and Jeffrey, with the assistance of Dell and Ross, carried out a series of soundings from the boat with a view to charting accurately the anchorage. Later they went ashore and measured the height of Archway Rock.

I sent in the boat to be put ashore three of the geese which we had brought from Tristan da Cunha. As the boat neared the beach they did not wait to be lifted out, but jumped over the gunwale into the water. They swam round the Archway Rock and made a landing at the foot of the small glen which opens to the sea there. We did not see them again, but I was in hopes that they would settle and breed.

Jeffrey, who is a keen observer and takes a close interest in things generally, discovered a very pretty maidenhair fern, a number of which he assiduously set about collecting with roots complete for taking home. On returning to the ship he placed them carefully in a large pot. Having inadvertently left this on deck, he returned to find that Bridget had discovered them and with much appreciation had eaten the lot.