The Romance of Polar Exploration / Interesting Descriptions of Arctic and Antarctic Adventure from the Earliest Time to the Voyage of the "Discovery"

by G. Firth Scott

THE DISCOVERY LYING IN WINTER QUARTERS, FROZEN IN.

The large hut could accommodate the whole crew, and was built in case of a disaster to the ship. The smaller huts in the foreground were used for magnetic and astronomical observations.

The first point touched by the Discovery on her voyage along the coast of Victoria Land was Cape Adare, where the Newnes expedition, under Borchegrevinck, passed the winter of 1899. Here a brief landing was effected, a collection made of the rocks in the neighbourhood, and a cairn built to hold a record for the information of the relief ship, which was to be sent out in the following year. Continuing the voyage to the South, the explorers visited Wood Bay, and, subsequently, discovered an excellent harbour as far south as 76° 31' S.

Landing at Cape Crozier on January 22, and leaving another record there for the information of the relief ship, the Discovery went east along the ice barrier until the 165th meridian of longitude was passed, when the barrier was found to trend to the north, the sea becoming rapidly more shoal. The coast line was followed to 76° S., or 150 miles further than the expeditions before had gone. The ship was then turned, and, in 174° E. longitude, a place was seen where an inlet ran into the barrier. A sledge party went on the ice and penetrated as far as 78° 50' S., the point reached by Borchegrevinck in his sledge trip.

By this time it was realised that winter quarters must be selected, and the Discovery sailed to that part of the sea where Mount Erebus and Mount Terror reared their lofty heads on the land. Examining the land for a suitable site for the camp, it was learned that both Erebus and Terror are situated on an island, and not, as was formerly believed, on the mainland. At the opposite end of the island another smaller volcanic mount was seen, with a still smaller one between it and the two giants. The larger of these was named Mount Discovery, and, near its base, the site of the camp was chosen. The ship was worked in as close to the shore as was possible before the heavy frost set in, and, as she was well constructed to withstand the pressure of ice, she remained in this position until, after the second winter had been passed, the relief ship arrived with sufficient explosives to blast a way out of the ice.

As soon as the members of the expedition had settled down and all was made snug, trips were taken in all directions along the coast and over the ice. The longest trip, taken in the following September, was arranged for, food depôts being established as far to the south as the stores could be conveyed.

On this trip, the historic one of the expedition, only three went. These were Captain Scott, Lieutenant Shackleton, and Dr. Wilson. They had dogs with them at the start, but the animals grew sick and weak, and were, at last, quite useless in dragging the sledges. The three harnessed themselves to the sledges in place of the dogs, and, handicapped with this weight of 240 lbs. each, they pushed on until they reached 82° 17' S. From the position they then occupied they were able to see as far as 83° 20' S., and would have gone as far, if not farther, but for an insuperable obstacle that confronted them. The route they followed was over rough ice, often yawning with deep crevasses, down which the sledges had to be lowered and then hauled up on the other side. Some of them were veritable chasms, but they faded into insignificance when compared with the one which opened before the explorers at the end of the march. For a time they examined this mighty ice ravine to see if it were not possible, one way or another, to get across. The descent might have been possible, and there was no great difficulty in crossing the floor of it, but the far side rose in an unbroken precipice, and they recognised it as insurmountable, even to such daring and intrepid climbers as themselves.

From the latitude they had attained they were able to learn that Victoria Land is traversed by a range of high mountains, which, in 82° S., were from 10,000 to 14,000 feet high. A line of foot-hills, closely resembling Admiralty Mountains in appearance, rose in longitude 160° E. The route gradually ascended, as the party progressed, until a level unbroken plain was reached, the altitude of which was 9000 feet. The coast line could be seen stretching away due south to the 83rd parallel.

On the way back Lieutenant Shackleton unfortunately ruptured a blood-vessel during an unusually heavy strain at the sledges. The strength of all the party was severely taxed by the hardships of the journey, and the sudden incapacitating of one of the three was a matter of grave anxiety. He was relieved of the weight of his sledge, but they all realised that if they were to get back alive to the ship, Lieutenant Shackleton would have to walk, as the other two were utterly unable to drag the sledges, with the food and supplies, and his weight as well. With heroic determination he followed them on foot, only complaining that his injury effectively prevented him from doing his share in the hard work. So they journeyed, arriving at the ship after an absence of ninety-four days, during which they must have covered quite a thousand miles. The speed at which they travelled, when the ice conditions would allow them to proceed, was as high as thirty-two miles a day, a speed far greater than has been attained by other explorers, with one exception, even when the sledges have been drawn by dog-teams.