THE "FARTHEST SOUTH" SLEDGE PARTY IN A BLIZZARD.
Drawn by Stanley L. Wood.
The exception was the record set by another party of the Discovery explorers, who, without dogs, and with heavy sledges (240 lbs. a man), covered thirty-three miles a day over the inland ice. This party went out in a westerly direction and passed over the interior of Victoria Land, which they found covered with an ice-cap forming a great plain 9000 feet above the sea-level. They were fifty-three days absent, and, at their farthest, were 142 miles from the ship. When they turned back, the plain on the horizon seemed to be higher than where they stood, and rocks occasionally showed. Between this plain and the coast they had several magnificent views of glaciers. In following one down they had an interesting evidence of the fact that the ice in these regions is receding, though at a rate that will require many centuries to pass before it is all melted and the land made available for human settlement.
They had followed down the glacier for a day, and the ice became so very rough they were obliged to leave their sledges behind them and proceed with the greatest care. As they continued to descend, the glacier gradually dwindled and then suddenly ended in a low wall of ice. In the valley beyond were some frozen lakes, beyond which the valley changed into a series of deep, narrow gorges, filled with long lines and confused heaps of stones and other débris, shed from the glacier as it melted. Perhaps in this valley, more than anywhere else, lay the evidences of what was happening and what had been. There lay the glacier, inert and dead, while the summer sun was gradually wasting its huge mass. On either side its shrinking tributaries had already severed their connection with it, and receded up the mountain sides. Everything pointed to receding glaciation. Not only were the gorges filled with the stones and débris of the moraines, but thousands of feet up the hill-sides they lay in clear-cut lines, showing how vast the proportions of the glacier had once been.
Other glaciers observed gave the same indications. One of these, named the Ferrar Glacier, after the discoverer, was described as containing probably as much ice as any hitherto known in the world. Two others, the Barnes and the Shackleton Glaciers, each contained a great deal more; but all were greatly shrunk from the tremendous proportions they must once have had, and which could be traced by the lines of moraines. It was from observing these glaciers and speculating upon the immeasurable quantity of ice that once must have slowly flowed along them to the sea, that a theory was formed as to the real significance of the great ice barrier lying to the south of the Antarctic Circle. The opinion was generally entertained that the ice in this barrier is afloat. It had receded from the time when Ross first discovered it. Even while the expedition was in the neighbourhood it receded. In September 1902, a depôt was established on the ice at a line drawn between a volcanic peak at the extreme end of Minna Bluff and the top of Mount Discovery. In November 1903, this spot was found to have moved 608 yards out of the alignment, moving east of north. On the sides of Mount Terror, 800 feet above the existing surface of the barrier, moraines marked its original height. From these facts it was reasoned that at one time the ice forming the cap over the Antarctic continent was enormously deeper than it is to-day, and that it then extended out into the Antarctic Ocean for probably hundreds of miles further than it now reaches. The slow but steady flow of the great ice stream had absolutely filled the sea off the coast of Victoria Land, and the barrier, now existing, was the remains of this once mighty mass.
It was on one of these exploring journeys that a curious experience befell one party, a member of which, unfortunately, lost his life in consequence. The party were out with sledges and had halted for the midday meal when a violent gale sprang up. As usual, the wind set the snow in motion, and soon the men found themselves in a whirling cloud of finely powdered snow which entirely shut out their view in all directions. Believing themselves to be in the vicinity of the ship, they left the sledges and set out to march to the vessel. Soon they found themselves on a slope which they fancied they recognised as the one that led down to where the ship lay in the ice. As they cautiously advanced, one of the men missed his footing. What with the force of the wind, the insecure foothold on the moving snow, and the declivity of the slope, he was unable to stop himself, and slipped past his comrades and out of sight in the whirling snow with the speed of lightning.
The officer in charge halted the other men, and all crouched down, expecting their comrade to rejoin them as soon as he secured his footing. After waiting some time without his appearing, the officer advanced to find him. With the first step he also went out of sight as though he had been shot from a gun. Then a third went forward, and was at once lost to the sight of the others in the same way. The remainder of the men, after waiting for some time, concluded the three had reached the ship, and determined to set out after them. One man, a young New Zealander named Hare, set off to reach the sledges and recover his mittens. In the confusion of the whirling snow his absence was not noted, and the rest of the party set out for the ship, which they were satisfied was quite near. As a matter of fact, they were entirely out of their bearings. The man who took the lead walked very cautiously down the slope. He had heavy tacks in the boots he was wearing, and was thus enabled to get a firm hold of the snow. To this he owed his life, for, through the drifting snow, he suddenly saw an open chasm yawn at his feet. He threw himself back and shouted to those behind to stop. All tried to do so, but the man next to the leader was unable to pull up. His feet shot from under him, and he was seen to dash past them like a flash.