The South Pole; an account of the Norwegian antarctic expedition in the "Fram," 1910-1912 — Volume 2

by Roald Amundsen

A Page from the Observation Book, December 17, 1911 130 At the South Pole, December 16 and 17, 1911 134 Mount Don Pedro Christophersen 156 Reproduced by permission of the Illustrated London News Framheim on the Return of the Polar Party 174 Lindström in the Kitchen 174 Farewell to the Barrier 178 Bjaaland as Tinker 180 Dogs Landed at Hobart for Dr. Mawson's Expedition 180 Members of the Japanese Antarctic Expedition 184 Lieutenant Prestrud 204 An Original Inhabitant of the Antarctic 212 Stubberud Reviews the Situation 214 Camp on the Barrier: Eastern Expedition 223 A Broken-off Cape 223 Off to the East 226 The Junction of the Great Barrier and King Edward Land 232 Reproduced by permission of the Illustrated London News Improvised Sounding Tackle 234 The Leader of the Eastern Expedition, Prestrud, on Scott's Nunatak 248 First in King Edward Land 254 In King Edward Land: After a Three Days' Storm 254 On Scott's Nunatak 258 Scott's Nunatak 258 The "Fram" at the Ice-edge, January, 1912 268 The "Kainan Maru" 272 Seals on Sea-ice near the Barrier 274 Seals: Mother and Calf 274 A Group of Adélie Penguins 278 A Quiet Pipe 278

First-lieutenant Thorvald Nilsen, Norwegian Navy 280
The Second in Command Takes a Nap 284
The "Fram" Sighted 284
On the Ice-edge, January, 1911 292
Our Last Moorings on the Ice-foot 294
A Hunting Expedition at the Foot of the Barrier 294
Beck Steers the "Fram" through Unknown Waters 304
Our Cook, Cheerful and Contented as Usual 304
Sectional Diagrams of the "Fram" At end of Appendix I

List of Maps and Charts

Fig. Page Chart of the Immediate Surroundings of the South Pole to face 120 Chart of the Ross Sea ,, 344 Chart of the Bay of Whales ,, 350 1. Hypothetical Representation of the Surface Currents in the Northern Atlantic in April 409 2. The "Fram's" Route from June 20 To July 7, 1910 411 3. Temperature and Salinity in the "Fram's" Southern Section, June, 1910 412 4. Temperature and Salinity in the "Fram's" Northern Section, July, 1910 415 5. The "Fram's" Stations in the South Atlantic (June — August, 1911) 418 6. Currents in the South Atlantic (June — August, 1911) 419 7. Salinities and Temperatures at the Surface in the South Atlantic (June — August, 1911) 420

8. Temperatures (Centigrade) at a Depth of 400 Metres (218 Fathoms) 423 9. Temperatures at Station 32 (In the Benguela Current, July 22, 1911), and at Station 60 (In the Brazil Current, August 19, 1911) 426 10. Salinities at Station 32 (In the Benguela Current, July 22, 1911), and at Station 60 (In the Brazil Current, August 19, 1911) 427 11. Salinities and Temperatures in the Southern Section (June — July, 1911) 429 12. Salinities and Temperatures in the Northern Section (July — August, 1911) 429 13. Temperatures at one of the "Fram's" and one of the "Challenger's" Stations, to the South of the South Equatorial Current 433 14. Temperatures at one of the "Fram's" and one of the "Valdivia's" Stations, in the Benguela Current 435 15. Temperatures at the "Planet's" Station 25, And the "Fram's" Station 39 — Both in the Neighbourhood of St. Helena 437 16. Salinities at the "Planet's" Station 25 (March 19, 1906), and the "Fram's" Station 39 (July 29, 1911) 437 Chart of the Antarctic Region At end of Volume

CHAPTER X

The Start for the Pole

At last we got away, on October 19. The weather for the past few days had not been altogether reliable; now windy, now calm — now snowing, now clear: regular spring weather, in other words. That day it continued unsettled; it was misty and thick in the morning, and did not promise well for the day, but by 9.30 there was a light breeze from the east, and at the same time it cleared.

There was no need for a prolonged inquiry into the sentiments of the party. — What do you think? Shall we start?" — Yes, of course. Let's be jogging on." There was only one opinion about it. Our coursers were harnessed in a jiffy, and with a little nod — as much as to say, "See you to-morrow" — we were off. I don't believe Lindström even came out of doors to see us start. "Such an everyday affair: what's the use of making a fuss about it?"

There were five of us — Hanssen, Wisting, Hassel, Bjaaland, and myself. We had four sledges, with thirteen dogs to each. At the start our sledges were very light, as we were only taking supplies for the trip to 80° S., where all our cases were waiting for us; we could therefore sit on the sledges and flourish our whips with a jaunty air. I sat astride on Wisting's sledge, and anyone who had seen us would no doubt have thought a Polar journey looked very inviting.